Yes, You Can Do Podcasts! Three Tips To Ensure Success

Two years ago, Virtual, Inc. launched our podcast service and it’s proven to be quite popular. We’ve successfully produced scores of podcasts helping our clients share their knowledge while expanding their audience. Whether part of a series or a standalone episode, podcasts can be a very useful marketing tactic for membership recruitment, overall awareness, advocacy, or even just the opportunity for your CEO to share some friendly advice. Podcasting can help achieve these objectives and lots more! Here are the top three things we’ve learned that help maximize the impact and value of your podcast.

Promotion and distribution is key.
Getting your podcasts to the right audience and having people listen, well, the secret to success is all in the promotion and distribution – across multiple platforms. Apple’s iTunes is at or near the top of the list but there are many other platforms such as Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc. that you should upload your podcast. At Virtual, we use Anchor, which automatically uploads your podcasts to multiple platforms and provides basic analytics. And, don’t forget to promote on your website and post on YouTube. Having the right platform so your audience can access anywhere will boost engagement and increase listenership. Hear how one of our clients, Sports Lawyers Association, has been utilizing podcasts to help with the understanding, advancement, and ethical practice of sports law on iTunes.

Get your podcasts sponsored.
Podcasts take time, effort, and resources. However, they have a lot of value. So, why not create a sponsorship package around your next podcast to generate some non-dues revenue? Podcast sponsorships are worth every penny and can be successful.

Podcasts help reach a wider and more diverse audience.
Promoting your podcast on social media is easy and can help you reach a wider and sometimes younger demographic. It can also support new membership recruitment efforts too. Be sure to highlight your podcast topic with a 10-second audio clip or partial transcript to entice your audience into listening. From LinkedIn and Instagram to Twitter and Facebook, not only can you extend your podcast’s reach but engage your audience while driving traffic to your organization.

These are just a few things we’ve learned about the benefits of podcasts.