Promoting A New Podcast
Putting together a podcast has many different facets. You have conceptualization, research, pre-production, and production. Then there is post-production, where the podcast is packaged and topped off with a bow.
But once the podcast is packaged, it must be delivered for the public to be able to listen to it.
The first thing to do is select a place to upload the podcast. BuzzSprout.com offers hosting packages including up to 2 hours for free every 90 days. If you need more, you can choose one of several packages.
Setting up the podcast on Buzz Sprout is relatively simple if you follow the steps. The steps ensure you upload the correct sized graphic at 3000 x 3000, and that you mark a vulgar podcast as explicit so that it is not made available for children.
Once the podcast is setup, you can then click on “Directories” to submit the podcast to Apple, Spotify, Google, and more.
The Spotify submission is relatively straight forward and is typically approved that day.
When submitting the podcast to Apple, the approval could take up to two weeks, but once approved, the show becomes available on other platforms like Cast box.
Another feature that Buzz Sprout has is it sets up an RSS feed and a website that can be shared.
Who you share the podcast with and how are critical steps to consider when promoting your podcast?
Alexa Ahrens wrote an article in 2020 on how to market a podcast on social media, which is a great place to go because of the number of people you can reach.
Ahrens said there are 2.45 billion monthly active users on Facebook, 1 billion on Instagram, 330 million on Twitter, and 2 billion on YouTube.
She said it is not an easy task to make space in the podcasting world for yourself, but it is not impossible if you leverage your podcast and social media to organically grow the audience.
How do you go about promoting your podcast properly? Ahrens said you first need to understand where your audience lives on social media, so choose a platform carefully.
Once you have a platform, it is important to remain consistent with how often you post new podcasts, so offer some sort of schedule for your listeners. Ahrens also suggests that you engage with the listeners on social media and hang out on the platforms that your listeners hang out on. While you are at it, you can also comment on other podcaster posts to help build a name for yourself.
That is not all you can do, though. In fact, platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all have algorithms that improve visibility of posts.
Twitter, according to Ahren, has four factors:
- Timelines – how recently a tweet was published
- Engagement – how many retweets, clicks, etc.
- Media Type – type of media used in the tweet.
- Activity – how active the user is.
Then, the Twitter feed is split into three sections:
- Tweets ranked by the algorithm above.
- “in case you missed it” tweets
- Reverse chronological order tweets
All these things help determine whether your tweets will appear at the top of feeds.
Another guide by Castos that was published in October 2020 gives several different ideas on how to promote a podcast.
Two pillars of podcasting, Castos said, are that you have quality content, and you allow time to build an audience. Rome was not built in a day, and neither are podcasts.
If those two pillars are in place, then there are several strategies that Castos recommends.
Those strategies include focusing on the audience, experimenting, and measuring new strategies to find out what does and does not work, releasing three podcasts on launch day, submitting the podcast to directories and aggregators, and prompting listeners to subscribe, share, and leave reviews.
Castos also reiterates what Ahrens said when it comes to networking with other podcasters.
There are several other strategies that can be used, like teasing episodes with small clips called audiograms, converting the podcast into a YouTube video, and even paying your way into social media feeds.
Ultimately, there is not one way to promote the podcast, but instead, there are several you can use together. Experimenting is crucial, as is patience.
At the end of the day, you put a lot of work into your podcast, so take your time building an audience that can appreciate your masterpiece.
Ahrens, A. (2020) The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Your Podcast on Social Media in 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020, from https://audioburst.com/blog/post/the-ultimate-guide-to-marketing-your-podcast-on-social-media-in-2020
Castos. (2020) How To Promote A Podcast: The 2020 Ultimate Guide – Castos. Retrieved October 24, 2020, from https://castos.com/how-to-promote-a-podcast/