“My ICP won’t come on a podcast.”
It’s something we hear regularly and while it’s a fair thought, it likely isn’t the case.
Let’s start with a little background.
Our business, Motion, runs a well-respected B2B podcast – Tech Qualified. On Tech Qualified we bring on CMO’s and Heads of Marketing from B2B tech companies to talk about what they’re seeing in the space. In addition to running the podcast, we also sell podcast services. So, we run a podcast for ourselves and provide podcast services to others.
A common thing we hear is “Well, your podcast is for CMO’s. We marketers LOVE to talk. My ICP is [insert cyber security professional, healthcare, data, AI professional here] and they just can’t come on. Too much risk for them, they just won’t do it.”
This simply is not true.
First and foremost and before I get into specific examples, let’s just look at marketing as a whole. Content marketing is being done in all of those industries. Whether it’s webinars, blog posts, speaking engagements at events – people are talking about their space. There is no industry (at least that I know of) that is too secretive to put out content marketing. And likely if a company says “we can’t do content marketing” then someone else will and they’ll become the thought leader of the space.
Now, let’s go to ego. Podcasts are a way to pump up your ICP’s ego and people have egos in every walk of life. Whether it’s a systems admin, a CISO, a healthcare worker… People like to be recognized for their work. People like to speak on stage. People like to be top-of-class and show off what they know.
And if they can’t come on a podcast behind the logo of their company, invite them to represent themself and do a story on them as an individual! There are always workarounds and it’s your job as a marketer to create content with the very folks within your ICP. As Tristan Pelligrino, Co-Founder of Motion, said recently in a video he put on LinkedIn “To do marketing well… you have to talk to your prospects and customers every single week.”
Let’s move onto some actual truth to the matter. There already are podcasts in extremely specific, data-protected spaces. The thought that certain industries can’t do them is frankly just not true. Here is a list of 4 very specific podcasts that easily could’ve said “Our ICP won’t come on” but instead decided to push forward and make it happen.
CRISPR Cuts by Synthego – A podcast dedicated to the world of genome engineering. “We aim to educate scientists and non-scientists about CRISP gene editing.”
Rebank: Banking the Future – A fintech podcast for the banking industry that reports on trends within the financial technology space.
Real World Talk by COTA – A podcast that brings together healthcare leaders to discuss the importance of real world data in accelerating drug development and improving cancer care.
The Cybrary Podcast – A podcast where industry leaders and professionals from all aspects of cybersecurity give insight into how they got where they are today.
So that’s genome engineering, cyber security, financial technology and real world data for improving cancer care. While I know every industry is different, I think those go to show that with a little gumption, you can make a podcast in just about any niche.
People are looking to speak on their expertise. They enjoy it. Use that medium to get yourself in touch with the very people you should be speaking with.
Here are four approaches you can take if you have concerns as to whether or not your ICP would be willing to come on a podcast:
Look to see if there are other podcasts in your niche
Podcasts are a relatively new medium and your competitors might be already running one, leveraging the exact people you’d want to be talking to.
Do some research and see if there are any out there. You’d be surprised. B2B podcasts are popping up every day. It may just be on their website or a microsite. Look around and see what you can find.
If you find that your competitors are doing a podcast, that’s not a bad thing and shouldn’t dissuade you from doing your own. Most industries now have a few podcasts that are spearheading the way. They have different twists and takes and lots of times feature similar guests.
This is as much a content marketing tool as it is a networking tool. It’s okay if there are others. And it’s also okay if there’s not. Which takes me to the next point!
The Tech Qualified podcast provides B2B technology marketers with access to real world case studies and best practices. We interview industry leaders to uncover what is working in the world of B2B technology marketing.
Look to see if there are webinars or blogs in your space
If there aren’t podcasts currently in your space (other than this being a big opportunity for your business), then go look to see if people are doing webinars or even writing blogs.
Spoiler: They are.
The point is, content marketing is happening in your industry and with your ICP and a podcast is just another form of that. It’s just not viewed that way (yet), because it’s new.
The moral of the story is that podcasts can and will happen in your space, it’s just a matter of who’s going to be running them.
Get your ideal customers on your podcast, not as a representative of their company
As I mentioned above, one of your concerns may be that your ICP may not be able to get the go-ahead from their organization to appear on your show or that they could, but there would be a lot of red tape.
Then remove the tape.
Have them come on and talk about themselves and their expertise. Don’t mention their company. You can make this an expose on them and have them talk about their history in the space, things they’ve done and just leave the company out of it.
Again, it’s a combination of two things: content marketing and networking. You want a chance to sit down with them and you want to create content. You don’t necessarily need to mention their business by name to make either one happen.
Use insights from internal experts or industry influencers first, then target your ideal customer
If you are completely dead-set that your ICP won’t come on a podcast, then start out without them. Do interviews with internal or external subject matter experts. Interview industry influencers and/or competitors.
Have an industry podcast that helps to teach the people in your space.
And here’s my guess: If your podcast is good enough, the people within your ICP are going to want to come on.
Written by Justin Brown
Justin is the Co-Founder of Motion. With a background in Marketing, Communications and Sales, Justin brings a wealth of experience working with some of the world’s fastest growing B2B tech companies. After steering a video production company into the Inc. 5000 as the Head of Sales and Marketing, he started Motion where he now helps build marketing strategies for some of the most innovative B2B tech companies in the country. You can find him on LinkedIn.
