Blogging is not dead. That’s not what we are saying, what we are saying is that podcasts are the new up and coming way to reach your audience. Should you start a podcast? The simple answer is — if it fits into your overall marketing plan. If you don’t have a marketing strategy for your podcast, then you just might be spinning your wheels.
Anything you do in your business needs to fit into the overall marketing plan and strategy you have in place to grow your business and your authority.
Here are a few stats to consider about podcasting.
- They are growing in consumption and popularity
- There are more than 85 million podcast listeners in the United States. This is anticipated to continue to grow — maybe even double by 2022
- In the past month, more than 30 percent of the population has listened to a podcast
Should You Start A Podcast?
Here are some of the advantages to podcasting that you may not have anticipated or considered:
- They offer a more human connection. Your listeners can hear your voice, the nuances and that gives them more of a connection to you. Your podcast is a way for your readers/listeners/potential clients to connect with you as a human, not just words on a page.
- You can interview experts on breaking news and share your podcast with your audience. This enhances your authority and makes you a more credible source.
- When you have a podcast you have more time to share your content — this is because the listener doesn’t have to find the time to sit down and read all of the words. A blog post can be more time consuming. You can’t read a blog post while you’re driving or jogging. When you have a podcast, your listener can consume your content during the morning commute, while they’re cooking dinner or working out. A podcast is a way to connect with a listener on the go. Individuals who pride themselves on multi-tasking can listen to your podcast while they are involved in other activities.
Here are a few more podcast stats:
- Listeners consume about seven different podcasts per week
- Eighty percent of listeners will listen to the entire podcast
- Those who listen to podcasts regularly will spend more than six hours listening to podcasts… blog readers will spend fewer than forty seconds on your blog.
Look at your blog posts. Do they lend themselves to a podcast? Can you come up with a theme under which they fall? You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on equipment for your podcast — get a high quality mic, speakers and invest in editing equipment or hire someone to edit your podcast — it doesn’t have to cost a lot.
Are you podcasting? If not, why not? Do you listen to podcasts? What are your favorites? Can you see your content being of interest to listeners?