{"id":2948,"date":"2016-12-05T10:12:38","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T18:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=2948"},"modified":"2016-12-05T10:12:38","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T18:12:38","slug":"podcasts-may-just-right-channel-small-business-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/podcasts-may-just-right-channel-small-business-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcasts may be just the right channel for small business marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"BackBeat<\/p>\n

Have you considered podcasting as a way to tell your small business story to your target audience? If not, it\u2019s something you might want to do. Citing results<\/a> from Edison Research, the Pew Research Center reports that as of this year, 21% of Americans age 12 or older say they have listened to a podcast in the last month, representing steady incremental growth since 2013 when the share was 12%.<\/p>\n

With everyone on the go, preferred devices for podcast listening are smartphones, tablets or other portable devices versus desktops. In 2016, 64% of Americans age 12 or older who have\u00a0ever listened to a podcast said they were listening \u201cmost often\u201d on a mobile device, compared to 55% in 2015, according to Pew.<\/p>\n

Podcasting also presents small businesses with opportunities to build incremental revenue through commercial advertising.\u00a0 You can place small, short advertisements within the podcasts.\u00a0 Another recent survey<\/a> from comScore commissioned by Wondery, an audio\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 on-demand network, found that two-thirds of podcast listeners have engaged in various research and\/or purchase related activity as a result of exposure to advertising from podcasts.<\/p>\n

Use podcasts for brand building<\/h4>\n

Podcasts can help small business brand building by enabling you to showcase your expertise, products or services. Podcast content provides an opportunity to reinforce brand messages.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the content of small business podcasts, there is a range of opportunities. Interviews with customers, partners or industry experts are one option to convey your product or service message and highlight industry trends that support your offerings. Podcasts can be instructional or educational about how to use your offerings. In fact, you can use the podcasts to address questions that come in through customer service channels.<\/p>\n

Post podcasts on your website, blog and social media channels or send them out in an email marketing campaign. \u00a0You also can expand your small business podcast reach using iTunes and other services like Stitcher<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Quality counts<\/h4>\n

Creating a small business podcast doesn\u2019t have to break the bank. All it takes to create one is a computer, microphone and speaker as well as a headset<\/a> for optimal recording. \u00a0But just because they can be easy to create, doesn\u2019t eliminate the need for a strategic plan to guide their content development and distribution. Keep the following in mind as you being your podcast marketing activity.<\/p>\n