Women's Network July 2018 | Page 41

business clique P odcasting as new age media is well established with listeners overseas and here in Australia it’s trending with a whopping 17% of Australian’s listening to a podcast in the last month. WHAT IS A PODCAST? A podcast is an audio file, like radio but on demand like Netflix, has a regular host and may or may not have guests on the show. You listen to a podcast on your mobile device or computer. The most popular apps to listen to podcasts is through iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify or directly from the audio link accessed through your online search engine. It’s free to listen to and the themes of shows are practically endless. Just type in the search bar the topic that you are interested in Plus the word podcast and see what comes up, for example: “women in business podcast” and hit enter. You’ll get a list of podcast shows to choose from. Scroll through the list and just like looking at books on a bookshelf, choose a title that appeals to you and hit play. (Tip: If you like the show be sure to hit the subscribe button so you latest episodes are automatically downloaded to your device). It’s a highly conven ient way to consume content while you are working, commuting or working out, and saves time and money. HOW CAN A PODCAST HELP ME REACH MY TARGET AUDIENCE? A podcast show has three main responsibilities: 1) Provide content 2) Promote episodes 3) Build a listener following A professional Podcast Host and Producers invest time and money working out the theme for their show, topics to be covered, the format of the show, frequency of release of episodes, marketing strategies and most importantly the avatar of the listener they are creating the podcast for. This last point is the most important one for you as a potential guest on the show. WHY DID IT WORK? As a woman in business, your time is valuable and short. You have expertise, and a product or service that you want to share with as many potential targeted clients as you can in the shortest time possible. Being interviewed on a podcast show Even though I was completely unknown to the listeners of the podcast, being invited as a guest expert onto the show, and providing a quality interview, immediately gave me credibility and built know- like-trust status with the shows listeners, making them more receptive to what I had to offer. “Pick the right podcast to be featured on... and you can generate leads and even immediate sales.” immediately gives you access to the ears of the followers of that show. Pick the right show to be featured on, with a target audience that aligns with your business target audience, and you can generate leads and even immediate sales. Here’s an example. My target audience is women in business, ages 35-55, successful but struggling to prioritise self-care and at risk of burnout. I was featured on the “Dance Studio Owners Association Podcast” (DSOA) and my expert topic was 5 ways to avoid burnout as an entrepreneur. Within an hour of the episode being released and promoted across social media, I secured a listener as a client. 1) I spoke directly to my target audience (Dance Studio Owners are predominantly women in my target age range), about pain points relevant to them. 2) I offered my expert solution for free in the form of the interview 3)I had a call to action at the end of the interview. That podcast show invests in wide distribution and promotion of each episode and in addition I heavily promoted my interview on the show to my followers across all my social media platforms to ensure the widest reach possible. The show gained new listeners from my followers, I reached a new audience and gained a new client. Being a guest on the right podcast show can help you to market to a wider audience easily and quickly, increase awareness and credibility for your product or services, and generate sales. Do your research and make a list of the podcast shows that serve your target audience, and apply to be a guest on the show. Your ideal customer needs to hear from YOU. AUTHOR Nicole van Hattem HOT & HEALTHY BUSINESS LIFE CONTACT [email protected] 0424 445 082 WEBSITE www.NicolevanHattem.com Women’s Network Magazine 41