From Boardroom to Broadcast: Podcasting for Leaders
It’s no secret that podcasting has exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now more than 420 million podcast listeners worldwide, each tuning in to one of the more than 2 million individual podcasts out there.
But podcasting isn’t just for true crime or comedy enthusiasts anymore. It’s also becoming an essential tool for executives and entrepreneurs to establish themselves as thought leaders in their respective industries. Let’s look at how executives can start a podcast and leverage it to drive their business and personal brand.
Podcasting as the Executive’s New Public Square
As an executive or entrepreneur, one of your biggest challenges is establishing your personal digital presence. Since they’re quick to digest and easy to consume, podcasts are a great way to do that. Podcasts also give you the opportunity to communicate in your own voice, building a level of trust that written text just can’t match.
Additionally, podcasts provide a different medium for you to get your message out. By giving your audience multiple channels to consume your content — for instance, social media, blogs, newsletters, and podcasts — you’ll be strategically diversifying your portfolio, optimizing your opportunities for engagement with your target audience.
Podcasting is a great way to network, too. Much of the time, networking is an active affair that sees an executive reaching out to broaden their connections. Podcasts can do this passively, allowing you to expand your network without having to sink a ton of time.
The Entrepreneurial Edge
CEOs and other executives aren’t the only ones who can benefit from starting a podcast. It’s a great option for entrepreneurs, too.
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs is getting their product or service out there. Podcasting is a great, low-cost way to do this. It allows you to build a relationship with your audience, boosting both your and your company’s credibility — if you choose to be associated with your business.
Starting a podcast can also help you access the major players in your industry. If you’re just some random person on the internet, these kinds of people aren’t going to give you the time of day. But if you approach them as the host of an established industry-specific podcast, they’ll be much more receptive.
Getting Started: a Quick Guide
The hardest part of running a successful podcast is getting started. Here are some tips to start your podcast off right.
- Identify Your Target Audience: This is the first hurdle you’ll have to cross. You need to tailor your topic to your target audience in order to build it. Choose a topic that’s broad enough to give you a lot of content options, but narrow enough to pull an audience with specific interests.
- Pick Your Name: There are two schools of thought here. First, you could pick something clever and catchy, as long as its connection to your topic is obvious. You could also come up with something plain and self-explanatory. Ultimately, the most important part of your podcast’s name is that it’s memorable.
- Choose a Podcast Format: Most podcasts boil down to one of three main formats: solo, co-hosted, and interview. Solo shows can be difficult — especially for a podcasting newbie — but will present the most genuine version of “you.” Co-hosted shows usually work best when each host plays a specific role (i.e., “funny person,” “straight man,” etc). While you can conduct interviews with a co-hosted podcast, this can get clunky and prevent you from getting deep into an interview.
- Gear You’ll Need: Fortunately, it doesn’t take much equipment to get into podcasting. All you’ll really need is a mic or two, a recording interface, a computer, and some kind of recording software. You might also consider renting out a professional studio with supplementary services if you want to ensure top-notch audio quality and a more polished final product.
- Content Strategy and Planning: You can’t just wing a podcast and expect it to succeed. Instead, you’ll need to plan out your episode content in advance. Figure out your audience, format, and style before you even begin recording. Make sure you have topics planned out at least a month in advance. Additionally, don’t just launch with a single episode. Instead, launch with 3–5, to give listeners extra content if they enjoy it. Your podcast’s schedule needs to be consistent. If you’re going to release a new episode every week, you need to do it on the same day. Research suggests that Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (in that order) are the best days to release podcasts.
The Podcasts Leading the Charge
The best way to ensure your podcast succeeds is to take notes from the best.
Here are some industry-leading podcasts you can draw inspiration from.
- Unconfuse Me, by Bill Gates
- Lex Fridman Podcast, by Lex Fridman
- GaryVee Audio Experience, by Gary Vaynerchuk
- The Prof G Pod, by Scott Galloway
- The Diary Of A CEO, by Steven Bartlett
- Huberman Lab, by Andrew Huberman
Key Considerations for Success
If you put in the work, your podcast can be a potent tool to boost your personal brand, expand your network, and drive business growth. It allows you to not only connect with your listeners in a new and effective way, but it also diversifies your content channels to ensure you’re capturing as much of an audience as possible.
With the right format, strategy, and content, you’ll be well on your way to establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Good luck.
As the significance of executive branding continues to grow in the upcoming years, this is the very moment to refine your online presence. Ready to dominate on LinkedIn and elevate your executive profile like never before? Visit innakuts.com, DM or reach out to me at ik@innakuts.com.
