For marketers who are looking for new marketing plans to double their marketing ROI in 2021, podcasts can prove to be a great answer. It is not uncommon for technology companies and even other companies across industries today to run regular (and successful!) podcasts to garner new audiences. For marketing teams who already have podcasts running since a while as part of their core marketing plans, a few best practices might come in handy to focus on improving podcasting ROI in 2021!

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For those marketers who are still toying with the idea of starting their own podcast channel, there are several reasons for them to take the plunge and start now!

A Few Proven Benefits of Having your Own Podcast!

• Podcasts Complement Your Blog and Content Plans: Marketing teams, even tech start-ups know by now that they cannot do without an active blog that follows a core strategy to help define what kind of information and articles would show on it. In today’s business environment, too much textual information and content is not the best way for marketing teams to build brand image and presence. There is a growing need for use and implementation of more interactive content (like podcasts) that can complement the core blogs and content of the company!
• Helps Reach new Audiences, a lot faster and moreover, helps reach the RIGHT audience: Most successful podcasters who use podcasting as part of their marketing strategies usually do so with the aim of inviting potential partners / vendors and even customers of their brand to join in a podcast chat! This plan itself helps marketers and podcasters use the channel to not only reach new audiences that are good for business but also, to reach the right audience base, whom they can either eventually partner with or sell to!
• Podcasts are Easy to Consume: Podcasts are usually published in audio or audio-video formats and are usually recorded as an interaction between a key speaker and one interviewee or a panel of speakers. This interaction is easy to consume and listeners have the flexibility to listen to podcasts on-the-go, at their leisure over a weekend, for instance. It is never as time consuming as reading through a long form article! A recent online study indicated that while upto 49% of podcast listening happens at home, 22% happens while driving while 8% happens even while exercising!
• Podcasts can Create a Good and Long-term Brand Image: In today’s business-to-business and technology marketplace, several leading providers have built successful podcasts to the end that many tech companies are now known for their brand podcasts. Account-based Marketing provider Terminus for instance runs a successful podcast via Co-founder Sangram Vajre called the FlipMyFunnel Podcast, SalesLoft runs a successful podcasting channel called ‘’Hey Salespeople’’ in which modern sales people are brought on for informative sales tips and chats.
  

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There are in fact numerous benefits to podcasting today. While one part of the challenge lies in creating a strong framework and building out a long-term podcast plan, the other lies in ensuring the right practices (and podcasting platforms!) are put in place to ensure long-term ROI from your podcasting efforts. 

Here are a few top best practices that every marketer should consider when strengthening their podcast plan (or even building out their initial podcast plan!)

• Measuring the Right Podcast Metrics: Just like your blog content, your podcast episodes can’t run without understanding what works and what doesn’t for your target audience or target listeners. Similarly, while a podcast strategy is being put in place or an existing podcast plan is being strengthened for better ROI, it is crucial for marketers to evaluate what exactly matters to the business based on their initial podcast goal -> the answer to Why Was The Podcast Started in The First Place? If a marketing team plans to launch a podcast to use the channel to effectively reach new customers and convert them, a good metric to measure would include -> how many podcast participants agreed to a next meeting with the company, did the sales and marketing teams use a plan thereafter to move the participating interviewee into their buying journey (and how). For marketers who run podcasts to use it to rank higher in their category or search listings, metrics like listeners-per-episode and cumulative subscribers will matter more.
• Every Podcast needs to have a Plan Aligned to Business Revenue: There are various ways to run a podcast, some technology companies may have rich post-production processes in place to add jingles or musical introductions to their podcast episode. Some companies may choose to simply do a natural recording and re-purpose the file with minimum edits to use as a podcast episode. Either way, podcasts can cost more than blogs to run and maintain! While it is crucial to keep the cost of your podcast production low, it is also more crucial than ever to align your podcasting plan to a core business revenue goal. Sales leaders who run podcasts for instance will ensure they use the channel to not only build stronger customer relationships, they will use it to warm up prospects who have gone cold or to start interactions with those that need a stronger lead nurturing plan. This core goal is what helps align your podcast to an eventual central revenue goal.
• Every Podcast Needs to Have a Core Theme: If you look at some of the technology world’s most successful podcasts, most follow a core theme: SalesLoft’s ‘’Hey Salespeople’’ reviews and shares interesting sales discussions and sales tips. Marketers who want to use their podcast to boost overall marketing ROI and brand presence also need to identify and maintain a core podcasting theme to help define the meaning of the podcast (will it cover trending content marketing tips, for instance) or will it be based on “marketing flaws to avoid in tech”? This will also help strengthen the right branding and name for the podcast for the long term.
• Without an end-to-end Podcast Marketing plan, your podcast is of no value: While there are several benefits to having your own podcast channel, like everything in life, there are a few drawbacks as well! One of the biggest drawbacks -> podcasts take time to do and it takes time to publish regular episodes unless you have a dedicated team behind it. While this is a challenge successful podcasters have managed to overcome, one of the biggest flaws in podcasting today revolve around no concrete end-to-end marketing plan for the podcast. Is it being shared regularly via the company’s newsletter? Is the podcast being shared and promoted on social media? Are the team members responsible for it ensuring the podcast channel is growing in terms of listeners? Is each episode repurposed as a blog content to add more marketing value in terms of search and content rankings? All of these are important aspects to consider for ensuring better ROI from your podcasting efforts!

A Quick End Note

Podcasting is here to stay. With customers and users demanding more audio and video content, one of the best ways for marketers to meet this trend is by creating a strong podcasting model or strengthen their existing one. At the end of the day, every marketing team has to build a flexible podcasting plan that can add value to online users and their own business, but also one that can be revised or pivoted overnight when needed. Podcasts have become very commonplace in the tech market today. Now is the time to be creative, use the right podcasting tricks and capitalize on this trend for overall marketing benefit!

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