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Hannah Southern is all too familiar with podcasts - from her weekly listen to the Frog of the Week to her work as Discovery Lead with Discovery Podcast and an impressive client list that includes Sky News, the Economist, Stanford University and many more familiar names.
We were delighted that she joined us for a recent NAI webinar and shared her expertise on all things branded content, providing some truly fascinating and helpful insights.
While we recommend that you view the webinar (available on demand, just for you), we’ve also compiled a list of the most interesting insights that Hannah gave us.
If you’re ready to take your podcast game to the next level, or if you’re only just getting started with it and feel like you’re a newcomer to the party, we'd strongly recommend taking a listen. Podcasts are only growing in popularity, and can offer a valuable branded tool for businesses - but a successful podcast isn't guaranteed.
Building a loyal audience takes more than just excellent guests and thoughtful topics; it requires multiple strategies, creative outside the box thinking, and clever use of the latest tools to ensure your podcast has the best chance of success.
Podcasts are not a single-channel media
More than ever, podcasts are becoming a multi-channel medium. As a result of this, an audio form is not the only tool being used by those truly utilising their podcasts for their brand.
You’re probably already familiar with filmed podcasts - most likely you’ve seen them on your social media feeds. They’re one example of a multi-channel content strategy, which is how the most effective podcasts are ensuring their content reaches as far as possible.
However, it’s not as simple as just recording your podcast. A podcast that effectively uses multi-channel content forms adjusts their content accordingly based on the social media platform that is being used.
For example, Youtube and Instagram are highly visual environments where attention is short. Creating a content strategy for these formats involves ensuring your content has a hook that grabs listeners right at the beginning. In contrast, Spotify is an audio medium where listeners are more patient and require less of a ‘hook’ as they are there for an audio experience.
It’s vital to create different content strategies for different platforms, and keep a close eye on the analytics coming from each, as they will help guide and direct you towards where the audience are. Sharing clips is impactful, but so are thumbnails and other pieces of related content - anything that helps the audience move closer to the brand, even if they will only interact with podcasts through socials.
A professional studio setup gives a powerful boost
Did you know that a podcast which is professionally shot with a visual experience is twice as likely to go viral?
Remote recording just doesn’t have the same effect; clips perform much better if they come from a studio.
While that may pose difficulties for those who are limited with resources, the good news is that products such as the Virtual Studio (offered by Discovery Podcasts) provides a virtual studio setup for those who have guests who are often on the road or don’t have access to a studio. And the data shows that virtual studio clips rank as well as those recorded in real studios.
No way of accessing a studio (virtual or otherwise?) A simple ringlight and good microphone will also work wonders for making your setup look more professional and trustworthy, which encourages audience engagement.
Don't be limited by audio forms
AI is a tool that’s spoken about a lot, and it’s important for this section. AI isn’t a tool for entire branded podcast creation - but it can allow creativity forms that support podcasts and help them effectively reach their audience and stand out.
For example, some podcasts have begun to use AI-generated visual content to support the audio experience. When the audio experience has visualisations alongside it, the experience is much more captivating and creates something entirely new for your audience.
It’s likely that podcasts will be played on larger devices in future, and setting up a visual experience to match the audio one sets up companies with experience in catering to this.
Ensure the audiences that matter don't miss out
While knowing your audience is vital for any content, AI opens up new options for enabling content to reach your audience in a powerful way.
One example of this is translation - if a podcast is produced by a native English speaking studio but delves into international conflicts impacting non-english speakers, then it may be helpful to translate it. Even if the studio had their own audience in mind, it may be that the content they are producing could be helpful for other audiences.
AI tools enable this translation - but in a way where the tone, nuances, and references are correct. New audiences in different languages can receive valuable information that matches their native tone. As a result content can reach audiences that have not previously been reached in an effective way, rather than a translation that does not capture the entire experience.
5. Word of mouth is still important
Most podcasts still spread via word of mouth. The most effective podcasts know that they are marking to humans - and act effectively.
When done most effectively, this builds up a community of people who choose to interact with the podcast and willingly move closer to the brand. This goes further than just live shows; some branded podcasts have gone as far as opening up trips to listener ballots and creating holidays with a dedicated group of followers, complete with games and relevant activities.
Building a relationship with your audience is important no matter what your podcast is about, and thinking creatively can lead to some impressive results.
Even if that is outside the bounds of what is possible with the resources you have, even short podcasts can become an important ritual and part of someone’s week, and that also creates a powerful and loyal audience.
For more information about using AI tools to help with podcasts, learn more from Harry Morton of Lower Street Media in this session or learn more from Podcast Discovery.
