Each week 250,000 podcast episodes are published. All trying to get listeners’ attention. How do you cut through the noise and promote a podcast to stand out? The answer is not simply social media, but using social media effectively.
I’m Niall Mackay, The Podcast Guy. I’m here to share with you what I’ve learned about how to promote your podcast episodes on social media platforms.
Podcasting has grown into a culture that dominates conversations and changes the way listeners consume content. But as creativity and new ideas grow in the podcasting world, so does the battle for listeners’ attention.
Using social media to promote new podcast episodes is no longer a choice; it’s a MUST! Just like the podcast business has grown exponentially, so has the power of social media to change mindsets and build communities.
Social media not only gives you a great chance to increase the number of people who hear your podcast but also to grow an engaged audience and create a strong bond between your brand and its fans.
This isn’t just about getting more podcast listeners; it’s also about creating engaging content that draw more podcast listeners in, building a group of loyal supporters, and making your podcast a part of the digital community.
Innovation is essential, competition is fierce, and your success depends on your ability to capture both ears and hearts of your listeners.
1. Craft an Effective Podcast Marketing Strategy to Promote Podcasts on Social Media
An effective podcast marketing strategy is an ongoing process that evolves as your podcast and audience grow. By using social media for your advantage to know your listeners, and constantly improving your content and marketing, you’ll be well on your way to building a loyal audience and making your podcast a success.
Here are some strategies to help your podcast stand out and succeed in the competitive world of podcasting:
- Define Your Audience:
Before you start on any marketing strategy or social media strategy, clearly define your target audience. Understanding your audience’s demographics, interests, and pain points is the foundation of creating your content and marketing efforts that will impact them.
- Optimize Your Content:
Start with creating content. Your new podcast episodes should be well-researched, engaging, and valuable content. High-quality content not only retains listeners but also encourages them to promote with others. Be consistent in updating your publishing schedule for your future episodes to keep your audience coming back for more.
- Learn about different social media platforms. And choose just one or two:
Social media is not just Facebook. It is Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly knows as Twitter), Threads, Pinterest and TikTok. To connect with your audience, and build your podcast community learn how each of these platforms differ and are used for engagement.
This could be a daunting task for an independent podcaster.
So my best advice is to choose the platform that you already use and are familiar with and focus on that. Don’t try and spread yourself too thin and be present on all of them.
- Create Compelling Visuals:
Humans are visual creatures, and eye-catching visuals can make your podcast stand out. Create promotional graphics for each episode within your brand guidelines, incorporating quotes, highlights, and an episode-specific image that excite potential new listeners.
- Harness Key Opinion Leaders:
Collaborating with KOL’s or industry experts can give your podcast a boost. Partner with people who share your target listeners and have an established presence in your niche. They can help promote your podcast to a larger audience and lend credibility to your content.
- Engage with Your Audience:
Interact with your listeners through comments, reviews, and feedback. Acknowledge their opinions, answer their questions, and address their concerns. This not only creates a sense of community but also encourages word-of-mouth recommendations.
- Cross-Promote with Other Podcasts:
Collaboration can be a powerful tool. Identify podcasts that share a similar target audience but offer complementary content. Cross-promote each other’s shows through guest appearances, shout-outs, or joint marketing efforts.
- Analyze and Iterate:
Regularly analyze your digital marketing strategy to determine what’s working and what’s not. Use podcast analytics, social media insights, and website data to assess your strategy’s effectiveness. Adapt and refine your approach based on the data you gather.
2. Use Video To Promote Podcasts On Social Media
Repurpose Podcast Content for Wider Reach
By putting your content into different forms, you can reach more listeners and meet various demands. This helps you effectively promote a podcast.Adding video to your podcast episode makes them much more engaging and better to use for social media. Make sure you have a camera (even your phone) and proper lighting.
For online meetings, use software like Squadcast that is now integrated into Descript.
Create Engaging Podcast Clips
Make podcast clips that are insightful by choosing interesting parts, keeping them short, and using engaging words. Start with a hook, build up the tension, and think about using sound effects or images. Add transcriptions to help people understand.
