If you’re wanting to start a podcast in the manufacturing industry, there are some key fundamentals you shouldn’t overlook. If you’re wanting to succeed in the podcasting space, you’ve got to be innovative, diverse and you’ve got to have a strategy in place. After all, if you’re putting in lots of hard work - you want to reap the benefits you deserve.
Creating your own podcast can help you build brand authority, position your brand as a thought-leader in your industry, boost audience engagement and SO much more. If you’re ready to adapt your content marketing strategy and utilise the real power of podcasting - we’re going to cover everything you need to know in this post.
We’ll cover:
- The benefits of creating your own podcast
- Concept
- Naming a podcast
- Format
- Equipment
- Consistency
- Promotion
The benefits of creating your own podcast
Creating a podcast can open up many opportunities within your industry and it can bring some incredible benefits in the long term. Especially if you're wanting to engage new customers, grow in your industry and become a thought leader.
Creating your own podcast can also bring exciting new collaborations - whether you choose to have expert guests on your podcast or your podcast starts conversations amongst your audience. There's so many opportunities to grab hold of and the more experienced you become, the more opportunities become available.
Another BIG bonus of creating your own podcast is building vital brand authority. If you're creating valuable content for free without expecting anything in return, your audience will naturally gravitate towards your services and audience engagement will be increased.
Another great aspect of podcasting is educating your audience. The more educated your audience is about your niche or your services, the more likely they’ll be to make decisions, convert into customers during the sales process and they’ll feel confident with your visions.
We love podcasts at Red-Fern and some of our favourites do podcasting VERY well. They’re engaging, memorable, informative and they’re thought-led. Not forgetting, they always spark lasting conversations.
Ted Talks Daily challenges our perspectives and pushes the boundaries of learning - it’s a daily episode too. Also, the six-part podcast series from Team Tempest partners, Royal Air Force, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Rolls Royce and MBDA is a worthy listen for the next generation of engineers.
But where do you begin when it comes to strengthening your podcast ideas and making them happen? Well, in our top five tips we'll cover everything you need to know.
Concept
What's the purpose of your podcast? What value are you adding to your industry? What are you trying to achieve? And most importantly, who is your target audience? As soon as you have these fundamentals considered and planned, you're in good stead for a successful podcast strategy.
Defining your niche and industry will ensure you're providing value in the right areas. Having a theme for your podcast will allow you to tailor your strategy and podcast name accordingly. Try not to think too broadly, although you want your niche to have many content capabilities you don't want to be too broad that you're unrelatable and non-related to your target audience. You can always expand your topic as your podcast grows.
Top tip: choose five topics you would like to fall underneath. Try and shorten them down to one and see how many content ideas you can slot under that one category. The niche that has the most passion and creativity behind it generated from your ideas - is the one to choose.
Naming a podcast
Naming your podcast is so important - it's the first thing people recognise, it's what stays in the listener's mind and it's also a brand name that will represent your business and its content. When choosing your name, don't restrict your capabilities. There's no point creating great content if the name of your podcast is unrelated or not memorable.
You might want to include some keywords that your audience is looking/searching for, you might want to use your company name or you might want to experiment with being creative and memorable. The more creative you are, the more memorable your podcast will be - FACT.
Top tip: make sure you're not claiming someone else's podcast - ensure you search the web and the various platforms podcasts can be accessed on. Also, be careful with long podcast names and keyword stuffing. iTunes/Apple podcasts don't approve of long podcast names and can cut off your vital information. Be short, snappy and creative.
Format
The format of your podcast will vary depending on the niche you're operating in, your target audience and your proposed outcomes for the podcast. Although it's useful to have a consistent format for all your episodes to build familiarity in your audience, you don't have to stick to it each time - it just depends on the subject matter.
If you don’t know where to start when it comes to formatting a podcast, a great starting point is to familiarise yourself with the different types of podcasts. Are you doing this solo or are you wanting to involve a team? Either way, there’s almost a solution for each podcast and category.
