Are you looking for a powerful way to connect with your audience, personalize your brand, and grow your business through content marketing?
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution…
In today’s digitalworld,it’s becoming increasingly difficultfor small businesses to get noticed.
Podcasting is a relatively easy yet effective way to stand out in a crowded market. It’s currently one of the fastest-growing content forms and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
According to Edison Research, 51% of Americans (12 or older) have listened to a podcast, 32% listen to podcasts monthly, and 22% listen to podcasts weekly.
In the business world, podcasting can be an incredible marketing tool when used correctly.
Want to learn more?
In this step-by-step guide, our team at Best SEO Podcast will help you navigate podcasting for your small business.
Where is the Value to My Business?
For years, short-form content like social media and blog posts have reigned supreme as a staple of content marketing.
Today’s generation, however, seems to preferlong-form content such as podcasts.
Why might you ask?
Put simply: Podcasts are rising in popularity because millennials love convenience.
Today more than ever, people want to consume information as quick and easy as possible. Podcasts make for an ideal listen during your daily commute, while walking the dog, or in your shower.
Listening to an informative or entertaining podcast beats the radio by a long-shot.
“Podcasts make for an ideal listen to consume information quick and easy.”
Why?
Because radio rarely provides listeners with the substance and intellectual stimulation they desire.
So, how are podcasts any different? Podcasts give you a unique opportunity to reach your audience in an intimate way.
Why Podcasts?
With podcasting, industry experts can share incredible stories and everyday personal experiences with their audience in a powerfully authentic way.
Podcasting brings a ‘human-like’ quality to brands and builds a sense of familiarity and credibility over time as the audience gets to know you.
Through audio, the listener can imagine your facial expressions, hear your tone of voice, and paint a picture of your story in their minds.
It’s no surprise that most podcast listeners tend to be engaged audience members.
In fact, of those who start a podcast episode, 80% listen to all or most of it.
That’s quite a long time considering most business podcasts range from 15 minutes to an hour!
So, how does this relate to your business?
This benefits your business in a few ways:
- Get ahead of a growing content medium and stand out against your competitors
- Build essential trust, loyalty, engagement, and credibility with your target audience
- Attract new customers to your small business
- Position yourself as an authority figure on your topic
- Connect with other industry leaders in your space
- And finally, share your brand to the masses!
Step 1: Choose a niche for your podcast
Just like with blogs, there are tons of podcasts out there. So, before recording your first podcast, it’s crucial to narrow down your topic and decide on a core focus.
You want to choose a niche that is broad enough to come up with quality content ideas. Yet narrow enough to attract a specific audience interested in your topic.
If you’re indecisive about which topic you should choose, don’t worry—your not alone.
Search “Houston Texas Podcast,” alone, and you’lllikely find a podcast about almost everything under the sun!
Here at SEO 101 Podcast, we recommend asking yourself these questions to get the ball rolling:
1. What are you intensely passionate about?
Let’s assume the main reason you’re starting a podcast is to generate more traffic and leads for your business. In this case, select a category highly related to your business.
2. What is a niche I can imagine talking about for the next year? Two years? Ten years?
It’s easy to overlook this question during the planning period. Before you rush into things, keep in mind that podcasts take a lot of effort to get going.
Most people don’t realize the level of difficulty and commitment that goes into podcasting. Producing original, engaging, and exciting content every week is far from easy.
Here’s an exercise to help determine your niche.
First, grab a piece of paper and try to write down 30 different podcast title ideas.
If that was like pulling teeth–then you know it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
3. What am I skilled, or an expert at?
Before you choose a niche, remember that listeners crave expert advice.
What does this mean?
You want to position yourself as an authority figure in your niche. To do this, knowing what you’re talking about is essential.
Step 2: Determine your audience
A key component of launching a successful business SEO podcast is knowing the wants, needs, and desires of your target audience.
Here are a few questions to find your target audience:
- What is the age range of your audience?
- What are their goals & interests?
- Where do they live?
- What is your target demographic?
- The values, personality types, attitudes, interests/hobbies, or do they have?
- What needs, challenges and frustrations do they have?
- What pushes them to make purchasing decisions?
Step 3: Pick your podcast name, theme music, and cover art
So, now that you know the topic and audience of your show—Now what? Well, the good news is that the hard part is over, and now is where you get to unleash your inner creativity!
Your Podcast Name
When brainstorming a podcast name, pick something clever, catchy, and above all–memorable. Also, make sure it ranks well for SEO keywords related to your niche.
You’ll also want to secure social symmetry with your SEO podcast name.
For this, make the name of the show, the website domain, and social media handles the same.
While difficult, try to choose a name that’s available across all platforms.
This will create a sense of familiarity and consistency with your brand.
“When brainstorming a podcast name, pick something that ranks well for SEO keywords as well.”
