A podcast is recorded audio or video content you publish online for your audience to enjoy whenever and wherever they want, by streaming or download. For a business, the goal is simple: use it to market your products and services by building an audience that trusts you.
Podcasts Make a Viable Content Marketing Strategy
One of the best ways to use a podcast is as part of your content marketing strategy. Share information that's genuinely valuable to your audience, and you'll attract loyal listeners, who, over time, become loyal customers.
A podcast is also a powerful way to establish your company as the authority in your field. As a thought leader, you shape how your audience thinks about your topic and earn the credibility that influences decision-makers to buy from you.
Podcasts Are More Popular Than Ever
The old advice to "be where your audience is" applies to podcasts more than ever. According to an Edison Research study, podcast consumption keeps hitting record highs:
- About 73% of Americans age 12 and up have consumed a podcast, roughly 210 million people.
- 55% have listened to a podcast in the past month.
- The weekly podcast audience has reached 40%, more than double what it was in 2017.
- Video podcasts are surging: more than half of Americans have now watched one, and YouTube has become the single most-used platform for podcasts, alongside Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
- Podcasts have overtaken AM/FM radio to become the biggest single share of all spoken-word audio listening, a first.
In short, your audience is almost certainly listening, and increasingly watching.
A New Model for Reaching Your Audience
A big reason podcasts keep growing is that people want to be entertained and educated on their own terms. The old media model created content for the broadest possible audience; new media is about resonating deeply with a narrower one, which lets you build a much stronger relationship.
The revenue model differs too. Traditional media earns from advertisers chasing a mass audience. With a podcast, you can earn through subscriptions, listener support, or sponsorships, and you can also sponsor a third-party podcast whose audience matches your target market.
Advantages of Podcasting
One of podcasting's biggest advantages is time: you hold your audience's attention far longer than a blog post or social update can. That sustained, in-the-ear (or on-screen) presence builds a deeper, more trusted relationship, which over time drives repeat purchases and referrals.
Content Is Key
The key to a successful podcast is giving your audience content they actually want. One approach is to have a knowledgeable host dig into a specific topic with genuine insight. An even better one is to interview thought leaders: people love hearing from experts they know and respect.
Who Is Podcasting?
Podcasting isn't just for media giants like ESPN or NPR. Businesses of every size, from niche retailers to B2B service providers, use podcasts to build authority, deepen relationships, and drive sales. A specialty retailer might host a show about its niche and watch traffic to its product pages climb whenever a product is featured, while a B2B company might interview industry experts to position itself as the go-to authority. The common thread: they show up consistently with content their specific audience genuinely wants.
Where to Publish, and How to Get More From Each Episode
Make your podcast easy to find by publishing everywhere your audience listens: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and especially YouTube, now the most popular place people go for podcasts. Recording video, even simple talking-head footage, lets you reach the fast-growing video-podcast audience and unlocks the medium's best growth tactic: short clips. Cut a few compelling 30-to-60-second vertical moments from each episode and post them as Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikToks to pull new listeners back to the full show. (For more on that, see our guide to using video to increase sales.)
How to Create a Successful Podcast
A few essentials for a podcast that works:
- Identify your target audience and build content around their needs and interests. It's better to attract 500 of the right people than 5,000 of the wrong ones.
- Publish on a frequent, consistent schedule so you build and keep a growing audience.
- Promote it where your audience already is: your emails, newsletter, website, and especially social media (where short clips can spark word of mouth).
- Be patient. Results come with persistence.
The best way to start is to talk with your customers. Find out what they'd value, build it for them, and promote it to your target audience to grow a loyal following.
Thinking about launching a podcast for your business? Get in touch and we'll help you plan, produce, and promote it.
Podcasting is just one piece of the puzzle. See our full guide to marketing your small business online.
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