Plus nine different things for you to consider when posting on the platform

By now, you are probably tired of us saying the same thing over and over again – ‘social media is a touchpoint in your marketing mix, it’s not the whole marketing strategy.’ Well, LinkedIn is part of that same mix. The reason why we repeat ourselves so often is because we simply want podcast creators to understand that their success doesn’t come from any one platform or idea – it is all about the mixture of the various awareness points that creates your community and drives your listenership.

For branded podcasts, that mix can be slightly different. Branded podcasts are notoriously hard to market because they exist in a different space – a space where podcasts are not just an awareness tool, they are usually part of a lead-generation strategy that serves to increase the influence of a brand in a particular sphere. If your show falls in this gap between marketing awareness and lead-generation – LinkedIn as a platform could be one of the main marketing tools that you should utilise. 

And here is how:

  1. Think About Your Audience and Optimise Your Profile for Them 

First things first – identify if your podcast is a branded show to raise awareness or drive leads for your firm, or if it is a personal podcast that is geared towards finding you a loyal community follow. Second, if your podcast is a platform for you to gain more thought-leadership points with your peers (rather than raise awareness for a company/brand), you will have to focus on curating a sleek profile page. But, that’s not all you’ll need. You’ll also need that page to work for the audience you want to convert to your loyal podcast listeners. This could look something like this:

  • Professional photo and banner that resonates with your audience. If your podcast is about presenting yourself as an approachable, but reliable voice in your industry then make sure that your photo doesn’t look stuffy. Maybe lose the tie, but keep the crisp white shirt?
  • Clear and compelling headline. This could quite literally be: XX Expert and XX Podcast Host. Fill in the blanks and make it extremely specific. If people do start to look for you, this will really help with your SEO. 
  • Detailed ‘About’ section. Link to your podcast here and make sure to give a little bit of background to your show. Between work and your pod, there should be enough space to cover all the main ground of what you want to have authority in. 
  1. Build Your Community and Repurpose, Repurpose, Repurpose

The absolutely beautiful thing about most branded podcasts is that they are evergreen. That means the content you put out in audio can, and will, likely work online elsewhere. We recommend not sitting on the goaldmine that is your show, but instead repurposing it to drive more people to your brand. 

This can include:

  • Newsletters. We have previously put together a newsletter for a Foreign Policy show with Sam Gyimah called The Geopolitics of Business, and the community from there reflected so well on the podcast that some guests even came on the show because of the newsletter!
  • A dedicated podcast page. You can then post about your new episodes, put up your BTS content and put together blogs from your podcast episodes all through your official LinkedIn page. Only do this though if you are more interested in driving brand awareness, rather than thought leadership of your host (then just use their personal page instead). 
  • Follower engagement. This could mean turning some of your podcast episode content into polls to get people talking, or maybe even using the content from your episodes to reply to interesting questions that LinkedIn influencers pose to a similar audience. 
  1. Consider Paid and Watch Your Numbers 

If you are trying to reach a broader audience, don’t forget another route for your show: Paid Ads. We always say that your paid spend is best spent in audio spaces if you are promoting a podcast and are looking for download numbers to reflect your growth, but… if you are a branded podcast simply looking for new guests and awareness – LinkedIn ads can be your friend. 

This can look like:

  • Sponsored Eps. You can use the Sponsored Content feature of LinkedIn to promote some of your episodes and even use very specific targeting to reach your desired demographics and industries. 
  • InMail. This could be a brilliant route for anyone looking to grow their show’s influence by getting more star guests. Experiment with Sponsored InMail to reach anyone you are interested in having on the show, and include some perks of why this would be a golden opportunity. 
  • Analysis and Data. If you are putting your money in ads, always monitor how that spend is working for you. Think about how you can improve your strategy to make that budget go further for your show and your aims.

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