Use social media channels and your YouTube channel to spread clips. Maintain consistency in publishing YouTube videos, keep people interested, and get them to listen to or watch your new episode.
So, here’s a step-by-step process that you can do to create engaging podcast clips:
- Record your video in a landscape frame.
- Duplicate your recordings, so keep a copy of the original video file.
- Transform your video into a portrait frame.
- Extract some interactive podcast clips from your recordings that last 30-40 seconds. These clips are keep people interested and add energy and excitement to your content.
- Add subtitles, pictures, gifs, and sound effects to grab your listener’s attention and make them want to listen for more.
- Remove or cut all the gaps to speed up the clips.
- Schedule posting your clips on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
I use Descript for all my editing so this process is done with Descript. It is likely similar to the editing software you use if it is not Descript.
3. Use Different Promotion Strategies For Each Social Media Platform
Tailoring your content to match the unique characteristics of each social media platform is essential for successful podcast promotion. Here’s some social media promotion strategy you can use for your social media posts
Tailoring Content Tone to Match Platform Demographics
- Research the demographics of each social media platform’s user base. Understand their age, interests, and preferences.
- Change the tone, language, and message of your content so that it speaks to the audience on every platform.
- For example, use a professional tone on LinkedIn to reach people who are interested in business, but use a more relaxed and approachable tone on Twitter or TikTok.
Adapting Content Style to Fit Platform Purpose
- Know what each platform’s main goal is. For example, Twitter is known for its short social media posts, while YouTube is known for its longer videos.
- Change the length and format of your social media posts to fit. Share short snippets or teasers on platforms like Twitter, and share more thorough material on platforms like YouTube.
- Consider what kinds of visuals work best on every social channels. Instagram is all about photos, while Pinterest is a great place for graphs.
4. Capitalizing on LinkedIn’s Professionalism and Instagram’s Branding Appeal
- LinkedIn:
Use LinkedIn’s professional setting by sharing content that shows off your expertise. Put out articles about thought leadership, industry insights, and tips for what you do. Talk about important topics in useful LinkedIn groups.
- Instagram:
Use Instagram’s social media graphics to strengthen your brand’s visual character. Share pictures and stories that look good and fit with how your brand is seen. Use Instagram’s interactive features, like polls, Q&A meetings, and live videos, to connect more personally with your audience.
By using these social media strategies, you’ll be able to customize your content for different platforms in a way that increases interest and connects with a wide range of audiences. Remember that each platform needs a different method, so take the time to learn how it works and change your content to get the best results.
- Use Paid Advertising to Promote Your Podcast on Social Media
Paid advertising is a powerful way to get people to listen to your podcast. Choose a platform that fits your audience, ensure your words and pictures are fascinating, and use demographics and hobbies to target your ads. Remember that ads make podcasts more visible, but the key to long-term success is how good the show is and how engaged the audience is.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for how to approach this strategy:
Set Clear Goals
Determine what you want to achieve with your podcast advertising campaign. Is it to increase downloads, gain subscribers, promote a specific episode, or something else? Defining clear goals will help you measure the success of your campaign.
Identify Your Target Audience
Understand who your ideal listeners are. Consider factors like demographics, interests, behaviors, and preferences. This information will help you create highly targeted ads that resonate with your audience.
Choose Advertising Platforms:
Select the platforms where you want to run your podcast ads. Some common platforms for podcast advertising include:
- Social Media Platforms: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow you to create targeted ads that reach specific demographics.
- Podcast Directories: Platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts offer ad placements to help you reach users who are already interested in podcasts.
- Podcast Ad Networks: There are networks like Midroll, AdvertiseCast, and Podcorn that specialize in podcast advertising and can connect you with potential advertisers or listeners.
- Google Ads: Google’s display and search network can also be used to target relevant audiences.
Create Compelling Ads with Strong Call to Action:
- Visual Ads:
If you want to advertise on social media, make graphics or videos that look good and show what your podcast is about and clearly tell your audience what you want them to do after seeing or hearing your ad, and what makes it special.
- Audio Ads:
For podcast platforms, craft engaging audio ads that quickly communicate what your podcast is about and why listeners should tune in.
