Small business owners everywhere struggle with one important question: how do I grow my small business?
They try everything from expensive print ads to endless pandering on social media.
Ultimately, many get frustrated because they aren’t getting the results they want and often feel like they’re not getting seen.
But what else are you to do?
You have to make sure there are new leads and new customers on a constant basis.
Otherwise, your small business can die.
With so much on the line, you’ve got to consider anything that makes sense.
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Podcasting Only Grows Your Small Business Through Consistency And Value
Before you jump into this, let me explain something important.
Podcasting will not help you grow your small business if you’re not going to commit to it.
You need to produce regular content that contains a high level of value for your audience.
If you don’t, you’re never going to build an audience.
Without a podcast audience, you don’t get to experience any of the benefits that a podcast provides.
With that in mind, here are some of the things you need to do before you hit record.
Consider how willing you are to walk through these steps to put your podcast in place.
- Plan your podcast content at least 10 episodes in advance.
- Put together a release schedule.
- Add 1-2 hours into your schedule per podcast for recording and editing.
- Put together a branding package for your podcast including logo and “album art”.
- Be prepared to podcast consistently with no listeners.
Consider if these among other things are something you’re willing to commit to.
If you’re not, podcasting isn’t going to help you.
Neither will any other kind of marketing.
Podcasting Does Big Things To Help Grow Your Small Business
If there’s one kind of content marketing that can perform wonders for your growth, this is it.
Podcasting is a medium where your small business has a lot of space to grow.
With only 11% of markers planning on starting a podcast and 28% still trying to learn, you have a chance to get in early and shine.
But don’t take the low participation the wrong way.
73 million Americans have listened to a podcast in the last month.
That’s a huge audience without enough podcasts catering to them.
Your podcast could be one of them.
But only if you start one.
Then you can benefit from all the ways podcasting will help grow your small business.
Podcasting Introduces Your Small Business To A New Audience
How much of that 73-million-person audience belongs to you right now?
Probably not much of it, especially if you’re feeling like your business isn’t getting seen.
But podcasting can help your business reach them.
In many situations completely by accident.
Here’s the weird thing, many companies report that their website visits grew – in some cases as much as 200% – when they launched a podcast.
With growth comes new leads, and 90% of those new ones say they learned about the business through a podcast.
It’s not surprising, though.
More people listen to podcasts that you might realize. Click To TweetPeople are listening to podcasts in high numbers.
What’s most surprising is the number of business leaders listening to them.
But why does that all happen?
Well, simply put, podcasts are distributed differently than other forms of content.
They’re suggested by media apps like iTunes, SoundCloud, and Spotify.
But they’re also browsable.
People are constantly checking podcast listings for their areas of interest in an attempt to find some kind of new information.
When they come across a podcast they like, they subscribe, and it becomes a part of their normal listening routine.
(That means activities like optimization are less important for a podcast.)
As a result, your podcast winds up in front of many people you may not have been introduced to before.
You’re not as susceptible to search algorithms and favoritism.
The people that find you will do so because they’re interested in the topics you cover.
They prequalify themselves.
If you’re producing quality, that leads to more leads and more sales as traffic begins to come through your site because of your podcast.
Podcasting Strengthens The Trust Your Audience Has In Your Small Business
Imagine what would happen if your audience held a conversation with you for an hour or more every week.
You answered their questions.
They became familiar with your voice.
Their comments were listened and responded to.
It stands to reason that, under those circumstances, your audience would come to know, like, and trust you.
They might even consider you a friend.
The level of rapport you would build would create enjoyment in the interactions you had.
They’d come to you more often.
There is no way they wouldn’t become your customer.
Loyalty like that grows a small business fast.
Podcasts make your audience think of you as a friend. Click To TweetWhile it’s true that the only voice in a podcast conversation is yours, it still generates that sense of closeness.
Listeners imagine what the podcaster looks like, often creating a positive image of who they are.
Hearing someone’s voice often over prolonged periods fuels a sense of closeness.
Podcasting is excellent at this, as has been demonstrated.
