Most B2B podcasts suck. Yours doesn't have to.

If you're a B2B content marketer, you've probably thought about creating a podcast. After all, your competitors have them. So, you start doing some research - listening to what's out there, seeing how people respond, and talking to colleagues.

You see that the results can be profound, and decide to start one of your own.

Sooner or later, you become disillusioned. Maybe it's before you pour time and energy into producing a podcast of your own, maybe it's after.

Regardless, the reason is always the same: B2B podcasts suck.

They're boring, and they never bother to address what listeners are actually looking for. Of course, this isn't always the fault of the team behind the podcast. Sometimes they have other priorities on their plate, or maybe they haven't podcasted before.

Either way, the shows end up abandoned, or worse, as dead podcasts walking - marketing budget black holes that fail to generate the results they can and should.

It doesn't have to be this way, though. In fact, podcasts are one of the most uniquely powerful content marketing channels out there. So why do so many B2B podcasts fail?

They fail because producing bad podcasts is easy. Really easy. Way easier than producing quality video content or writing fascinating blog posts. And clearly, way easier than podcasting successfully.

Want to do it right? Here’s what it looks like:

What role does podcasting play in a complete content operation?

A complete content strategy has a strong foundation. That looks different for every company, but usually it starts with blog content. Building from there, you introduce new channels as you scale.

Podcasting is just one content form. It's just one tool for achieving a set of content marketing goals. At Podsicle Media, It happens to be the form we specialize in, and uniquely effective in ways other content can't be.

Think of it as that special nozzle for your vacuum that's the only one that can get in the nooks and crannies. Is that the core of your strategy? Nope. But nothing else can do what Podcasting can, and it is an important part of a complete strategy. Ultimately, the goal is to build an audio vehicle to achieve well constructed marketing goals.

How do you develop a show strategy?

Show strategy is equal parts art and science. Usually, we start by honing in on one or two of our core strategies. That means selecting one, or some combination, of the following:

• Demand Generation
• Reputation
• Community
• Account Based Marketing

Those core strategies then frame the approach for the rest of the show. They dictate things like measurable goals, content format, guest personas, target audience, and timeline.

A lot of this is part of our secret sauce at Podsicle, but if you want to learn the details, just drop us a line at strategy@podsiclemedia.com.

Who will be the guests on the show?

Depending on the results of the previous step, you’ll have a really strong idea of what your guest persona is. These personas are identified for their unique ability to most effectively fulfill the goals developed in the initial strategy work.

But even if you know who you want on your show, getting a hold of prominent figures in your industry is hard enough. Booking them for guest appearances is even harder. We find that many of our clients come to us with this as a primary area of need. Social platforms like LinkedIn are a great place to start. There are also websites dedicated to facilitating these types of connections - sites like Matchmaker.fm.

At Podsicle, we have a dedicated guest management team that handles guest identification, outreach, and booking so our clients don’t have to. We lean on our previous relationships, specialty software, and social platforms to book impactful guests.

I’ve recorded an episode. Now what?

The first slog of creative work is done, and you’re ready to move into the production and administrative phases. We recommend using software like Adobe Audition or Descript, depending on your needs. Once you’ve edited the audio, optimized the tracks, filtered out background noise, and added your intro and outro, you’ll publish your episode.

We use Simplecast for hosting, but there are plenty of great options out there. Upload your audio file, cover art, show notes, show description and tags, ensure your podcast’s feed is synced with the major distributors (Spotify, Apple, and Google), and hit publish. Your episode is now live for the world to hear!

I’ve published an episode. Now what?

You’re done, right? Not so fast. There's more strategy and creative work to be done on the backend. From the strategy side, you’ll want to monitor if the podcast is performing in the ways you established at the start. This goes further than just measuring downloads, but there are plenty of approaches to take. If you’re looking for a place to start, Simplecast provides some analytics, and tools like Voxalyze can give you more granular insights.

As for content, repurposing a podcast is the single most overlooked but critical part of success. You’ll want to turn your podcast into blog posts, audiograms, quote cards, and social content to distribute across all your other channels. Not everyone is going to be able to tune in for the full episode, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still get value from your content. What repurposed forms your podcast takes will depend on the rest of your brand’s broader content strategy, but you can get started with platforms like Headliner and Canva.

I’ve repurposed an episode. Now what?

Do it all again next week. Wash, rinse, repeat, and watch your company grow with every episode.

If you want great odds to succeed in building and producing a podcast for your team, follow this guide.

If you want the best odds, work with us at Podsicle Media. We’ll take care of everything above and more so you don't have to. We’re podcasting experts, and we’ll do what we do best so you can keep doing what you do best.