A shift is happening…
A shift in B2B revenue generation that if harnessed correctly, can help you grow your B2B business faster, and more profitably than ever before.
This shift is occurring as the effectiveness of interrupting your ideal customers with information that they don’t care about, is decreasing every day.
As more and more information is created and shared online, if the information you are sharing isn’t relevant or adding value, you lose.
The future will belong to those B2B businesses that create information that their ideal buyers actually WANT to consume.
And what is a profitable, streamline way to create the content that your ideal buyers WANT to consume?
It’s a podcast obviously.
Why?
Because if you can execute the correct way, you can build a show that won’t take up too much of your/your marketing team’s time and budget AND can become profitable within the first 6 months.
How?
This post explains…
To learn how to start a B2B podcast, you don't need to be a technical expert or have a lot of money. This article will take you from beginning to end, step by step, on how to get started with podcasting for your B2B brand and why you should do so.
Let’s get into it.
But first, the basics:
What Is A Podcast?
A podcast is an audio series that may be downloaded and listened to on a personal device at any time, with episodes lasting between 20 to 60 minutes.
Podcasts themselves ideally focus on a single theme or topic.
You can think of a podcast as the audio version of a television show. It is produced in the same manner: It has a clear theme or topic, is episodic and can span multiple seasons, and can be based on fact or fiction.
The presence of a podcast host is a differentiator of podcasts from television shows. Every podcast requires a host who can tell the story and lead the audience through each episode.
What Is A B2B Podcast?
A B2B podcast is a podcast produced by a B2B company with the aim of content marketing, content-based networking, and establishing their brand as a thought leader.
The goal of a podcast is to make your brand stand out from the competition by providing thoughtful and valuable content that encourages listeners to listen to every episode.
Examples Of B2B Podcasts:
You can check out all the B2B podcasts that Fame run here: fame.so/shows
We also write case studies on how B2B shows have grown, you can check them out here:
👉 11 Steps To 12 Million Downloads: The Nathan Latka Podcast
👉 The Pomp Story: From Podcast To Media Empire In 10 Simple Steps
👉 Nailing A Niche: The SaaS Marketing Show Case Study
👉 Redefining A Category In 12 Steps: The State of Demand Gen Story
Is A Podcast Good For B2B marketing?
There is an unjustified delusion that customers have realized with traditional marketing and now most decisions are towards rational, logical, and economic reasoning. People are now more interested in being invested in businesses, not only purchasing from them.
Stepping aside from only the mainstream, toneless public relations approach and speaking directly to clients is one way for firms to do so.
Podcasts are a fantastic avenue for your high-quality content because of how people consume them. People listen to podcasts while working out, driving, or cooking meals – in other words, podcasts are used to fill chunks of time that would otherwise be non-productive.
During a morning commute, you wouldn't expect someone to read your white paper or eBook, but they might settle in with your latest podcast episode to hear what you have to say.
According to this study, 80 percent of podcast audiences listen to the entire episode or most of it. That means a podcaster can hold the attention of the majority of their audience for 10, 20, or even 50 minutes or more, which is a tremendous advantage for B2B marketing in today's increasingly distracted age.
Apart from the flexibility, a B2B podcast gives to your audience in terms of how they consume, other advantages include:
- Brand Awareness
Podcasts allow listeners to interact with experts on a more personal level. Even if a customer isn't looking to buy, they can be looking for information or help, which you could provide. By delivering that knowledge in an interesting and conversational manner, your brand, voice, and podcast will become associated with your industry as a reliable resource.
- Thought Leadership
With a podcast, brands have the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise in an easy to consume format. They can answer questions personally, conduct interviews with other industry experts, address problems in advance, and instill a greater sense of trust in potential clients.
- Content Syndication
With a single podcast, Recycling and repurposing podcast episodes are one of the simplest methods to get the most ROI then some! Transcripts from a single episode might be used to create long-form blog content, show notes, email newsletters, and social media captions.
- Simple To Create & Cost-Effective
Podcasts can be economical and (relatively) simple to create. As a result, they are frequently regarded as a more cost-effective means to reach customers than other advertising channels in terms of marketing strategy. A good microphone, headphones, editing software, and a hosting site are all you'll need.