Allocate Budget:
Determine how much you’re willing to spend on your advertising campaign. Set a daily or campaign-wide budget that aligns with your goals and resources.
Monitor and Optimize:
Regularly track the performance of your ads. Most advertising platforms offer analytics that show metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, and engagement. Use this data to refine your campaign over time. If certain ads are performing well, consider allocating more budget to them. If others aren’t performing, tweak their content or targeting.
A/B Testing:
Experiment with different ad creatives, copy, and targeting strategies. A/B testing allows you to identify what works best for your audience and refine your approach accordingly.
Build Relationships:
Over time, as your podcast grows, consider forming partnerships with other podcasts or influencers in your niche. They might be interested in cross-promotion, which can introduce your podcast to their audience.
Consistency:
Podcast promotion is an ongoing effort. Consistently promote your podcast through paid advertising, social media, email newsletters, and other channels to maintain and grow your listener base.
Remember that successfully promoting your podcast takes a mix of targeted advertising, exciting content, and a clear idea of your audience. It’s also important to know what the latest advertising trends are and change your plans to fit them.
5. Leverage Platform-Specific Features
TikTok’s Stitch and Duet features
You can improve your social media strategy using TikTok’s Stitch and Duet features. With Stitch, you can make collaborative videos by adding a bit of another user’s content to your own. This increases engagement and promotes both of your videos.
Use Duet to make split-screen videos that interact with existing content. Join in on trends or challenges to create viral content that boosts your awareness. Invite people to join by asking them to stitch or participate in your videos.
X’s Pinned Tweets
Use the “pinned tweets” tool intelligently to improve your X, formerly known as Twitter’s presence. You can pin important updates, promotions, or popular content to the top of your page. This ensures that when people hit on your profile, they immediately see your best content.
Use saved tweets for CTAs, key messages, promotions, announcements, and your best content. By carefully choosing and regularly updating your pinned tweets, you can increase your Twitter profile’s exposure and ensure that your most important and relevant content is accessible for your audience.
Professional Audience with LinkedIn Live
To build valuable interactions with the professional audience on LinkedIn Live, you need to use strategic strategies. To get their attention, make sure your content is relevant to their business and offers insights, trends, or tips they can use. Choose fascinating formats, like interviews, webinars, or panel talks, that appeal to professionals wanting to learn something.
During the session, ask the crowd to comment and ask questions to encourage real-time interaction. Keep a polished and professional attitude to communicate with the site’s audience. Work with experts in your field to boost your reputation and reach more people.
Give viewers valuable takeaways that they can use in their jobs to make the lesson more valuable. Include a clear call to action that tells people to visit your podcast or your own website, pushes them to sign up for your newsletter, or invites them to upcoming sessions.
Consistency is essential. Plan regular sessions to build a loyal audience and establish yourself as a reliable source of industry information. With good planning and production, you can use LinkedIn Live to make real connections and involve the professional community in meaningful conversations.
Instagram’s Countdown Feature
Use Instagram’s countdown feature for episode releases. Make a post with pictures and a short text to share the news. Add the countdown sticker, set to end when the episode goes live.
Write engaging captions, encouraging followers to set reminders. Share teaser content in Stories using “swipe-up” if available. Update Stories daily with insights to sustain excitement.
Respond to engagement and collaborate with guests or influencers for broader reach. Consider a live session before the release.
Celebrate release day with a fresh post and countdown sticker. This feature builds anticipation, engages your audience, and ensures they eagerly anticipate your upcoming episode.
How to Promote Podcasts on Social Media Conclusion
These strategies support a planned approach to podcast promotion. They can be changed to fit the unique characteristics of each brand and the preferences of each audience. Social media’s broad reach is used to get people involved.
Tone-specific content resonates with different groups on different platforms, and changing style fits platform goals. The impact is maximized by using LinkedIn’s expertise and Instagram’s branding appeal. By getting guests involved, you can connect with more people in the crowd.
Making effective CTAs with a sense of urgency gets people to act. Helping fans get involved builds community. Landing pages are better when they combine video and email capture.
Using platform-specific traits makes tactics more varied. LinkedIn Live is a great way to get people interested. Overall, social media promotion is the best way to ensure a podcast is a hit.
