In the competitive world of B2B, powerful communication is essential to attract prospects and build customer loyalty. The brand podcast has become a “must-have” for reinforcing the communication of a B2B brand. It offers a unique opportunity for companies to share their expertise and create strong links with their audience.
Why create a brand podcast to boost your B2B communications?
Their growing popularity is testament to their effectiveness. There has been a 23% increase in the number of listeners in just one year (source: 2021 IAB report).
What’s more, 54% of podcast listeners are more likely to consider a product or service after hearing about it on a podcast (Edison Research study). Podcasts also increase traffic to a company’s website, with 75% of listeners visiting a brand’s site after hearing about it in a podcast (Podcast Insights).
These figures illustrate the positive impact of podcasts on B2B communications. They raise brand awareness, position the brand as an authority in its field and influence purchasing decisions.
How do you create podcasts for B2B?
1/ Strategy :
The definition of your strategy should be based on three questions: For whom? Who? Why?
For whom: This may seem obvious, but it’s essential to decide who your target audience is. Are you talking to your existing customers, or are you targeting a new audience?
First of all, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of the target audience for your podcasts. Accurately identifying the demographic, interests and needs of the audience will enable you to design content that is relevant and engaging.
Why: Do you want to build customer loyalty? Recruit new ones? Or promote your employer brand?
Defining your objectives is crucial to determining the right tone and editorial line.
How do you do it? Once the target audience and strategy have been clearly identified, it’s time to define how podcasts will enable you to achieve your objective.
This means choosing the format and the number of episodes because, obviously, there’s no point in creating a single episode if you want to create brand preference and engagement.
There are different types of format: narrative interviews, portraits of employees, audio reports, micro-trotters, round-table discussions, etc. It’s up to you to choose what best suits your brand message.
You will also need to define the tone of your content, the right speakers and determine the key messages to be conveyed.
2/ Designing a sound charter :
Often overlooked, creating a distinctive sound identity for your podcasts is a key element in the success of your content.
Imagine an original sound charter, including intro credits, carpet loops, sound commas and end credits, perfectly aligned with the company’s identity and values.
So these sound items must serve to capture the listener’s attention, make the brand more memorable and add dynamism.
3/ Registration
Creating engaging podcasts requires meticulous management of the technical details involved in recording, mixing and post-production.
It is necessary to ensure that the sound quality is optimal to capture and maintain the audience’s attention. 3 components are essential:
- Equipment (microphone, preamp, sound card, etc.) to record in the best possible conditions
- The software suite for processing, cleaning, editing and mixing your audio files
- The acoustics of the room in which you are going to record
Mixing is a crucial stage that involves balancing the volume and effect of each audio track. It involves harmoniously blending the different voices, music, sound effects and other elements to create a final sound that is balanced and pleasing to the ear.
Mastering is the final stage of production, where the final sound is fine-tuned to professional quality. This involves adjusting volume levels, equalisation, compression and limiting to ensure that the podcast sounds consistent and up to industry standards.
4/ Distribution and monitoring
You’ve produced a superb first episode, now you need to make sure it reaches your audience.
There are a number of sites where you can upload your podcasts to all the platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcast, YouTube, etc.) in just a few clicks.
Like all content, your podcast needs to be widely distributed so that it is heard by your target audience, taking advantage of all your digital communication channels: social networks, website, newsletters, blog, etc.
Regularly share links to episodes with attractive visuals and engaging descriptions. Use relevant hashtags to increase the reach of your publications and encourage not only your audience but also your employees to share this content with their networks.
Newsletters are an excellent way of keeping your audience informed about new episodes. Include previews of upcoming episodes in your newsletters and encourage your audience to subscribe to the podcast so they don’t miss any updates.
By tracking broadcast statistics such as the number of listens, click-through rates and social network interactions, you can assess the impact of your podcasts and adjust your broadcast strategy accordingly. Stay tuned to your audience’s comments and reactions so that you can continue to improve your podcasts.
By using these distribution channels and carefully monitoring performance, you can maximise the success of your podcasts, strengthening your brand’s B2B communications.
Podcasting, alone or with others?
Creating engaging podcasts is a complex challenge for a company without the necessary expertise, technical means and resources.
Creating a quality podcast requires both technical and creative skills, and you’ll need a good dose of self-criticism and perseverance, because recording yourself is no easy task, even for extroverts!
That’s why calling in a specialist agency is the best way to ensure the success of your podcasts.
These agencies will be able to support you from the initial idea stage right through to delivery of the final product. They usually have dedicated studios and can put you at ease during the recording.
Do you have a podcast project to raise your brand’s profile? Shall we talk about it?