- Network With Other Thought Leaders In Your Niche
A podcast's primary purpose may be to reach and grow an audience, another significant advantage of launching a podcast is the opportunity to network with other respected prospects or leaders in your sector. Inviting someone to your podcast creates a value-driven engagement with them and keeps you in front of the mind. When it comes to creating new revenue from your podcast, this can be a game-changer.
Basically, with no indications of slowing down, "the total podcast audience is growing at a compound average growth rate of 20%" according to the Nielsen Podcast Listener Buyer Power database, which is a fabulous opportunity for any B2B marketer.
How Do You Make Your Podcast Profitable?
A podcast can be profitable in two ways:
- Guest side profitable
- Listener side profitable
In the long term, we aim for listener side profitability, but this takes time.
This takes significant time and effort to achieve.
And the ONLY way we are going to convince our CFO to allow us to keep investing in the podcast over 6-12 months to realize this… is to drive guest side profitability in the meantime.
How do we do this?
Simply by being strategic about the guests we bring on the show:
👉 We bring on guests that could be good customers or partners
👉 We don’t pitch
👉 We make sure every guest has an amazing time
👉 We show gratitude to the guest for being on the show
👉 We maintain the relationship
If we do these things consistently for 6 months, good things will happen.
If we’re running a biweekly show, we will develop awesome relationships with 12 potential customers/partners, good things will happen.
I share more about this approach in this podcast interview:
Creating A Strategy For Your B2B Podcast
- What Is The Objective Of Your B2B Podcast
Identifying the right podcast concept for your new scheme is crucial to attracting the right listeners and keeping them engaged with your show.
What drives you to create a podcast? It's crucial to understand why you're doing anything, even if it's only to have a good time with your friends.
The following are some compelling reasons to start a podcast
- To create sales leads for a company
- Recognized as a thought leader in your field
- Share a relevant message
- To create more awareness for your brand
Podcasting has numerous advantages for brands and organizations, but it's critical to be realistic in your expectations. While some podcasters achieve overnight stardom, some others start with a modest audience and grow it over time, the majority of them enlist the services of a B2B podcast agency to assist their growth.
- Defining And Attracting Your B2B Podcast Audience
Let's start by defining your ideal podcast audience. If you’re like most B2B brands, you have several types of buyers, but it is important that high-level decision-makers, senior influencers, and specialists in your business or area should be the target audience for your podcast, for it to have a positive ROI.
Producing a podcast, whether in-house or through an agency like ours, involves capital investments. The time, money, and opportunity cost of producing a podcast is high...but if you brand the show right, you'll see a huge return on that investment.
The following traits should be shared by your ideal audience and your ideal customers/customer profiles.
- Who stands to benefit the most from your products and services?
- Possess the financial means to pay for your goods and services.
- Lack of expertise in specific areas, which you will be able to address through your podcast episodes.
You must be laser-focused on leveraging the podcast to reach your most profitable buyers in order to properly brand the show.
Your podcast should attract your most profitable customers in two major ways;
- The Guests You Feature On The Podcast Should Be Your Most Profitable Buyers Or Partners
Most B2B marketers concentrate primarily on attracting their most profitable customers to only listen to their podcasts, but this is a poor way to approach your podcasting strategy.
When a potential buyer appears on your show as a guest, an affinity is formed between the customer and your brand...and it is this relationship that leads to income.
Rather than hoping that your ideal purchasers will listen to your podcast, proactively reach out to your most profitable customers and invite them to be a guest on the show.
- The People Listening To Your Podcast Should Be Your Most Profitable Buyers Or Partners
Yes, your main focus should be on inviting your most profitable customers to be guests on your program, you'll still want to brand the podcast in a way that encourages your ideal customers to listen.
This is usually accomplished by developing highly specific content for your podcast...information that will only appeal to your ideal customers.
And, if you've invited your ideal buyers to be guests on your podcast, the content on your show will invariably be niche, relevant, and with the required industry authority to appeal to the precise audience you're after.
- Growing Your B2B Podcast Audience
The size will begin to matter sooner or later, and the number of downloads your program receives per month is a fairly accurate statistic for determining the size of your listenership. Here are a number of organic and sponsored methods for growing your B2B podcast audience.
- Be strategic with your show’s name.
- Create a launch promotion plan.
- Set up cross-promotions with other shows in your industry.
