Podcast promotion is an art.
Good promotion takes a single piece of content and transforms it into bite-sized value bombs.
If you're implementing a waterfall content strategy, your podcast content will transform into several different types of media - audio, visual, written, etc.
And since your podcast can be sliced and diced into a variety of content types, you can easily bake the content from your podcast into your existing marketing channels.
So let's look at 12 common B2B marketing channels, and how your podcast can be promoted in each of them.
1) Webinar
If you're creating webinars, then say hello to your most targeted audience.
These people are blocking time out of their busy schedules to listen to you. Yes...you!
Share your podcast during webinars by mentioning it in your intro, referencing episodes with related information, and telling people to subscribe to stay connected with your brand.
You can also feature webinar co-hosts on your podcast and vice versa.
Use your podcast as inspiration when coming up with webinar topics. If an episode performed well, expand on that topic in a webinar.
2) Email Newsletter
When someone opts into your email list, what are you feeding them?
These people are hungry for your content, which makes them the perfect audience to share your podcast. Frame your podcast as a resource to your audience versus something you're asking them to subscribe to.
Also include episode links, teaser videos, photos, Click To Tweets, and quotes from the show in your emails like Gary Vaynerchuk does.
3) Your Website
Opt-In With Repurposed Content
When you have an episode with great content, don't let it stand alone.
Repurpose that piece of content into a blog post, downloadable PDF, or infographic that you can use as a lead magnet on your website.
Clearly communicate that this is just a slice of the value pie that the reader will get when they subscribe to your podcast.
Embed Episodes
Make your content is as easily accessible as possible.
For your website, this means embedding episodes on your homepage. You can use a tool like Smart Podcast Player, or embed a Youtube video. The key is to make the barrier to entry low for potential listeners.
Blog
On your blog, create a separate post for each episode. In each post, include episode show notes and the embedded audio/video.
You can also repurpose the episode into a long-form blog post and embed the episode audio or video at the end of the post.
Buffer made a great move and wrote a blog post about podcasts to promote their own podcast.
I love that they mentioned their podcast in the first line of the article. Most people don't stick around to read entire blog posts, so mentioning the show early on was a smart move.
4) Bake It Into Your Marketing Automation Sequence
Whether you have an elaborate, lengthy automation sequence or not, email is still the king of the content castle. Promoting your podcast to your email list is a great way to stay at the top of your prospects' inboxes while simultaneously adding tons of value.
When it comes to marketing automation, your aim is to take leads down a very specific path to ultimately convert that lead into a customer. Start including a line of copy to promote your podcast in all automation sequences.
Whether it's an email course, a sequence of onboarding emails, or a long-term nurture campaign, you can weave your podcast into it.
5) Social Channels
The obvious, but noteworthy option.
Social media allows you to promote with variety. You can post photos, quotes, graphics, links, videos, and live streams.
Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Live are great for real-time engagement. While LinkedIn, Instagram images, and Facebook are great for promoting evergreen content.
Paid Advertising & Retargeting
It's also important to note that paid advertising via social media can be incredibly effective. With Facebook in particular, you can create hyper-targeted ads for the exact persona that will get value from your show,
One of the great things about paid advertising is retargeting. For example, when someone clicks on a sponsored Facebook post that promotes one of your podcast episodes, you can retarget them with other ads to move them further down your sales funnel.
Cover Images
Take advantage the real estate on your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profile pages by promoting your podcast in your cover photos.
6) LinkedIn Company Description
Include your podcast in your personal profile, as well as your company's descriptions.
Your podcast is a value-add for your brand, so why not plug it?
If you're the host of the show, add a separate position as host. For example:
7) Email Signatures
Email signature marketing is a small technique with big benefits.
Do you ever think about how many emails you send per day?
In 2015, the average email user sent 34 business emails every day, and that number is only expected to grow. For some of you, that number might sound really low.
Now, think if your podcast was promoted in every one of your emails. The trick? Promote your podcast in your email signature.
If you sent 34 emails a day with a podcast mention in your email signature, that would be 170 times per week or 8,840 times per year that people would come in contact with your podcast.
Notifying and getting everyone in your company to update their email signature when you have a new episode or piece of content to promote is unrealistic.
Sigstr saw this problem and created a solution. Sigstr is a marketing and engagement tool for managing employees' email signatures.
With Sigstr, you can promote your podcast across every employee's email signature, and can rotate through different episodes or content promotions with one click.
Just like this:
For more information on email signature marketing, check out B2B Growth Show Episode 65 with Dan Hanrahan, President and Founder of Sigstr.
8) Twitter Bio
Your Twitter bio is 140 characters of sweet podcast promotion.
Take advantage of your bio by including your show handle. If you have some extra characters lying around, throw in a description while you're at it.
9) Speaking Engagements
Speaking engagements are great places to share your podcast.
You can give your audiences a taste of the type and level of content your podcast produces.
Here are a few ways to plug your podcast:
- Ask the emcee to mention your podcast in your introduction
- Mention a story in your speech that's related to your podcast (wisdom from a past guest, something funny that happened while you were recording, etc)
- Walk the audience through a simple call to action at the end of your speech. Have them take out their phones, and then walk them through the process of subscribing to your podcast. This will extend your relationship with your audience.
If you're not already landing speaking engagements, here are a few articles that will help you get booked:
10) Get Featured as a Guest on Other Podcasts
The podcast community is strong.
As you feature industry leaders on your show, ask to be featured on theirs (if their brand produces one).
Getting featured on other podcasts gives you two benefits:
- You are positioned as an expert in your field, which builds thought leadership.
SumoMe published a helpful step-by-step article on how to get featured on podcasts: The Ultimate Guide To Getting Featured On Podcasts (and why you should).
There are also services that can get you booked on podcasts like PodcastGuests.com.
The social proof gained from being featured on another podcast can be a huge boost for your brand.
11) Repurpose Your Episodes Into YouTube Videos
When a podcast episode first gets produced, you have a single piece of audio content.
Then what?
You can repurpose that episode into a blog post and add some show notes, but there's even more potential.
You can repurpose your episode into a Youtube video.
Here are a couple of ways you can do that:
- Overlay the audio with graphics: guest and host headshots, logos, quotes, graphs, and stats.
This tactic falls in line with the waterfall content strategy.
Video content opens up the opportunity to splice episodes up and create promo/teaser videos. This is good for SEO, because you will have multiple videos for the same piece of content.
Use your podcast interviews as inspiration for other pieces of content.
If the guest brought up an interesting topic, but you weren't able to explore it in depth in the episode, create a spinoff video that dives into that subject.
12) Quora
Quora is a great platform to share your podcast content.
Quora is a Q&A social platform that allows people ask and answer questions from the Quora community.
Search Quora for relevant questions that can be answered through the content produced from your podcast.
This is where repurposing your episodes into blog posts can be helpful. By having long-form blog posts, you can add a link in your answers in case someone wants more information.
You should also include a link to your podcast in your profile description.
Conclusion
Podcast promotion is unique, because you are adding value at every level.
Each episode attracts new people, all while engaging your existing audience. It's a value-add across the board, so get it in front of as many people as possible.
The more people that are exposed to it, the more people benefit from the valuable content and turn to your company for solutions.
Use these techniques to bake your podcast into every aspect of your marketing plan, and you will see results.
You can find the interview that this post was based on, and many more, by subscribing to the B2B Growth Show on iTunes.
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James Carbary is the founder of Sweet Fish Media, a podcast production service for B2B companies. He's a contributor for the Huffington Post & Business Insider, and he also co-hosts the B2B Growth Show: a podcast dedicated to helping B2B executives achieve explosive growth.