It seems like everyone’s making a podcast these days, from world-renowned journalists and authors to the odd teenager next door. Podcasting is an easy way to share your message with the world. It is an excellent tool for businesses and individuals to build a brand, share their story and cement themselves as thought leaders in their field.
In the early 20th century, radio was a revolutionary concept. It allowed ordinary people to instantaneously find news and entertainment and connect with the wider world. Yet, radio is a controlled medium. Only those with licenses and access to expensive broadcast equipment are able to bring their message to the airwaves.
Just as blogging and social media brought about the democratization of journalism, podcasting has brought about the democratization of radio. It takes little money, skill or expertise to produce a podcast. Spotify reports that there are now 3.2 million podcasts on its platform. Alongside the influx of creators is an influx of consumers. Pew Research found that the percentage of Americans who listen to podcasts on a monthly basis rose to 41% in 2021.
The rise of podcasts presents creators with an opportunity and a challenge. Ten years ago, you might have been able to get away with minimal podcast marketing effort. Today, podcasters must break through the noise to carve out a slice of the market share.
At MHP/Team SI, we have years of experience in boosting the organic traffic for our clients’ websites, blogs, social media channels and, yes, podcasts. We’ve put together a list of five easy tips for how you can stand out from the crowd to find and cultivate loyal listeners for your podcast.
1. Create and post content with consistency.
The most important thing you can do to boost your podcast’s organic reach is to post consistently. Creators who post weekly or biweekly earn more subscribers and loyal listeners. A higher catalog of episodes also gives more opportunities for searchers to find you content.
2. Standardize your podcast titles and keywords.
One of the most important things you can do to drive traffic to your podcast is to standardize your naming conventions. Each podcast should feature the same general structure. For example, [Episode Number + Series Name + Topic Discussed + with “Guest”] makes for an excellent podcast title and improves user experience for those searching for a specific episode. Keywords should also be used consistently in the description to help boost your podcast SEO.
3. Atomize your social media posts.
Your social media presence is one of the most effective ways you can drive new traffic to your podcast. Consistent posting helps drive engagement on your posts and often results in more clicks. Break down your long podcast episodes into multiple posts, each one sharing a different tidbit from your latest episode. This strategy, known as atomization, helps increase your post count and build more backlinks to your streaming platform.
4. Use hashtags to their fullest potential.
Figure out which hashtags your audience is using and incorporate those in your social media when promoting your episodes. Monitoring hashtags is also a great way to find relevant, timely topics to discuss in new episodes. Combining hashtag research into your podcast content and promotional posts will help similar audiences find and engage with your content.
5. Post podcast transcripts to your blog.
An easy podcast SEO best practice is to post full transcripts on your blog with an embedded podcast player. The benefits from this are plentiful: consistent content for your blog, more accessibility for your audience, and more social media content. But, perhaps most importantly, it provides a wealth of keywords for Google’s crawlers to discover as they index your site.
Search Engine Optimization is the backbone of generating organic traffic. Securing and growing an audience is difficult, but these foundational SEO tips can make your podcast stand out from the rest.
If you want to truly take your podcasting efforts to the next level, feel free to reach out to us! MHP/Team SI has 50 years of experience reaching all industries and mediums. Let us help you grow your brand by using our comprehensive knowledge, trailblazing experts, and TraDigital marketing strategies!
