6 tips for a successful company podcast

1. Market research

Every successful project begins with an in-depth analysis of the current status to determine which of your competitors already have their own podcast. After all, your goal is to develop a podcast format that does not yet exist. Be inspired by best practice examples and stay open to current trends - and not just in your industry.

2. Strategy & conception

Avoid jumping straight into operational planning. Ask yourself the following questions first: Do we want to conduct interviews or would we prefer to moderate a discussion round? Who could be an interesting guest? What technical equipment do we need?

It is crucial to take a bird's eye view at the beginning and to be clear about the following points:

• Challenges in the company or in your area
• Goals to be achieved with the podcast
• Target groups to be reached
• Why your target group should listen to your podcast
• What added value does your podcast offer
• What is your unique selling point (USP)

This automatically results in decisions regarding format, topics, publication date and frequency, the structure of a season and individual episodes and the way in which you want to communicate the podcast. At this point, your findings from the market research are also incorporated in order to work out an unmistakable USP.

You should also set your budget at this stage. Bear in mind that interview and talk formats can often be produced more cost-effectively than documentaries or reports.

Ideally, you will end up with a concept paper that is broken down into a concrete project plan containing the launch date, responsibilities and milestones. A final SWOT analysis helps to clarify the opportunities and risks of the podcast project.

3. Podcast Setup

The strategy is in place and implementation can begin soon. Now it's time for the hardware and software needed to produce and publish the podcast.

Firstly, choose a hosting provider that will help you create the RSS feed and enable the connection to relevant podcast platforms such as Spotify & Co. Distribution on these platforms is also handled by your hosting provider.

What equipment and tools are needed for podcast production?

• Hardware: An affordable starter kit with USB microphone and headphones is available from around EUR 100. Depending on the recording situation, however, this quickly reaches its technical limits. With a budget of around EUR 1,000, consisting of a recording device and two professional microphones, you will quickly become a podcast pro.
  
• Software for recording remote productions: While free solutions like Zoom or Teams are great for getting started, it's better to use higher quality solutions designed specifically for podcast recording, like Riverside or Audacity.
• People who can operate the technology: As a rule, these are audio producers who often also take care of post-production.

If you opt for a professional speaker or presenter, you should factor in their fees. A more cost-effective alternative are talented presenters from your own ranks, who can be given moderation coaching if required.

After the first recordings, the customised sound design (music, sound effects, etc.) is created, for which you need usage rights. Providers with extensive libraries such as PremiumBeat can be helpful here.

The last part of the preparation mainly involves graphic and editorial work to promote the podcast and create a recognisable image. This includes:

• A podcast cover and episode cover
• A landing page with an integrated podcast player (via your video hosting provider)
• Social media assets
• A marketing plan for promoting the podcast

4. Production and post-production

Most of the time is needed for the preparation and realisation of the production. The tasks involved in production include

• Guest management (for interviews)
• Creation of scripts and interview guidelines
• Booking the recording location or a recording studio
• Logistics of the equipment
• Coordination of the team's availability and project management
• Possible travel planning

For larger productions, up to 10 people (project manager, audio producer, videographer, content manager, editor, etc.) can be involved in the production - not including the protagonists.

It is advisable to produce several episodes in one day or in one go to save travelling costs for additional production days.

Post-production is usually handled by audio producers who take care of editing, mixing and mastering. Speech errors, repetitions and background noises are corrected, the volume is equalised, etc. This ensures optimum sound quality, ideally during production, in order to minimise the work involved in post-production.

For smaller productions, you can also do it yourself, with tools such as Audacity offering a good free entry-level solution. Advanced users often use Adobe Audition with its extensive editing options. However, it has proven to be a good idea to outsource post-production in order to save time and concentrate on the core business.

5. Distribution

During distribution, the final audio file is prepared for publication. You receive this as an mp3 from the audio producer and only have to upload it to your podcast hosting platform and specify the channels on which you want to play your audio content.

3Q offers an all-in-one solution for upscaled multi-platform publishing of audio and video content - on-demand and live streaming.

Would you perhaps even like to monetise your content? 3Q has integrated an audio ad server with Adswizz so that you can tap into a new revenue stream with your audio content.

And since data protection is extremely important, it is advantageous to choose a German hosting provider with servers in Europe that draws up contracts in German and is fully GDPR-compliant.

6. Marketing

The success of your podcast depends largely on how you promote it. After all, you want to stand out from the crowd and attract as many listeners as possible to your format. The aim is to deepen and expand podcast content and prepare it for specific channels. The audio tracks, images and videos recorded during production can be further processed and used on social media, in press releases or as traditional advertising. The more channels you use, the more you can expand the reach of your podcast.

We hope this article has given you a better insight into podcast production and distribution.

We look forward to hearing from you!