Everyone wants to start a podcast, but how do you make it last?
Having Rachel Corbett at State of Social ‘21 was an absolute treat, as NOVA Entertainment’s Head of Podcasts and Digital Content shared an enlightening keynote presentation on everything that is podcasting.
If you’ve been wondering just how to help your podcast grow, perhaps you should consider branded content. With branded content, it’s easier to find your brand’s powerful, personalised voice and connect and converse more deeply with your audience.
Branded podcasts can help you grow your brand, reach new audiences, and make more meaningful connections.
Let’s take a look at a few of the key takeaways from Rachel’s keynote.
Put your audience first
Here’s a piece of advice from Rachel’s keynote that applies to just about every customer/audience-facing business under the sun, not just podcast: “If you don’t have an audience, you have nothing to build on.”
Sounds pretty simple, right? But it’s something that so many people tend to forget. Without an audience, all you’re doing with your podcast is screaming into the overcrowded digital void.
Putting your audience first means listening to them, tailoring your content to their needs, and actively putting in the effort to engage with your audience.
Podcasts are not radio
One of the most common mistakes people coming from the world of radio tend to make when embarking on a new podcast endeavour is believing that everything that may have worked so well on the radio will magically work in a podcast format.
It should come as no surprise to you just how wrong those people turn out to be.
“Radio is about occupying a space. With podcasting, you’re often taking people out of where they are. It’s a very individual experience.”
There are so many reasons why podcasts are a more individual experience than radio. How people consume radio content versus podcasts is entirely different, so why would you expect the same content to work via each medium?
Focus on great content
Having topped more than one million unique listeners a month in her role as Head of Podcasts at Mamamia, to consulting for tech giants like Google, if there’s one thing Rachel knows all too well, it’s how to create great content.
As your podcast starts to gain traction and generate all sorts of social media buzz, it’s easy to lose sight of your ego and why you started a podcast in the first place.
“Be ruled by audience, not ego. Great content is made with listeners in mind.”
You shouldn’t set out to make content purely for your own benefit or financial gain. Your audience is smart, and they’ll be able to see right through it. Instead, keep your audience in mind at all times.
Before deciding on a piece of branded content, stop and ask yourself: would my audience like this? Is this something my audience is even interested in? Will my audience engage with this content?
