Everyone seems to have their own podcast nowadays. From business, marketing, and finance, to sports, music, books, and even random swear words, podcast topics come in a wide range. People listen to them at commute, while cooking at home, and at work. They’re so ubiquitous that you can’t not run into a podcast fan.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to publish a podcast? Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to but wasn’t sure where to begin. Well, welcome. We invited Megan Powers, a long-time podcaster and a marketing and communications strategist, to help us understand how Twitter can help promote podcasts.
Here’s a summary of our chat.
Topic: Twitter for Podcasters: Strategies and Best Practices
Guest: Megan Powers
Format: Eight questions directed to the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
We chose our guest wisely. 🙂 For the last two years, Megan, along with Jen Cole, has been publishing Making a Marketer, a fun and engaging podcast about what it takes to be a marketer in today’s times. Episode lengths vary from 30 to 60 minutes, but they’re all light-hearted and educational. Check it out here: Making a Marketer podcast and Twitter handle.
A1a. I do–2, actually! For 2 yrs I’ve hosted @MakeAMarketer – a pod for marketers w/all levels of experience (@MadalynSklar > ep.4!) & I was hired by @Swapcard to host another one for the “meetings & events” industry called #InsideEvents @TheEventProfs #TwitterSmarter #PM19 https://t.co/Vm5TnKxqqH
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
That’s not all though. She was recently hired to run a more specific podcast for event marketers and professionals in the industry. It’s called Inside Events, and you can check it out here: The Event Profs on Twitter.
Our amazing community also has a bunch of podcasters like Jim Fuhs, Dan Willis, and Jen Cole. And we also got some interesting recommendations from people who listen to podcasts regularly.
As a leadership coach, Gene Petrov shared a bunch of his favourites: Zig Ziglar, Entre Leadership, StoryBrand, Jordan Harbinger, UnmistakeableCreative, John C Maxwell, and Brian Buffini.
And of course I have to mention Joana, our fantastic multi-lingual member who listens to podcasts in both English and Portuguese. She even shared her Twitter list of podcasters. Check it out here.
a1 i don't publish a podcast, but i listen to some podcasts in portuguese and in english. i have a twitter list for that https://t.co/BSzzfY0jwl #twittersmarter
— Joana Rita Sousa ? ?? (@JoanaRSSousa) August 22, 2019
Inspired to create your own podcast? Hold your horses a minute: Melanie gave us some excellent advice about starting your own podcast. Not every business needs one. And unless you’re passionate about the topic and know what you’re doing—and have enough viable material for a long-standing series—you won’t be able to sustain it. So first, know your why and think it through.
I think you have to be really passionate about your topic and creating a new product or it's not sustainable. I don't agree with the idea that every business should have a podcast. #TwitterSmarter
— Melanie Padgett Powers (@MelEdits) August 22, 2019
Megan prefers to do a teaser post after she’s recorded an episode. She shares a photo, along with an iTunes link to the podcast, and encourages people to subscribe for upcoming episodes.
A2a. It’s great to tease a show after it’s recorded (not b4 recording, just in case). We record on @Zoom, so for @MakeAMarketer I share a photo of us on screen, w/a link to the podcast on iTunes to get people to subscribe and get the next eps. when they drop. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/0o2GuGVZeE pic.twitter.com/txkbfe1HpO
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
It’s a great way to show your audience what you’ve been up to, because it helps them relate to you and your work.
She also suggested sharing a graphic with photos of your guests. That way, you can also tag your guests who’ll re-share your post and give you a much wider reach.
A2c. For #InsideEvents we’re using video of show w/captioning & graphics w/the guests 2 build excitement for the next show. @rafastav / @unsocialjack @Swapcard do a great job! OR use an image w/an audio clip to give listeners a “taste” of what your show is about! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/0o2GuGVZeE pic.twitter.com/e8YEtT17bn
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
And don’t be afraid to share snippets from your podcast. What are the takeaways for your audience? Make a note of things listeners will gain by listening to your episode and post them one at a time or as a list. It’s important to leverage the reach and engagement of your existing audience too—ask them to share, retweet, and reply with their observations. The more engagement your posts get, the more popular Twitter considers it, and suggests it to similar audiences.
