Why Every Business Owner Should Be Focusing On Podcasts

In a time when business owners are looking for ways to stand out and be different, there is one particular avenue that most business owners never explore . . . and that's podcasts!

Now, I'm not saying that you have to start your own podcast, although I'd HIGHLY recommend it because it's a great way to do all these things that we're about to talk about.  The other option for you is to build a media kit and pitch yourself for other people's podcasts.  Either way, I want to give you 5 reasons why I think every business owner should be using podcasts as a part of their strategy.

The first benefit podcasts provide is that they provide a more personal connection than the other types of content that you can create as a business.  Something about podcasts feels so personal, almost like a conversation between friends that you happen to be included in.

You get a chance to learn more about the person behind the business which is great because we all know just how important personal branding is becoming in business, plus you get information that you're most likely NOT going to get anywhere else from that person.  That's why we love having our podcast, is because it gives people a chance to really get to know us as people as if they were our friends we invited over.  We feel like this builds the most trust out of any content we could create.  

The second reason that we love podcasts so much is because the people that listen to podcasts are loyal listeners.  What do I mean by this?  Over half of the people that listen to podcasts listen to at least one per day, and they listen to over 80% of the podcasts they listen to, which means they're consuming the WHOLE thing.

Do you realize how hard that is to get someone to do?  In a world where we try to get everyone to read our entire blog, watch our entire YouTube video, or in the case of TikTok and Reels, get people to watch till the end so that our videos go viral, a podcast does this better than any of them.

People enjoy listening to podcasts WHILE they're doing something else, like driving to work, doing things around their house, etc. which may sound like it's a bad thing, but it's not.  The reason is that when content is people's sole focus they tend to get bored more easily, and tend to move on.  When it is something in the background, they are much more likely to listen in for a longer period of time, because it's passive listening.

The third reason businesses should be utilizing podcasts is because they can help you grow your business network.  I know that some of the best friends we have now are people that were either on our podcast or we've been on theirs.

You build such a connection when you do a podcast with someone, that it really takes that relationship to the next level.  I believe this is the case because you're both sharing personal things about yourselves like we talked about before, and by doing that, whether you realize it or not, you're building a connection with that person.

We've gone on to do some amazing collaborations with the people we've done podcasts with, and they've become some of our dearest friends and biggest supporters.  So if you're a business owner that struggles to build business friendships and connections, then podcasts will be a great resource for you!

The fourth reason we love podcasts so much is that they can help you grow your email/text message lists in a major way!  What we like to do is talk about a free resource that we have if it's relevant to the podcast topic, then invite people to click the link in the show notes, or DM us a specific word on Instagram for that resource . . .

Along with Pinterest, this has been one of the biggest ways we've grown our email and SMS lists over the past couple of years.  You can either create a new resource for each podcast you're on/you do, or when you do a topic that is relevant to a free resource you have, you can then talk about that as an additional gift to your audience.

The fifth reason why podcasts are so great is that they allow you to create an additional source of income, whether you start your own podcast or not.  If you have your own podcast, then you can have things like sponsors and affiliates as a part of your podcast that you can talk about.

If you're on other people's podcasts, you can start charging a speaking fee once you start to build a name for yourself.  You don't have to do this, and this is something that we'd probably never do, just because I think the free route always builds a better brand, but it is an option, especially if your time is limited.

Hopefully, these 5 reasons give you all the information you need to either start your own podcast or start reaching out to people to be on theirs.  Either way, podcasting is a great resource for business owners to get their name and business out there!