Nowadays, it feels like everyone has a podcast. And, if you don’t have one, you’re probably listening to one.
The numbers bear it out: There are millions of podcasts out there, and hundreds of millions of listeners. In recent years, thought leaders have increasingly turned to podcasting as a form of audience engagement, establishing their thought leadership—in other words, subject matter expertise—to a wider range of listeners than ever before. Sharing your thoughts and conversations with other thought leaders positions you favorably in your community, whatever the community may be.
Podcasting to Connect
In my world, it is the public relations industry. That’s why I started The PR Maven Podcast to interview top executives, media personalities and online influencers about PR and their personal brands. From social media marketing to networking, it is a useful way to connect with industry peers by diving into deep ideas, while also reaching current or prospective clients.
Podcasting is useful in more ways than one. For instance, I always try to interview my new clients on the podcast to get a better sense of what they do. After signing on a new client, it is an easy way to secure a meaningful result for them, helping to solidify that relationship early on.
Another bonus is connecting with listeners who have become your very own brand ambassadors over time. Reaching new listeners allowed me to create “PR Maven Nation” on Facebook, and my brand has grown as a result. We even host in-person events, where employees, friends and families can gather to talk about podcasting in general, new trends in the PR industry and other interesting topics. That helps grow the PR Maven Nation.
It’s true: Podcasting can lead to in-person networking, creating meaningful face-to-face connections. On my street in Portland, Maine, there is an intimate wine bar where I like to host a live interview with the year’s most popular guest, so everyone can see how the cheese is made. That, plus the wine!
Maximizing Benefits Beyond Broadcasting
For those interested in exploring the world of podcasting, especially thought leaders who have genuine expertise to share, it is important to understand that a podcast episode is not a be-all and end-all. It is the sort of content with many different applications, and a single episode can be repurposed again and again to reach different audiences. We create a tremendous amount of social media content based on each episode, in turn creating more search-engine-optimized content online—from blog posts to infographics and short videos for YouTube.
In this way, podcasting and “Google SEO”—the “searchability” of your content—work hand in hand. Once you have a podcast episode ready to go, you can turn it into other applications that come up in search results for your name or your company, reinforcing your brand with fresh, engaging content. All of your online content should be Google-ready, after all.
If you work in PR, think of it from a potential client’s perspective: Don’t you want that prospect to see you’re active online? Shouldn’t they get a strong sense of your thought leadership with simple research?
A search that yields little to nothing is a wasted opportunity to demonstrate your subject matter expertise. If you can highlight your know-how of traditional media outreach or digital advertising with a few search results, on the other hand, you are more likely to convince a prospective client that they should turn to you as a solution to their problems. Since 2018, my podcast has accumulated hundreds of episodes on dozens of different subjects, all of which can be found online by Google searchers.
People ultimately want to work with people they know, like and trust, and podcasting is a medium for establishing that trust. Especially when they feature in-depth conversations, podcasts make people feel more comfortable with the host or co-hosts.
So, if you’re an agency owner looking to grow a business, don’t overlook the art of podcasting. Build your platform. Get more people in your audience who know, like and trust you. Grow your brand—and have fun doing it too.
This article originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice in April 2024.
