Podcast consumption is on the rise.
With this in mind, now might be the time to start using podcasts to market your products or services.
This doesn’t always mean that you need to dedicate your time and resources to creating your own podcast. There are great ways to use podcasting to reach your target market without starting one.
That said, it’s worth noting the benefits of starting a podcast so that you can weigh all the options.
Podcasting to Market Your Products and Services
Some businesses have added podcasting to their content marketing efforts in order to become known as the go-to business for information about a particular topic that is relevant to the business’s customers and prospects.
However, the benefits of starting a podcast don’t stop there.
A recent post by Seth Resler points out some of the ways to make money by podcasting.
According to Resler, “The vast majority of money revenue generated in the podcasting space right now is made through advertisements.”
If the business has created its own podcast, the costs associated with advertising on the show should be minimal, if any.
Resler also suggests that some podcasters are using their podcasts to get movie, television, or book deals, while others are generating revenue by selling tickets to watch the podcast be recorded live or by selling merchandise to fans. If this becomes an option, your business will definitely have other opportunities beyond the podcast to reach potential customers.
Podcast Marketing Without Starting a Podcast
Don’t have enough time or staff start your own podcast? No problem.
As Seth Resler already noted, one of the most common ways for podcasters to make money is through advertisements.
This makes sense, since advertising on a podcast can be an effective way for a business to reach its target audience.
In a post written by Kate Harrison on Forbes.com, Seth Greene, author of five best-selling marketing books including Market Domination for Podcasting, points out that, “Podcasts offer advertisers the ability to hyper target.”
Greene goes on to point out that, “Research can pinpoint the podcasts that are just right for your message.”
Podcasts can also give the business a chance to reach customers on a more personal level.
If a certain podcast is of particular interest to a business’s customers and prospects, establishing a relationship with the show’s host can be a great way to connect with them. In fact, a personal recommendation from the show’s host that is woven into the show might be better than a traditional interruptive ad.
However, no matter how it is done, advertising on a podcast can help keep the show going. This is something that the business’s customers and prospects might appreciate, particularly if it is a niche show that is only of interest to a specific audience.
If the company has experts on staff who have useful information to share, getting them invited as guests on several podcasts is also a great way to get in front of the right audience. Beyond the exposure that being featured on a podcast brings, being a guest on a podcast can also provide SEO benefits.
“iTunes is a Page Rank One website, and every episode usually links back to both the show’s website and the guest’s website,” says Seth Greene in the Forbes article mentioned earlier. “Get booked on a handful of shows, with links back to your website for the right keywords, and watch what happens.”
Getting influencers to mention the business’s products or services on podcasts can also be a way to reach potential customers.
These are just some of the ways that your business can use podcasts to market its products or services and possibly make additional income in the process.
And given the increase in the number of podcast listeners, this emerging medium should only become more lucrative in the future.
Photo credit: Sergey Galyonkin on Flickr.
