How to Create a Podcast Content Strategy (and Why Your Brand Needs One)

In today's attention-packed content marketing world, flashy visuals and fleeting trends might get a glance, but we’ve got a more powerful tool for you. The secret weapon for connecting with audiences and building deeper relationships lies in a more intimate channel: podcasts.

Now, throwing some words into a microphone won't do the trick. But arm yourself with a rock-solid podcast content strategy, and you’ll unlock so many benefits for your brand’s content marketing. . We're talking loyal communities, boosted brand visibility, thought leadership and audience engagement that goes beyond likes and shares.

Whether you're a startup or a seasoned corporation, get ready to tap into the magic of audio storytelling. In this guide, we'll break down the "why" and "how" of creating a podcast that doesn't just exist. It thrives.

Why Your Brand Needs a Podcast Content Strategy

At the moment there are millions of podcasts that exist, but 44% only have 3 episodes, and somewhere around 300-400 thousand active podcasts (studies differ, but the number remains in this range). Chances are if you don’t start with a strategy ahead of time, you’ll fall into the millions of “inactive” podcasts. Outlining a strategy from the start will set you up for success. Before we get into how to create a podcast content strategy, let’s first look at all the reasons why adding audio to your marketing plan makes good business sense for the coming year.

Raise Brand Awareness Through Storytelling

It’s time to ditch the dry, info-heavy whitepaper and grab the microphone. If you’re looking to capture the attention of a new audience (or re-engage your current one), podcasting is the new gold standard. It’s the perfect medium for sharing relatable stories that draw people in and keep them coming back for more.

Forge Deeper Connections

Move beyond social media likes and algorithms and forge more meaningful connections. Podcasting allows you to speak directly to your audience, with your voice in their speakers week after week. It’s the chance to have their undivided attention, rather than be a glimpse on their feed.  In an age of digital fatigue, podcasting can build genuine brand relationships.

Amplify Expertise and Authority

Step off the soapbox and into the studio. Podcasting can transform your inbound marketing. It gives you the chance to position yourself as the thought leader people want to know more about. Shedding light on a topic you have expertise in can also set you apart from your competitors.

This can also be done by inviting key guests on to your podcast, aligning you and your brand, with other experts and leaders in relevant fields.

Reach New Niches and Communities

Starting a branded podcast allows you to expand your reach in ways you may not expect. Podcasts open doors to niche audiences and communities that traditional marketing might miss, expanding your reach and influence. This can be especially useful when taking on an account based marketing approach. Use your podcast to speak specifically to one account. 

Boost Engagement and Loyalty

Done right, podcasting can turn listeners into customers, or even better, advocates and champions for your brand By providing your audience with valuable content and creating a space for authentic interaction consistently, they’ll keep tuning in. In turn, their brand loyalty will increase.

Humanize Your Brand

There’s no doubt, consumers are more and more valuing authenticity in brands, especially in an age of AI. People are interested in connections that go beyond just products or services. Stepping out from behind your logo, and putting a human voice to your brand, allows youto show the brand’s personality and connect on a human level.

Repurpose and Amplify

One recording, endless possibilities. Podcast content has the potential to fuel your entire marketing ecosystem. From creating blog posts to social content, you can repurpose your podcast episodes to reach a wider audience and maximize your marketing efforts.

Drive Traffic and SEO

Podcasts can also drive traffic to your website through show notes and episode descriptions. By optimizing your podcast content for SEO, you can improve your visibility in search engine results and attract more organic traffic to your website.

How to Create a Podcast Content Strategy

Like all good marketers know, getting a strategy written down makes a world of difference. Having a podcast content strategy to turn to at every step of production can remind the team: what they are making, for who, and for what purpose. 

Here are a few key elements your podcast content strategy should include:

• Outline explaining who your audience is

• The mission and objectives of your podcast content

• Topics you will explore & relevant keywords

• How to select guests

• How to segment each episode

• How you will create content

• Final Formats and publishing destinations

It may sound like a lot, but each point is essential to keeping your brand podcast on track. Let’s take it one step at a time. 

Outline Your Target Audience

If you are an established brand, you may already have an audience in mind. But don’t think your podcasting audience has to be the exact same as your overall brand audience. For one you already know they will be the niche audience that listens to podcasts.

