Podcast Archives - Creative Agency Secrets

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Podcast SEO and search

2 December, 2019/0 Comments/in Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

Podcasts are seriously TERRIBLE at helping your website and brand SEO.

If you are a podcaster, chances are that you have a website page or category in which you list your episodes. But these pages do not perform well in natural search. Have you done a search in your own analytics for podcast pages? Have you done an incognito search for your own podcast in a search engine? Chances are that you were disappointed in the results.

I have done searches looking for past episodes of my podcasts and found that the name of the guest is often a good result for natural search – IF the person is looking for information about that guest. The rest of the time, it’s just been hard graft for precious little return.

3 reasons podcast SEO is bad

The situation is not good at present for three reasons.

Podcast episode blog posts get little traffic – even if you send emails to your list with links
Show notes and transcripts aren’t keyword optimised
Anyone who already subscribes to your podcast is listening in an app (not searching your website)
People looking for your podcast content are searching in apps not via a web browser (which reinforces 1 above)

What can we do to improve SEO for podcasts?

Luckily for us, Google has also noticed that its results need improving. As announced earlier this year, Google will start indexing individual podcast episodes into its search results. But there are caveats – you have to include the word “podcast” in the search string…. and it is starting (obviously) with already popular content from publishers with “authority” and prioritising US based podcasters [don’t get me started on where the centre of the universe actually is….].

Search results for podcast – that’s mine, RowingChat

The image is of a search I did today for “best rowing podcasts”. And halfway down the page are image link results under a sub-heading of Podcast.
And individual episodes show up higher in the page, as well as results from other distribution services like Stitcher. So far so good.

What can I do to get MY podcast showing up?

Publish your podcast on the Google Podcasts platform – they are prioritising their own ecosystem first. I had to get a US based friend to submit my podcast for me (it isn’t rolled out in all countries yet)
Use an RSS feed to publish – Google say that they are using this to automatically index shows.
Write good headlines – ensure your episode title has the most important keywords early. Don’t waste characters by repeating your podcast name, episode number or hashtag. Save that for the description or show notes.

Podcast marketing

14 August, 2019/0 Comments/in Marketing, Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

What are the key essentials for promoting and marketing a podcast to grow listeners so you can improve monetisation? This article runs through some of the fundamentals and also asks some important questions so you can find out if a podcast is the right marketing tactic for your brand.

Brand suitability for podcast marketing

Here are some simple questions for you to review before deciding to start a podcast.

Microphone for podcast: Photo credit Neil Godding on Unsplash

Who is the target audience?
Are they are already listening to podcasts?
What does your brand want to get out of the podcast (leads, brand awareness, thought leadership etc)
Which channels to market do you already use?
What headcount / analytics are in each of the existing channels?
What will success look like?

These are all questions worthy of a full day workshop. Now, assuming you have robust answers to each of them, let’s dig into the tactics suitable for marketing a podcast.

Podcast marketing tactics

Cross-promote through all existing channels controlled by the brand
Select guests who have a large audience on the understanding they will cross-promote
Add listeners by adding podcast into existing marketing tactics e.g. record a live episode at a trade show / a conference stage
Get other podcasters to do a mutual episode with each broadcasting the same episode to their feeds
Record in video and audio so you can use YouTube as a distribution channel
Advertise
Use clips and short video as content for social sharing
Run campaigns which include the podcast e.g. contests where you have to listen to find out how to enter
Use the podcast shownotes on your website and blog as SEO

Plus take a look at all the Quora questions I’ve answered and articles I’ve written about podcasting.

Apple Podcast analytics beta

17 July, 2019/0 Comments/in Data, Metrics, Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

Apple has launched a beta service to analyse listenership of your podcast episodes on Apple devices and via Apple services.

I took a quick look – log in to iTunes Connect and select the drop-down next to the header. [Note the URL – since podcasts are being split off from iTunes, it’s now got its own URL podcastsconnect.apple.com]

The service obviously only works on Apple devices and so this will in all likelihood be a small segment of your audience. But the data has all the normal data points [#devices, #total time listened, time listened per device] defaulting to a past 60 days view.

The most interesting data point for me is the percentage “Average Consumption” measure defined as

The average percentage of the episode that was played across all devices. Playback duration is compared against the episode duration as reported in the podcast feed. If a device plays the duration time of an episode more than once, the consumption from that device will be greater than 100%
Apple podcast analytics beta

Trends, episodes and overview

Neatly summarising most of what you’ll want to see – the Apple Podcasts Analytics beta has a nice dashboard showing Total time listened, a country analysis and split of subscribers and ‘not subscribed’. This is neat as I’ve always wondered about the proportion of my listeners who are not subscribers but do listen.