That friendly perspective is fueled by trust, which means your audience is far more likely to come to you when they need what you offer.
Trust is built through the value you provide.
If your podcast provides something your audience wants, be it entertainment or solutions for their problems, they’ll keep coming back to listen.
Consistent value will always be the key to building audience loyalty.
But that’s the key to any great content.
Podcasting Helps Define You As An Industry Authority
That trust you’re building with your audience is doing something else for you behind the scenes.
It’s proving that you’re a source of knowledge in your industry.
For small businesses, especially young ones, that’s critical.
You need your audience to know that you know what you’re talking about.
When they hear you, week after week, sharing your knowledge, they can learn firsthand how much you know.
Providing expert, industry-related advice to your audience helps them understand that you know what you’re talking about.
They can also put your advice to the test.
When it works for them, their faith in your knowledge will become unshakeable.
Giving your audience frequent advice that works for them gives them faith in you. Click To TweetYou can expand further by inviting other industry experts to join your show.
Interview them, banter with them, and generally build off their information.
When their ideas back your own it further proves to your audience that you know your industry.
That credibility helps to build their trust in your advice later, during the buy phase.
That’s going to give you two distinct advantages.
The first is that your initial sale will go more smoothly.
Because your audience-turned-leads trust what you say and have a better understanding of how your product helps them, there won’t be as many objections to overcome.
You won’t need to “sell” them.
The second benefit is that your leads-turned-clients will be more likely to make additional purchases.
When you recommend something to them that will make a further improvement to their situation, they’ll believe you.
Because they have learned to trust your knowledge, they’ll believe your suggestion as well.
Podcasting Builds Great Brand Awareness
Your small business won’t grow if nobody knows it exists.
It’s a fundamental truth of marketing.
Your target audience won’t buy from you if they have never heard of you.
They can’t.
That’s what happens when they don’t know who you are.
How the hell you gonna get customers if nobody knows you exist? Click To TweetPodcasting is a great way to get people familiar with your brand.
As you build your authority in your industry, you’ll also expand the number of people who know who you are.
As your audience grows, the same will happen.
If your content is valuable, your audience will share your podcast with their friends.
This expanded audience will do the same, eventually (hopefully) making your company a household name.
Every episode is another opportunity to make another person aware of your brand.
The more people are aware of your brand, the more likely they are to purchase from you when they need something you offer.
If you couple your podcast with social media exposure, you’ll grow awareness about your small business exponentially.
Remember that, in every case, more awareness about your small business means more growth for it.
Podcasting Helps You Stand Out Over Your Competition
How many of your competitors have a podcast?
I’d guess if you don’t, neither do they.
That disparity is a huge reason podcasts are great at helping you grow your small business.
Since podcasting is a platform that’s unpopulated by many industries, it’s likely your competition isn’t there either.
That means there are people out there who listen to podcasts and want information about what you do but don’t have a podcast that gives it to them.
When there is a marketing venue with a disproportionately large opening for your business compared to the cost, you take it.
And podcasting costs nearly nothing.
With the purchase of a little equipment and software, you’re on your way.
You could become the first person in your industry using the platform.
Imagine where that would put you in relation to your competition.
If you beat your competition to the platform, you own the space. Click To TweetBy the time they got into podcasting, you’d already own a massive market share.
You’d dominate the space and become the podcast that they look to in order to learn.
While they spend their money on expensive print ads and commercials, you’ve streamlined your budget and earned a captive audience.
It’s going to take them a while to catch up with you.
As you’ve been setting trends, they fell behind.
With consistent, great content, being an early adopter in your industry can reshape your company.
Early podcasting can grow your small business fast.
All you need is a great podcast content plan.
Grow Your Small Business Through Excellent Podcasts
Look, we all need our businesses to grow.
It’s not a secret.
Podcasting is possibly the best way for your small business to do that.
All it takes is a little planning and time.
A little consistent quality.
Pretty soon, you’ll have an audience you never had, the traffic you didn’t think podcasting could bring, and a level of growth you dreamed of.
Start your podcast now and reshape the course of your small business.
