Companies have been turning to branded podcasts to help connect with their target audience and increase brand perception for years. However, the potential for podcasts to help solidify brands as thought leaders is now coming to the forefront with 46% of brands citing podcasts as a more effective tool for establishing authority compared to other mediums. 

But why exactly are branded podcasts outperforming other mediums like social media, newsletters, and even downloadables when it comes to thought leadership? 

How can brands begin to leverage podcasts to meet business goals without coming across as too promotional or inauthentic? 

To help guide the conversation, we sat down with Steve Pratt, the author of Earn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers and the Co-Founder of Department of Differentiation. 

As you may have guessed by the title of his upcoming book, Steve is fascinated by what grabs people’s attention and how marketers can experiment with new ways of telling brand stories, engaging people, and creating sizeable audiences – making him the perfect addition to our discussion on branded podcasts for thought leadership. 

In this article, we dive into:

• What makes branded podcasts well suited for thought leadership
• How to create a stand-out branded podcast that’s “from you, not about you”
• How to measure thought leadership 
• Trends shaping today’s thought leadership content 

Why are brands turning to podcasts to establish thought leadership?

Given the fact that nearly half of brands in audio vote podcasting as the premier thought leadership channel, it’s only natural to wonder what specifically about the medium lends itself so well to establishing authority.

Steve argues that: “Podcasting gives you time and attention that you can't get on any other type of media format. Social media, videos, blogs, newsletters, [etc;] are more suited to short form bullet points and soundbites.” Compared to podcasts, which “get people to pay attention for half an hour or more.” 

And this long-form medium is much better suited to thought leadership, which at its core is about “big ideas and helping people understand things. If you're really a thought leader and an expert in your field, it's hard to reduce it down to like 30-second sound bites.”

Ultimately, if your brand is looking to become a thought leader, you need to create valuable content that centers around your expertise and how you uniquely see the world. 

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How do brands leverage podcasts for thought leadership without sounding too promotional?

A common hesitation for brands debating delving into audio is “if the audience knows the podcast is from a brand, they’ll be less inclined to listen.”

A recent study from CoHost and Sounds Profitable actually found the opposite – audiences were nearly as likely to listen to a branded podcast as they are a celebrity show. A brand’s association with a brand isn’t perceived negatively; it adds an element of credibility to the series.

However, just because you have a well-loved brand attached to a podcast doesn’t guarantee listenership. Here are a couple of ways to ensure your podcast content resonates and doesn’t come off as purely self-promotional:

1. “Would you listen to this podcast?”

A quick and easy way to tell if your podcast content is worth listening to is by doing a little (honest) self-reflection. 

Steve says: “I always encourage people to ask themselves ‘If I didn't work here, would I listen to this? Would I tell other people about the podcast because it's so great?”

It’s perhaps a high bar, but if you’re not inclined to listen to a podcast within your own industry and expertise – why would other people?

“We all as marketers inside a company get into our roles and the business goals we need to achieve, so of course we’re interested in the content – because we work here. A harder exercise is asking your neighbors or somebody in your target audience if they'd be interested in tuning in. Make a show that is brave, creatively brave, and push yourself.”

–Steve Pratt

2. Your branded podcast should be “from you, not about you”

For Steve, this phrase embodies “what the essence of branded content should be, which is something that can only come from you. It has your voice, it has your values, it has your point of view, but that it's not about you.”

gWhen your content becomes about your brand, it comes off as selfish to the audience. People are bombarded with content every day; they don’t want to tune into an elongated infomercial where you speak about how great your business is for 30 minutes.

Put another way, Steve uses an impactful gifting analogy: “No one wants a transactional interaction.” Instead, when the content is from you, it’s “more like a gift that can only come from you, but it isn't actually about you. It tells people who you are in the same way that talking about you does, but it's a lot more generous [and genuine].” 

Let’s take HBO for example – we all know they’re the voice behind Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, The Wire, and the list goes on. But Steve points out: “HBO isn’t at the center of those plots; these plots just come from them and we know what they stand for. They make great premium storytelling because they do it over and over and over again.” 

The same principle applies to brands in podcasting. When you give something of value to your audience again and again, they associate you with that area of expertise or that unique value that you're providing. You have to show them, not tell them.