Partial audience analysis

In the analytics help documentation I noted the following:

Podcast Analytics begins gathering data as soon as users play content in the Podcasts app (iOS 11 or later), in iTunes 12.7 or later (macOS and Windows), or on HomePod. [NOTE only recent app versions]
Apple only displays data from users who agreed to share their diagnostics and usage information with providers. [NOTE Reduces total audience size]
To collect data, the duration of a play event must be at least five seconds. [NOTE fair enough]
To display data, more than five unique devices must play the show or episode content. [NOTE fair enough]

Final thoughts

Get on to Apple and take a look at your stats. Compare it to other analytics services [I use Podtrac] and compare the data points and your absolute numbers.

My Apple numbers and Podtrac numbers are not directly comparable as one is included in the other. But for me the average consumption metric is pretty neat and will be something I add in my media pack for advertisers.

The images below show the respective analytics for 7 recent episodes.

Podcast RSS automatic update

15 July, 2019/0 Comments/in Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

The RSS feed helps people subscribing using a podcast app (like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts etc) to receive your episodes.

Each time you upload a new episode, the RSS feed updates the app.

Then the listener downloads a local copy of your episode to listen to.

So you don’t need to do anything else.

NOTE: I always subscribe to my own podcasts so I can check the feed is working. I had a client recently whose feed stopped working and I logged into Apple Podcasts Connect [https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/] and you have the option to refresh the feed manually.

This “force refresh” re-started the downloads for my client.

How to refresh the RSS feed in Apple Podcasts

Another Podcast launched

19 June, 2019/0 Comments/in B2C, Case Studies, Podcast, Social Media /by Rebecca Caroe

Today we announce the Economy Watch podcast by Interest.co.nz has launched. It’s a daily summary of the key overnight news that affects the New Zealand economy.

Short podcasts for news

In scoping the content and audience for this podcast, we decided that a short format podcast was a good choice. Listeners are on their way into work and can catch a 6-10 minute update quickly during their commute to work.

Authored by David Chaston, Editor and voiced by me (Rebecca Caroe), we are really pleased with the early listener feedback.

Please go and listen and tell me what you think. Appreciate it!

Tongue twister podcasting

Now here are the things I’ve found hard to say coherently in the episodes so far. See if you can spot them in the audio

German government bonds sold at a record low yield overnight. They sold 10-year Bunds [bund / bond]
India imposed higher retaliatory tariffs [why was retaliatory so hard?]
China’s Central government coffers [coffers was the issue here]
at the Japanese-hosted G20 summit [not sure why I can’t say summit]

How to market a podcast

29 April, 2019/0 Comments/in Marketing, Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

I got asked to give a high-level answer to this question on Quora.

My response is quite generic – the process applies to any marketing project – the detail of the methodology in each step is where each will differ.
The questioner was asking about a “new music podcast”.

Who is your podcast audience?

What type of music, where do people find and listen to this music already e.g. live gigs, Pandora / Spotify, radio shows. Find named bands who represent this genre; find discussion forums (Reddit, Facebook, Quora) where people discuss this genre.
Create a persona for your ideal listener – age, type of music liked, why they listen, how they listen, when they listen.
Research media you can use for advertising (paid); content sharing on social (earned) and media you create like a blog or newsletter (owned).
Draw up a list of collaborators and joint venture partners.
Create a media pack for your podcast; download media packs from other media you want to use.
Plan your pre-launch; launch and ongoing marketing tactics so that you get your podcast name, branding, content in front of your ideal persona listener at a price point you can afford.
Measure what you do and the return on investment of your marketing.

In summary, you have a choice to either work it out for yourself as you go along or to buy advice from a marketing expert who understands podcasts is going to shortcut your learning; improve your outcomes and save you money in the long term.

If you scope the engagement well, you can collaborate with an advisor on the understanding that knowledge transfer is part of the project – you are being taught how to do the marketing yourself.

podcast, interview request, podcast guest, podcast host

Pitching podcasts

15 April, 2019/0 Comments/in Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

I wrote this answer to What is the best way to pitch podcast hosts on being a guest. This process works for being a guest or as a host, inviting people to be your guest.

