In today’s digital marketing landscape, branded podcasts have become one of the top tools brands use to raise brand awareness, drive growth, and engage audiences. 

With the popularity of the podcast medium having exploded over the past few years and showing no signs of slowing down, companies across industries are dusting off their microphones to capitalize on the boom. 

In fact, you’d likely be hard-pressed to find a big-name brand out there that doesn’t have a podcast today.

And it’s not hard to see why: podcasts are a flexible and accessible medium that come with a wide variety of benefits for brands, which we’ll cover in more detail below. 

For brands, podcasts are a powerful way to communicate no matter the overall mission or goal—for example, some brands launch a branded podcast to communicate with potential customers, their community of stakeholders, or even other businesses (B2B), which is what this blog post is all about.

As a one-stop shop for people looking to learn about B2B podcasts, this article will cover what B2B podcasts are, how they’re different from B2C podcasts, their statistically proven benefits, examples of companies that have leveraged B2B podcasts in the past, and how you can do the same.

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What is a B2B podcast?

A B2B or “business-to-business” podcast is a marketing tool that brands use to communicate and engage with other businesses, mostly including high-level decision makers, C-suite executives, or other relevant team members. 

The aim of a B2B podcast can vary, but typically brands use them to engage with stakeholders from other companies, raise awareness of their brand and its offerings, and ultimately,  convert listeners into customers.

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How is a B2B podcast different from a B2C podcast?

When you think of a branded podcast, your mind probably goes right to B2C brands. That’s fair enough – after all, B2C brands had a 95% higher average number of reviews than B2B. 

But don’t let that statistic deter your company from investing in a B2B branded podcast. B2B podcasts are different from B2C (business-to-consumer) podcasts. In a B2B podcast, the target audience is a lot more specific. Ideal listeners include other leaders, executives, and employees who are likely already familiar with the subject matter because they’re involved in the industry or an adjacent industry. They’re tuning into the podcast with a different hat and lens on, and with their brand's needs in mind. However, a B2C podcast is typically communicating to the average consumer, who is listening to the podcast out of their own personal interest.

In both cases, the podcast aims to increase sales and revenue by engaging their target audience members and convincing them of a specific key message or idea. But there will definitely be creative differences between B2B and B2C podcasts—some of which may be more nuanced than others.

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The benefits of a B2B branded podcast

Launching a branded B2B podcast is certainly an investment for any brand, but the ROI is worth the extra cost and effort. A study from BBC found that compared to other forms of content, branded podcasts can give companies: 

• 89% higher awareness
• 57% higher branded consideration
• 24% higher brand favorability
• 14% higher purchase intent
• 16% higher engagement
• 12% higher memory encoding

In addition, the Quill Branded Podcast study found that branded podcasts most noticeably add value through increased visibility and awareness. In fact,  67% of brands report that podcasts foster stakeholder and audience engagement. 

So when it comes to B2B podcasts, your company has a better chance of connecting with its target businesses and brands through a podcast than with most other mediums. 

Let’s go through some more of the ways your company could benefit from a B2B branded podcast:

Establish credibility 

In today’s over-saturated attention economy, everyone is looking to establish themselves as a top authoritative voice in their field. A branded podcast is a great way to showcase your brand’s expertise and depth of knowledge about your subject and gain credibility as an organization. Not only will this help to build your brand’s value, but it will also win over your listeners and convince them that you’re a brand they would want to work with. 

Showcase thought leadership

In the same vein, a podcast is a great platform to share all your exciting new ideas, projects, and perspectives. This will enable your brand and its leaders to establish themselves as innovative, creative, and thought leaders in their field. Ultimately, this will help you stand out from the crowd and engage potential customers with your unique approach.

Highlight your brand’s products and services

If the ultimate goal of your B2B branded podcast is to drive more lead generation, sales, and revenue, then it serves as the perfect medium to showcase your brand’s awesome products and services. 

The long-form nature of podcasts makes them a great medium for storytelling and getting into the nitty-gritty of how things work, so consider your B2B branded podcast your opportunity to explain to listeners why your product or service is better than the rest, and why they should want to work with you rather than another company. 

Connect with your community and expand your network

A branded B2B podcast is also a great way to network, collaborate with your community, and establish connections within your industry. Many successful business leaders in the past have said that you’re only as strong as your network and that no business, brand, or person operates in a vacuum. 

By reaching out to other leaders in your industry to appear on your podcast, you’ll both be benefiting because they will also have a chance to strengthen their brand and share more about their own offerings. This will create goodwill with important stakeholders, pave the way for future business partnerships, and provide a platform for diverse voices.

Drive back to your ultimate business goals

A B2B branded podcast can benefit your business in so many ways, but ultimately, you can tailor it to fit your brand’s unique business goals. The creative concepting and scripting process provides a blank canvas for your brand to work in the right key messaging, tactics, and calls-to-action that will drive sales growth and revenue, all in a way that feels true and authentic to your brand voice. The flexibility of the medium means you have all the creative freedom you need to get your message into the ears of the people who matter most to your business.

