Why podcast marketing could be the next big thing for your small business – Yahoo Finance

As you likely heard, a court in Baltimore recently set Adnan Syed free. For many of us who listened to the first season of the podcast Serial way back in 2014 and learned of the tale of Adnans odd murder conviction, it seemed like justice was finally served.

Serial was fascinating for another reason as well: The show launched podcasting into the stratosphere.

Certainly the lone advertiser at the beginning of that season, MailChimp, never expected to be part of a cultural phenomenon, but undoubtedly it washappy it was. To date, the first two seasons of Serial have been downloaded wait for it 340 million times.

And that just got things started. To say podcasts are hot now would be an understatement. Consider these stats from Edison Research:

Each week, more Americans listen to podcasts than have Netflix accounts: In 2021, 80 million Americans [were] weekly podcast listeners. There are now 10 million more weekly podcast listeners than the 69 Netflix account owners in the U.S.

Podcast listeners have grown almost 30% in the past 3 Years

Podcast listeners tune in an average of 8 shows per week

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Bottom line: Podcasting works, is popularand is only getting more so. It gets your name, business and brand out thereand it does so in a way that is unique and memorable, which is very difficult to do in this media-saturated world.

For the small business, this is great news because podcasting is a powerful andaffordable way to attract new clients and customers. Specifically, there are two ways to use podcasts to grow your business.

Lets look at both.

There areplenty of good reasons to do so:

It builds the brand. With so many people listening to podcasts today, hosting a show can help establish you as a thought leader and thus is a great way to get you and/or your business in front of a whole new audience.

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Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. A judge has ordered the release of Syed after overturning his conviction for a 1999 murder that was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial.

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It is an excellent way to network.That same Edison Research survey states that podcast listeners listen to an entire show 85% of the time. Where else do you get someones uninterrupted online attention 85% of the time? Right, nowhere. Moreover, ifyour show is one where you would interview industry expertsthen that is a powerful way to, well, meet industry experts.

Its easy and affordable.There are two ways to launch and run a podcast.You can either do it yourself, or hire someone to help you. Both are pretty easy and affordable.

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Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. A judge has ordered the release of Syed after overturning his conviction for a 1999 murder that was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial.

Lets start with the latter first. This is how I did my old podcast. I had a great podcast producer who booked guests and did all the tech stuff. We record the show and interviews in his studio, he edited itand then uploaded it to iTunes, my site, Stitcherand so on.

The other way to go is DIY. Here, you need to choose the right app that works for you, invest in some basic sound equipment (like a great mic)and start recording. Your options are:

Anchor.fm

Garage Band (on a Mac)

Adobe Audition

Audacity

I love this option too, in fact, almost more, because it is just so potent. If the good news of podcasting is that it is so popular, the bad news is that it isso popular. Launching your own show and getting noticed is doable, yes, but it takes time and effort.

In the alternative, you can simply find a show that caters to your audience and advertise there. That show has already done all the heavy lifting, and yet, because it is such a niche audience, the fees should be very reasonable.

So no, you will likely not become the next MailChimp on the next Serial, but who cares? Podcasting is the future.

Steve Strauss is a popular speaker, attorney, and the bestselling author of 18 books, including his latest, "Your Small Business Boom." Recently named by SCORE as the top small-business champion in the country, you can learn more about Steve and theStrauss Group atMrAllBiz.com, get more tips atPlanet Small Businessand connect with himon Twitter at@SteveStraussand onFacebook atPlanetSmallBusiness.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why podcasts could be the next big thing for your small business

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Why podcast marketing could be the next big thing for your small business - Yahoo Finance