In the past couple of years, podcasts have started rivaling traditional media, like radio and TV, especially in public relations. Back in the day, if a story wasn’t in the newspapers or presented on TV, no one even heard about it, and the traditional media gatekeepers used to decide what was and wasn’t a newsworthy story. However, in recent years, this has been changed with new media and the internet.
For PR professionals, it’s important to understand that the current increasing popularity of podcasts will be similar to the blogging revolution, and the only difference is that it’s going to happen much faster. This is why PR professionals should be taking podcasting a lot more seriously than they already do, especially because they offer a lot more than other media types.
Intimacy
One of the favorite ways people tend to consume any type of content is through audio. Looking back in the past, without focusing on the radio, and instead, going back before reading and writing were invented, this is obvious. Listening is effortless and soothing for people, but the act of using a smartphone to listen is a lot more intimate.
Headphones can transmit the content directly into people’s ears, which is a very different experience than passively scrolling down social media feeds or news stories because it offers a lot more depth.
Easy Consumption
As we mentioned, it’s not easy to passively listen to content, compared to watching a video, which takes a lot less concentration, or to read, which means focusing attentively on the content. With podcasts, it’s easy for people to multitask, and with smartphones, they can listen anywhere and everywhere.
These days, with everyone being pressed for time, many people don’t have the luxury of sitting down for a few hours every day to focus on reading or watching videos. This is a great benefit for podcasts because bringing on valuable guests makes it easier for the audience to hear their messages and familiarize themselves with valuable content.
SEO and Promotion
Hosting, or even being a guest on a podcast, is a greatly underrated tactic for boosting SEO Rankings and link building. Plenty of podcasts have websites that feature clips or notes from each episode. These notes also include contact information for the podcast and the guest and any resources that are mentioned throughout the show, which can backlink to a client’s website or product and provide a bigger boost to SEO.
It’s also a great way to get a lot of promotion in any way possible. The podcast can be announced on the client’s social media profiles, mentioned on the business website. With that, the client’s business can reach a much bigger audience than when simply focusing on the present target audience. Expanding into other audiences is a lot easier for businesses with podcasts that already have a big audience base.