Now that you have learned what you need and how to start your own podcast or radio show, it’s time to learn how to drive engagement and distribute your podcast to create a loyal audience.
Promote on social media
There are a variety of social media platforms to promote your brand on and it’s important to utilize as many as possible to promote your podcast or show. You want to use social media to generate interest in your podcast before launch and continue to promote it while new episodes air.
We recommend using soundbites, videos, teasers and the promotion of guest interviews to drive engagement for your podcast. You can create 15-second soundbites, upload them to SoundCloud and then share them on Twitter to tease the episode 24 hours in advance. This is one popular option to give your audience insight into the episode.
You can also video your podcast recordings and share that via Instagram as another option to help engage your listeners. Canva is another great tool to create quote images with links to your podcast episode. Another tactic is to share the episode once it has launched multiple times throughout the day on all social media platforms your podcast is active on.
Social media is a powerful engagement generator to help you and your listeners share your podcast and its episodes.
Release multiple episodes on launch day
When you’re ready to launch your podcast or radio show, we recommend having at least 3 episodes upon launch for your listeners to have multiple episodes to listen to. Many podcasts and shows have received negative reviews when they’ve launched with just one episode because they wanted more content.
Multiple episodes at launch can also give your audience an opportunity to connect with you and your co-hosts (if any) and create demand for new episodes.
Turn the audio into a YouTube video
This tactic is a great way to drive potential SEO for your podcast and generate more engagement. Naming your video “Interview with…” or other highly searched keywords when you upload the video to your YouTube channel can help to generate SEO and allow new listeners to discover you.
To convert your audio to video, you can use tools such as Windows Live Movie Maker or iMovie for Mac users. Then using tools like Videvo or Pexels, you can grab free stock video footage to create a simple, engaging video that your audio plays over.
We recommend doing this for every episode to create more engagement and drive any potential SEO to your show’s site or podcast platform(s).
Transcribe the audio
Another great SEO tactic is to transcribe the audio from your show and use it to create blogs or articles. You don’t necessarily have to use the entire episode, you can use sections with tips or highlights to create a blog that drives SEO and captures leads.
Services like Rev and Fiverr are both great depending on how long your show is. Rev is $1 per minute and Fiverr is around $5 on average.
Submit your podcast to aggregators or podcatchers
Podcatchers and aggregators are fancy terms for apps that play podcasts. The most popular places to list your podcast are obviously Spotify and the Podcast app on iOS. However, there are dozens of apps and sites that collect and play podcasts that can help with discovery.
Here’s a quick list of the most popular ones:
- Stitcher
- TuneIn
- Overcast
- Podcast Addict
- Castro
Any and all of these services are great to drive additional engagement to your podcast. We recommend reaching out to each app directly to ensure a great experience for your listeners.
Be a guest on other podcasts or radio shows
To promote your podcast, become a guest on your friend’s or other creator’s shows. This allows you to touch a wider audience and allow them to connect with you and your point of view.
Booking guests for podcast episodes can be difficult, but if you plan properly you can build an interview calendar and find opportunities to reach out to new podcasts to be a guest. Some podcasts look for regular guests to come on and share their story, expertise or comedy to their audience. This opportunity is a great way to drive engagement for your show as well.
We recommend finding a listing of podcasts in your niche by visiting the Podcast listing page and searching podcasts in a range of categories.
With so many podcasts and shows being created today, it’s important to find ways to engage and promote your podcast to draw in an audience. If you’re interested in starting your own radio show, VoiceAmerica can help you get started with a full team of experts to support you every step of the way. Contact us today to learn more.