- Pay to promote your show on other industry podcasts.
- Plan a podcast tour for the host of your show.
- Leverage SEO.
- Post consistently on LinkedIn.
- Repurpose interviews into micro-videos.
- Repurpose interviews into slide decks.
- Leverage the second biggest search engine: YouTube.
- Create funny videos to promote your show.
- Promote via your team’s email signatures.
- Get creative with email.
- How To Find Guests For Your B2B Podcast
One thing you'll need to do for your podcast is to reach out to qualified guests to schedule them. To begin, you must first determine who your ideal guest persona is. Just as you would for a B2B sales persona, be crystal clear about this.
- Who is this mysterious person?
- What is his or her name?
- What's their sex or gender?
- How old is this person?
- What's this person's educational background?
- Where do they work? In what industry? What's their role? How much do they earn?
- Are they single, in a relationship, or married? Do they have kids?
- What are their values, interests, and attitudes?
- Describe their day-to-day lifestyle?
- What's their background story?
- How did they grow up?
- What are their current challenges and pain points?
- What are their hopes and dreams?
- How would your products and services help them to overcome their challenges and achieve their dreams?
- What topics that you could talk about in your podcast are they most interested in?
Make a list of people you'd like to have on your show as a guest. Consider where you might be able to obtain that perfect list of ideal guest qualities by thinking outside the box.
The next step is to contact those guests via email or Linkedin. While no precise script exists for this outreach, here is a broad outline.
- Check if the individual wants to be interviewed.
- Demonstrate that you have a strong social following. List the number of people in your audience or the names of other credible guests or companies who have appeared on your program.
- If people ask for additional information, create a professional landing page with further information about the show.
Furthermore, scheduling a few high-profile guests on your podcast through your existing network can lend legitimacy to your outreach to other potential guests. A little social proof can go a long way. You only need one or two famous names to gain credibility and then reach out to others.
- Choosing Your Podcast Format
The podcast format is the next crucial component. What will the content of your podcast be like, and how will it be organized? Here are some suggestions:
- Scripted non-fiction. These podcasts have a single season-long theme e.g Serial.
- News. These podcasts provide you with the latest news in an easily understandable tone. e.g NPR’s Up First.
- Educational. These scripted non-fiction podcasts are primarily intended to educate. e.g Revisionist History.
- Scripted fiction. These podcasts, like radio dramas, are frequently scripted and well-produced. e.g Limetown.
Once you’ve chosen a convenient format, other things to consider are
1. Are you going to do interviews?
Because they are simple to put up, one-on-one interviews are one of the most popular podcast formats. To keep track of all of your interview guests, you'll need additional organizational skills with interview-style podcasts. This format is used by many outstanding podcasts to provide new and meaningful content for their listeners.
To make this podcast style a success, all you need to do is practice and develop your interviewing abilities. These podcasts have a single host that interviews people who match a specific theme e.g The School of Greatness.
2. Do you want a podcast with a co-host?
Having a co-host can sometimes make things go more easily. You have someone to reassure and encourage you. You have two sources of inspiration and talent to choose from. It's also a lot simpler to keep oneself motivated to keep up with the task if someone else is counting on you.
Although, when you co-host a podcast, you both have a voice in how it plays out. That implies you may have to make some compromises from time to time in order for both of you to be satisfied with the show.
3. Do you prefer a solo podcast?
Solo podcast shows are simple to put together and ideal for beginners because you have the freedom to spend as much time as you like recording many takes without putting down your interview partner's patience.
All of these formats can make great podcasts. It’s important to have a format nailed down because it impacts the type of equipment and software you need to invest in to produce your show.
When it comes to format, two of the most common questions beginners have are:
- How long should my podcast episodes be?
The general logic behind podcast episode lengths is straightforward. It's too long if you have 30 minutes of good, on-topic content yet your episode is an hour-long. But, If you have 30 minutes of good, on-topic content and your episode is only 15 minutes long, then it is too short.
In general, episode length is determined by how long you need to provide value to your audience, but not more.
- How often should I publish my podcast?
The key is consistency, not volume. Nobody wants to listen to a podcast that is constantly changing. We recommend starting with a publishing schedule that will be simple to stick to, you can always increase the quantity later.
