I don’t believe there is a better marketing channel in 2021 than podcasting. Full stop.
It doesn’t matter what product your company is selling.
It doesn’t matter what type of market you are in.
It doesn’t matter if people around you don’t think it’s a good idea.
Creating conversations about the work you are doing and hosting guests to share their thoughts on the work they are doing is how you win the hearts and minds of your audience in 2021.
Why?
Because it’s the opportunity to let people know what you are about and what your company values.
Authenticity will always prevail.
You know that data sheet that the marketing, product, and sales team all spent a couple of weeks perfecting?
The one that talks about the latest features of your platform and how it’s going to make your prospect’s lives much easier.
It’s the same one that you are putting behind a form so you can collect leads and have your sales team follow up on it.
That data sheet and follow up doesn’t have the same sustainability as someone being introduced to your brand through a podcast.
It takes company buy-in, patience, and consistency, but the interest will mount.
You create fans with podcasts.
Fans will wear your company soft style t-shirts like a badge of honor.
Fans buy your company's product because they believe in you.
I understand this is a bit of a rant, but there’s a lot of passion behind my take here.
I know it works. I’ve seen it work. I’ve got examples of being both the consumer and the creator.
Let me tell you a story about Drift’s Seeking Wisdom Podcast.
I was at my last company when the podcast launched and I remember being in the office with the CEO. He mentioned that he’d been listening to this podcast and then I mentioned that I had been reading Drift’s blog.
I started listening to the podcast weekly and here’s what happened next:
- We got on an airplane and went to Boston to sit in a hot ass hotel conference room to attend the first ever Hypergrowth Conference hosted by Drift - even though I needed to put a Gatorade towel over my head like MJ after the third track the conference was incredible
- We purchased Drift and closed a deal with the product’s help within the first week of being a customer
- We saw so much success with the platform that we doubled down on our investment
Dave Gerhardt and David Cancel put on a masterclass of how to build a brand with that show. I’d leave each episode and just want to spend 10 minutes talking about marketing with them.
Oh yeah. I almost forgot to mention that they never talked about the Drift product
That’s some powerful sh**.
I’m the type of marketer that when something works on me and I become a fanboy of a brand I start to evaluate how I got there and then if I could remix it in the work I was doing.
It was perfect timing. We decided to go HAM (look it up on Urban Dictionary if you don’t know - defining it here might get us in B2B jail) on content at my last company. We had a product for K-12 education and decided it was a good time to start a podcast, provide a platform for educators, and listen to what they had to say.
The results were incredible.
I met a ton of amazing teachers, technology coaches, administrators, and superintendents in the process. It became easier for our team to create consistent content because we’d draft off of each episode and promote the hell out of these stories.
We were having fun. We were generating new interest for the company.
I was sold on podcasting.
When the entire world went virtual I decided to get back into Sports Cards.
I’m a collector of things that I am passionate about.
The industry had changed so much from when I was stocking up on Reggie Miller inserts that I decided to start a podcast and share what I was learning because I felt like there were other people like me out there.
40k downloads, 5,700+ IG followers later, Stacking Slabs has turned into a passion project that has far exceeded any expectations.
The podcast is consistently a top 50 download in Apple’s Hobby category on a weekly basis.
Why do people tune in?
Because I provide value, share what I am learning, and engage with my audience.💯
The Seeking Wisdom playbook...it works.
I love being real. I love sharing what I’m learning.
MOST IMPORTANTLY…..I love talking to people about topics that I am passionate about.
That’s why I am launching the 3C Podcast: Curating Content Creators on Monday.
I love being back in the marketing technology space. B2B marketers are incredible today.
So much passion.
So many ideas.
So many opportunities to distribute content to the right people at the right time.
I can’t wait to share these conversations with you.
You can subscribe on Apple and Spotify. Episode 0 is up where I talk about what the show is about.
New episodes on Monday and Friday.
Get ready.
We are just getting started.
