According to G2, a peer to peer review site, 51% of consumers say less than half of brands create content that seems authentic. Yikes. 

Perception of your brand can influence revenue, recruitment, employee satisfaction and everything in between. Needless to say, how audiences and employees perceive your brand is crucial.  

Podcasts represent a unique opportunity to showcase your brand's values and culture, and when properly done, can resonate as authentic and compelling content. 

Let’s look at a few ways podcasts improve brand perception which in turn, will improve your brands growth.

The Power of Longform Content 

One of the most powerful things about podcasts is that they aren’t constrained by the same time or word limits as shortform media like Instagram and Twitter. 

According to CoHost’s State of Branded Podcast’s 2022 Report, mid-length podcasts are the top rated branded podcasts, with reviews peaking in the 21-30 minute range. As a marketer, holding your audiences attention for 21-30 minutes is a dream channel!

This gives marketers opportunity to develop meaningful content, rather than having to tailor content to fit constraints that may leave it falling flat with your audience. 

Longform content also gives your brand more opportunity to form connections with your audience. It’s hard to stand out on social media, and as a brand, these platforms can feel impersonal. 

Podcasts on the other hand can:

• Give listeners the chance to connect with the host(s)
• Have a deeper understanding of your brands vision and mission 
• Provide audiences with highly valuable content
• Position your brand as a thought leader in your industry
• Bring a human element back to your brand 

If audience members feel they can trust the host(s) of your branded podcast, chances are they feel like they can trust your brand. 

Podcasts are Content Generating Machines

One of the great benefits of podcasts is that they automatically become content gold mines. You have regular recordings of content that you can transform to be used across your other channels. 

Quotes can be pulled and turned into Instagram posts, transcripts can be used to pad LinkedIn articles, and any visual content can be used to create Instagram reels or stories. The possibilities are endless. 

So how does this help improve brand perception? 

Consumers want a unified and personalized brand experience across channels. According to a study of 2500 consumers in the UK, brands are having a difficult time providing the experience they are looking for. Using podcast content as part of a well thought out marketing strategy can help to fill content holes and help your brand create cohesive branding and messaging. 

Just remember, your marketing channels aren’t meant to work in silos. Every channel your brand exists on should in some way be connected to the other channels that you’re working off of. 

Consistent Collaboration

Interview/discussion format podcasts are the most common type of branded podcast, and for good reason! 

Collaborations and interviews with notable leaders in your industry bring in new listeners and gives your brand and podcast authority. 

Becoming a thought leader in your niche not only attracts listeners to your podcast, but potential leads to your brand, and collaborating with other credible names amplifies the result. 

To ensure you get the marketing goodness from having a highly notable guest on your podcast, make it as easy for them as possible to share their episode. This means creating a media kit that includes: 

• Episode links
• Sample social media posts 
• Creative assets 

And anything else you deem relevant. Your goal is to make it a seamless process within their busy schedule. 

Quick Tip: When approaching someone to be a guest on your podcast, make sure you highlight your brand's strengths, and provide the reasons that you think they would be a good fit. Remember to point out why it would be a mutually beneficial relationship!

Keep it About The Podcast (and not your brand)

If you want your podcast to improve your brand's perception (and since you’re reading this, we assume you do you need a podcast that listeners will enjoy and keep coming back to. 

It's important to keep in mind that your branded podcast should not be a platform you use to simply sell products/services to your listeners.Your podcast is the product. Write this down and never forget it! 

Filling it with mentions of your brand is not going to improve perception, it will drive your audience away. No listener wants to tune in to a 30 minute infomercial for your brand.

Remember, listeners are looking for authenticity and valuable content. If they can’t find that with your branded podcast, they will turn elsewhere. 

Boosting Internal Perception 

Finally, let's not forget the importance of how your employees perceive your brand. The people who work for you are your ambassadors, and if they’re unhappy, potential customers will feel it. 

A new report by Morning Consult found that 90% of consumers said it is important to them that brands treat their employees well. A branded podcast can boost corporate culture in many ways, the principle being that they improve awareness, drive engagement, educate audiences, increase loyalty, and drive brand perception! That’s a ton of benefit.

If your employees genuinely enjoy your podcast and find it valuable, they are likely to perceive your brand more positively, and feel proud to belong to a company that produces a well respected podcast. 

Choosing the right podcast agency to help you create and deliver a winning podcast is the first step to improving your brand's perception through the power of podcasting! Finding a partner that can understand the brand perception you want to create is key.