Have you ever thought about starting a podcast channel? Podcasting has been an increasingly popular type of media in recent years. More and more people in the digital industry are venturing into podcasting – whether it’s for marketing or simply a hobby. Regardless, it is a common goal among podcasters to gain a lot of listeners. 

But how do they do it exactly? 

A critical part of podcasting revolves around building an effective podcast content strategy. It is a comprehensive framework that brands can use to guide their podcast content-related decisions. It should help determine the ideal course of action for your podcast content creation process.

With that, here’s a beginner-friendly guide on creating podcast content strategies to give you a better idea. We’ll review the importance of having one and provide a list of tips to help you with your podcasting journey.

 

Why Start A Podcast?

Before jumping into the methods involved in creating a podcast content strategy, let’s first dive deeper into the podcast industry, particularly why more and more people are making and listening to podcasts.

Podcasting is an audio-only form of media. Millions of listeners have taken to platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts to catch their favorite podcasts. In recent years, podcasting has developed to be a powerful and effective tool to deliver a message to a target audience. 

Whether it’s branded content or simply an educational show, podcasts have grown into a reliable and preferred source of entertainment and information. Aside from that, podcasting has also been a cost-effective tool compared to other strategies.

Starting a podcast requires significantly less investment compared to the likes of video marketing. Throughout the years, podcasts have been effective in reaching a target audience, boosting brand awareness, and even converting listeners into customers.

 

The Importance of Having a Podcast Content Strategy

Having a podcast content strategy is one way for creators to succeed. With a plan on hand, it would be a lot easier to make important decisions regarding the future of your podcast channel. 

But what does podcast content strategy bring to the table?

One of the benefits of having a podcast content strategy is that it can help you identify the specific content and topic niche that you can use for your channel based on your target audience and your podcast goals and objectives. It can also be used to create a more apt podcast content style that suits the preference of your target audience.

Generally, the primary purpose of a podcast content strategy is to guide creators to reach a particular goal or objective by identifying crucial elements and factors that help in making engaging and effective content. 

 

How To Build A Podcast Content Strategy

Determine your podcast objectives

The first step in creating a podcast content strategy is to determine the goals and objectives of your podcast. Are you going to use podcasts for marketing? Do you want your podcast to be a reliable source of valuable information?

Podcast creators need to understand the purpose of their content to adequately plan for future episodes. Doing this also provides podcast channels to hold on to a specific goal and base decisions and other plans on their primary objective.

However, another critical part of listing your podcast objectives is to understand whether these goals are viable or not. You would need to ask yourself a couple of questions to do this. 

First, ask whether your goal is attainable, given your current situation. Are you struggling with limited resources? Do you have enough time to follow through with your goal of publishing one episode every week?

There are several other questions you could ask yourself when coming up with a list of podcast objectives. One is to ask whether a particular goal is important or a priority. 

Objectives such as boosting brand awareness for marketing can be considered urgent and important. On the other hand, objectives such as attracting new employees can be seen as less urgent or less of a priority.

Regardless, the goal of determining your podcast objectives is to use them as a guide and basis. Your podcast content strategy should alight with your goals and help you achieve them.

Identify your target audience

Knowing your target market or audience is a critical part of creating a proper podcast content strategy. The target audience determines who your content is made for. Thus, elements of your content, such as the style, tone, delivery, and even format, are decided by the needs and preferences of your target audience.

You can use various methods to determine your target market and audience. The first one is to ask who your podcast listeners are. Are your listeners predominantly male or female? What is your audience’s largest demographic? From there, you can draw conclusions about their content preferences.

Another way is to determine who is most likely to purchase your products, goods, or services upon hearing about them from your podcast. Podcasting is a powerful marketing tool. Thus, design your content to encourage listeners to commit and purchase from your brand to increase sales. 

Study the market and the competition

One way to stay up-to-date and competitive is to consistently study current market trends and competitor strategies. If a competing brand is performing better than you, look at what they are doing differently. 

Study the various strategies that they are applying to their podcast content, such as their keyword use, thumbnail design, episode title format, and the like. Even better, listen to a handful of episodes your competitor has to offer. Digest how they deliver their message and what makes it more appealing to your target audience.

However, it is important to note that we don’t encourage copying your competition. Instead, we want you to take inspiration from what they are doing and come up with your own content style and technique that would work better for your target audience.

Choose the suitable podcasting platform

When coming up with a podcast content strategy, it is important to know that not all podcast players and platforms are the same. Simply put, some podcast hosting sites have certain advantages and disadvantages over others. Considering this, choosing the right channels to publish your podcast is important. 

One thing to remember is to avoid covering all channels at once. While some may say that posting on Apple Podcasts and Spotify simultaneously provides you with more exposure, doing this can also deplete your marketing budget quickly. 

When you’re just starting out in the podcasting industry, it is best to keep expenses at a minimum. Considering this, opt to stick to one podcast platform and expand channels once you’ve grown a significant following. 

Come up with a content plan

The last part of the podcast content strategy is to develop your content plan based on all the information you’ve gathered. Start with your target audience and build a content plan based on their needs and preferences. 

Do they enjoy monologue or interview podcast formats? Or do they prefer a panel-type podcast? Aside from that, also consider the type of content they like to consume. Your podcast content should align with your niche and list possible content ideas for future episodes. 

In the end, your podcast content plan should align with your goals and objectives and help you reach them.

 

Bottomline

Recording a podcast is considered easy. However, coming up with engaging and effective podcast content is a completely different scenario. In order to utilize podcasts as a powerful and effective tool, it is crucial for creators to find out how to create engaging content for their target audiences.

Having a podcast content strategy on hand even before you start creating content can make the whole process a lot easier. Not only that, but it can also ensure that your target audience receives your content well and provide the best conversions. 

Want to know more about creating podcast content? Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company, and we’re eager to help visionaries and entrepreneurs like you. Get a free ebook and learn more about how we can help you by signing up for our newsletter. We also offer a free 30-minute consultation if you prefer something more personal.

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