How can your radio station make money from podcasting beyond selling the spots on them? The answer is branded content.
Almost every podcast producer in the business now has a department dedicated to creating podcasts for brands. While companies like iHeart are pouring serious resources into branded content, other radio companies haven’t yet dipped their toes into the water, even though it would benefit their clients and their revenue stream. Before I explain how branded podcasts could work for your clients, let’s start with defining the basics of branded podcasts.
Podcasts for brands use entertainment to build relationships and authority. By building these relationships and trust, you build brand advocates who willingly promote your brand because they believe in what you do. These podcasts can revolve around interviews, creative storytelling, fiction, or any other genre. They should not be infomercials, paid programming, or a sales pitch from a company CEO. When done right, the listener is not hit over the head with the company but is introduced to the brand’s value through entertainment.
So what is the upside for a brand producing its own podcast?
Podcasts reach folks who refer to themselves as “ad skippers”
Podcast listeners are more likely to follow a brand on social media
Podcasts provide incredible metrics to tell you who is listening and what is resonating with them.
Podcasts integrate well with other digital marketing efforts.
How does that make sense for you and your station’s sales team? By helping a brand create a podcast, you give them something they can promote on-air and through your station’s other digital platforms. I have created podcasts for brands that then spent 6 digits on schedules to promote them. So the formula is to create the content for your client, then sell them the airtime to promote it using both over the air and digital inventory.
The obstacle for most stations is production.
Creating a podcast is not something a part-time radio producer with little experience can truly do to a level that will make the podcast stand out or a client happy. There is also a lot of time-consuming hand-holding that comes with creating the content with the client. Great podcasts take time and effort and an experienced team. I guess this is the part where I mention that my team can do that for you and has decades of experience with radio and radio sales. You build in the hard cost, we take care of the production. You’re welcome.