Enhance your ABM strategy

At the end of the day, however, it’s important to remember that branded podcasts aren’t just about driving sales—they’re a creative brand storytelling tool that serves a variety of purposes, including strengthening your brand narrative, establishing an authentic community, and enabling listeners to connect with the passionate humans behind the brand.

"B2B branded podcasts aren't just about selling; they're about storytelling. They weave narratives that resonate, forging connections beyond business transactions, fostering trust, and paving the path for meaningful partnerships.” — Stacey Orth, Chief Operating Officer at Quill

Examples of successful B2B branded podcasts

As we’ve mentioned, countless brands both big and small are tapping into the power of branded podcasting to engage their target businesses. Below are just a few examples of brands  that have leveraged B2B podcasting to access their target audiences:

Expedia’s Powering Travel

Expedia’s B2B podcast Powering Travel is speaking directly to the hospitality industry, specifically hotels, airlines, and other major stakeholders. Through interviews with travel industry leaders from around the world, the show explores travel industry trends, innovation in the hospitality industry, and tips for leveling up your business.

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PwC Canada’s Finance in 15

In their podcast Finance in 15, PwC Canada’s future of finance leader Adam Boutros sits down with finance executives to get their insights on finance transformation including how to get started, maintain momentum, and achieve long-term, lasting results. 

Geared towards senior finance leaders, Finance in 15 is a B2B podcast with the aim of providing updates and education on the rapidly evolving world of finance transformation. 

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Impact.com’s The Partnership Economy

The Partnership Economy is a B2B podcast by Impact, a partnership management platform. In each episode, the host sits down with a different industry leader to chat about all things partnerships, including how to create a great partnership program, the benefits of partnerships, and industry trends. 

The concept of this show is effective because it directly ladders back to the company’s main offering and how it can benefit marketing industry professionals who regularly work on partnerships.

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How to create a B2B branded podcast

Working with a corporate podcast agency

As you embark on your B2B branded podcast journey, it’s important to remember that podcasting is a marathon, not a sprint. To create a B2B podcast that truly makes an impact, partner with a podcast agency that offers B2B podcast-specific services.

Here are a few leading agencies specializing in B2B brands:

Quill

Quill is a full-service podcast agency that primarily works on B2B clients and big-name brands across industries like tech, finance, healthcare, and more. Some of our service offerings include:

• Full-service podcast production (everything from coming up with the creative concept to distribution, launch, and promotion!)
• Podcast marketing
• Internal podcasts
• Video podcasts

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Lower Street 

Lower Street is another full-service podcasting agency that has worked with clients such as PepsiCo, Hewlett-Packard, and many more. The services they offer include: 

• Professional Editing
• Narrative Production
• Show Notes Service
• Full-Service Production
• Podcast Promotion Services

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Fame

Fame is a podcast production agency specializing in B2B branded podcasts. Some of the B2B brands they’ve worked with include Alibaba.com, Workday, and CXL. Their services include: 

• Full-service podcast production
• Email newsletters
• Social media management

Quill Tip: If you’re looking for B2B-specific agencies, tools, and platforms to help you throughout your podcast journey, check out our article where we spotlight our favorites. 

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Producing a b2b podcast in-house

A great agency can help you with all the ins and outs of creating a B2B podcast that resonates with audiences and achieves your business goals. However, if you opt to produce a company podcast in-house, here are a few first steps to consider with your team:

• Determine your ultimate podcast goals and outcomes. What are the podcast’s key messages? How do you want listeners to come away feeling after an episode? What is the overarching objective(s)? These are all important questions to consider in the early stages of coming up with your show’s concept, theme, and episodic structure.
• Ensure you have the right podcast equipment and resources. Once you’ve allocated a specific budget to dedicate to the show, think about the kind of hardware, software, and human resourcing you’ll need to get the job done. For example, at the very least, you’ll need a good microphone, recording/editing software, a hosting platform, and people who are willing to speak on the podcast.
• Brainstorm creative ideas with your team. This is the fun part! Sit down with your team and come up with some ideas for the show’s theme, episode structure, potential guests, unique segments, and any other creative details that will put your brand’s unique stamp on your show.
• Get into a production flow. From there, you’ll want to map out a production schedule that’s manageable for you and your team, determine a launch date, and decide on a cadence for releasing episodes. As a good rule of thumb, we typically suggest releasing a new episode every two weeks.
• Launch, release, promote! Use all the avenues at your disposal to promote your podcast, including email newsletters, social media, and any other communications channels your team uses regularly. 

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Is a B2B podcast right for your brand? 

To sum up, B2C brands are not the only contenders for adding audio to their marketing mix—several leading brands have successfully leveraged B2B podcasts to meet their unique goals. B2B branded podcasts are an invaluable resource for engaging with other businesses in a personal way and achieving your overarching business goals. 

Reach out to Quill to learn more about our branded podcast services and how a B2B podcast could fit into your brand.