Though tempting, try to avoid incorporating your name into the title. This tactic may work for household names like – The Joe Rogan Experience. But, if you’re an unfamiliar face, it may come off as unoriginal or boring.
Theme Music
While not a fixed rule, most podcasts incorporate intro and outro music into their podcast.
This gives their brand an extra layer of professionalism.
But, think twice before using your favorite song as your podcast intro.
Remember any music clips longer than 15 seconds is subject to copyright claims.
I know what you’re thinking…what music can I use?
Many websites provide royal free, stock, or library music you can use on your podcast.
You can also choose to hire a musician or pay a one-time fee for a song you can use it on your show.
Cover Art
If you’ve heard the phrase, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” then the same applies to your podcast cover.
The same goes for your podcast—why risk a poor first impression?
Your podcast’ cover art should catch the attention of your audience and visually showcase what your podcast is all about.
Your artwork should:
- Be eye-catching, colorful, and memorable
- Clearly, show the title of your podcast in bold letters
- Include photos the hosts (not required, but recommended)
To create your artwork, you can hire a professional cover designed for you on with content creation tools like Canva and Fiverr.com.
Step 4: Buy and set up your equipment
Although you could record a podcast with just an iPhone or laptop, we advise against it. Generally speaking, podcast listeners place a high value on professional sounding audio equipment.
- Microphones: Pro microphones are essential for your listeners to hear what you’re saying. So, consider your format and invest in an appropriate number of microphones — for example, the Rode Podcaster or the Samsung Q2U.
- Headphones: Such as the Sony MDRZH310-WQ
- Editing software: Such as the Adobe Audition CC or GarageBand for Mac users
Step 5: Determine the Format & Frequency of Your Show
Next, consider the episode format you want to use. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to structure a podcast, there are a few standard podcast formats for business podcasts:
- Interview style
- Multiple hosts
- Solo monologue
- Hybrid (some combination of the above types)
Lastly, you’ll want to decide the length episode, as well as the day/time frame of when you plan to post a new podcast. Typically, successful podcasts adhere to a strict deadline, i.e. (posting every Wednesday at midnight) to build trust and consistency with their listeners.
Step 6: Record and edit your first episode.
At last! The time has finally come to start creating your podcast episodes.
Recording your podcast is relatively simple. Recording software like Audacity and using a USB microphone can help make the process easier.
To begin, plug in your microphone to your computer, open up your software, and press record.
Once you set up your microphone and editing software, it’s time to hit the ‘Record’ button.
There’s just one problem…you freeze under pressure.
It’s during times like this where pre-scripting is a life-saver.
Script an outro, intro, and podcast outline
When we say “Script,” we more or so mean to create a general outline of the podcast to avoid any major pitfalls or nervous breakdowns.
To counter the effects of performance anxiety, plan out a 15-minute sketch beforehand with bullet points to keep you on track throughout the episode.
The last thing you want is to sound too rehearsed or robotic during your podcast. After all, that’s the complete opposite of what your audience is looking to get out of the medium.
If you’re working with a co-host, it can be helpful to go over the outline with them before showtime briefly. That way, you’ll be on the same page with your co-host.
Scripting is also a great way to prevent your conversation from veering off-topic or dragging on for longer than necessary.
Step 7: Launch and promote your podcast to the world!
Congratulations!
You’ve successfully planned, recorded, and celebrated all the hard work it took to get to this point.
Get ready to launch your new SEO podcast!
“Remain consistent after launching your podcast.”
The most important rule from this moment forward is to remain consistent. It’s so common for people to get so caught up in preparation for the first episode, that they almost forget it’s a weekly job.
However, it will soon become second nature with time. But until then, don’t let all the time and energy necessary to run a successful podcast, in the beginning, get you down. Business growth is just around the corner!
Here are a few other growth strategies you can use to connect with your audience:
- Start a Facebook Group
- Guest appear on other podcasts
- Start an email list
- Launch a Giveaway for listeners only
- Partner with additional shows to cross-promote
- Republish your podcasts to Facebook Live and YouTube
- Paid advertising for your podcast
What Are You Waiting For? Call the Best SEO Podcast Today!
Now that you’re prepped and ready to launch your successful small business podcast, why not increase your market value even further by working one-on-one with a brand expert?
Our branding practices help set your brand apart as an authority figure when compared to industry competitors.
We teach you valuable tips for navigating SEO, website analysis and development, and more.
To get started, we only need 15 minutes of your time.
Contact us today to schedule your free consultation. We look forward to helping you grow your brand with internet marketing!
Interested in learning more about personal branding? You should check out this book written by our CEO: “Build your Brand Mania” by Matt Bertram. The book will help you transform yourself into an authoritative brand and attract your ideal customers!
How to Start a Podcast for Your Small Business: The Step-By-Step Guide | Best SEO Podcast – Houston, TX