You might have seen the new offer I have added to my website this week. It is one I am particularly excited about (and this is an understatement): Corporate Podcasts. Rather than just explaining to you why you should be starting a corporate podcast in your company, I will just talk you through how I came up with the idea.
I have known for quite a few years now that I wanted to work in Marketing because the field is just so diverse, fast-paced and it marries design with strategy. However, the downside is that there are SO many exciting subfields within Marketing that I found myself in the difficult position to pick one for myself.
I took it back one step and looked at what I was currently doing. A typical work week consists of creating designs and text for my clients' social media profiles, my own Instagram page, updating my website with new offers, networking, blog writing and of course, podcasting. Podcasting, itself, then further breaks down into preparing the structure of the season, researching and writing the interview guide, conducting the actual interview, designing the Instagram post for the episode, editing the audio file and finally uploading it with the relevant show notes onto my distribution platform.
As you can see podcasting alone takes up quite a bit of my time. Nevertheless, it is one of the tasks I certainly never put off and I can't even describe how much I love every single little step of the way. However, I also know that many others don't share this sentiment with me but nevertheless know about the importance of podcasting as a marketing tool.
Well, first things first. I googled podcasting agencies to see if anyone else was alrady offering the service to get a better feeling of supply and demand. And as luck should have it there aren't many providers out there yet.
To be fair, it was less luck than just a good sense of current trends because right after my affection for podcasting is my passion for researching trends in the marketing industry. As a result of that I had also started my podcast, Marketing Bla Bla, in the first place. I just knew that audio content was on the uprise and is predicted to further gain traction. Since 2016 the number of podcast listeners increased from 16% to 33% alone. That is insane!
And the craziest thing about that growth is that we haven't reached the peak, yet. We are still miles and miles away from saturation on the podcast market which is why more and more podcasts become available on a daily basis. (Do you remember the beginnings of Social Media? That's what is happening in the podcast market right now!)
One of the most attractive aspects of podcasts is the diversity of genres out there: True Crime, Historical podcasts, comedy shows, educational shows etc. The list is endless. Most podcasts are hosted by people like you and me who are enthusiastic about a certain topic and have basic audio editing skills.
Nevertheless, the truly successful podcasts often have a rather big team behind them and are set up as semi-structured organizations. Sometimes actual companies run podcasts to attract new audiences or position themselves as experts in their fields. This comes naturally for media companies like Ö3 or Der Standard. But also companies like Sephora, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and eBay are following the trend.
I support the implementation of a corporate podcast as an external Marketing tool 100%. I believe any company will draw a great deal of attention from using the podcasting trend for their own Marketing endeavors. However, I am also convinced that there is another way to use podcasts and this is internal branding.
According to Wikipedia - my most trusted source of all - internal branding consists of branding activities that are directed inwards. The goal is to include employees in brand building activities more proactively, to inform them about the brand and finally to impact their behavior in accordance with the brand.
The result are happier, more motivated employees who put trust in their company and are loyal to their brand. They will go above and beyond to reach the Organisation's goals and are proud of their job. In short: A deeper bond between employee and the brand is created.
In a day and age where companies are fighting for the most qualified employees and struggle to keep them satisfied within their roles communication plays a key role. On the one hand side, especially in large organizations management often struggles to understand the needs of their employees and they do not have a chance to hear the ideas that float around. On the other hand side, employees often feel neglected and insignificant in the context of a large organization. They are having a hard time understanding their role within the organization and their contribution to the company's goals. This results in a lack of motivation and enthusiasm on both sides.
Having realized the potential of podcasts and the importance of internal branding, there was one more thing that inspired me to create my offer.
I simply love talking and anyone who knows me will testify to that. But more so, I love listening. I first started Marketing Bla Bla because I was mesmerized by the wealth in knowledge and skill I was surrounded by and I had to ensure this knowledge got shared and heard.
As stated in the "About" section of this website, I am a strong believer in sharing knowledge to improve as a society. Therefore, I saw my skills best put to use by helping these people to make their voices heard.
Through that purpose I found the fun in podcasting. As mentioned at the beginning, I love recording new podcast episodes, finding out more about my guests by talking to them and starting discussions that lead to new ideas.
And exactly this passion also translates into the success of my podcast. Having started my podcast not even three months ago, my episodes have been listened to more than 250 times!
Either way, if I had to decide for one thing that I loved the most about my job (not saying that I don't enjoy the other parts, by the way), it would be recording the podcasts. Working with people is so much more enjoyable to me than working by myself that this is what I want to focus on in the future.
So this is how I try to explain this amazing feeling I had when I first consciously thought of corporate podcasts. These ideas happen rarely where you just feel so sure of it that you know it has to work. You know that companies just need this. You know what a great impact it will have on a company's culture.
I hope I could bring across some of the excitement I feel towards corporate podcasts. I can't wait to actually implement the first podcasts in my clients' companies and see the impact on the organizational culture. I will keep you posted on the topic and report back to you my results.
