Ever wanted to start a podcast for your brand but already had a blog up and running? Well, you’re in luck because having both is a great way to getting your brand out there.
While blogging is more traditional, podcasting offers more benefits. Plus, a recent study at University College of London shows that people have a higher heart rate when they listen to something rather than seeing it. This means that you’ll be able to get a better emotional reaction from someone hearing you speak on your niche rather than reading it.
We’ll show you the benefits and drawbacks of both, so why don’t we get right into it!
Blogging is Easy
Blogging is the most popular choice for businesses and brands to get their content out there. This is because of how incredibly easy it is to start a blog.
Really, all you need is some writing skills and internet access. Finding blogs to write for is a different story but if you have your own business/brand website it’s generally recommended to start there. Blogging is great for your business and here are three key reasons why.
First, you’ll be able to increase your online exposure through Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Major search engines are constantly reading through posts online to show audiences the best links that help answer their questions. Keywords carefully inserted into your blog also helps with this because you’ll be able to appear first, or close to first, in any search that talks about your products or services.
Second, you’ll be able to showcase your expertise in your industry. This is important because people generally are looking for answers, and if you’re readily available to give them accurate answers, they’ll know that you’re an expert in your niche and able to help them when they need it.
Lastly, you’ll be able to build a relationship with your customers. It’s important to build trust between yourself and your customers because you want to make sure they always come to you for help.
One drawback of blogging is that people are now more accustomed to short posts because of social media. Blogging is a bit different than social media as it can be longer, and people are looking to get more information on their questions. However, people may still skip around and not read the entire blog post, just the headlines. They are still beneficial for brands and businesses to have, but be aware that keeping the full attention of your audience will be a bit tough.
Podcasting is Popular
Podcasting has really taken off. A few years ago there were a handful of people who listened to podcasts. Now, everyone either listens to podcasts or knows someone who does. It has become mainstream.
Unfortunately, starting a podcast is not as easy as a blog. You’ll need to record your audio, edit it, upload it online, and then publish it. This takes a lot longer to do and requires a lot more equipment that can become really expensive really fast. Overall though, recording a podcast is pretty simple. Your smartphone has a microphone on it and you can record and edit your audio from there. Then all you need to do is upload it and post it online.
Even with this expense, podcasting is still a great investment for your business. Podcasting is more personal than blogging is. When your audience listens to you, they gain a sense of familiarity with you and your brand. This helps build upon your relationship with your customers and build trust. This relationship is good for you because people are more likely to support buy something from someone they see as a friend rather than a stranger.
Podcasting is also good for your business because it’s easier to gain traffic quickly. With how popular podcasting has become listeners tend to subscribe and become regular listeners. Once they build a solid connection with you, they’ll then be more likely to recommend your podcast to family, friends, and colleagues. This helps gain more traffic to your podcast as the cycle will keep repeating and your audience will keep growing.
Podcasting does have some financial downfalls, but the personal experience your audience will get will benefit your business greatly.
Build a Relationship with Your Audience
Podcasts are great because they only require you to use your ears. Your audience can listen to your podcast when they’re driving a car, taking a shower, mowing the lawn, or doing household chores. Your audience is able to listen anywhere that they want, but podcasts require less concentration. Blogging requires a lot more concentration from your audience. In order to read a blog, your audience has to stop what they’re doing and focus completely on the words written in front of them.
The benefit of both is that they’re easily accessible for your audience to find. Most people now and days have access to a smartphone. This means that at any moment, your audience is able to look up a question that falls into your niche, find your blog/podcast, and get the answer that they need. While it may seem that there are more benefits to having a podcast than a blog, both are incredibly helpful to your business.
Both podcasting and blogging help build a connection with your audience. This connection is key to your business because you need people to trust you in order to be successful. Reading a blog that you’ve written will be easier for your audience when they need information quickly. Listening to a podcast is an experience for your audience and creates a more intimate relationship between you and your audience, but they do take up a lot more time than reading a blog.
This connection with your audience is important and can be achieved by podcasting and blogging. They both help with giving your audience a great sense of what your corporate standards are, your business character, and the overall vision and personality of your company.
So Which Should You Use? Blogging or Podcasting?
Blogging and podcasting have their respective benefits and downfalls, but you shouldn’t focus on one over the other. Everyone is different and learns differently. Some are visual learners and others are audio listeners. You will have to decide which one works better for your skills and the type of audience that you want to reach.
One of the most effective ways to use these two simultaneously is to combine them both. Transcripts and show notes of your podcast are likely to get shown in more searches on Google than the actual podcast itself. So, running a podcast and then publishing the show notes online in the form of a blog helps to connect the two and drive more traffic to your website. As long as you promote both in their respective platform, you’ll be getting more listens, reads, and website traffic.
It’s important to make sure that you have the time each week for content creation. No matter which one you choose to use (or both!) content creation is important for any business or brand. You want to make sure that you’re creating quality content for your audience. Most people want real content that answers real questions. They want to see effort and care put into what they are reading, and this helps build a connection with them if done right. This not only benefits your business/brand, but you’re audience as well.
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