The Essential Dos and Don’ts of Podcasting

Podcasts are a brilliant way to capture the attention of a global audience and tell your business’s brand story. As our client testimonials show, if done properly as part of an integrated social marketing strategy, podcasting can benefit your business in the following ways:

• Position your business as an expert with informative, well-researched episodes.
• Engage the millions of commuters listening in their car or from a mobile device while travelling to and from work daily.
• Boost brand awareness.
• Establish brand loyalty and trust.

Based on our experience in providing podcasting and blogging services, we’ve compiled our top dos and don’ts for creating a podcast that will bring all the benefits listed above and more.

Dos of podcasting

• Plan ahead: Before launching, identify your target audience and carefully outline as many episodes as possible in advance to attract precisely the listeners you want.
• Be specific: To keep your target audience’s attention, your podcast should focus on one specific topic rather than being broad; for example, focus on the topic of building muscle rather than the umbrella theme of fitness.
• Edit: Make sure to edit out static and background noise, and check your speaking volume.
• Remember keywords: Keywords are essential for driving traffic to your podcast, so podcast descriptions should be concise and straightforward, filled with relevant keywords and ID3 tags to optimise searchability.
• Keep ‘em coming: Your podcast should be launched with at least three to four available episodes. A new episode should then be released each week.

Don’ts of podcasting

• Don’t sidestep the directories: Sharing your podcast on social media profiles isn’t enough. To gain a sizeable audience, you need to submit your podcast to the major directories like iTunes, Blubrry and Stitcher.
• Don’t limit your OSes: While iTunes is arguably the largest directory, it shouldn’t be your only subscription option, as this can make it difficult to download your podcast onto devices with an Android or Blackberry OS.
• Don’t neglect visuals: Your podcast’s cover image should be eye-catching and reflect the podcast’s theme. Professional, attention-grabbing artwork will also enhance the credibility of your podcast.
• Don’t cut it short: Podcasts should be meaty enough to get listeners hooked, so episodes generally shouldn’t be shorter than 20 minutes.
• Don’t forget a call to action: Remember to invite your listeners to visit your business’s website, join your email list or follow your social media profiles; otherwise, you’re wasting a major part of the marketing power of podcasting.

To learn more about how our podcasting and blogging services could benefit your business, contact us today.