Utilizing podcasts as an effective marketing tool for SMEs/entrepreneurs
Lehtonen, Ilari (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052114079
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052114079
Tiivistelmä
Podcasts are a well known form of content and entertainment at this point, but their use as a marketing tool is still largely undocumented, even though relatively popular. The main objective of this thesis is to highlight some of the key factors to consider in terms of building a digital marketing strategy including podcasting, or forming a digital marketing strategy specifically for podcasts. As this research is aimed towards smaller companies, the thesis focuces mostly on smaller podcast operations rather than larger studio productions, and does not delve into the deeper concepts of video and audio production either as the thesis is mostly intended for an audience of marketing personnel.
This research was conducted between September 2023 and April 2024.
This research-based thesis goes into what the objectives of marketing podcasts are, what key considerations there are when utilizing podcasts for marketing, how effective company produced marketing podcasts have generally been, and what sort of approaches and practices have been found to be most beneficial.
The thesis establishes a theoretical framework consisting of a number of digital marketing strategies, including social media marketing, content marketing, inbound marketing and cross-channel promotion strategies and considerations. In addition to the theoretical framework, two qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with two experienced podcast hosts who have done podcasting for multiple years.
The results of the research show, that when proper preparations and research are done, a podcast can be an exceedingly valuable tool for marketing. The first and most important factor of podcasts is the content, which has to be carefully planned and directed to a clearly defined audience. Tracking a variety of performance statistics and metrics is also crucial, as these will be among the key components in growing an audience. These statistics usually contain metrics and data provided by software and platforms used, as well as analytics provided by social media tools. Additionally, a careful analysis of the resources and situation of a company will be greatly beneficial in deciding what will be the optimal way to implement podcasting into a marketing strategy.
Podcasts offer great potential in building company and brand recognition, building customer connections, indirectly improving sales and lead generation, as well as allowing for an approachable way to provide additional content to a company’s core audience, however the implementation needs to be well prepared and designed in order to fully utilize the potential.
This research was conducted between September 2023 and April 2024.
This research-based thesis goes into what the objectives of marketing podcasts are, what key considerations there are when utilizing podcasts for marketing, how effective company produced marketing podcasts have generally been, and what sort of approaches and practices have been found to be most beneficial.
The thesis establishes a theoretical framework consisting of a number of digital marketing strategies, including social media marketing, content marketing, inbound marketing and cross-channel promotion strategies and considerations. In addition to the theoretical framework, two qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with two experienced podcast hosts who have done podcasting for multiple years.
The results of the research show, that when proper preparations and research are done, a podcast can be an exceedingly valuable tool for marketing. The first and most important factor of podcasts is the content, which has to be carefully planned and directed to a clearly defined audience. Tracking a variety of performance statistics and metrics is also crucial, as these will be among the key components in growing an audience. These statistics usually contain metrics and data provided by software and platforms used, as well as analytics provided by social media tools. Additionally, a careful analysis of the resources and situation of a company will be greatly beneficial in deciding what will be the optimal way to implement podcasting into a marketing strategy.
Podcasts offer great potential in building company and brand recognition, building customer connections, indirectly improving sales and lead generation, as well as allowing for an approachable way to provide additional content to a company’s core audience, however the implementation needs to be well prepared and designed in order to fully utilize the potential.