5 Myths About Branded Podcasts Debunked

As with most emerging forms of content and media, there are some unknowns with branded podcasts. 

Understanding branded podcast landscape is key, but it can be difficult to sift through the myths and realities. 

Luckily, Quill is here to help you sort through the noise and debunk the myths! 

Myth One: You Should Use Your Branded Podcast to Sell your Brand

At first glance, it may seem like a branded podcast is the perfect opportunity to sell your product/service. However, a branded podcast is not an extended infomercial. 

Audiences turn to podcasts for education, inspiration, and entertainment, so your goal when creating content for your podcast should always be to bring value to your audience. If not, they’ll quickly press pause and find it elsewhere. 

Branded podcasts are an opportunity to increase brand credibility and awareness. If you name-drop your product for twenty minutes, you will get neither. Awareness and credibility come from a podcast that is well-respected and that provides value to the audience. 

Becoming a thought leader in your niche is a great way to increase your brand’s credibility and drive leads your way. 

Remember your podcast is the product. 

Quick Tip: Approach creating your branded podcast as an opportunity to answer questions potential customers would have about your industry. If you provide value and demonstrate you’re an expert, listeners will turn to your brand when they’re ready to make a purchase. 

Myth Two: You Can’t Measure the ROI of a Branded Podcast 

A myth around podcasting is that it's impossible to measure ROI. After all, there isn’t a lot of data associated with podcasts, and it can be difficult to understand the metrics you have. 

For example, just because 5000 people have downloaded a podcast episode doesn’t mean that you had 5000 listeners. 

However, once you understand your analytics you’re one step closer to measuring ROI. 

Let’s use the same example from earlier: if your analytics tell you 5000 people downloaded your new episode, you can compare that with your number of unique listeners to measure how many people are repeat listeners. If your unique listeners are super low and downloads are super high, it means that you have engaged users but not many of them

It’s not only possible to measure the ROI of branded podcasts, but it can actually help you measure the effectiveness of your content across other channels! Podcasts can teach you more about your audience's needs and expectations. If you realize episodes about a certain topic are performing well, you can begin to highlight that content on your other channels. 

A great way to capitalize on the data available to you is by using a corporate podcast hosting platform. These paid-for platforms give you access to a plethora of data points to help you measure your ROI. 

Myth Three: Podcasts are Different From Other Forms of Content So Can’t Be Used In Marketing Strategies

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking your podcast is simply too different from your other channels to be used in your overarching strategy. However, don’t put your podcast in a silo, rather integrate it into your marketing strategy and employ an omnichannel approach. 

Podcasts are an amazing resource for generating content for other platforms. You can post quotes, behind the scene footage, and sneak peeks pulled from your podcast across your socials, newsletters, blogs, etc.

By employing an omnichannel approach, your podcasts can drive your audience toward your other channels, and vice versa. Brand awareness through podcasting is most effective if your audience is aware of where else they can find and engage with you. 

Quick Tip: Podcasts are different from other channels- but that's a good thing! Diversifying your content and creating multiple touchpoints is a great way to nurture leads. Your podcast shouldn't be a regurgitation of your content from other platforms, but rather a compliment! 

Myth Four: Branded Podcasts Are Too Much Work 

We get it. Compared to creating a post for Instagram, podcasts are a lot of work! Creating long-form content is different than short form, but that doesn't mean it isn’t manageable. 

Putting together an effective strategy for managing your branded podcast will help to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Whether you’re a team of one or of many, planning your content in advance and setting deadlines is critical for effectively managing your podcast and workload.  

If you ultimately find that it is too much to take on, using a podcast agency is a great way to offload your branded podcast into expert hands. 

Myth Five: Branded Podcasts Can Only Increase External Brand Awareness 

Branded podcasts are effective tools for expanding brand awareness externally, but also boosting awareness internally! People enjoy and are proud to work for companies that are considered thought leaders. If your brand’s employees think your company is creating a value-driven podcast, they’re likely to share it.

Well-respected podcasts can also help attract top-quality employees, increase brand awareness, and build authority. 

Quick Tip: Your employees are your best ambassadors. Make sure you encourage them to listen and share! Or even better, involve them in your podcast creation process. Can they submit ideas for topics? Pitch guests? Vote on the cover? Make them feel like they have a stake in the development of your branded show.

Now that we have debunked 5 myths about branded podcasts, here is what to remember moving forwards: 

• Branded podcasts are not infomercials 
• Measuring podcast ROI is possible, and a great resource!
• Branded Podcasts should be part of an omnichannel marketing plan 
• Podcasts are manageable if you have a good strategy (or the right agency on your side)
• Podcasts are great for increasing internal brand awareness