Explore the transformative power of podcasts and webinars in content marketing, doubling your audience and establishing expertise to attract your dream customers effectively.
Have you been thinking about taking your content marketing to the next level? Well, step right up because today, we’re exploring two content powerhouses: podcasts and webinars.
You may already be using blogs and social media in your strategy—great starts! But adding multimedia formats can attract more of your dream customers and showcase your expertise like never before.
So why the focus on podcasts and webinars specifically? From 2014 to 2021, the number of podcast listeners in the U.S. nearly doubled. As of 2024, more than 249 million Americans are tuning into podcasts. In the UK, the number of podcast listeners was around 21.2 million in 2022 and is projected to exceed 28 million by 2026. And the global web conferencing market? It was valued at approximately $3.88 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach around $6.85 billion by 2030.
Clearly, people love consuming content in these formats! But are they really effective for content marketing?
Let’s break down the incredible benefits:
Before we get rolling, think about your favourite podcast host. What draws you into their show again and again? It’s the production quality, captivating conversations, incredible guests, and the host's distinctive speaking voice.
Your melodious pipes may attract loyal listeners who feel connected to you and love what you have to say.
But podcasting has business perks, too:
• Expand your reach: You can share your podcast outside your usual spaces and channels to find fresh new fans!
• Express expertise: Lots of room for in-depth, binge-worthy discussions around your industry.
• Boost SEO: Podcasts can improve discoverability. Include targeted keywords in episode descriptions so new listeners can find you.
But how the heck do you start one? Great question! Here are our top tips:
• Identify your goals: Do you want to reach new audiences? Strengthen relationships? Share insider expertise? Get clear on desired outcomes first.
• Choose the proper format: Solo shows, co-hosts, interviews, and panel-style podcasts each have unique benefits. Select a format that best serves your goals.
• Give it personality: Share personal stories! Crack jokes! The more genuine you are, the more folks look forward to each episode.
• Promote with gusto: Share your fabulous podcast far and wide! Collaboration with others in your field can also expand your reach.
For ideas on stand-out topics, dissect current industry trends or burning questions. Address customer pain points or offer solutions to common problems. Share origin stories related to your business and products for added personality!
Like Clark Kent stepping into a phone booth before stopping bad guys, hosting webinars transforms you from a mild-mannered business owner to a superhero content marketer.
Webinars lend your brand gravity, position you as an expert, and magnetically attract those coveted leads. But why take our word for it? The Content Marketing Institute reports that webinars generate the most leads compared to other content marketing options. Over eight in ten marketers agreed!
Here’s a taste of what makes webinars so powerful:
• Lead generation overload: The interactivity of webinars prompts more sign-ups than passive content. That means more leads are nurtured into happy customers!
• Solutions-focused: Webinars allow you to zero in on and demonstrate solutions for target customer needs. They’re the perfect format for training, product announcements, case studies and more!
• Brand authority: There’s no doubting your expertise when you’re presenting valuable information live! Webinars establish trust and thought leadership.
Let’s discuss tips for totally crushing it:
• Make it practical: Choose topics that provide tangible, applicable value rather than thinly veiled sales pitches. Teach a new skill! Debut an exciting product update! The options are endless.
• Promote the heck out of it: Email campaigns, social media, paid ads—level up your reach with cross-promotion across all marketing channels.
• Make engagement easy: Share presentation slides in advance so attendees can follow along. Monitor chat questions, too, so you can respond during and after the webinar.
• Follow up and share: Collect questions you didn’t have time for and record the presentation to share after the event! Repurposing builds buzz.
The possibilities for webinar topics are infinite! Product demos, industry trends presentations, fireside chats with leadership, curated panels—getting creative will make your brand stand out.
We’ve covered why podcasts and webinars are tremendous for increasing reach and leads. Imagine the exponential impact you can have integrating both multimedia formats into your content marketing strategy!
It may sound intimidating juggling so many irons, but by repurposing evergreen content across platforms, you’ll maximise resources:
• Turn webinars into audio-only podcast episodes
• Transform recordings into blog posts
• Snip clips for social distribution
• Compile episodes into sharable guides
Developing processes will be key:
• Sketch an editorial calendar to plot episodes, interviews and virtual events.
• Use promotional channels to hype upcoming releases and events.
• Track analytics to optimise both platforms and fine-tune content.
When used together, podcasts and webinars become secret marketing weapons with the power to capture broad audiences and demonstrate expertise like none other.
Have we whet your appetite to become a podcasting, webinar-hosting content mogul? Don’t just take our word that integrating multimedia will skyrocket your marketing efforts.
Let’s take a peek at a few case studies:
• Software company Heap produced a 5-episode podcast series exploring product design and development, which yielded over 5,000 listens. Talk about mass exposure!
• Marketing platform HubSpot hosted an educational webinar on digital advertising trends, which generated over 800 leads for its sales team to nurture. Cha-ching!
• Business coaching platform Coach.me launched a companion interview podcast to strengthen their community, which resulted in a 137% increase in user engagement. Now that’s a captivated audience!
The data and examples speak for themselves: podcasts and webinars deliver results.
We’ve covered a whole lot of ground on the value of podcasts and webinars for taking your content marketing game to the next level. Let’s do a quick recap:
• Multimedia content stands out, captivates fresh audiences, establishes expertise and generates buzz.
• Podcasts and webinars, in particular, help you connect with audiences in more memorable and interactive ways.
• Integrating both strategies creates an exponential impact through repurposed evergreen content.
• Real-world examples prove podcast and webinar marketing packs a major punch!
Are you ready to take this advice and run with it? Here’s hoping you feel fired up to expand your multimedia content empire.
Just imagine all the captivated audiences and leads waiting to discover your brilliant podcast episodes and webinars.