- Defining your podcast content strategy
A clear content strategy will help you figure out what works and what doesn't for your podcast, which communication methods bring in more customers, and which topics your target audience is more interested in.
If your topics and themes are too wide, they become irrelevant, and it becomes impossible to target your ideal customer persona. Targeting new listeners becomes tough if your material is too specialized and niche-specific unless you can generate extra content for your initial audience.
Every excellent content strategy requires the design of themes and topics that are slightly more relevant to your ideal client persona while remaining broadly applicable to the rest of the population.
Remember that an excellent B2B podcast is both educational and entertaining, and to avoid listener fatigue, make sure to mix and rotate different themes and topics.
Here are some suggestions for themes and B2B ideas to get you started.
1. Talk about the past
Most people enjoy learning about the experiences of others who have traveled a similar path. Hearing about other people's accomplishments and failures can help them learn vital lessons, avoid mistakes, and build confidence and resilience in the face of their own
Setbacks. Talk about
- How did you get started
- What you wish you knew when you just started
- Failures that turned out to be a success.
2. Talk about the present
What is happening now, talk about
- Visiting trade shows and reporting new products and services.
- Commenting on recent events and the implications on your industry.
3. Talk about the future
People want to be ahead of the curve, so any information that helps them prepare for the future will be welcomed.
- Predictions and perspectives on your industry's futures
- Strategic judgments and comparisons of future circumstances
Your B2B podcast must strike the perfect mix between being industry-specific while still being interesting to the general public, and a podcast content plan also helps you identify marketing goals and how your content can help you achieve them more effectively.
It helps your teamwork more efficiently by assigning clear and understood tasks for developing and publishing content, setting goals, and providing measurable indicators for efficiency analysis.
Launching A B2B Podcast: Checklist
OK have we convinced you yet?
Are you in the B2B space and are contemplating jumping on the podcast bandwagon?
Are you unsure how to launch a B2B podcast for your business?
We've put together a checklist of things to think about before getting started with podcasting, as well as some practical suggestions on how to get started.
Now that we've covered the most important prerequisites for launching a podcast, let's get started by checking some important items off your to-do list.
1. Name Your Podcast
The most effective name is one with which your audience can immediately relate to the reason behind your podcast. In our experience, there are some tactics you can use to pick a name that works for your unique show.
- Make a list of over 10 different possible names, you can decide after evaluating them later
- An easy way is to just take the name of the niche and then add “The” to the start and “Show” or “Podcast” to the end.
- A nice alternative is to take the show's niche and then add a descriptive word for the guests that starts with the same letter after it, for example, "Logistics Legends" for a podcast aimed at logistics professionals.
- Another smart idea is to take the niche of the show and then add a descriptive phrase for the show's style, such as "Sales Ops Demystified" for a podcast focusing on sales ops.
- It’s also worth looking at the brand values of the client e.g. Suzy.com have a value called “Move at the speed of culture” and their show is called “The Speed of Culture”
Other factors to consider when analyzing your list of 10 names for a favorite option is:
- Keywords - a name is better if it includes a highly searched keyword
- Brand - a name is better if it aligns with the brand of the client
- Easy to remember - a name is better if it incorporates rhyme, alliteration, or is similar to a well-known name/phrase
- Clear - a name is better if it clearly defines the positioning of the show
When considering a name for a podcast, you should look for that name in Apple/Google podcasts to see if there are any other podcasts with similar names. If those podcasts are good, then going with that name is often not a good option. For extra care:
- Use voxalyze.com to search for possible keywords to see who is currently ranking for them in the Keyword Explorer, these can be added to competitor analysis.
- Or use Podstatus to see if these competing podcasts are ranking and in which categories.
2. Design A Logo
When you email a prospect and invite them to be a guest on your podcast, the first thing they'll do is go to your website and click the link. They'll believe the quality of the content is just as awful if the logo appears like it was developed by an amateur.
If your logo is well-designed, your potential customer is likely to listen to an episode. They'll want to be linked with your show if they enjoy what they hear, so it's likely that they'll agree to be a guest.
Using a professional logo maker can help you create a polished and memorable logo that builds trust with potential guests and encourages them to engage with your podcast.
3. Design Templates For Headline & Quote Images
Because podcast episodes are fantastic for repurposing into written material (blog entries, Medium articles, LinkedIn published posts, and so on), they're great for repurposing into written content.
