Do Your Colleagues See the Value in a Branded Podcast?

A great branded podcast is a big deal. There’s no doubt about it.

This might be the most involved — and most rewarding — type of content marketing there is. It requires an expert team, a fair amount of energy, and a significant budget.

Taking into account the cost and scale of this kind of project, you can probably expect your team to be a bit trepidatious. We think that’s totally fair.

That said, if you believe this kind of content marketing is a great fit for your growing company, the right argument will persuade even your most reluctant colleagues.

It’s really just a matter of mindset, positioning and goal making — a process we’ve broken down into five easy steps you can follow with your team.

Step 1: Adjust your team's mindset

It’s almost guaranteed that some of the folks on your team will believe marketing is all about immediate return. We encounter this a lot and it’s totally understandable…

But it’s time we all step into the 21st century.

Taking a look at our day-to-day lives, we are absolutely pummeled with traditional advertising — on the bus, in our cars, on TV, at our desks, on our phones, and even when we’re listening to certain podcasts.

It’s a lot, to say the very least. But we’d be lying if we said it never works.

When they’re thoughtful, creative, and well executed, traditional ads can and do make a difference when it comes to your bottom line.

That said, we need to be aware that we’re dealing with increasingly savvy consumers these days — in an increasingly competitive market. Ads can generate sales and build brand awareness, sure…

But do they build meaningful relationships?

Content marketing is about reciprocity, connection and brand identity. It’s about carving out the kinds of bonds that breed loyalty and lasting success for your brand.

Until your team shifts their mindset — and starts to focus on the long game instead of immediate return — it will be impossible to get them on board.

It’s up to you to get them there.

Step 2: Emphasize difference

As you shift your team toward a content marketer’s mindset, you may be met with questions about other mediums…

Can’t we just get an intern to write us some blog posts? Don’t we already do this with email?

The branded podcast is a big project and, at the end of the day, these questions are understandable — so it’s important that you feel confident answering them.

One of the first things we suggest is tuning into an episode of a branded podcast for yourself so you can get a feel for what sets this medium apart. Business Class: Build It Braver from American Express or Changing Places from Avison Young are both great starting points.

We think the difference will quickly become clear — but we’ll also spell it out for you.

The branded podcast is…

• More human than emails
• More relaxing than webinars
• More accessible than ebooks
• More in-depth than blog posts
• And a whole lot more helpful than any infographic we’ve ever seen

Podcasts are also experiencing explosive growth, and with good reason!

We live in an era of packed schedules and a wild enthusiasm for multitasking. With a branded podcast, your listeners can take your content anywhere — walking their dog, to the gym, or on their morning commute.

It’s also worth noting that amid increasing telecommuting, the COVID pandemic, and perpetual technological growth, the disconnection is real — and podcasts can help remedy that.

This medium is unique in the fact that it builds reciprocal relationships and fosters a sense of authentic human connection seldom found in other media.

This might sound a bit blunt — but if you hold a podcast episode up against a blog post, we think you’ll see that this is a serious no-brainer.

Step 3: Establish your goals

Once your team is clear on the foundational tenets of content marketing — and the true value of consumer-brand relationships — it’s time to finetune a vision for your brand.

In order to establish how a branded podcast can boost your business, you’ll need to take a look at your team’s primary goals, and identify any oversights in your current approach.

Big picture goals vary by brand, but your team might want to…

• Become the best-known brand in your space
• Educate consumers on your product
• Build a more distinct brand identity
• Establish your brand’s area of expertise
• Grow your owned audience
• Or improve public relations

You’ll notice that none of these goals are focused on shifting your bottom line today. That said, even the most old-school marketer should be able to clearly understand their value.

Step 4: Define your metrics

To a lot of folks on your team, these goals might seem abstract. They might not understand how a podcast does these things or how the results could possibly be quantified.

This is the part where you’ll want to explain the kinds of metrics you can use to help determine the ROI for your branded podcast.

At the end of the day, clear objectives will help you get your series “on air” and hard data will help you keep it there.

While you certainly can choose to measure the financial ROI of your podcast, it should be clear by now that this shouldn’t be your primary or only goal.

Instead, we recommend that our clients focus on...

• Online performance
• Brand performance
• And podcast performance

There are a number of metrics you can employ in each category.

These include, but certainly aren’t limited to…

• The listen-through rate of each episode
• The share of voice your brand holds in your market
• And the newsletter subscribers you attract from your show

If you’d like to explore the many other measures that might be relevant to your team, you’ll want to check out our Ultimate Guide to Podcast ROI — a must-have resource when securing your budget, and finetuning your plans for your show.

Step 5: Establish expectations

Once mindset, goals and metrics are established, you may be met with pushback when it comes to the time, energy and resources this kind of project requires.

We’ll be straight with you here — the branded podcast is a massive undertaking. It’s certainly not something your team can just slap together on Friday afternoons.

It requires a team of experts devoted to creating an exceptional show and, while you can attempt it in house, the easiest way to manage resource expenditure and create an exceptional series is with a podcast-specific production company.

If you work with JAR Audio, for example, the expectations of your team are made perfectly clear…

This includes…

• A kick-off workshop
• Two hours to connect each week of production
• And one hour per episode for approvals and revisions

No matter which production team you choose, outsourcing this project should mean the expectations of your team are crystal clear from the get-go.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor

Once you’ve made all of these expectations clear for your team, they should have a better understanding of the benefits this kind of project can bring, how it stands apart from other mediums, and the time and energy it will actually require.

From there, a qualified production team can help you solidify your goals, choose the right metrics, and create a series that will benefit your business and your team.

Written by Roger Nairn, JarAudio.com.