5 reasons to start a podcast

Ana Mendonça Morais – Marketing & Communication Strategist –

Podcasts are here to stay. For now, at least.

We all know that trends, marketing ones especially, tend to change… forgive the tautology! But the truth is that podcasts started growing fast from 2005 onwards. And they had their big boom about a decade later, around 2015. Although the US is the major podcast market — largely down to population density and access to technology — Portugal has also seen huge growth in this kind of content, particularly since 2018.

Ana Mendonça Morais – Marketing & Communication Strategist –

Podcasts are here to stay. For now, at least.

We all know that trends, marketing ones especially, tend to change… forgive the tautology! But the truth is that podcasts started growing fast from 2005 onwards. And they had their big boom about a decade later, around 2015. Although the US is the major podcast market — largely down to population density and access to technology — Portugal has also seen huge growth in this kind of content, particularly since 2018.

The podcast as a marketing strategy

A podcast is, essentially, content in audio format. It can take all sorts of approaches, from opinion pieces to interviews, and run to different lengths (usually 20 to 90 minutes, but it varies a lot). Put simply, it's much like a radio show created and distributed independently. And the subjects are as varied as they come, from marketing to economics, nutrition or comedy.

We can think of podcasts as an inbound marketing tool, a way of drawing people to a brand through content creation. So podcasts are an alternative (or a complement) to other content formats, such as blogs, videos or ebooks.

Over the past few years, podcasts have become a significant part of the marketing strategy for a number of brands.

IKEA, for example, created its own podcast, hosted by Rui Maria Pêgo, built around topics such as diversity, equality and inclusion, in the home where there's always room for everyone. From this content, though, they produce not only the podcast episodes themselves but videos too. That way they create several pieces of content and get the most out of them.

That said, not every brand needs a podcast! After all, it's still one more type of content to create and manage, and it's worth doing it in a way that sets you apart, rather than just for the sake of it. If you like the idea but feel it isn't quite right for you, you could sponsor a podcast you enjoy instead. That way you make use of a format someone else has already built and get your brand known. Of course, with this option you need to choose the podcast carefully, so that it sits well with your brand and values.

I'll also take the opportunity to share a list of the 100 most popular podcasts in Portugal right now, based on data from Apple and Podtail.

5 reasons to make a podcast

Right, so you've weighed up sponsoring or creating a podcast for your brand. But you're still not sure which way to go. Need a few reasons to go ahead with a podcast? Don't worry, here are 5 reasons to make one!

1. It's cheap and accessible at the same time

To record a podcast you need a microphone to capture the audio and time to edit the tracks. Beyond that, there's not much complexity involved. Of course, you then have to do the promotional work, but that would be the case with any type of content.

2. It can take different approaches and cover a range of topics

You can easily align the content with your brand's tone of voice, or even take a risk and do something a bit more outside the box. There's an endless supply of topics to cover! I gave a few examples above, but here are some more: sustainability, health, sport, travel, animals, politics, news, culture…

3. You can repurpose content

Make the most of what you already have, or create with that in mind! Do you have a blog, for instance? Take the topics you've already covered in articles and turn them into podcast episodes. Or the other way round: cover a topic in audio and adapt it for text as well. That way you get even more out of your time.

4. It can be consumed anywhere, at any time

One of the advantages of podcasts is that they're recorded and available whenever you want them. On top of that, listeners only need to pay attention to the sound, nothing else. In other words, they can be driving, cooking or on public transport and still consume this kind of content. Whether it's 10am or 10pm, whenever suits them.

5. It helps build awareness and authority

If you're really clear about the approach and topics for your podcast, and if you genuinely commit to creating useful, interesting episodes, trust me, you'll establish your authority on a given subject easily enough. Naturally, you need to segment your target audience properly (which you can do) and it's an ongoing effort, much like your website's SEO. But there's nothing like putting a voice to a cause! On top of that, you'll gain greater awareness and visibility for your brand, because you'll have one more content format reaching more people.

If these reasons have convinced you, congratulations. You're one step away from joining yet another marketing trend! But don't forget: to get the most out of these benefits, you have to commit. A podcast takes time and should be done strategically and with a plan, so that it helps your brand rather than harms it!