3. Don’t over-state your brand’s part in the podcast

This may be a difficult one for some brands – and trust us, we get it. You’re spending ample time, money, and energy producing a great show – and you want the credit. 

However, Steve argues that one of the big mistakes brands make when venturing into audio is that “they believe the audience needs to know the podcast is from us.” Brands will slap on a giant logo on the show’s cover art, self-title the series, or have the CEO the host of the podcast and all the employees feature guests. 

He argues that “in some ways, those will probably all backfire on your brand.” If you’re overtly drawing attention to every and all aspects of your brand’s involvement, it’s only natural for people to not consider it a “real podcast;” and just discount your series as being “an infomercial from a brand.” 

Put another way, Steve encourages marketers to ask themselves: “Would more people listen if we didn't have our company name in the show title? Would more people listen if we had a third-party host instead of one of our executives? The answer is probably yes.”

“When you're making decisions about trying to get the most people in to spend the most amount of time with you, anything that is a barrier to getting people to try the show and discover that it's awesome is not going to help your ultimate business goal. And in some cases, I think the hardest one is the idea of hiring a third-party host instead of somebody who works at your company.”‍

‍–Steve Pratt

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How to set your branded podcast apart in a crowded content landscape

With over 4 million podcasts in existence and 70 million episodes between them, standing out is a common concern for brands looking to add podcasts to their marketing mix. 

To break through the content overload, Steve suggests all brands start off with a worthwhile contempt that you can make “surprisingly awesome, make it really unexpectedly mind-blowingly awesome” for your target audience.

One way to do this is to figure out a specific way to separate your podcast from the competition. Your competition is already serving your target listeners, so what can you offer that’s unique?

Sometimes that can mean a creative format for your show. Other times it’s a different perspective or carving out an under-served niche. 

But creating great content is only part of the equation. 

The other part is finding out how to market – or offer – your “surprisingly valuable content to the right people.”

Don’t fall into the “if you make it they will come” mentality. People aren’t scouring search engines, social media, or listening apps for a podcast they don’t know exists. You have to do a lot of work to identify your ideal listener persona – who they are, where they live online, what their consumption habits are – and do your best at leveraging the channels they frequent in a way that stands out to them.

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Common mistakes brands make when trying to position themselves as thought leaders

Branded podcasts aren’t as established in the average company’s content marketing strategy compared to channels like social media, blog posts, and newsletters, so there are naturally some misconceptions that come with the medium. Here are a few: 

1. You cannot be a thought leader if you’re limited to being an interviewer 

A common misconception brands have is that they need to be the ones doing all the talking to be the thought leader. 

Steve says the contrary: “When you have a media property like a podcast and you're putting it out, it's to your benefit to have as many other smart people on your show as possible because audiences associate their expertise with your brand and your podcast.”

With that in mind, you can leverage your podcast to form relationships with potential leads by inviting them onto your podcast. Plus, having influential names on your show helps boost your reach and enhance credibility, so regardless of “who does all the talking,” it’s a win-win. 

2. Branded podcasts aren’t effective in less media-focused industries 

When we think of brands in podcasting our minds often go to leading B2C brands in more flashy or “fun” industries – like Sephora’s #LIPSTORIES or Trader Joe’s (inside).

However, brands across sectors and industries have been able to successfully leverage corporate podcasts to promote thought leadership, increase brand awareness, or even enhance their ABM strategy. 

Steve even goes as far as to argue that “an industry that isn't particularly media focused might be an amazing opportunity for a podcast because it means you don't have any competition. Serving an underserved market makes it easier to be the best thing on the planet for those people.”

3. Branded podcasts generate immediate results 

One thing we always say at Quill (and yes, we’re going to say it again) – podcasts are a marathon, not a sprint. 

Steve echos this point: “You have to be in it for the long haul. You have to have patience and take your time. Consistency over time is the only way for people to get to know who you are, your thought process, what your values are, and what your voice is.”

Much like that saying you may remember from school – it takes 8 touchpoints to get a conversion – staying consistent in your podcasting efforts is how to build a relationship, and thus create a happy customer. And, of course, all of those things take a lot of time.