A2b. Absolutely, once it’s published it’s KEY to promote, including any possible takeaways the listeners will get! Drive people to your specific episodes in separate posts. ALSO get your guests to help promote! Take advantage of the reach THEY have. #TwitterSmarter #PM19 https://t.co/0o2GuGVZeE
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
How else can you promote your podcast? Our community overflowed with ideas:
A2: I like to make podcasts a multimedia extravaganza. Record live, with a video feed, and answer questions via Twitter all at the same time. With that said, I've usually had more than one person doing production. #TwitterSmarter
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) August 22, 2019
Of course! Video gets a lot of attention on a text-only feed. You can use it to your advantage. Megan explained how, for Making a Marketer, they record it on Facebook Live so they get a video and audio in one go. Smart work always wins.
A3a. Twitter video is an option to sprinkle in to promote shows. Mostly I prefer using video of actual episodes to fully express the content. Every other episode of @MakeAMarketer we record on Facebook live & pull the audio for the pod, so we utilize both. #PM19 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/AWn5xXbY6S
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
For the other podcast, Inside Events, they use Zoom and cut out snippets of the video for YouTube promotions. Megan even suggested trying Wave Video and Headliner Video to create shorter audiograms.
A3b. For #InsideEvents we use our Zoom video recording & cut out video clips to promote it. The vids also all go onto YouTube. Two tools you can use to easily create great videos (or even “audiograms”): @wave_video and @headlinervideo #PM19 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/AWn5xXbY6S
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
While you’re at it, remember an important tip Jen shared: A lot of people watch videos while commuting or in public places. You can’t be sure they’ll always have their headphones on, so add proper captions to your videos so people can follow.
A3. ABSOLUTELY! Video is HUGE and it isn't going away! Just slap some captions on it with an app like @QuiCC_app so people can listen with no sound, and you're GOLDEN! #twittersmarter https://t.co/xDxpFYocV0
— Jen Cole #smechat ??? #SMMW20 (@jencoleICT) August 22, 2019
Feel free to be spontaneous with video. Talk about upcoming videos, ask your audience what they want to hear, and even sprinkle in some of those insanely valuable behind-the-scenes content. (If you’re wondering why and how they’re valuable, check out this summary post of our previous Twitter chat.)
That said, don’t force yourself to do videos all the time either. Like our friends from The Karacher Group pointed out, videos are a personal medium of content, and being fake, uncomfortable, or unnatural won’t reflect well on your brand.
A3: Video should play a role in the majority of your marketing initiatives. Does that mean it has to happen for every piece of content and every podcast you publish? No, it should be organic. Does it warrant a video or does text get the point across just the same? #TwitterSmarter
— The Karcher Group (@KarcherGroup) August 22, 2019
You certainly should, if you don’t already!
A great idea Megan shared is to re-share old episodes with new relevant hashtags. Twitter recommends using not more than two per tweet. So every new hashtag you add brings you a different type of audience. And they vary by episode too, so you’re not limited to a handful of keywords. The more you think about what each episode discusses, the more hashtags you’ll come up with.
Like blogs, podcasts have evergreen topics too. Make good use of them by sharing them consistently. Watch for trending topics on Twitter too. It could just be a topic you’ve already covered on your podcast.
If you’re away on holiday, use the interim period to promote your older podcast episodes.
A4a. ABSOLUTELY! Like anything else on Twitter, diff hashtags & topics will get you found by people who don’t know about your show. We take a summer break w/ @MakeAMarketer & we continue to promote past eps then, which keeps our numbers & visibility active. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/6cntHkehVa
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
And don’t forget to include a link to your podcast in your Twitter bio. Have a separate Twitter handle? Add that too. It’s the best and easiest way to help people identify you and your work.
