Creating a podcast is easy - making people listen is not. There are vital factors that dictate if a podcast is perceived as a trustful and awe-inspiring channel for a wide range of listeners.
Podcasts can help brands create a fan base, raise awareness for certain topics, drive website traffic and generate leads.
It is necessary to know the audience to which organizations are communicating. Talking about politics, targeting episodes for college students, focusing on business and technology strategies, creating couples therapy advice with a quirky comedy style... Everything is possible. The only thing to consider is that it is necessary to create consistency in the topics discussed, and for that it is necessary to segment the ideas only for a specific niche. The listener has to know what to expect.
Here are the corporate strategies that need to be deepened, preferably with the help of a team of professionals with knowledge in digital communication.
#1. Improve sound quality to reduce unsubscribes
“Bad audio will make me unsubscribe everytime”!
Listening to the testimony of listeners from other podcasts is an essential step in understanding the most important factors to consider when the time comes to create one. The sound quality was discussed by several consumers of online content, in which they stated that they often exchange podcasts, if the sound quality is poor.
So, it is advisable to:
Step up on recording environment: avoid reverberant spaces and extra sound interferences (e.g. street noises, HVAC units, computers, fans, fluorescent lights). In addition, choose an environment with natural sound-absorbing materials (e.g. carpets, curtains, bookcases).
Maintain a mic technique: 7 to 12 centimeters between speaker and microphone is the ideal distance; also, point the mic slightly off-center towards the mouth in a 45° angle.
Set a moderate input level: in a term of normal to loud levels of voice this level should be around -20dB and to situations of laughter and enthusiasm input level should not goes above 0 dBFS.
Record guests separately: setting an interview via telephone, Skype or Zoom won’t lead to good quality of sound. Is easier to record audio separately and then merge them together in an editing program.
#2. Engage listeners and deliver smart content
Research is critical. Most listeners decrease their interest in a podcast, if it doesn’t deliver. The bigger content complaints circulate around inability to stay on topic, monotone hosts without sense of reflection, poor grammar and bad judgment.
Interacting with listeners is essential to create a human bond between the podcaster and those who just started to follow the channel.
It is important not to speak as if it is a dissertation, without any room for people to feel included. Make listeners think, ask spontaneous questions, put a content out there in an impressive and dashing level of quality.
Organizations don’t have to become top performers from day to night. Ask for advice and get insights that will facilitate success.
#3. Podcasts are getting shorter
People often don’t listen to an episode all the way through. Thus, top performers started to shorten their episodes. In 2019, the average length detected for each track published, calculated in around 19 million of different podcasts worldwide, was 37 minutes.
The convenient durability, according to listener’s interaction, is now between 15 to 30 minutes. Furthermore, content should appear earlier in an episode in order to capture full attention of the listener.