Today’s consumers are digesting content through many different mediums, and podcasting is just one way that businesses are getting their brand message out. While podcasts (sadly) aren’t just for the Moniques of the world who want to rant on about their feelings of the hit TV show “The Office,” they are a great way for businesses to educate, inform, and connect with their audience while building brand loyalty.
So where exactly do you start when creating your own podcast? We have compiled the perfect list (obvi it’s perfect… we wrote it!) that will get you rolling with your podcast.
[Going Live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
Make A Vision Board
Yasss queen — vision boards are IN, so why not bring them into your podcast planning? A vision board will help you conceptualize and visualize what you want to accomplish with your podcast. Ask yourself a few questions to get started: What’s the goal of your podcast? Are you educating consumers on a movement you’re involved in? Is your goal to inform consumers about your industry? Figure out what your core message is, and slap that bad boy on your vision board.
Next up — tone. Are you funny? Serious? Sarcastic? All three and then some? Either way, figure out what that will be, and please, please, please make sure it matches your brand as it currently sits. And if it doesn’t, be upfront with your listeners about it. Nobody likes when Fun Franny goes to Seriously Sally without any warning. Talk about a buzzkill! Find a few keywords that you want to associate with the tone of your podcast, and add them to your vision board.
And finally, album art. Wait, what? What the heck is album art? Yeah, that’s right — don’t assume you can slack off on creative graphics. Ok, if you don’t actually know what album art is, open your phone, find the podcast app (no worries, I will wait right here)… and search for the podcast “Criminal” — this is my favorite podcast. I mean wait, of course On Target’s podcast is my favorite. OK — get back on track Monique. Now, do you see all of the wonderful visuals in your search? Awesome. That is podcast album art, and you need a creative graphic for it. It needs to stand out among all of the other podcasts, so make sure it’s vibrant, attention-grabbing, and lets the listeners know what your podcast is about. Do you want graphics or just the title of the podcast? What colors do you want? Visualize it on that vision board, baby!
Two Words: Editorial Calendar
Folks, if you aren’t using an editorial calendar for basically everything in your life then we can’t be friends. BYEEEEE. Hopefully (fingers crossed), you are already using an editorial calendar for your content creation purposes. Just apply that to podcasts. And if you are still clueless right now, then I will clue you in. Create a document that resembles this table:
|
Episode / Goal Length |
Topic |
Speaking Points |
Guest Speaker / Notes |
|
#1.25 min. |
The Rundown |
#1 Why doesn’t Jim know what a rundown is? #2 Why doesn’t Oscar know? He’s the smartest in the office. #3 Jim sits at a computer all day. Why can’t he just Google it? |
Idris Alba (I WISH) Questions for Idris: What exactly IS a rundown? How long were you expecting this rundown to be? Do you think Jim is an idiot? |
|
#2. 25 min. |
Cringeworthy Michael Moments |
#1 Michael is embarrassing as all H E double hockey sticks in public. #2 Scott’s TOTS — UGH. #3 How did Michael drop the wine bottle at Andy’s play? #4 Date Mike — No further notes necessary |
Mckayla (A former Scott Tot) Questions for Mckayla: How long did it take you to recover from Michael’s stupidity? |
This will set you up with a basic guideline of what you want to talk about in each podcast. Let me say that again — it’s a basic guideline, folks. It’s important that you hear the word guideline. Just one more time for emphasis… guideline. Because I am clearly an expert at everything (obvi), I can tell you that the biggest — and I mean biggest — mistake people have when planning a podcast is overplanning. Yes, that’s why I want, and highly recommend, that this be a guideline. When you overplan or try to write out a script, you lose the human part of the podcast. Which will totally suck because, and this may blow your mind, we aren’t robots (yet), so we need to be as human as possible. An editorial calendar will keep you on track and fluid with what you want to cover while keeping that human component. And if you are still clueless on this whole editorial thing, call me; <evil laugh>I will sear it into your brain!</evil laugh>.
Be Smart
Yes, I know you are a brilliant human being, I don’t doubt it! But you might be surprised at the things we forget when we are wrapped up in a project. The whole process of creating a podcast can be a freaking ball — it really can — but oftentimes people forget to actually market themselves in the podcast. Cray, right? So, don’t pull an absent-minded Monique, and remember to include the following in your podcast.
- Your company name (oh the stories I could tell)
- Your website address
- The social channels listeners can find you on
- The platforms your podcast can be found on (Soundcloud, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, etc.)
- If you have a guest, allow them to plug the same for their business. It’s like super respectful, and I am sure they will be expecting it
Be Human
I know what you are thinking. Geez Monique, give it a rest… we know. But guys, do you? Do you really? For those that aren’t blessed with the gift of the gab like myself, sitting in front of a microphone can be intimidating, which causes some people to tense up in their podcast. Relax. Repeat this with me: Wooosaaa. Wooosaaa. It’s just like having a conversation around a table — I promise you. And the more you can get this into your head, the more human your podcast will sound. If you “ummm” or “errrrr” in your regular speech, don’t fret. Just thank the good Lord for editing. Can I get an Amen?!? But for real, long pauses and speech hiccups can almost always be edited. So don’t think about it and just have fun!
But Wait, There’s More
Yes, there is more — but don’t worry — I have overwhelmed you enough. Next time we will cover the post-production do’s and dont’s and marketing your podcast effectively. And if you’re ready to start your podcast but I have scared you into oblivion (oops), call us. My boss Tom Jelneck is super funny and LOVES hearing about podcast ideas, so please call and tell him all about your podcast for your hairless cat (his favorite). And if you have an idea for a podcast for your business, that’s even better! Just give us a call at 407-830-4550.
