By mbretous@hubspot.com (Martina Bretous)

According to our 2022 Marketing Trends Survey report, 34% of marketers plan to stop leveraging podcasts or other audio content in 2022.

It’s likely because of the major roadblocks that marketers still face in the podcast marketing space. Two podcast experts weigh in on the biggest challenges and strategies to tackle them.

Organic Discoverability

Currently, there are two main ways to discover podcasts: Search through top-ranking podcasts in various genres or get recommendations based on what you’re already listening to.

This makes it very hard for lesser-known shows to get discovered organically.

“It’s really hard for podcasters who are creating amazing content and are great creators to figure out ways to get in front of their audience,” says Alanah Joseph, head of creator partnerships on the HubSpot Podcast team.

At HubSpot, Joseph says our podcast network addresses this by leaning into our cross-promotion strategy – this means placing ads across various shows across our network while ensuring audience alignment.

“Instead of going out and trying to find new audiences, we are leveraging the audiences that we already have and sharing those audiences in a way that helps boost discoverability for the podcasts,” she says. “And then, also because we have a community, we can leverage that ad inventory.”

However, not every brand can go this route. Businesses with access to a large ad budget opt for paid advertising, as that ensures you will gain more exposure and reach your desired audience.

“Short-term [discoverability] strategies will most often be paid media, like promoting on a podcast player or running Facebook ads,” says Principal Podcast Producer at HubSpot Darren Clarke, as a way to tackle discoverability. “These plays usually give great results, but won’t necessarily be ‘sticky.’”

Other tactics include cross-posting on multiple channels and growing your social media presence. Many podcasters post the video version of their content on YouTube to broaden their reach and get an SEO boost.

On social media, discovery is much easier. You can build a community there, market your podcast, and direct traffic to your series.

“These types of organic growth strategies take a long time to register any significant results, but over time, if done well, will essentially give you much more control over your distribution,” he says.

Growing a community is another key way to help with discoverability. Things like attending podcasting events and reaching out to fellow podcasters will help you build a network of people who can share their audiences with you.

For instance, being a guest on another podcast whose audience aligns with yours can be incredibly valuable for brands with limited resources.

“The audience gets to meet you, gets to learn about you, get to understand your values, [and] why you have a podcast,” Joseph says. “All of those things are important for not only driving traffic but also building retention and loyalty.”

Clarke echoes this sentiment, saying that when you guest host, having a compelling message and an inviting call to …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron