Producing a podcast is only one part of your overall podcast strategy. The most important question that you should ask as a podcaster, especially if your podcast is tied to your business, is…
“What actions do you want your podcast listeners to take when they find your podcast?”
Recently I was reviewing the website of some podcast deals that we did not win. (You can’t win them all!) I was shocked at the lack of strategy that went into their use of their podcast.
My guess is that the marketing team hired a podcast editor to produce the podcast and then they worked to figure out how to use the podcast on their own.
Had they been our client, we would not be satisfied with just producing their podcast, we would want to make sure that their process of using the podcast aligned with their marketing and business objectives.
You want to avoid making the Podcast Strategy mistakes that this business did.
Here Are Key Podcast Strategy Tips That You Should Never Miss
Focus on driving podcast traffic to your website
As a business, your website is your main hub of activity. It is where you present all of your abilities, products, and services and most importantly where you capture your new business leads.
For this reason, every marketing effort, including your podcast, should lead back to your website.
When you promote your website on social media, point the clips and links back to a page on your website that allows the visitor to fully consume your content.
This will allow you to attribute the social content stemming from your podcast not only to the podcast but to the increased website traffic that it generates.
Also, when you have lead generation forms on your webpage next to the podcast article, you can also see if you generate leads directly as a result of the podcast. Although it is rare to see a lead with an absolute attributable tie to a podcast episode, it does happen – and you don’t want to miss that opportunity. (see the form on this page for example… and join our email list!)
Create a Blog Category on Your Website
Just as you have a category dedicated to blog articles, you should also have a dedicated category for your podcast.
There should be a category page that highlights the podcast and suggests the most recent ones the same way you would traditional blog articles.
When each episode receives its own page, you have a location where you can place all other content surrounding that individual episode and the people involved.
IMPORTANT: This individual page is where you want all of your social mentions about the podcast episode to link to!
Also on this page, you can have a lead generation form, product advertisements and offers, as well as a “pod roll” linking to other episodes.
Always embed podcast players on your website
You always want to make listening to your podcast as easy as possible. When you have website traffic, this is “low-hanging fruit” that enables engagement with your visitors. Missing this was the biggest mistake that I noticed when examining the podcast page of the lost client!
When I visited their podcast episodes, there was no easy way to listen to the podcast.
There was plenty of text but no means to listen unless I LEFT their website to open Apple, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. (Major fail!)
They were directing their traffic away from their website – in the wrong direction.
Every podcast episode page should have an embedded podcast player. The best player is one that comes directly from the podcast host because it will not be biased on where to send your listeners to subscribe.
[You can actually listen, here… right now – hit the play button… go ahead!]
If you embed an Apple or Spotify player, the share and subscribe options presented will be limited to those platforms. You will then be dependent on adding additional icons to provide additional options. Even with buttons on your website, you will miss some subscribers if the player says “Subscribe” and then it leads to a platform that the listener does not prefer.
What should be on a podcast episode page on my website?
Here is a checklist of items that we suggest are a part of every episodes webpage:
- Embedded Player
- Show Summary and/or Description
- Key points or questions touched on in the episode
- Links to those people featured in the episode
- Icons to the top 3-4 listening platforms – linking directly to your show
Optional but suggested for SEO value:
- Transcription
- Full article re-written based on the podcast
Podcast Metadata – What you should include in your podcast description
In addition to the episode summary and description (here’s how to write those), there are several linking opportunities that you want to take advantage of inside your podcast episode data. This is the information that can be added below the description (typically in the description section) that provides the listener with calls to action or next steps. It also provides an opportunity to add tracked links to measure engagement.
Some of the items that you should include in the description section of your podcast are:
- Social media links – Link to the people and brands mentioned in your podcast
- Resources – Links to any video, documents, or research mentioned in your podcast
- Website URLs – Link to your company as well as others featured in the podcast
- Contact Form links – Link directly to pages containing contact forms
- Phone number – Even today, customers may want to connect with you quickly and directly by phone
- Sponsor or Partner information – If your episode or show is sponsored this allows yet another opportunity to track interaction with your podcast.
Depending on the podcast listening app, these items may appear more or less prominently, however, having them in place gives you the opportunity to mention content in your audio that the listener can click on later.
Conclusion
Having a podcast player embedded in your website allows visitors to listen to your podcast without leaving your site. A podcast page is an opportunity for engagement, high SEO value, and original content that no other website will have produced.
Don’t miss an opportunity to promote your brand and your podcast by simply releasing podcast content without a podcast strategy.
If you need a content marketing partner to help you with your podcasting strategy, Content Monsta would be happy to help. We start with your concept, build and record your podcast, produce it, create content around it, and work with you to execute a strategy for long-term ROI on your marketing efforts.
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