Episode Summary
Are we living in the golden age of podcasting Many will say Yes because it seems like it has never been easier to launch a podcast But starting and growing a podcast are two different things Luckily there are people specialized in helping companies create successful podcasting stories One of them is Mark Asquith
Mark is the CEO co-founder of Captivatefm and on a mission to help podcasters grow their audience Mark and our host Tristan talk about the most significant challenges brands face when launching a podcast As our host explains marketing teams focus on building brand awareness but it all boils down to content when it comes to podcasting Of course you want customers to get to know your products or services but a podcasts purpose is to build trust and develop long-term relationships
If you want your podcast to be a success you need to offer something consumers can align with or at least something entertaining that will make them want to come back You also need to be adaptive and open to change So again go to people that consume your content and ask for feedback it will be the best indicator of whether the change is necessary
Another thing Mark and Tristan discuss is the increasing popularity of private podcasting So if you want to find out more about the podcasting space new trends and the most effective ways to launch and grow your podcast tune in to this episode of Recorded Content
Guest Profile
Name: Mark Asquith
What he does: Mark is the CEO co-founder of Captivatefm
Company: Captivatefm
Noteworthy: Mark Asquith is a content marketer specializing in successful entrepreneurship startups and building global marketing agencies He is also a TEDx and Harvard speaker
Key Insights
- Podcasting is about alignment As Mark explains marketing departments are usually focused on building awareness which is good because the goal is getting in front of customers eyes However if you want to use podcasting to connect with users you need to go beyond your business offer and provide high-quality content you need to give them something they can align with If you look at someone like PrettyLittleThing I cant remember who does that podcast like its just content Its content is great Its entertaining content And what it does is it positions PrettyLittleThing in brand alignment It puts me there with them
- Whats the catalyst for changing my podcast Mark says if engagement is going down and downloads are going up its time for a change However he also emphasizes the importance of asking for feedback before making any specific move Ask people to give you feedback analyze that feedback Not quantitative stuff not feel-good stuff qualitative deep-dive paragraphs of texts from people Analyze it and if things come out then change it But if youre getting bored thats probably a good sign that you should keep going because youve done it enough to be pretty good at it
- Private podcasting is intimate but also surprising Exclusivity may be the best word to describe private podcasting It gives additional value to consumers by allowing them access to content strictly produced for them It is almost like having the chance to connect informally with people you never imagined you could get in touch with So imagine one of your brands Yo whats up this is me Im the CMO of JP Morgan Chase Heres the new product that were rolling out And Im being interviewed by the person who also developed that product It doesnt have to be an informal drop-in but it can be surprising access to people that you would ordinarily not think you would get access to
- At the point youre getting bored with it youre probably just getting good at it
Episode Highlights
IS 2021 THE GOLDEN YEAR OF PODCASTING
Its been the golden year of podcasting since I got into podcasting Someone said that to try and sell something which is not a bad thing thats how sales work I suppose a less cynical mind might say Well of course its the golden year because last year was the most golden year up till that point and this years got better Thats the nice optimists view All joking aside Ive been a little bit flippant in there I am an optimist when it comes to podcasting because I love it Id still be doing it even if I didnt work out
In peoples minds the golden age is often equivalent to a gold rush which is very different So Im always saying that with the best intentions which are to set some quality expectations and help people understand what it means to be a podcaster and create a brand in podcasting So of course its the best time that podcasting has ever had but dont confuse that with a gold rush
THE REASON BRANDS STRUGGLE WITH PODCASTING IS ALMOST LIKE A SMALL BUSINESS WITH SEO
So a small business with SEO what they want to do is they think I need more sales I need more traffic I need more exposure and I need more awareness and attention And everyone says I should be doing SEO So I do SEO and it doesnt work because understandably the O in SEO is optimization which ergo points to the fact that its an ongoing thing You cant optimize something thats a one-time thing Its a continual incremental and measurable path to more results So thats how small businesses stop doing SEO They invest whatever their budget is and then they put an unrealistic deadline on it and it fails
Podcasting to me is a similar thing in the branded space A lot of the time again cynical Mark coming out someone in the marketing team wants a pat on the back that day wants that pair of eyes Maybe theyre coming up for a review in three months I want to be the person that thinks about podcasting for our brand Brilliant Sounds good What can I do Well its the golden age Everyones doing it PrettyLittleThing is doing it Starbucks is doing it Why arent we doing it Crap lets do it I want to do some benchmarks All right fine Ill do all that stuff So the marketing person gets the podcast started all well and good nice and easy Then the ROI doesnt come And its because they do not measure it properly anyway They dont have an ecosystem of metrics that theyre trying to push forward
AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION IS A THING THAT PODCASTING CAN DO BEST
A lot of the time much of the marketing spend for a brand will go into the awareness category which does a number of things It will position the brand It will tell the story of the brand It will sell the aspirations of the brand So when you think about podcasting for me its all about storytelling and positioning Weve got a very strong chance to elicit emotions with audio You and I could chat now and we could get angry we could cry we could laugh We could make other people laugh
One of the unfortunate things is that a lot of marketing departments in my view dont want to put that level of effort into adding the connection Theyve got their brand guidelines Theyve got their marketing strategy for the year All they need to do is get numbers So what they do is they forget that the content is the thing that will convert those numbers to something else engagement interaction whatever the goal is
A GOOD TIME TO CHANGE IS WHEN ENGAGEMENT ISNT COMING
I would also posit that a good time to change is when downloads are going up because were talking branded podcasts here Were not talking about selling sponsorships Do you want to sell a CPM model Fine all well and good Put your numbers up engagement saw it doesnt matter if youre selling CPM but for us in the branded space it does
So if our numbers are going up but our engagements either plateau or are going down somethings not right So thats the first indicator Another trigger is when you put in a lot of time producing the content but things are diminishing returns That old classic in podcasting where its like Well numbers arent going up do you know what we should do We should do more podcasts because thats what people tell us to do Do double episodes youll get double downloads I dont know who thought of that Its crazy So the thing to consider with this is doing more is a perpetual cycle of diminishing returns It normally leads to less
PRIVATE PODCASTING IS VERY MUCH IN ITS INFANCY
Its used for creative support which is great Captivate is about to launch paid-for private podcasts into paid-for audio memberships and so on to allow people to choose their distribution platform and channel and manage it all from within their hosting platform
Thats what private podcasting is seen as right now You provide a great show and I want to get exclusive stuff Sweet I give you five bucks a month ten bucks a month Then theres also the branded side of things like the enterprise style stuff where its like heres podcast internally
It will allow you to make people feel like they are a part of something very specific that they are part of something that only they get to be a part of because theyve taken that action and become a part of your belief system and your product ecosystem So its not hard Arguably this is the easiest time for podcasting
