With so many new tools entering the market, communicators and companies can struggle to find new and interesting ways to engage with their audience, especially as no longer can you simply put an image up on LinkedIn and hope for the best.
Add this to post-Covid where more and more people are making the effort to not be glued to their computer screens 24/7, but there are still ample opportunities to reach audiences in new ways.
Podcasts have been growing in popularity over the past few years, with The Podcast Host Discoverability Survey displaying that 43 per cent of users turn to social media for new podcast ideas.
And it is easy to see why, with the many benefits allowing companies to utilize the platform by either running their own podcast, purchasing a paid ad spot on another podcast within the same industry and with a large reach, and/or gaining a guest spot on another podcast to discuss your company’s product or announcements.
Similarly, to videos, there has been a shift in people’s behavior and now users are really wanting to feel connected to brands and to trust them before making any decisions, and there is nothing that can build this relationship more than being a voice in their ear for 30 minutes. With podcasts allowing listeners to tune in when they are not as distracted and doing meaningless tacks such as sitting on public transport, driving, or even exercising. Podcasts provide a unique opportunity to truly build your brands authority and to be able to take the lead on discussion points when you have a user’s undivided attention.
While videos offer a very similar advantage, many people aren’t comfortable being on camera, and while we always still encourage the usage of some videos, as again putting a face to a voice helps in building trust, using both is a great way to emphasis your message and create interesting content.
Ask any marketer at the beginning of the month, and they are focused on content creation for the coming month’s social media calendar, which is where smart re-purposing of content comes into play.
One 30-minute podcast can generate numerous posts for social media, on LinkedIn the entire podcast can be shared, then broken down into snippets or key take-aways for shorter posts.
Similarly, to Facebook and Instagram, a graphic can be created with a key quote from the podcast episode and posted alongside the link to SoundCloud or wherever the episode is hosted.
Although with any piece of content that is being distributed to a specific audience the two main points are:
Know your audience across each social media platform
The type of language used on LinkedIn is going to be different to that used on Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn is where more professionals are going to be looking for new ideas and to make connections. Therefore, a focus on the key information. Whilst Facebook is more focused on the visual side of things, so graphics would be utilized more.
Consistency
It is the same when pushing out any content, when building up a profile and a relationship with users, being consistent is one of the most important aspects. Whether it is posting content once, twice or four times a week, keeping it as consistent as possible so your audience knows when to expect to hear from you.
Happy podcasting!
As always, if you need help creating compelling podcasts, please reach out to the Shed Connect team via emailing Abbey Minogue – abbey.minogue@shedconnect.com.
