With podcasts rising in popularity, it’s a great time to broaden your horizons and dive into the audio world. Consumers turn to podcasts for entertainment, business advice, self-help, and personal growth.
1. It grows your audience
If you have the time to commit to creating audio content, it is a great way to grow your audience. People are loyal to their favorite podcasts and share it with friends and coworkers. Publishing your podcast on popular platforms like iTunes or Spotify increases your exposure, which brings in new listeners who you might not have captured through social media, email list, or blog. This is huge for small business owners because it creates a dialogue between you and your customers, brings you new clients, and ultimately improves your bottom line.
2. To provide value & be seen as an expert
Not only will you expand your network, you will provide quality content for your existing audience. You can also bring on guests and experts who can provide insight into topics you might not normally cover. Publishing quality content consistently is the best way to establish yourself as the authority in your industry. With every episode, you are increasing your credibility. And if you’re bringing on fellow locals, it can increase their brand awareness, credibility, and profit margin as well.
3. Podcasts are convenient
Most of the people in our audience are multitasking. We are no longer devoting all of our attention to one task. If you make audio content, it can be consumed while your listener is driving, cooking, cleaning, exercising, or mowing the lawn because podcasts can be taken anywhere.
4. Low barrier to entry
You don’t need much to get started - just a microphone, headset, and a pop filter. You can find all of that on Amazon for less than $150! Alternatively, you can rent the Firehouse Podcast Studio for $15/hour. The studio has everything you will need, so you don’t have to worry about finding a quiet space, the quality of audio, or storing equipment. Learn more here.
5. Extra income
Sure, you can host a podcast just for fun, but there are plenty of ways to make money from your show: sponsorships, promoting your own products and services, and affiliate links.
6. Better SEO (including Voice search)
Podcasting can be a huge help with search engine optimization (SEO). Voice search is on the rise and is about to be top dog of SEO. Most platforms not only allow you to use your voice to search for videos and podcasts, but they are now analyzing those pieces of audio to find content within it.
7. Low maintenance
Some hosts publish episodes daily, but publishing episodes once per week is plenty to keep your audience informed and engaged. You can publish an episode in just 2-4 hours of time each week.
8. Shareable and consumable content
We live in a world of short-form content. Social media stories are 15 seconds long, tweets are 140 characters, reels are 30 seconds, and most videos are less than 2 minutes. Publishing a podcast allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Bonus: Podcasts are shareable, which means more eyes (or ears) on your business! Double bonus: Podcasts can be listened to over and over again.
9. Repurpose content
If you already have a blog, YouTube channel, or large social media following, you can repurpose your existing content into audio, allowing you to reach listeners who prefer audio over other forms of media.
10. It’s easy and fun
You may think it’s complicated to get started, but the setup is minimal, the maintenance is low, it’s inexpensive, and it’s fun!
It’s no wonder podcasts are having a moment. They build trust, allow you to connect with your audience on a personal level, increase brand awareness, and help you reach brand new potential customers. Podcasts are the new blogs. Get started with this portable, on-demand technology today! Check out our Podcast Studio here.