Media relations is one of the most exciting, personal and creative parts about working in public relations. As your company’s story develops, you can proudly share that with the media. One way to diversify and strengthen your company’s content mix is to utilize podcasts to reach new audiences within your industry and ones adjacent to showcase thought leadership.
COVID-19 has disrupted the regular content flow for most industries. Now more than ever, traditional media is looking for innovative technologies and heartfelt stories that have emerged as a result of the crisis. To accommodate this shift in coverage, podcasts have become a viable news source with a clearly defined audience and a thirst for content. Also, many traditional media publications are adding podcasts as an additional form of content on their site.
As of October 2020, there are currently 1.5M podcasts and over 34M episodes available. Podcast listening and general awareness are at an all-time high this year! For PR pros and content marketers, it’s time to tap into that market to feature your company in an authentic and impactful way.
Why Podcasts?
The great thing about podcasts is they can be enjoyed anytime throughout the day. With many of us working from home, people are listening to more podcasts than ever. More than one-third of Americans are consuming podcasts regularly with monthly podcast consumers growing by 16% year-over-year. The benefits are exponential, and the demand is increasing as people look for ways to consume content, without having to spend the additional time reading it.
Podcasts provide 5 key action-oriented benefits:
- Engage with a new audience. Not everyone is reading their news these days. Connecting with podcasters allows your thought leader to reach a whole new audience outside of traditional media and social media users.
- Showcase thought leadership. Utilizing audio gives companies the chance to tell their story, uninterrupted. This not only gives thought leaders a platform to build personal and brand reputation but builds an authentic connection with listeners as they engage with their story.
- Connect with others in your industry. Audio driven media provides the ability to have a conversation with prominent industry leaders. We all know the building blocks of any relationship start with shared interests and a good chat.
- Publish content on multiple platforms. Podcasts are often shared on multiple sites and can often be embedded on other sites. This includes streaming platforms (Anchor, Stitcher, Spotify, etc.), your company’s website, the publication’s site AND social media. It’s a great way to increase SEO and spread the content around multiple platforms.
- Personalize your brand by putting a face (or voice) to the company. Podcasts provide an opportunity to bring a company to life through interesting content, innovative storytelling and an exciting personality. All these items will help listeners get to know your brand, with the goal of leading to trust and thought leadership within your industry.
While not all podcasters come from the world of traditional media, it’s important to remember that they still have publishing schedules, whether daily, monthly or weekly, to adhere to. Understanding their deadlines is important and will help determine how and when is the best time to reach out.
At Franco, we’ve used podcasts to help our clients showcase thought leadership throughout the pandemic. We’ve helped several B2B and B2C clients connect with budding podcasts from their go-to trade publications, as well as highly recognized syndications. We’ve even helped clients create their own podcasts. From automotive to nonprofit, there is a podcast for everyone. Regardless of your industry, using podcasts to diversify your content mix will allow your company to better connect with prominent leaders in your industry, showcase thought leadership and strengthen your overall brand narrative through first-person storytelling.
Mallary Becker is an assistant account executive at Franco. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