A4b. ALSO – Be sure to put your podcast handle (if you have one dedicated to the pod) and / or link to the #podcast in your Twitter bio! The point is to help people find your show as easily as possible. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/6cntHkehVa
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
Perhaps you’re re-interviewing a guest you had a long time ago. As Matt pointed out, that would be a great time to share the older episode, and remind your audience why they should listen to the newer one as well.
A4. I would have thought so, there's bound to be occasions where it's relevant and they still have some value to share. What about if you've got the same guest on again, give the audience a recap of last time they were on? #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/0KZkkLDex3
— Matt Jackson Ⓜ️ (@Socially_M) August 22, 2019
You should always have a strategy. Social media and your podcast aren’t any different.
When it comes to Twitter, it’s essential that you have a branded hashtag that people can relate to and identify. However, it’s also important to use relevant generic hashtags to promote your podcasts. That way, your tweets will show up in casual searches as well, so that a majority of Twitter users notices your posts. A good example is Megan’s own podcast, Making a Marketer. She uses generic keywords like #marketing and #podcast so that even marketers who’ve never heard if her podcast before will discover it.
A5a. It’s about getting FOUND! Key is using a hashtag related to the industry it’s connected to. Unique hashtags are cute, but IMO if it won’t get you found, it isn’t as useful. As generic as it is, the hashtag #Marketing gets us found for MaM, along with #podcast #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/lvfGAsywUb
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a unique brand hashtag. By all means, like Megan’s #InsideEvents, you can have one too. But also consider adding supporting hashtags—such as #eventprofs and #eventmarketing for a podcast about successful event management.
A5b. For Inside Events, using the meetings & events industry gold-standard hashtag is a must, & that’s #EventProfs – in fact, that’s why our show Twitter handle is @TheEventProfs …though we do also use the hashtag #InsideEvents #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/lvfGAsywUb
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
Benefits of having a strategic approach to your hashtag game:
Remember, though—
With Twitter’s many updates, hashtags aren’t the only way for people to find you. Because hashtags are so overwhelming, sometimes people may overlook the value of your tweet. That’s why, as Jack cautioned, it’s important to make every word in your tweet count. They’re all searchable and will show up when someone’s looking for content. So make sure the copy of your tweet is useful and speaks to the audience you intend to reach.
A5 (cont): it's easy for social strategist to shout "USE HASHTAGS FOR DISCOVERABILITY!" – but veryyy few people consume Twitter that way. Some niche tags can work, but hashtags are very, very low on the most effective ways to market a podcast. #TwitterSmarter
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) August 22, 2019
Ah, if only there were one right answer!
What matters most is that you’re consistent in your promotions. Use various ways to achieve this. Megan suggested posting about an episode at least once a day, as well as asking your co-hosts and guests to retweet your posts.
You can even have them tweet separately so there’s a healthy mix. Consider each person sharing a different episode, so that you constantly get clicks on all of your podcasts. That way you’re not annoying your audience by overdoing it.
A6. We try to not OVERDO it, but try to promote an ep at least once per day… We DO need more consistency! It’s useful if co-hosts help to promote the shows AND the guests. We can also do a better job of asking our guests to help promote the shows they’re on. 🙂 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/WdTmQWcOAM
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
Like Dan, if you’re engaging in multiple communities a day and have varied conversations, you might end up talking about your podcast a lot more than once. But even then, you’ll be sharing various episodes and not the same on over and over. Know your audience, their questions, and the time they’re on Twitter and talk about your podcast then. That’s the secret to getting the most out of your promotions.