This is the chance to segment your audience and focus on connecting with one account.
Marketers, I hope you already know this exercise of creating audience personas, but let’s review.

Be sure to outline the demographics of your target listener (age, gender, education or work, location), but then take it a step further. Outline their specific interests to the point you could introduce them as you introduce a friend.

Your podcast is for your listener, not you. You are doing it to create value for them, so be sure you know them the best you can.

Mission And Objectives of Your Podcast

What do you aim to achieve with this podcast? This is a key part of your podcast content strategy that is going to influence the rest.

Few brands set out with the goal “I just want to interview experts” or “We just want to talk about our brand”. Good podcast aims might look more like this:

“ We want to improve our thought leadership in dentistry by educating listeners through key interviews that align our brand with experts throughout the industry.”

“We want to spread brand awareness by entertaining our target audience through audio storytelling, by creating a narrative podcast about financial crime”

Objectives and goals are a little more specific. Here you can think about what success actually looks like to you and your brand. This might be brand lift through organic searches and web traffic, this may be converting listeners to customers, or it might be reaching top podcast charts. It’s up to you to define your brand’s idea of success.

Just make sure you always set SMART goals.

Topics and Keywords

Don’t just make a podcast up as you go episode by episode. You’ll want to launch with a long list of topics in mind. Maybe this is a list of specific topics like “Sustainability in Shipping” “How AI can change Global Trade” or maybe it is a list of guests you know you want to have on.

There’s no magic number, but definitely get as long a list as you can down.  Aim for about 10 primary keywords.

By coming up with topics, you’ll also start to notice keywords pop up.

Keywords will be important when it comes to publishing and promoting your podcast. Keywords can help with SEO on your podcast description, show notes, and web content you create surrounding the podcast.

Here’s an example to put this into context:

 Lower Street helped Zero North optimize their podcast “Navigating Zero”, which is all about how the maritime trade industry can work towards a zero-emission future. With a clear niche for that podcast, here were some keywords we landed on:

• Sustainability

• Shipping

• Maritime

• Global Trade

• Emissions

• Technology

Make SEO Part of Your Podcast Content Strategy

SEO isn't just for websites anymore.YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify can function as their own search engines. Take the time to optimize your podcast titles, descriptions, and transcripts with relevant keywords to help newcomers find you.

Read: Podcast SEO: Tips to Improve Your Rankings

How To Select Guests

If guests make a regular appearance on your show, then you’ll want to set guidelines on who gets to be on. Saying yes to every potential guest isn’t the right way to go. You want guests who align with your brand values, and who can bring serious value to your audience. 

So how will you find them?

At the start of your podcast it is good to have a list of guests you want to approach, but pretty soon you’ll start having requests from people hoping to be featured on your podcast.

You should set up a specific email or form for guest requests to be directed to. In your initial selection, ask questions that will be relevant to what you are looking for in a guest.

Some examples:

“What would you like to speak about on [Podcast Name]?”

“Have you spoken about this elsewhere? [Please include links]”

“How will your topic of choice benefit the audience of [Podcast Name]?”

Next create an evaluation template to determine which guests you will consider, which guests you might hold off on till a later date, and which you’ll have to decline.

For the guests you will move forward with, you’ll want to outline in your podcast content strategy what the process will be. Will you send them an email with a date and video link? Will you organize a pre-screening call first?

These are all up to you and your brand. However, we recommend organizing at least one call before the interview to get a feel for your guest and create a personal connection. This friendliness can shine through your voice on a podcast and makes a difference to the final listener experience.

How to Segment Episodes

To make your podcast consistent over every episode, your podcast content strategy should include details on how you will segment episodes.

Some podcasts may choose to keep it simple: Cold Open, Intro, Into the Story, Conclusion, Outro. Or if you are an interview podcast it might look like Host Intro, Introduce Guest, Guest Interview, Close Outro.

But there also is room for a bit of creativity here. For instance, maybe you want to include a segment where you leave room for a little banter, or where you share the top 3 industry headlines of the week. You can include a consistent, entertaining segment to your episodes in order to add extra value to every one. 

