The sun has set on Season One of our Casted Podcast.
And like any proud host, I’m looking back fondly on the amazing guests and conversations we had, as well as the valuable lessons learned.
We’ve already made headway on our planning for 2020 (where we’ll go even deeper on how to maximize your podcast content—stay tuned!), but I would be remiss not to dish up a recap for you. Grab a notebook and pen, my friend. Here are some of the best wisdom bombs our show dropped in its inaugural season.
Jay Baer: Commit to Greatness
"If you don't have a good podcast, you have no listeners; you have no value. All you've done is waste money."
Remember when your company was contemplating starting a blog 10-15 years ago? That’s where many marketers find themselves now. But simply having a podcast doesn’t equal success (if it were only that easy!).
Conveying helpful information is great, but listeners want and expect more, even in the B2B space. In fact, author, speaker, podcaster, and all-around internet pioneer Jay Baer believes B2B listeners are just as hungry for good entertainment as everyday podcast audience members.
“The average quality of a successful podcast is going to go up and up. You have to have good audio. You have to have a good host. You can’t just take ‘Bob’ and make him your host because Bob happens to be in charge of product marketing.”
When you’re starting a B2B podcast, commit to greatness and steer clear of mediocrity. Be really clear on why and how you’re going to measure success, and understand what you’re trying to achieve. Create something that people will proactively choose to listen to.
Jay Acunzo: Structure Your Show for Success
“If you focus discreetly on [these] three things, you will create a far better show...than any competitor.”
A host with a microphone blabbering about the same topic over and over is not a show. As in television, novel writing, or any other type of storytelling, captivating audiences takes careful planning and structure. According to author, speaker, and podcaster Jay Acunzo, there are three critical parts to every good podcast:
- The Concept
Consider shows like Jay’s favorite, “Science Vs,” which have a distinct theme. This show can tackle any subject another podcast might cover, but its listeners know the story angle will be the science behind it, providing a unique perspective no matter the topic. - The Episode Format
Jay points to “Hot Ones”—not a podcast, but a YouTube series that uses the same proprietary “formula” for each episode. Hot Ones puts its celebrity guests through the ringer with hotter and hotter wings (and questions!) as the show goes on. Regular subscribers know what to expect from the show each time and eat it up (pun totally intended). - The Talent
Put your brand (and your people) front and center. “I prefer always that it’s an employee hosting,” says Jay. Once you’ve established a beloved, in-house podcast host, make the most of them. Repurpose their clout on stage, in webinars, and throughout marketing collateral to build recognition and a loyal following.
Heike Young: Plan Ahead
“All of us, especially in B2B, know there are so many more boxes to check off when you embark on a project like this. It’s not as simple as the best podcasters make it sound.”
As we all know, a successful podcast is so much more than a host with a microphone. To build traction, audience, and truly engaging content takes hard work and careful planning. As the original host of the B2B marketing podcast favorite, Salesforce Cloudcast, Heike Young knows a thing or two about strategically approaching a show. The award-winning podcast has taught her to:
- Get scrappy.
“Prove yourself” to senior leadership by starting out scrappy, utilizing free, organic channels like social media and your company’s blog to build followership in the beginning. - Repurpose created content.
Don’t let good content go to waste! Look to internal groups like marketing, sales, and even your existing customers to help promote podcast content and attract new listeners. - Create memorable experiences.
Roll out the red carpet for guests—not just to keep them coming back, but to create an experience that produces a world-class podcast with genuine conversation. Do your homework and overprepare for the conversation. Be authentic: your listeners will know what’s real and what’s not. - Track results.
Let your show metrics tell the truth about your podcast’s value. Gather listener feedback and measure more than just downloads to understand which parts of the show subscribers like best and what they’re engaging with most. (Need help gathering meaningful metrics? We can help!)
Sangram Vajre: Get Crafty
“People are listening every day. If it’s good quality, it could be part of people’s daily routine. There’s nothing better than being in their head and ear in the morning or the evening.”
Terminus co-founder and chief evangelist Sangram Vajre hosts a daily podcast called FlipMyFunnel. But that doesn’t mean he’s producing it daily. In fact, he only spends about one day per week working on the show’s content. (Either this guy has finally learned how to cram more hours in a day, or he’s crazy efficient.)
Sangram’s secret sauce? He creates a weekly show schedule that optimizes content so it’s still fresh or told from a different angle each time. With help from a podcast agency, Sangram can produce an entire show with content from various channels. For example:
Monday: FlipMy Funnel airs an interview Sangram conducted two weeks prior with an industry expert.
Tuesday: Sangram “hands the mic” to someone in the FlipMyFunnel or Terminus community to get a different perspective. (With just one community member per week, the schedule is already booked out months in advance.)
Wednesday: The show re-airs the LinkedIn Live show Sangram recorded earlier that day or week.
Thursday: With thousands of high-quality recordings from their FlipMyFunnel conference, Sangram has a whole library of high-impact sessions to share with the podcast audience.
Friday: Sangram records his five-minute-long “big idea” for the day, taking up little time to record what’s top-of-mind for him before the weekend.
Sam Jacobs: Be Strategic
“Doing one podcast (or anything) one time isn’t useful. It’s about your ability to demonstrate you can do it consistently and show up every day.”
We’ve been taught to crave leads in every form, whether they’re potential buyers, video subscribers, or podcast listeners. While those numbers may help you make a case for your show in the short-term, genuine value shows up in the long run.
Sam Jacobs, founder of Revenue Collective and host of the Sales Hacker podcast knows there’s real value to be gleaned from a successful show. When a podcast is nurtured over time and produces engaging, thought-provoking content, it can be leveraged as a key business opportunity and brand differentiator.
A successful podcast provides thought leadership opportunities for target accounts and noteworthy customers. The show shares key perspectives and establishes meaningful relationships. By being strategic and keeping the end in mind, your podcast can become an important cog in your selling engine.
What an inaugural season we’ve had for the Casted podcast! We are seriously proud parents around here and are eagerly anticipating the birth of season two.
Listen to the full season or check out our podcast-version recap, How to Impact Your Brand with B2B Podcasts for a complete run-down with top clips from 2019.
Raise your glasses. Cheers to an amazing 2020 to come!
