By Tina Dietz, guest columnist

With 65 million Americans monthly listeners, podcasting is one of the fastest growing platforms that professionals can use to establish authority. Whether you’re just starting a firm, or your organization has long-established credentials, podcasting can catapult your influence beyond the capabilities of many other expert-building marketing channels.

Getting featured on TV, publishing a book or doing public speaking are gold standards for expert status (see CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™ ), but podcasting has made it possible for all types of financial advisors to share their knowledge and expertise with a wide audience.

One of podcasting’s biggest advantages is that it’s open publicity. This means the host has the freedom to generate the message and control the content. Podcasting also requires fewer resources than video and is more accessible. That’s because audio is available to consumers even when text and video are not such as when driving, jogging, gardening or cycling. The convenience of listening to downloadable audio files on smartphones or tablets has created a new wave of attentive, on-the-go listeners.

Voice of authority

Using your personal voice to reach your target market is a powerful channel for conveying your firm’s values and brand authenticity. Doing so deepens trust and develops loyalty with clients, prospective clients, strategic partners and future employees. By using a conversational format, podcasters have the freedom to articulate what makes their firm unique, without using typical marketing jargon.

Below, we’ll focus on leaders who are looking to establish themselves as experts and to develop their spheres of influence.

Getting started with podcasting

You don’t need to be a host yourself. One of the best ways to introduce yourself to a new market is to be a podcast guest. Hosts are hungry for content. They are searching for experts like you—people in the know who can keep their shows fresh to provide value to the audience. There are over 30 million podcast episodes today, and that number has grown significantly over the past 10 years.

The key is to reach out personally to hosts of podcasts most appropriate for your subject niche – don’t ask your assistant to do it for you.

Podcast hosts want a good fit for their shows. After they book you, they will take the time to suggest ways that you can most effectively resonate with their audience. One way to find podcasts that are looking for guests is to do a keyword search in Apple Podcasts or Google for shows with topics that appeal to your ideal clients or target market. Apple Podcasts is to podcasts as what Amazon is to books; it is the premier platform for broadcasting your audio message to an eager audience.

You don’t have to start with cold leads, however. Ask colleagues who’ve been guests on podcasts you like to introduce you to the hosts of those shows. As with developing your practice, referrals go a long way toward establishing credibility and building relationships.

If you have the resources, you can also use a booking service to acquire guest spots; there are several excellent companies that can take care of placing you on the perfect shows.

Leveraging podcast interviews

Once you’ve secured a podcast spot, there are infinite ways you can use, and re-use, this valuable content. You can now post audio clips on your website or blog, include audio clips in your media kit, or feature them on your company profile or LinkedIn page. You can share the audio across social media, or use the transcribed content for new articles or blog posts. A wealth of marketing assets is available at your fingertips when you have podcast content.

Conclusion
Podcasts are free for everyone to access. It takes almost no technical know-how to get started as a guest. These characteristics make being featured on podcast interviews one of the best “expert platforms” available today. What are you waiting for?

What’s your take on podcasting? We’d like to know.

Tina Dietz is an internationally acclaimed speaker, audio publisher and podcast advisor to HB Publishing & Marketing Company. Visit her at Twin Flames Studios

#Podcasting, #practicemanagement, #thoughtleadership