How Podcasting Can Grow Your Business

Listening to podcasts is a fantastic way to educate yourself as a business owner. According to a Bredin survey, over one-third of owners of small and medium-sized businesses in the US listen to podcasts. Tuning in to podcasts helps you learn more about different industries and gives you successful marketing strategies.

Being a podcast listener will teach you about business leadership. Starting a podcast will grow your business. We spoke with multiple business owners and leaders to learn how podcasting benefits their businesses.

IMAGE: PEXELS

You Can Produce More Information

There’s only so much information you can place on your company website. The information you include needs to be concise and contain the right keywords. In a podcast, you are free to discuss your product, service, and mission in greater detail.

Daniel Tejada, Co-Founder of Straight Up Growth, states, “A podcast gives you the time and space to discuss your business in detail. While your information needs to be clear, you can dive more deeply into all the facets of your business on a podcast than you can in written content. You can answer a client’s question to your entire audience rather than in an individual email. This ability can clear up misinformation and confusion.” By providing more information, you become more credible to your audience.

It Boosts Your Credibility

Gerri Detweiler, a contributing writer for Forbes, describes podcasting as an educational tool. It’s a space for you to share your expertise, which adds value to your business.

Dr. Robert Applebaum, Owner of Applebaum MD, claims, “People will trust your products and services when they trust your knowledge. Education is at the heart of every effective marketing strategy. You have to show potential clients how your offerings add value to their lives. Podcasting is a great way to execute this educational piece. It’s similar to hosting a consultation with a huge audience. You can reach more people with more information in a podcast than you can on most media platforms.”

In addition to letting your audience get to know your company, podcasting helps them know you, the owner, on a more personal level.

Your Audience Will Get To Know You

Podcast listeners will feel connected to your company and you as an individual when they hear you speak. Podcasting allows you to connect directly to your audience and lets your personality shine through.

Brittany Dolin, Co-Founder of The Pocketbook Agency, comments on the benefits of being known by your audience. “As the owner of a business, you have many responsibilities,” Dolin begins. “Even if your business is relatively small, it can be difficult or impossible to connect with each customer. A customer might be familiar with your company, but few of them will feel like they know you from your website or your storefront. When you produce a podcast, your audience can see you as an individual more than a name. Your personality makes you and your business more trustworthy.”

Podcasting builds personal connections between you and your customers. It also gives you the chance to collaborate with other business owners.

You Can Build Business Partnerships

Podcast hosts invite guests to provide expertise and share their stories. Partnership marketing is a rich source of growth for your business. Once you’ve established a partnership with another company, you can invite the leader of that company onto your podcast to promote your campaign.

Amanda E. Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer of Nailboo, states, “Podcasts are a great resource to display a business partnership. Usually, podcast episodes are interviews, where the host poses questions to their guest. As the host, your audience knows you, and you have the chance to introduce them to a business you’re working alongside. You can combine your expertise and verbally explain what you’re offering your audiences.”

If your company partners with a nonprofit organization, you can invite its leader to explain how your listeners can get involved in the work you’re both doing for the community.

“By having a nonprofit on your podcast, you can make your listeners aware of issues facing the community,” says Rabah Rahil, CMO of Triple Whale. “The advantage of podcasting is that your audience doesn’t have to navigate multiple websites to learn how they can support your efforts. You can provide all of the information they need while you conduct the interview. You can also give updates in future episodes, highlighting the nonprofit’s progress and how your listeners have gotten involved.”

Podcasting increases your brand’s reach and helps you build connections with other organizations. And the greatest perk? It’s not that hard to start one.

It’s Convenient

Raza Kazi, a writer for Digital 22, claims that podcasts are often more convenient to produce than written content. While websites and blog posts are necessary to build a customer base, they only reach people on their computers.

Podcasts are accessible to people while they’re on the go or while they’re busy doing other activities. Since they’re available in an audio-only format, listeners can tune in while they commute, exercise, clean, or cook.

Jack Gindi, CEO of Pori Jewelry, states, “You can engage a wider audience through podcasting. Podcasts are available on several platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Listeners can download episodes to access them without Wi-Fi and without using cellular data. Podcasts are effective alternatives for customers that can’t spend time browsing your website. Listeners can connect with your brand and your story wherever they are.”

Kazi also suggests podcasts can be more engaging than written content for your audience. Rob Bartlett, CEO of WTFast, agrees with Kazi. “Blog posts and descriptions are fantastic sources of information, but it’s unlikely that your potential customers are going to be interested in reading through hundreds or thousands of words,” Bartlett says. “Podcasts give you the unique opportunity to explore both video and audio promotions. Audio tends to be engaging because listeners can follow your tone and intonation, and it feels as if they’re part of the conversation. Reading text can feel one-sided. The author is talking to you, not with you. If you and your guests are comfortable using video for the podcast, this also gives your audience the option to engage with you visually.”

It’s Affordable

In her article for Forbes, Detweiler points out that starting a podcast is an inexpensive method to implement in your marketing strategy. A podcaster needs a hosting platform at a small monthly fee and a mic that they can purchase for a low price on sites like Amazon. “Advertising is something you have to budget for when launching and running a business,” says Chris Gadek, Head of Growth at AdQuick.

“You want to have a variety of advertisements so that your name is visible in multiple locations. Starting a podcast can be an inexpensive and fruitful addition to other advertisements. All you need at the beginning is the equipment and the platform. If you’re willing, you can do the work of editing and running the podcast. After a time, once the podcast starts to generate income for your company, then you can think about outsourcing responsibilities and paying people for taking on those roles.” Gadek touches on another benefit of podcasting: the revenue potential.

It’s Profitable

As your podcast increases in popularity, it’ll likely start to make you some money. Kazi claims that you can monetize episodes through sponsored content and affiliate marketing.

Lauren Kleinman, Co-Founder of The Quality Edit, states, “If you’re a podcast listener, you’re probably familiar with the phrase, ‘This episode is brought to you by…’ When organizations notice how popular your podcast has become, they’ll want to get their name out to your audience. As these organizations become your sponsors, your podcast is not only getting your brand’s name out, but it’s also making you additional income and allowing you to build strong business partnerships.”

Eric Elggren, Co-Founder of Andar, agrees. He says, “As podcasts become more popular, they’re becoming more lucrative. It’s inexpensive to enter the field, and if you publish original, engaging content, it can lead to high payoffs. What’s more, when your podcast becomes sponsored, suddenly you receive a whole new market of potential listeners and customers. The companies sponsoring you have followers who will be interested in both your podcast and your business because of the sponsorship.”

The podcasting world is growing every day, and it’s rich with opportunities for business owners to build connections with customers and other businesses. If you’re looking for a way to grow your business, and maybe earn money while you’re at it, consider launching a podcast. Grab yourself a mic and hit record. Listeners are ready to hear you.