The use of images in your textual material keeps readers interested throughout the piece. These pictures are perfect for promoting each episode of your program on your social media channels. You can also work with a web design company to create visually appealing graphics and optimize your content for better engagement across platforms.
On the templates, the following information should be included:
- The URL of your podcast website
- The episode number
- The name of the guest
- The guest’s headshot
- The show’s logo
4. Buy Your Equipment
Photo credits: Depositphotos
The 3 primary pieces of equipment you will need for your podcast is?
- Podcast Microphone (Ideally a USB microphone)
- Pop-Filter - prevents your breath from hitting the microphone, causing it to "pop" or "hiss" as the air passes over the condenser mic.
- Microphone stand.
5. Download Recording Software
You can use any of the recommended software for recording
For Mac users, ecamm recording software works well
To free up some space for your recordings, you can use a tool like CleanMyMac.
For PC users, you can use either Cast, Ringr, or Zencastr
6. Choose Storage
To store your audio recordings, show notes, and blog posts, we recommend creating different folders on Google Drive, When you start because your podcast will need a location where the stuff you'll be producing is kept.
7. Track Your Workflow Efficiently
You'll also need a tool to keep track of the workflow for each episode you produce.
We recommend Trello because it is what we use. If you're unfamiliar with Trello, here's a quick rundown of how it works.
- Create Boards: The name of your board will be the name of your podcast.
- Create Lists: You use the lists feature to represent each stage of your podcast production workflow, the major stages include (you can personalize to what works for your team)
- Guest selection
- Guest interview
- Podcast recording/content writing and images production
- Podcast publishing status
- Podcast publishing schedule
- Published
- Promoted
- Create Cards: After you've made your Trello lists, you can start making individual Trello cards to represent each episode. You can attach all of the headlines, blog entries, show notes, and graphics linked with the episode to each card. You'll also be able to schedule when the episode will be released.
8. Get A Domain Name For The Show
This domain will lead to the podcast page on your company's website.
Try to get your show's exact name as the domain name, but don't get too worked up if it's not accessible. Simply add "show" or "podcast" to the end of the name of your podcast and buy the domain.
We buy our domain names through Namecheap, but there are plenty of other options.
9. Seven Steps To Awesome Podcast Interviews
It's normal to be nervous about presenting your first podcast, but there's nothing to be frightened about.
You'll only be speaking for around 10% to 20% of the time during an interview; your guests will do the vast majority of the speaking, and you will only speak for a small portion of the time.
1. Warm People Up
Before going live it’s super important to build rapport with your interviewee.
I normally start by making small talk about their business or country (when remote) and then transition into the guidelines with a question:
“So I assume you have seen the questions?”
They will almost certainly say yes, this is your queue to transition into the guidelines of the interview:
- We normally run for between [[X]] minutes
- It’s your job to share wisdom and my job to stick to the time and answer questions
- We may jump off script when we find something that I think is interesting for the audience
- Run the intro past your guest before going live
2. Nail The Intro
We want to kick off the interview with high energy and excitement… to do this, I normally like to prep my intro’s so I can just focus on the delivery. The intro is normally a couple of sentences and highlights the accomplishments/experience of my interviewee that is relevant to my audience.
Utilizing a YouTube intro maker can streamline the process of creating engaging introductions for interviews, allowing content creators to focus on delivering their message with energy and enthusiasm.
3. Dive Deeper When Someone Shows Passion
It is your job to keep time and make sure the content is valuable and relevant to your listeners… it is your interviewee’s job to share their wisdom. The best interviews always occur when your interviewee is passionate and having fun.
You can increase the likelihood of this happening by making sure you spot when your interviewee gets excited and passionate and then jumping off-script to go down that rabbit hole as that is where the magic happens!
4. Link Between Questions
We want your interview to flow like a conversation between two old friends… not like a jaunted chat between two strangers. To ensure this, try to link each next question to something they have said earlier in the conversation… or bring up the next question just at the right time.
5. Draw From Your Own Wisdom
Make no mistake, you are there to make your interviewee look awesome, but that also doesn’t mean you should hide in the shadows.
If you have an insight… go for it.
I normally like to repeat what an interviewee has said back to me to make it clear for the audience and then add my own insight on top.
