Why Podcasting Has Great Reach and is the Least Expensive Content Creator

Posted by James Obermayer on Jul 26, 2018 5:33:11 PM

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While most companies scramble to create content, they remain unaware that podcast content is the least expensive tactic per impression and listener. This is due to the unique nature of podcasting which allows many uses for the final recorded and printed program transcript.

The following is a story, really a compiled story about different real people we know, using podcasting in many ways. A few podcasters use almost every tactic listed here.

How George and Jane use podcasting to reach 4,000 people in 18 different ways

George produces a weekly talk-radio type of podcast with well-known guests; it is 30 minutes in length. The edited podcast is made available on their Podbean site, but Jane knows this is just the beginning of the journey for the material from this one event. She rubs her hands together in anticipation of the future results.

As soon as the program is edited, Jane also sends it to Rev.com to turn the program into a transcript. While she has listened to the program and gotten an idea of its possible uses, getting the script in her hands is tremendously helpful. The Rev.com transcript gets back to her in 9 hours or less at an average cost of $1.00 per minute.

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WHY IT MATTERS:

“While most companies scramble to create content, they remain unaware that podcast content is the least expensive tactic per impression and listener.”

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Of course, one of the main reasons for doing the podcast is that the company wants to establish a thought-leadership position for the CMO and the company. Jane and George know that the deep multi-use reach of podcasting will establish the thought leadership they desire without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on research or years on writing a book. Instead, podcasting can create a position of thought-leadership in months.

Testimonials

Jane takes the transcript and begins to mark it up for different uses. Because a customer was on this program, she looks for direct quotes that can be used for testimonials. Since the program is public domain already, she has the needed permissions to use the quotes. She finds three of them covering different parts of their products and services. She extracts them and moves them to places on the company website for testimonials and adds the attribution: as heard on ‘HerCompanyRadioPodcast.com.’

She also sends the testimonials out to salespeople and adds them to the testimonial storage space in the CRM system. Testimonials are important today as each is thought of as a product/service review.

Case studies

Not all radio program podcasts lend themselves to being used as case studies, but Jane notices that with a little work, this program fits the basic criteria. There is a clear and present problem, the customer is willing to state the problem, and there is a clear and present pathway to solving the issue using their services. While the customer did not state anything about a lack of sales before the services were implemented, he did state that sales increased 15% within six months of the installation. Jane will take the percentage statement as a win. The customer discussed installation without a hitch, and that the services were brought in under budget. She has what she needs for the case study. Within 60 days they can offer the case study on their site and in nurture programs sent to prospects.

E-books and white papers

In this particular program, Jane’s client is forthcoming enough about solving their issue with her services that Jane thinks the quotes, the speakers’ names, and the name of the executive interviewed (about 300-500 words) can be used in the e-book coming out in 90 days. A new white paper is also in the works. The statements and quotes are significant enough, and in many cases backed by percentages of improvement, that it’s worth considering them for the white paper also.

Nurture material

Because the company uses a marketing automation system, George and Jane are always looking for content to fulfill the nurture needs of people who inquire about their products. They know prospects will buy from people and companies they know, and companies with applications like theirs. Extracting the content based on a user’s need or job title can make a big difference in how a prospect accepts a product and company.

Blog

With the final edited version of the podcast replay and the transcript, Jane can push the content to the blog writer to use in an upcoming blog entry. The embedded player code allows anyone reading the blog to also listen to the program. The blog is usually read by about 2,500 people a week; this should do well there. She will bump up the title for the blog, change the copy from the podcast site description, and use a few quotes from the guest and the host. The artwork from the podcast program will be used in the blog article. As an example, see Dan McDade of PointClear and his ViewPoint Blog, and his use of an interview on SLMA Radio about Who Owns the Pipeline.

Social media

Of course, every program is supported during the interview with quotes from the guest and host on Twitter. Retweets are common from the guest’s marketing staff. LinkedIn articles from the host about the interview are appropriate almost every time.

Email blast

Jane has a database of about 28,000 industry leaders who have opted in to hear from the company. She will do a blast about the podcast. Her open rate on these programs is higher than other emails that are straight product pitches. She can expect a 15% open rate and another 5% to 8% to listen to the program; this could be 335 or more listeners. This program is also pushed out to the 2,400 people on the inquiry/sales lead list from the last 12 months. They too will get an email on it when it pertains to their product/service interest, which is about half of the list.

Newsletter

George’s newsletter is posted to the database monthly. Along with the product news and upcoming events, Jane will post this podcast description and link. She suspects the newsletter is read after hours and on weekends, which is also a perfect time for people to listen to podcasts while they exercise, walk the dog, or travel by car.

Resources section of the website

Every podcast they create is also offered in the resources section of their website under the title of the podcast, followed by a list of programs. They get a count of the number of people reviewing that page, and the podcast description page, as well as the number of clicks to the podcast site. Once on the site, they can see the site traffic and number of downloads.

Of course, Jane will check the program content to see if any of it can be used in an upcoming book by the CMO. See Revenue Marketing Radio with Debbie Qaqish, author of Rise of the Revenue Marketer as an example.

In some instances, when guests are dynamic, she might create a YouTube video using pictures of the guest, art from the show, etc., and the audio.

George and Jane know that there may be other uses for the content; for now they have enough to fuel the ever-ravenous marketing machine, and the original podcast content costs them only a few hundred dollars per show.

You may also like:

How to Measure Podcast Contributions to Revenue

How Thought Leadership can be Shaped by Streaming Internet Radio


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