As with any sales job:

Find out what the podcast host’s topics, influences and areas of interest are
Judge whether what you can offer aligns with 1
Write a short, succinct proposal that ties up 1 & 2

Then keep good records of what you write, to whom and follow up within 1 week of the original message.

Always be polite, and thank them even if you get a rejection.

Following up the pitch

Now this is what too few other sales people do – add them to a mailing list and message them again within 3 months. Don’t write a pitch in this message. Just tell them what you have been working on and link to other podcasts you have guested with or articles you have published.

Then 6 months later, approach them with another pitch.

Rinse, repeat.

Pitching guests

Here is a sample pitch message I used. It starts by focusing on the guest and their need for book publicity, then it introduces the podcast and its track record and audience appeal, and lastly suggests a timeframe for the interview.

Dear Annie,

I saw your Facebook post about your book, Mind Games, being published next month and I wondered if you could come onto the Rowing Chat podcast to talk about it?

Rowing Chat is a monthly interview podcast focused on the sport of rowing – we have been publishing since 2013 and the network includes other podcast hosts talking about strength training, masters rowing and the US scene.

Do have a listen to some past episodes, and let me know if you have time during April 2019. My colleague, cc above, will do the scheduling.

Best wishes in rowing, Rebecca

B2B Podcasting rises

6 April, 2019/0 Comments/in B2B, Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

The rise of podcasting as a medium to reach and influence audiences, grow brand awareness and promote your business continues.

I’m delighted to announce that Terry Baucher, a self-confessed “Tax Nerd” has launched his podcast – The Week In Tax with the help of Creative Agency Secrets.

Terry has long been a broadcaster called on by news media to be an expert commentator on tax matters – working with radio and TV stations in New Zealand. This heavily influenced our recommendation that he move on from a written weekly summary of tax news which had been drawn from his twitter feed, to an audio podcast.

Podcast set-up

We chose both an audio and a video medium for this podcast. [Note, this is not suitable for everyone] and SoundCloud is the distribution medium for the RSS.

The client blog hosts embedded audio files (easy for people to listen to who aren’t comfortable using RSS or Podcast apps) and remains the central source of all content. We also chose to add in a transcript for those who prefer reading to listening.

Could you be podcasting?

The medium is growing fast and many people now prefer to customise their listening and viewing to fit times of day they choose. Growing your brand reach through podcasting can be very effective.

Just ask Terry Baucher!

Podcasts for event promotion

13 March, 2019/0 Comments/in Podcast /by Rebecca Caroe

PodCon conference logo 2019

Podcasting is going mainstream – it’s the newest part of content marketing and frankly it’s about time!

Many people have been producing independent shows in voice format for years – I started one for my sport in 2013 – but only in the past year have brands started to get on board.

So why podcast in 2019?

There are three reasons – firstly, the pioneers are no longer alone – the mass appeal of storytelling podcasts like “Serial from This American Life” and “Under the Skin with Russell Brand”, Freakonomics and anything to do with Harry Potter has meant mass downloading of podcast listening apps onto devices.

Secondly, niche content marketers got in on the act early (like me) and so if you are a sports fan or a maker or follow politics there are now many different podcasts to choose from – all easily accessible.

And lastly we are short of time. Yes, even more than before. The on-demand nature of podcasts means you can listen in the car or while exercising or walking the dog. It’s easy to play, pause and then pick it up again later. And for the super-busy person, there’s the 1.5x and 2x speed playback settings!

Events lend themselves to podcasting

When planning the build-up to an event or having regular recurring events, there are already ample ways of communicating with your target audience.

But introducing the prospective attendees to the key themes of the event, the voices of your speakers and ramping up excitement about the day is really easy to do in a podcast format.

The Change Management Institute got its event speakers to answer 3 questions on a video call ahead of the event giving them unique content and a great preview of their international keynote themes to send round to members ahead of time.

And PodCon2 whose logo is on this article went one better – they allowed remote access at a cheaper ticket price by publishing all their event content afterwards in and audio feed as a stand-alone limited time podcast series.

Double down on success

Plus, if you choose to record video you can easily rip the MP3 audio file from the video and you have two birds with one stone. We then use the video for Instagram and YouTube advertising promotions.

But should YOUR event or brand podcast?

The answer is up to you but we’ve got a quick checklist of 5 questions to answer before making your deacon to move into podcasting for content marketing.