The world of digital marketing is undergoing tumultuous changes and all marketers are looking for their way to test new technologies. Within this scenario, the podcast shows signs of resurgence. It has become a buzzword among the tech world, which the top social media marketing companies are employing to achieve success with their campaigns.

Thinking of creating a podcast for your business, but don’t know where to start and how to be successful with it? Then this article is perfect for you.

What is Podcasting and why do you need it?

Podcasting is a digital content medium, usually in the form of digital audio or radio. Unlike any other social platform, it allows you to consistently deliver relevant, targeted, high-quality content to a massive audience. Plus, you can personally connect with your audience on a one-on-one level.

But, to maximize its potential in your favor, you need to plan a strategy. It’s like a professional media outlet, which is usually done by professionals, but if you’re trying to put in an amateurish effort, then you’ll need to do it properly.

Here are 4 steps you need to take to be on the right path to podcasting success:

1. Determine podcast streaming frequency

As podcasts consist of an episodic series, first of all, it is essential to decide on their frequency. Just like any other content medium: TV show, blog, etc. it is equally important to create your schedule and stick to it. Nothing can be more frustrating for a podcast audience than putting up with an erratic podcast show. So, stay consistent and let your audience know the time, for their convenience. As a newbie you can start every couple of weeks and as time goes on you can try weekly or multiple times in a week. But don’t forget your ultimate goal of keeping your audience engaged.

2. Make a decision about your format

Deciding whether you want to do an audio or video podcast is pretty daunting, which most of you must have experienced. Simply speaking, the format doesn’t matter; It is the quality that has all the value. So do what you’re good at and can perform to the best of your ability. If you are not good in front of the camera, you do not have a good place to film and your content is longer, then look for the audio podcast.

Even if you’re not good with a microphone, weigh the choice, depending on the level of entertainment your podcast provides. Also, keep an eye on what your competitors or people from similar niches are doing and what format they are using. This information will surely help you make the right decision.

3. Decide its length

Determining the optimal podcast length is a tricky beast, which can only be done by trying and testing what works and what doesn’t. The optimal duration is 12-15 minutes if you are a single host. Even if you’re covering a lot of interviews in one, try to keep it short and informative. And always stop before you feel like you’ve exhausted the topic. Whereas for co-hosted podcasts, 15 minutes is still an optimal length to keep the audience engaged.

However, there are several popular podcasts of up to 45-60 minutes such as Internet Marketing for Smart People by Copyblogger (Robert Bruce). Therefore, what is important here is the experience of the podcaster and the type of content. If he is very confident on the microphone and has interesting content to hold the audience’s attention, then he can work in a longer format. But, if you are a newbie, do it with caution. Also, if you have the power to make poor quality content interesting, prolonging it will help you deliver more insight to your audiences. But if that’s not the case, be brief to guide your audience to the conclusion. Obviously, it’s okay to experiment here until you get it right.

4. Focus on production quality

This is a point that most podcasters don’t stress, even though it is valuable to your success. You can make or break your audience. So focus on what your podcast sounds like, what your segments are like – sound and audio quality. You can get over it by using a good quality microphone and HD camcorder. If you come across as fussy or your audience can’t hear you properly, then your podcast is worthless.

So, here are the 4 crucial steps you need to take to achieve success with your podcast. Apart from these, also keep in mind these important points:

• Your introduction should tell the audience what your podcast is about within 30 seconds of listening. Also, try to craft a good elevator pitch that explains your podcasting in 1-2 sentences and add it to each episode.
• Try breaking your podcast into different segments to make it interesting like a radio or TV show.
• Create an amazing podcast and you think everything is done. Do not stop! It’s the post-production that gives your podcast a professional feel. So, put emphasis on it.
• Edit it and take the time to correct the sound levels. You can also use software for this.

After knowing all this, if you are wondering why spend so much time improving a podcast when you can upload it directly. But don’t forget that if you don’t pay attention to its minor details, so will your audience. So think again!

If you’ve gone too far in this article, then you must be thinking that it takes too much work to make a podcast. But, it will work to your advantage as you now know the steps crucial to your success and you don’t have to just do it worthless. Also, it may seem laborious than blogging or using other social platforms, but think about your interests first. If you like to do it, give it a try as you will not lose anything, you will only get results.

So what’s your take on podcasting? Are you being over-promoted by social media marketing companies or is it really offering that much value?