Okay, let’s talk about… talking. The desire to talk — to communicate — is innate in all of us. Communication is how we share information, and talking is how we voice our needs and wants. This desire for information is a strong motivator. Research shows that the majority of Tweets on social media mentioning brand names — instead of voicing opinions on brands — are actually seeking information.
For those in the marketing world, this statistic should speak volumes. It’s showing us clearly that people want to be informed and proactively seek out information. But there’s a catch: to grab and hold their attention, it has to be the information they want and in the format they prefer. Your content needs to be relevant, educational, and entertaining — reflecting their current needs and desires.
And that’s where things get more nuanced and complicated. Successful communication in marketing has to go beyond simply talking at a would-be audience or customer base. Content marketing is like any other marketing initiative — it requires an understanding of the target audience and how to appeal to them.
The best way to do this is to deliver value each and every time, and people respond better to hearing a conversation between two or more people than simply being talked at in a blog. In order to engage, convert, and grow audiences, you need to create meaningful conversations securely founded on what your audience wants to hear.
The Power of Conversations with Experts
Let’s unpack that. Instead of creating content for content's sake, marketing strategies should deep dive into a problem. You can bring experts in to have a conversation about various issues, solutions, and scenarios. Conversations are a fantastic untapped resource for your content. We usually learn best from having conversations with experts, listening to experts on podcasts, watching a video series featuring experts, or reading materials like blogs that have been written and posted by an expert. So, why wouldn’t we take these different conversations and wring them out into digestible content pieces?
And what about the conversations that happen internally? Is there an opportunity to create even BETTER content by capturing these internal conversations? You bet there is! There’s nothing like using customer-facing salespeople’s insights to create meaningful episodes — because we have that knowledge, we know that the content we’re creating will resonate with our audience.
Let’s pinpoint exactly what conversations you should be having to elevate your content marketing strategy. And then, how exactly you should go about that sharing in a strategic way that will set your brand up for success. We’ve sorted through some of the best conversations we’ve had on our podcast to bring to you some advice and tips on the subject.
Establishing Connection
Think about who you would invite to a dinner party if you could sit down and break bread with absolutely anyone (dead or alive).
Who would you choose to share that meal with? Whether it be a celebrity, a historical figure you’ve long admired, or perhaps even a loved one or family member you’ve lost, the reason you picked this person was not solely motivated by their fame, financial status, or sharing the same bloodline. Instead, it was dictated by your desire to connect with them — to get up close and personal and interact and learn from them via real, meaningful conversation.
The truth of the matter is that conversations hold incredible power. They motivate, they ignite, they mitigate, they empower, they comfort, and they educate. (And that’s only the beginning!) And through the magic of things like brand podcasts and other media, we now have the opportunity to disseminate conversations like never before — to build that intimate connection that great conversations do — and to do it at scale.
In a time when we’re all craving connection, companies like Rubino & Liang are striving to build relationships with their audience first by using the conversations they are having on their podcast to educate. And, like Rubino & Liang, we truly believe that the intimate conversations we have on podcasts can actually fuel connections that will eventually lead to business growth.
Building Relationships
Podcasts, conversations, and relationships go hand in hand. No, really, think about it. “The best podcasts, the ones you really like to listen to, are all about relationships,” our CEO Lindsay Tjepkema explained. “They're built upon authentic, genuine unscripted conversations. You can feel the energy of the conversation you're listening to. You're listening in on a relationship actively being formed or strengthened. You're being invited to eavesdrop. How cool is that?”
Recent podcast guest, Sangram Vajre, co-founder and chief evangelist at Terminus, further explains this phenomenon, detailing the vital role of establishing a rapport with our audience, specifically describing relationships as the bedrock of every podcast that we love.
The reason for this is simple — it’s because we’re able to sit in on conversations between two people like flies on the wall. The stronger the relationship between the host and guest, the more intrigued, interested, and immersed we feel in their conversation. The difference between a good and great podcast is allowing the listener to feel involved in the conversation rather than just listening to it. So, all you need to do to make your podcast more relatable and enjoyable for your audience is to focus on the relationship between the guest, interviewer, and audience.
On a separate podcast, Vajre goes even deeper into this subject of building relationships via conversations, explaining how integral authenticity is to set apart an excellent and marketable conversation from a discussion that is just meh. Among his invaluable tips: Go unscripted, toss the script in the trash, and just be real with people. “I never know what I’m going to ask, and the [interviewee] doesn’t know what they’re going to respond to,” said Vajre. “That makes for some really interesting conversation.”
Authentic Conversations
By recording authentic conversations, you have pieces of rich content that can be broken down into snackable content and easily distributed and consumed by your audience. But how can you invite the most authentic conversations?
According to Muhammad Yasin of PERQ, “We don’t want to force a conversation. The authenticity is important, and it’s going to feel weird if the person’s not talking about something they’re passionate about. I’d say 50% of the time, we end up pivoting from what our original conversation was going to be.”
Think Big(ger)
When it comes to podcast interviews, marketers often limit themselves by not thinking outside the box. Case in point: You don’t just have to look to your own podcast. If you’re on another podcast, why wouldn’t you take this information that you’re sharing and turn it into content fodder for your own channels?
Another aspect to consider when thinking bigger is your approach to video series/webinars. The bottom line is that whether you consider these to be real convos or not, the bulk of many videos and webinars are conversations with outside experts. This information is solid gold and should pepper the rest of your content strategy!
Now, we have given you a ton of information about how to have the type of conversations to create optimal content. Now what? Three words: Wring it OUT! Once you capture the voice of a thought leader, there’s no limit to how you can repurpose its message. Through transcription, audio clips, and embedding, conversations can be turned into:
● Numerous blog posts
● Social posts
● Creative campaigns
● Clips for email
● Videos
● Audiograms
● Ebooks
Where there’s a conversation, there’s magic — and an endless stream of content. So, what are you waiting for? Start cooking up the conversations your audience is hungry for today.
Need help? Casted has you covered. We’re obsessed with conversations, and we’ve mastered the art of using them to fuel better marketing through strategic podcast management, activation, and measurement. We’ve combined the ability to host, transcribe, schedule, create clips, share on social, embed, and so much more into a single platform for maximizing your show’s (and brand’s) ROI. Learn more by scheduling a demo today!