Different podcast formats:
The solo podcast
As the name suggests, this is usually hosted by one person. This podcast is slightly more simplified to other podcast formats, the editing is a little easier and there's only one voice that needs to be recorded. However, this type of podcast does require talent from the host. It needs to sound natural, uplifting and exciting. Remember, people, tune in to podcasts to hear them speak - not read off a script.
Co-hosted podcast
This type of show usually develops organically and is between two people. This type of podcast allows more room for fun and it's also more conversational. It's also a bonus that the workload of presenting is divided between two people. It’s important that both presenters have chemistry when talking to ensure it’s an easy listening experience.
Interviews
This is a great choice if your podcast requires expert input. This podcast format needs to have a good host who can interview correctly and effectively for optimised engagement. This format also requires the constant need for new guests, but once that's confirmed, your podcast could be sought-after. Out of all the formats for podcasts, this is the most favoured because it’s multifaceted, it can create some great informative outcomes and additional exposure is guaranteed if the podcast guest shares the episode with their audience.
The panel show
This can be great for podcasts that need to include more than two people. This podcast format can be good for almost any audience and category. But the dynamics, points of view and presenters need to work together correctly to ensure your podcast is engaging and thought-led. This type of podcast can be tricky to navigate but if all hosts pull their weight - it can be a very rewarding option and entertaining too!
Top tip: have a think about what your audience would benefit from the most. Are you wanting to give your audience exclusive insights into the industry by interviewing experts? Or are you wanting to share your own expertise individually? Whatever decision you make, ensure your target audience is at the forefront of your vision.
Equipment
Your podcast equipment will directly affect the sound quality so it's important to consider your available budget for equipment. As long as you have a laptop, access to the internet and a microphone, you're good to go. However, the more limited and lower the cost of the equipment, the limited the sound quality will be of the show.
But fear not, you could always rent out a podcast space, borrow equipment, source equipment secondhand or choose to invest in the equipment for long-term success.
After the podcast is created, you’ll need to edit your recording with specialist software. Whether you choose to download a program or get an expert team to help - editing is where the magic happens. You might want to include a pre-recorded intro, you might want to add music or you might want to add teasers at the beginning to entice excitement and listenership.
Either way, choosing the right editing software will ensure great success. HubSpot has created a great guide to help you choose the right software. Research, experiment and choose the right one for your podcast goals.
Consistency
Want to stay in the listeners mind? Want to leave customers wanting more? Be consistent. Don't be flakey and create a podcast whenever you want. Drill down a schedule, have a plan in place and be strategic about your posting times and days. If you want to build a meaningful relationship with your customers and audience, consistency is key when it comes to having a podcast.
If you set time aside to schedule your podcasts ahead of time, your content will always be top quality and you won't need to rush anything. Quality over quantity is a must but if you're organised, you'll have the best of both worlds.
Top tip: before you release your podcasts, try and have a few recorded and prepared already. That way, you're ahead, you'll give yourself some buffer time to be creative and you'll feel more confident with your content. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Promotion
Promotion is KEY and cannot be pushed to the side. How do you expect to get in front of your prospects? Well, with some promotion, you'll be more likely to reach the right audiences. Promote your podcast as much as you can - across social media, via your company's email list, via PR features and try and internally link it throughout your other content/
Also, if you have special guests on your podcast, request that each guest promotes the episode on their channels too. The more outreach, the better. Think about the myriad of platforms you have and tailor your promotion tactic accordingly.
On Instagram, you could share teasers of the podcast for increased engagement. On LinkedIn you could share some key stats or thought-provoking content that was mentioned in the podcast and on Twitter, you could share a soundwave graphic. The possibilities are endless, use the myriad of platforms out there and promote as if your life depends on it.
Top tip: the people in your team are great brand advocates so use them to your greatest capabilities. Get them to share the content with their audiences too and utilise the different platforms you have.
Are you ready to connect with your target audience? Check out our free resources!
Want to gain some inspiration for your podcast concept? Look no further. Our podcast brings international and national manufacturers together to share business and personal truths on design, technology, marketing and growth within the manufacturing sector. Listen TODAY for FREE on all Apple and Android devices.