Podcasts

In conversation Many retailers are choosing to get their message over via podcasts

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW PODCASTS

Nikita Thorne, Head of Strategy at Guides for Brides and host of Guides for Brides - The Wedding Podcast, explains the value of guesting on a podcast to reach your target audience with your own message. Bridalwear retailers are already discovering the benefits

Podcasting has grown significantly over the past few years and it is becoming an important marketing opportunity for businesses. I am the host of Guides for Brides - The Wedding Podcast. Active since January 2021, we are now entering our fourth season with a growing audience of couples. We are one of the top 10% most shared podcasts globally*, reaching 50 countries, and our third season was one of the top 10% most viewed for video podcasts on Spotify.

The Wedding Podcast is designed to help couples to plan their wedding with practical planning tips, advice and ideas. We invite expert guests onto the podcast to discuss all things wedding planning from the logistics of the day, to unique ideas and exclusive advice.

If you are considering being a guest on a podcast as a potential marketing avenue, then it is important to find the right show to feature on. Here’s how you can go about doing that: *Stats from Spotify’s 2022 Podcaster Wrapped.

There are over 3 million podcasts out there so finding the right one to feature on can sometimes be tricky. While that’s quite a daunting number, remember that every podcast has a niche and there’ll likely be one for your business. This is all down to research. You’ll want to find a podcast that suits your brand and help you achieve your goals, whether that is brand promotion or positioning.

What you want to find is a podcast that fits your brand and the audience you are wanting to target. Not every podcast is going to have millions of followers and listeners, but one that has both casual and regular listeners wanting to learn more about a specific topic will likely increase the potential for a conversion.

Here are a few things you’ll want to do to find the right podcast (and listeners):

Put yourself in the shoes of your target market A great way to actively find a podcast is to search for the key terms that you want your business to appear for on a podcast platform such as Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Podcasts.

Consider how your audience would find the podcast. What would they search for? Type in these terms and browse the shows and episodes that appear.

When you select a few shows you feel may be appropriate, check the following information: • How often do episodes get published and are they still actively creating content? • Does the show have a website or somewhere it links to so that you can get in touch easily? ⚫• ⚫How many episodes have they recorded? • Does it look like they record in a studio, via Zoom, etc? Does that suit you logistically?

Use these questions to create a shortlist of shows you’d like to target for guest features.

Listen to the content and consider how you can add value Now you have identified the ideal shows for you, look for the episodes that they have done and vitally, listen to them. As a host, I am much more likely to select a guest speaker who has actively listened to the podcast and knows how they can provide my audience with value.

It’s also important to know what topics have already featured and this can only be achieved by listening. If you think the topic that’s your first choice may already have been covered, fear not. You may be able to find an alternative angle or a gap in content that hasn’t been focused on yet. Again, as a host, if you can immediately identify that gap, then you will have a better chance of being invited on as a guest.

Top tip: The more you can say on a topic, the better. It is much easier for the recordings to be cut down rather than having to create additional content after the recording.

Consider the audience It sounds obvious, but knowing the audience you want to reach should be your number one consideration when investigating podcasts to feature on. Some podcasts are designed to have a wide audience

range, so while the topic is wedding related, the audience don’t need to be getting married to tune in and enjoy the discussions. Some have a B2B focus, so are perfect to target if you are wanting to make the move into consultancy.

At Guides for Brides, we target our podcast towards couples who are at any stage of the wedding planning process. This allows for topic flexibility as well as ensuring we have a consistent niche.

It also allows our audience to be a mixture of casual listeners who will dive into one or two episodes based on finding it through a specific search, and loyal followers who listen to most episodes and consider the show to be a core part of their wedding planning.

Our audience wants light educational content that will give them the advice or tips they are looking for, but in a relaxed and fun way. The approach The angle of the podcast and its context are vitally important to consider. Your appearance on a podcast can affect the way you are wanting to position your brand to the audience. Consider the way you wish to be positioned as a business owner and ask yourself whether the podcast you are considering being a guest on will support that goal.

There are lots of formats available. I have listened to wedding podcasts that focus mainly on an individual couple’s journey, with guests brought in to bring funny and sometimes risqué stories.

There are also wedding business podcasts designed to support business owners. You want the podcast you choose to be both relevant to your speciality as a business and for the style to fit your brand’s persona. There are plenty of wedding podcasts out there, but the discussions are approached in various different ways.

Most episodes on Guides for Brides - The Wedding Podcast are informative interviews with industry experts to help couples who want practical planning advice and ideas. The guests are encouraged to mix their informative answers with anecdotes of things that happened to them. This could be a funny scenario that they personally experienced or real problems they have solved

“We target our podcast so that those towards couples who are at listening can any stage of the wedding avoid doing the planning process. This same thing or allows for topic flexibility as well as ensuring we have know how to approach the situation if it a consistent niche.” arose for them. Our guests often want to be seen as experts within their field, and our show supports that goal due to the format and the topics of discussion. The episodes are designed to be as evergreen as possible, so that we minimise the need to repeat content and there is always something relevant to new and existing audience members. Being a guest on a podcast will be an expression of your brand’s personality (it could be your personal brand or a representation of your overall business) and market to a targeted audience. Ask yourself whether the angle of the show you are interested in does this before you contact them. While it is critical to do your research and ensure the podcast you feature on is relevant to you and your audience, the most important thing to remember is to have fun with it and be open-minded. You may not find the perfect fit, but you don’t only have to be a guest once! As long as you feel the podcast will be a good representation of your brand and help you achieve your marketing goals, then go for it!