Though beware, I normally aim for an 80:20 them: me talking ratio during the whole interview, I recommend you stick to that too!
6. Summarize Key Insights
If you’re on a video call, you can write these down… but if you’re interviewing in person you will have to remember these.
Each and every person you interview will share some original insights and right at the end of the interview, it is your job to highlight these back to the audience.
Whilst doing this, you will also form a kind of bond with your interviewee as they think “Wow, this guy/girl really listened to me!”
7. Have Fun!
This is possibly the most important… if you have fun, the interviewee will have fun and your audience will have fun.
Our audience will keep coming back to download and they won’t know why there will just be a “vibe” around your audio content that keeps bringing them back.
10. Hosting Your Podcast
Choosing a platform to host your podcast is an important part of the process. Many beginners presume that the podcasts are hosted by Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or other locations where you search for podcasts, but this is not the case.
These services simply syndicate your podcast RSS feed to all directories and make it easy for listeners to find it.
There are several podcast hosting platforms to choose from, we recommend bCast for B2B businesses looking to host a podcast as it is built JUST for businesses looking to start and grow a show, not hobbyists for example…
11. Promoting Your Podcast
Knowing how to start a podcast is only one of the many skills you'll need along the way. After working so hard to create a podcast, you'll want to make sure it's getting in front of your target audience, which is critical to achieving the podcast's marketing goals.
Here are some tried-and-true methods for increasing your podcast's visibility and audience;
- Ask People To Subscribe
You should know that new subscribers are the most crucial aspect in improving your Apple Podcasts rating (formerly iTunes). It also means that when new episodes are released, listeners will instantly download them.
- List Your Podcast In Multiple Directories
The largest player at this time is Apple Podcasts, but Spotify and Google are gradually gaining footing as the go-to places for finding and listening to podcasts.
It's crucial to get your podcast listed in as many places as possible, and it's all for free.
- Share Your Reviews And Testimonials
People enjoy hearing their own names mentioned on their favorite show, which is a straightforward strategy for starting a virtuous cycle of fresh participation. You can take the following easy steps;
- When people ask you questions on social media, ask them to tag or @ you (friends and followers will be able to find you and learn more)
- People enjoy hearing their own names mentioned online, so if you mention someone, they are far more inclined to share that episode.
- Their friends are likely to share similar interests and will be interested in seeing the show.
- Others on the list will want their question to be read aloud (and get an answer of course)
- Repeat.
- Create An Email List
You can use an email list to inform customers and listeners about new episodes, invite them to subscribe, host a giveaway, and more.
You may start building an email list on your website by finding email addresses, and you can manage and develop it with ease using an email marketing provider.
- Be a Guest On Other Shows And Have Guests on Your Show
The easiest group to get to listen to your show is those who already listen to podcasts. Being a guest on other shows with a similar audience is a brilliant way to meet new people and build new connections, in fact, you can think of it as a podcast b2b marketing tool.
Having guests on your program can help by utilizing your guest's existing audience. Keep in mind that celebrities with a lot of influence don't have much incentive to share the episode, but you can make it simple for them by supplying them with pre-written social media quotes and visuals.
12. Utilize A B2B Podcast Production Agency
When a company starts a podcast, they frequently have many objectives in mind. A B2B podcast production agency helps businesses achieve their podcast production goals.
While it may appear that B2B podcast firms are only responsible for marketing, their ultimate goal is to produce sales-qualified leads that generate revenue.
If you're set on doing a podcast whether a solo podcast or co-hosted, a podcast agency could probably help your production in a lot of ways, including content planning, show branding, and post-production.
Of course, Fame is a good example of a B2B podcast agency 🤓
And there we have it…
Your complete guide to riding the new wave of B2B marketing: making content your ideal customer actually WANTS to consume.
Because… What if all your “interruption ad spend” was instead invested in actually educating your target audience on how to solve their problems?
Yes, you may be picking a couple of customers through that spend… but this is a short term approach as the majority of people are ignoring you, and even worse, getting annoyed with you and your brand.
However, if you invested those funds into educating people that could be your target buyers, you build their trust… and eventually will either:
👉 Come to you to buy when their ready
👉 Will tell their friends about you when they get asked about a solution like yours
And your B2B business will grow faster and more profitably than ever before 📈
