Harnessing the power of podcasting for your brand

Make it count

There are more than 2 million podcasts listed on Spotify right now. It’s a figure that some people find daunting, but they shouldn’t. More than 2 million books published every year and nobody says “don’t write a book, there’s already too many of those”. They say “if you’re going to write a book, make it a good one”. I argue the same thing about podcasts.

To stand out from the crowd the show needs to be well researched and sound amazing. It’s no longer enough to have two people with microphones talking over each other. You need to harness the power of good, old fashioned storytelling, and apply it to this modern medium. There are some corners that you simply cannot cut. After producing branded podcasts full time for the past three years with my company Inkin Media, here are the non-negotiables if you want your branded podcast to succeed:

Audio quality is paramount

Nothing makes a podcast seem cheap and tacky like poorly recorded audio. If it's difficult to listen to people are just going to go to the next show in their feed. I include production music and other clips in this as well. These all need to be top quality, and no, the free stuff you get off YouTube will not do.

Over the last couple of years, the importance of being able to record quality audio remotely has come to the fore. While Zoom and Skype are mostly okay, programs like Zencastr are giving producers far better results, without the inevitable dropouts and audio glitches that immediately let the listener know it’s a Zoom call.

Avoiding Podfade

Building an audience doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, consistency and hard work. In the industry, we talk about Podfade. This is the phenomenon that sees so many podcasts fade out after about 7 episodes. When people realise the time and effort required to make their show stand out, most give up. Building and maintaining a loyal audience takes commitment which many people underestimate.

Quality hosting

It’s imperative that your podcast is everywhere people go to get podcasts. The three big ones are Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts but there are plenty of others that you need to be hitting to maximise your reach and potential audience. If you choose a good hosting site most of this work will be done for you. There are plenty of options out there and some very good Australian companies who are taking it to the huge tech giants.

I also highly recommend making space on your website for your podcast as well as pushing it out on social media or in any chatrooms that you might use but the hosting site is not negotiable.

You can’t do it alone

Unless you have a seasoned broadcaster on your staff and you can spare them for the hours required, you need to bring in an expert. They will help you craft the format of your show, help you find the right equipment, help you find the right host and do a lot of the time-consuming leg work that you don’t have time to do.

Choosing the right format is a big one. I specialise in the crafted narrative style of podcasting incorporating multiple voices in a conversational style. It’s a format made popular by shows like This American Life or 99 % invisible. It’s a very strong format but it’s time-consuming and can be expensive. There are less labour intensive options but, again, you need to put some time and effort into getting your format right or it will just sound like any other podcast.

There are more and more podcast specialists emerging as they leave the dusty old legacy media with decades of experience in storytelling and broadcasting. Shop around and speak to as many people as you can find before you settle on a provider. This is someone you are going to be working with more than you realise.