In the podcast content strategy, there is no need to write the outline for every episode, that’s another task for another day. But include at least a paragraph to share the flow and segmentation episodes should follow. 

How You Will Create Captivating Audio Content

Quality audio is key to resonating with your listener. This means both technically, and the quality of your sound, but it also means the content of your audio. You want to craft narratives that seamlessly weave your brand's story into engaging experiences that leave podcast listeners wanting more.

Final Formats 

Yes, you are making an audio-focused podcast, but that might not be the last destination for your content. As we mentioned above podcast content can further be created into video podcast content, or repurposed to be used across channels.

Let's Talk Video Podcasts

You may want to consider adding visuals to your audio, whether it's a simple studio setup or dynamic on-location shoots. Video podcasting is rapidly gaining in popularity, and in fact sharing podcasts on YouTube can be incredible for podcast growth. Also, videos can enhance connection, attract new ears, and offer additional content opportunities.

By exploring this new format, you'll keep your podcast fresh, expand your reach, and truly ignite excitement around your brand. 

Where You’ll Publish and Share Your Podcast

Before you can publish your show, you need to find a platform to host it. This will be where your podcast RSS feed will live. There are lots to choose from, and they all have different pricing tiers, features, and audience reach. Decide on one ahead of time and be sure to include it in your podcast content strategy.

Read: 13 Best Podcast Hosting Platforms for All Budgets (Free to Expensive)

Beyond where your podcast will live, you’ll want to outline where and how you plan to promote your show. Will you focus on newsletter and internal communication? Will you start a YouTube Podcast channel? Will you share on LinkedIn?

Pre-release teasers, social media blasts, and even guest appearances can spark excitement when shared on the right channels. You can also pique your audience’s curiosity early with live Q&A sessions and feedback opportunities. 

Pro tip: Keep your messaging consistent across all channels—from podcast titles to social media graphics.

Further Considerations for your Podcast Content Strategy

Outline How You Build a Community

You may have captivating episode content down, but the key to success isn’t on a one way street. It's about building a thriving community around your brand.

You need to actively engage your audience. You can do this by hosting Q&A sessions after episodes, using Spotify poll and question feature, gathering audio feedback to feature on episodes, and encouraging reviews.

Consider launching groups or forums where fellow fans can connect and discuss your content. Remember, every interaction is a chance to deepen loyalty and build connections that go beyond the headphones.

How to Approach Collaborative Partnerships and Innovation

Collaborations offer a leg-up for both content and reach. But you’ll want to partner with other podcasters, experts, or influencers in your niche that align with your brand values.  

Collaborations aren't just about guest appearances, they can be multiple forms of content to engage new audiences, cross-promote, and spark fresh perspectives. Identify partners who share your brand values and goals, then co-create content that benefits both parties. Offer exclusive segments on each other's shows, launch joint social campaigns, or even host live events together. 

Outline how you might evaluate these collaborations, and what some ideal collaborations might be in your podcast content strategy.

Staying Relevant and Adapting

There’s no rule that says your content strategy can’t change. Things constantly evolve in podcasting, as they do in all routes of content marketing. New formats like interactive episodes and audio dramas are popping up, listener preferences shift, and platforms evolve. 

Whenever the time seems right, revisit your podcast content strategy to adapt.

This doesn't mean a complete overhaul every other week. But it does mean being flexible. Analyze your data, monitor listener feedback, and consider incorporating trending elements that align with your brand and content.

By embracing change, you'll ensure your audio stays fresh, relevant, and engaging for loyal listeners and newcomers alike. So, tune in to the trends, experiment strategically, and watch your podcast thrive.

Ready to Develop a Podcast Content Strategy?

We’ve explored why your brand needs a podcast content strategy and provided insights on how to create one that will form a show that resonates with your audience. It’s time to put what you have learned into action.

Once you have your podcast content strategy ready, your podcast outline, and your setup complete: get behind the mic and hit record! 

If you love the idea of starting a podcast for your business but don’t have the bandwidth or resources to get the project off the ground, we’re here to help.

Our Lower Street team of podcast fanatics can guide you through Launching, editing, and promoting podcasts. Reach out today to find out how we can create a brand podcast that stands out from the crowd.