A6 For me #podcasts like any content go out when they add value to a conversation. Depending on the community I am talking to in any given day that could be once or a half dozen times! #Twittersmarter pic.twitter.com/JkGCUcJcLZ
— Dan Willis #SAIS2019 (@MLLNNLmotivator) August 22, 2019
It’s probably one of the more controversial questions we’ve had in our tweet chats. But, like most things, it depends on your business and your audience. And whether you have enough content to share on a separate Twitter account without boring your followers.
Sometimes, having a separate account is a way to get more exposure. Some podcasts, like Megan’s, have co-hosts. In that case, having a separate account lets the hosts keep their podcast as an individual entity. Of course, they also promote the episodes from their personal accounts to boost reach.
A7a. I think separating the show from the person gives add’l outlet 4 promo. My shows have had co-hosts also, so the distinction between our personal/bus accounts & the show is important. I do ALSO promote the show from my own account, so we get more exposure. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/UfYiUIgsVK
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
In some other cases, like Roger’s, a podcast is a way to establish yourself in the industry. If you’re trying to build yourself as a subject matter expert around a specific topic, and a podcast is one of your various channels of doing it, then you probably don’t need a separate account.
A7: I originally started my podcast as a means of keeping my profile up in the industry when I went freelance.
It’s part of my personal brand and after 218 episodes I’ve never felt the need for a separate Twitter. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/Q28rzsVwYD
— Roger Edwards (@Roger_Edwards) August 22, 2019
On the flip side, not all of your followers care about your other content. Some might be fans only of your podcast. You could be a marketer who publishes a music podcast. If that’s the case, a separate account gives your music fans exactly what they’re looking for. It can serve as a community itself, fostering niche conversations and engagement that your regular account doesn’t need.
Don’t forget that Twitter is time-consuming. And social media can be a full-time job by itself. If you don’t have the capacity, the energy, and the time for separate accounts for each podcast you publish, then don’t.
Not having a separate account won’t affect you negatively. Having separate accounts that don’t respond properly, will. Choose wisely.
A7b. I see many individuals / brands don’t have diff Twitters for their pod (like Twitter Smarter & Communities that Convert!). Is it a “bandwidth” issue? Without the time/energy to dedicate to another account, it’s better to NOT… But I still advocate for it. 🙂 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/UfYiUIgsVK
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
According to our guest’s observation, Twitter is still an untapped resource for podcasters. She pointed out that both her podcasts are aiming to glean the most from Twitter. If you’re a podcaster reading this, now’s your time to get started on some serious Twitter marketing. There’s so much to do and so few people doing it.
A8a. I’m surprised how few #podcasters are using Twitter to its potential. Great graphics are key, and it’s something @MakeAMarketer is focusing on doing a better job at, & @TheEventProfs is doing great. #PM19 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/fyCSjU2cpz
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
Here’s an example of a great use of Twitter to promote a podcast:
A8b. This pod does a great job of describing the topic, uses a great visual, & you know what to expect (tho, I question her hashtag strat!). I’m curious why more aren’t using Twitter. For sure Twitter users are promoting pods FOR #podcasts on Twitter. #PM19 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/fyCSjU2cpz pic.twitter.com/LDMm9fTii7
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
In this post, Megan pointed out how the podcaster explains the topic and gives you a clear picture of what to expect, all the while supporting the tweet with a great visual banner.
Another effective promotion is using audiograms, as this one does.
A8c. This one is also good – using an audiogram – audio on the back of an image. NO question #podcasts are growing in popularity, so I believe we’ll start to see more promo here. #PM19 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/fyCSjU2cpz pic.twitter.com/bqqjYmx5yn
— Powers of Marketing? (@meganpowers) August 22, 2019
Other community favourites and recommendations:
Well, folks, that’s the end of this summary. If you enjoy these chat recaps, do tweet out to me or Madalyn and let us know. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve, share those as well. We’re all ears.
Oh, and if you have some time on Thursday, join us at 1pm ET for our next #TwitterSmarter chat.
About me, Narmadhaa:
I’m a writer of all things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
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