How can brands measure thought leadership? 

If your primary goal is thought leadership, measuring the success of your podcast is going to look different than the metrics you’re probably used to seeing – like downloads or unique listeners. 

Because to become a thought leader, these reach metrics aren’t important. You’ll want to see if you’re actually, as Steve aptly puts it, “impacting people and changing the way they think about your brand.”

Here are a couple of ways to quantify this:

Engagement metrics

To understand how meaningfully content is resonating with your audience, you’ll want to measure the amount of time people are spending with your podcast – aka your engagement metrics like consumption rate, completion rate, and drop-off points.

If people are sticking through 90% of your episode, that’s a great sign that what you’re saying is valuable and keeping listeners entertained throughout. On the flip side, if you’re seeing half your listeners drop off after the first few minutes, you’ll want to tweak your show’s structure, target a new audience, or find a new niche.

On top of that, Steve credits Dan Misener and Jonas Woost when he says: “It’s not the giant number that you need to see like a hockey stick on a graph – that doesn’t happen in podcasting. You’ll want to see a slow, steady upward trajectory pattern over time. That shows that you’re delivering awesome stuff that's creating value for your listeners.” 

Brand perception

Beyond engagement metrics, you can also conduct research with your podcast listeners to understand how your show has impacted brand perception. 

Steve explains “You can take a group of people who have listened to your podcast and have a control group that has not listened to your podcast and ask them the same set of questions to see whether there's a difference between how the two groups view your brand.”

As you likely guessed, if you make a quality series, the group that has listened to your show should like your brand more than those who have not tuned in. Steve adds: “If you make something that's valuable for your listeners, they're going to appreciate it and be grateful. And if you're transactional or making something that's not worth their time, it's going to backfire on you.”

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Trends in branded podcasting shaping the future of thought leadership content

Because (like most things) not all branded content is created equal, here are two thought leadership trends Steve has observed. 

1. Turning thought leadership into an omnichannel strategy

While we used to see brands sticking to one tried-and-true channel for thought leadership – whether that be a popular newsletter, a well-loved webinar series, or insightful LinkedIn posts – Steve’s now observed that brands are “putting more time and effort into thinking about the right mix of platforms and how to create unique value on each of them.” 

Of course, our main focus is podcasts, but the unique value your brand provides on its show might not be the same as what you project on your social media, in your video series, in your newsletter – the list goes on. 

Steve goes on to say that “it's almost like having a multi-platform content strategy that outlines: what's the value we're creating, what's the business result we're looking for, and how do we achieve that?”

Think about the best possible execution on different platforms and how you’ll create a great consumer experience – wherever they tune in.

2. Focus on creating meaningful experiences for a specific group of people

You’ve likely heard the saying: if you’re trying to relate to everyone, you’ll relate to no one. Especially in the context of thought leadership, it couldn’t be more true – and brands are picking up on it. 

Instead of opting to reach the most people and put out the most content, Steve suggests brands “double down and create value for a certain group of people.”

Despite certain algorithms favoring accounts that post 5 times a day, customers don’t want that. Instead, savvy brand marketers are prioritizing creating fewer content pieces, but are emphasizing those that have the most impact.

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Is podcasting right for your brand?

For forward-thinking companies looking to leverage podcasts for thought leadership, Steve suggests: “Dig in, think about what stuff you can put out there that would be very valuable to the group of people you're trying to reach. Be exceptionally generous – make it from you and not about you. Be unexpectedly awesome over and over and over again.”

Once you earn your listeners' attention, you’ll be able to build trust and forge a relationship. While admittedly, this takes effort, Steve says, “It’s the only way forward. Think about yourself as a consumer and how much stuff you ignore and how little stuff you let in. Be the stuff that is worthy of getting let into the time and attention fortress and blow people's minds.”

If you’re a smart marketer looking for new, innovative ways to step outside the ordinary, we highly recommend Steve’s new book, Earn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers. It’s made for people who are willing to do things differently and go against the status quo – because that's the only way to get the results that you're looking for. 

To learn more about how a branded podcast can fit into your marketing mix, reach out to Quill’s team of podcast pros.