Nowadays, it seems that all professionals who have a service to sell on LinkedIn also have a podcast to promote to support their expertise. Of course, this is a global phenomenon. And brands are also following suit.
From 2016 to 2021, the number of branded podcasts on Apple Podcast increased from 588 to 8334 – multiplying by a factor of 14 in 5 years, according to a Chartable study.
Stéphane Berthomet, founder of the new go-script media podcast production house, explains the phenomenon as follows:
“Today, big brands have no choice but to create their own podcast, if only to occupy a space that was created and would remain empty if it did not occupy it. If they do nothing, they will be a step behind from the competition”, he explains.
The author of the podcast L’ombre du doute et French Connection : Marseille, Montréal, New-York admits of that there are two ways to occupy the space of this new media that is the podcast.
Don’t sell your products, but your expertise
A company can choose to buy advertising in a podcast that already has its audience or create its own marketing content podcast. As a podcast producer, the founder of go-script media encourages businesses in the second direction.
The podcast is a medium that allows you to reach a high-quality audience, demonstrating a much greater capacity of engagement than the average, regardless of the domain or the target. It would be a shame not to use it.”
The podcast, he continues, is now the equivalent of what the blog could have been at another time, when all the companies started to have blogs on their website. Companies did not sell their products, but rather their expertise.”
The producer insists on this point. The goal is not to show products as you would in a store window or traditional advertising. The idea is to associate the brand with content that is useful to the listener. He gave the company Decathlon as an example, which produces a podcast for athletes.
This podcast is not about their products, employees or brand; it is for athletes who are interested in hearing what a high-level athlete or a seasoned coach might have to say about a sport and training techniques. The listener perceives the presence of the brand, without it being heavy. It is an indirect way to occupy a media space.”
A democratized medium
A quality podcast, of course, costs more to produce than a series of “home” written marketing content articles. However, Stéphane Berthomet recalls that the means of production have become democratized.
Buying a mic is a reasonable price to pay. Creating a studio is also possible. What is expensive today is the know-how. It’s finding people who have real expertise to build a compelling story and make episodes that off the beaten paths.”
The producer is not hiding it; of course, he wants to occupy this niche of high-quality podcast production with his production company, both in the field of entertainment and branded content.
I’m not the only one! he says. There is an entire sector that is developing to meet demand. Blimp Télé has created the RECréation channel – dedicated to podcasts – Coyote Audio and several others, he illustrates. There is a very positive dynamic in the market right now, and we want to be part of it.”
