Have you ever wanted to create a virtual or not-so-virtual space where you could exchange ideas with others or tell the conspiracy theories that you have been thinking about during foggy nights? Many before you have thought about that, maybe some of them, or even the majority of them, were introverts who wanted to express their ideas without going out and actually speaking publicly. So within the comfort of their rooms, they started audio blogging known today as podcasting.
Some would say that podcasts are losing their popularity due to the fast development of ‘visual blogging’, but I degrees. Both of them have their benefits and aspects that attract people. Sure something that is enriched with a lot of visual stimuli is fun and engaging to watch but in the end, everything comes down to one thing- and it is the quality of the content. If the information you provide your listeners with is valuable and satisfies the demand of your audience, then you are on the right track.
There are different kinds of listeners- ones love to be able to watch people as they speak, observe their manner of communication- in short, get a full-on experience by using both visual and audial senses. But others are far more focused when listening to something instead of doing both- watching and listening. It’s a good thing then that in many cases podcasts have both versions. There are various apps where you can download podcasts- like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts, etc.
What should you consider in podcasting?
The concepts we are going to discuss now are universal applications that work in any social network: nature and quality of the content, the audience, promotion, authenticity, and patience.
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Content
Podcasts basically are long talks. They could be on various topics- some are informational- on health and fitness, food, fashion, etc.; educational- on philosophy, psychology, literature, etc.; entertaining- casual chit-chats, storytelling, and so on. In order to make others want to stay for the entirety of the podcast, you should be able to provide them with valuable and high-quality content. No boring material, no monotone storytelling. Prepare yourself mentally to be pumped up for the podcast in order to spread your ‘vibe’ and engage listeners virtually.
How distinctive is your content? There are thousands of podcast channels out there and many of them are about the same topics. You cannot avoid this. You won’t be first at something and you won’t be last. No matter which niche you choose, the competition will be pretty high. Facts and information you are going to provide people with also will more or less be the same but what makes you distinctive will be the attitude you have and your style of expression, tone of voice- basically, your authentic self. Consider other competitors but don’t be defined by them. Just think about what new stuff you are going to put on a table.
Try to look at it this way: what did your audience gain at the end of the day by listening to you? Maybe it’s a small thing- like a smile or good laugh, maybe it’s an idea planted in their head that will make them meditate on it, engage with it mentally, and therefore reach some insight. But the nature of the value depends on the characteristics of the audience and we will get on to it soon.
Now we can see at least three utterly important factors concerning the content- valuable, distinctive, and engaging.
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Audience
Focusing on analyzing the audience is a b c of anything social network-related. If there is no alignment between the audience and the content, there will be no success, no growth, no popularity, no engagement. Determine to whom your content addresses. “I’m making a podcast that is for everyone” is a hopeful but unfortunately still an unrealistic statement. Yes, you will have a particular kind of audience depending on your style and content but not everyone. We need to adjust to the fact that despite the similarities people are very different from each other and the gap between their interests sometimes is quite big. It will be much easier for you if you have an ‘avatar’- a virtual representation of a listener you are creating your podcast for. This will make your content more precise and impactful.
Remember when I mentioned patience too? Content and audience is a necessary base of the podcasts. But your channel won’t grow in just two or three weeks since your first podcast release. Gaining popularity takes time, especially if you want to build a solid “fan base”. There are some quick ways to increase the number of your podcast plays on Spotify and other platforms. This basically will help you to reach more audiences with your content in a short amount of time.
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Promoting yourself on different platforms
You should be your best marketer. Put links of your podcast on different social media platforms, share it, engage with people, the more active you are the more noticeable you will be for the algorithms that rule over the platforms.
