Using podcasts to start a conversation

Radio has always been known as the personal medium, because it feels like the broadcaster is speaking directly to you. 

Podcasts take that personalisation a step further, they have a word in your ear about subjects you choose to listen to. 

Anyone can produce and publish a podcast. You can tailor a podcast to a very niche market segment and if you get the first one right you can build a long-term relationship over a series. Here are our three top tips for doing just that.

1. Nail your subject

There are thousands of podcasts and those virtual sound shelves are added to daily. Choose a topic that your customers want to know more about.

At distillery we know that running more diverse and inclusive businesses is as important to our customers as it is to us and that is the focus of our Proud to Be podcast series. 

If you are led by people with those lived experiences and the complexity of a few of those, it means that you will be able to understand how to avoid doing harm.
— Collette Philip, founder of Brand By Me

2. Stay relevant 

Frame the conversation so that it is always relevant to your target audience. If you’re interviewing someone, carefully craft the questions so they stay on subject and provide answers to your audience.

If you’re talking directly to your audience about a topic they are interested in, keep it short, sharp and succinct. If you ramble, your listeners will switch off and won’t return.

The way you stay relevant is you stay connected, and you listen. And you understand people’s lives. You understand the role you play in it, and the importance of the role you play in it.
— Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer, Boots UK

3. Include characters with a strong following

Your podcast is only as strong as its audience. Feature people with an extensive social media fan base who are interested in your podcast subject and they will help to amplify your audience.

 
It is critically important to me that every individual can truly be able to be themselves and to truly be able to express what’s going on inside themselves and not feel like they’re in an environment where maybe that’s not safe, or not possible.
— Chris Gardner, Trading Director and Diversity & Inclusion UK lead at eBay

distillery’s latest podcast series, Proud To Be, features D&I leaders from across the industry sharing their learnings on how to approach and deliver on D&I, both as individuals and as a business. You can listen on Spotify, iTunes, or where ever you get your podcasts from, just search distillery: Proud To Be.