Helping B2B companies and individuals build their content brands | Marketing Consultant | Dad x5 | Shoots 85% from the free throw line
There are, like, ~600 million blogs on the internet. There ~3 million podcasts (many of which are abandoned/inactive.) No one questions whether they should start or continue blogging. Yet many teams question whether podcasting as a medium is saturated or whether anyone "really needs another podcast about X, Y, Z..." Differentiation comes in 2 forms –– the angle and the medium. If you feel like you're putting in the effort and seeing little engagement, chances are you've overlooked one of these. And based on my observations of how teams feel about podcasts, *many* are overlooking the medium as a way to differentiate.
Haris Spahić
1mo
Differentiation also comes in delivery. Perhaps a content piece built on a creative format (premise), or information delivered in a memorable way. Examples: - Wynter's "Do You Even Resonate?" show - HockeyStack's "Can You Dashboard it" - Wistia's "Gear Squad vs Dr. Boring" - Paddle's "Boxed Out" documentary-style videod
Nathan Yerian
1mo
Companies are definitely sleeping on podcasts. In the end, I think it is fear-based. A podcast requires actual thought from an expert, or guide. Whereas (right or wrong) many blogs are based around regurgitating content and can be completely outsourced. The lack of willingness by most creates the opportunity for the few.
3 million podcasts in the world, but 2.99 million podcasts suck or haven't published more than 5 episodes
Tyler Burch
1mo
John Bonini Iagree with your point, but it’s also worth pointing out blog discoverability and skim value for consumption is much better than podcasts. I think it will improve for podcasts, but that makes it easier to stomach being the 600,000,001st blog on the internet for people. Again though, agree to your point about differentiation and room to compete.
Nick Bennett
1mo
I wonder how many of those ~600 million blogs have never seen a visitor. My guess is ~60%
Ariella B.
1mo
Here's the thing: all you need to launch a blog is someone to write the content and something to post to. Many site hosts will throw in WordPress, which is what many use for their blogs. So it's easy to get started without any real investment. In contrast, getting a podcast started typically takes some investment in equipment, as well as an assessment of where, when, how to host it. Some companies are so slow to get things done that by the time they complete their podcast plan and filming, it's already old news. That was the case at a startup I worked out. They had a podcast produced in response to a specific event. By the time it was done, the event was old news, so they wasted all that time and money producing the video that never went anywhere. Yes, you can do a low budget spur-of-the-moment podcast, but that will be garbage quality and attract no one. I sat through one of those for another startup I worked at. The audience consisted of me and one other person; there were actually more people on the podcast -- 3 -- than listeners. Both audio and visual quality were very poor. One more point, I know loads of people like to hear and see, but some are like me and prefer to read. We don't voluntarily tune into podcasts.
If they say it's too crowded ... then you haven't done enough homework to find your angle or way of doing it.
Haviva Karon
1mo
I think this is because most marketing leaders don't have a comprehensive strategy and think content marketing is only limited to blogs since that is what has historically been used to drive traffic and lead generation. Blog posts are comparatively easier and cheaper to produce than videos or other types of interactive content, which is why most marketers default to blogging. They also provide clear, measurable metrics, which leaders love to report on.
I'm pro-podcast for sure John! I think one thing that scares companies away from the medium is the assumptions they make about frequency - the pop-cultural podcasts that most of us are exposed to in our daily lives are publishing new eps 2-3 times a week, which feels like a pretty tall order for a lot of businesses. But I've seen success where a team publishes one good quality episode 2x month. It's all about making the medium work for you!
Helping B2B companies and individuals build their content brands | Marketing Consultant | Dad x5 | Shoots 85% from the free throw line
1moshoutout to Erik Jacobson for the inspiration