A brand's personality and values are at the heart of its identity. By cultivating a personality that resonates with your target audience, you can make your brand more relatable and build stronger connections with your existing and potential customers.

And when it comes to branded podcasts, connecting with your target audience and standing out in the crowd are key goals for any marketer. 

By showcasing your brand's personality in your podcast, you can actively humanize your company and create lasting results that go beyond just the content you’re delivering.

Explore the ways that your company can leverage its brand personality to reach your target audience and drive results. 

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What are brand personality and values?

Before we can dive into brand personality and podcasting, we need to define exactly what we mean when we say brand personality. 

According to Hubspot, brand personality is the set of human characteristics you assign to a brand. For example, you may say that your brand is ‘generous’, ‘helpful’, or maybe ‘fun.’

Brand personality comes through a brand's marketing and promotional material. It needs to be cultivated and repeated over time, and marketing campaigns have traditionally been the primary way to do this. However, today’s consumers are becoming increasingly wary of traditional marketing tactics. They can often tell when a brand is doing something performative rather than authentic which unsurprisingly makes them go elsewhere.

That's why brands are turning to mediums like branded podcasts to showcase personality. Podcasts give you the opportunity to take advantage of a long-form medium where you can dedicate the time to share who your brand is, what you stand for, and the personality of your leadership team (whoever hosts the podcast). 

So let’s dive into how you can start leveraging brand personality to connect with your audience!

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Develop your target audience

The first step to using brand personality to connect with your target audience is having a strong understanding of who that audience is. 

You need to understand what personality traits your audience will relate to in order to create a show they resonate with. Some questions to ask when forming your target audience include:

• What are their values and expectations for the brands they trust?
• What other brands do they use?
• What other podcasts do they listen to?
• What are some of their biggest pains or frustrations?
• What subjects are they interested in learning about? 

Your target audience needs to be specific. As most marketers know, targeting ‘everyday people’ or ‘everyone’ is not an effective strategy, you’ll be overwhelmed with information and struggle to create impactful content. 

Insider Tip: You can do all of the desk research that you want to learn more about your target audience but nothing will compare to sitting down and speaking with them directly. Try to have as many conversations as possible with your target audience to get a better idea of their answers to the questions above and insights that you wouldn’t be able to find through a Google search. 

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Get creative with your topics

Brands can often find themselves shackled to the idea that their podcast needs to be about their brand's specialty. 

But does that topic allow you to convey brand personality?

Having a broader view of the topics you explore on a podcast is an effective way for creating a more interesting, unique, and impactful show. 

For example, let's say a financial services company is creating a podcast. While it would make sense for them to create an interview-style show speaking with experts in the industry, that can get repetitive and comparable to competitors. Instead, they could create a podcast about the history of the finance industry. This way they have the opportunity to explore a wider range of topics and sprinkle in more elements of their brand's missions and personality. 

The exciting thing about branded podcasts is that there are lots of opportunities to get creative - so take advantage!

Insider Tip: There are still many ways to show your brand personality in interview-style shows, like bringing on guests who are aligned with your brand personality and values (to be explored later in this blog).

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Stay consistent across channels

Establishing your brand’s personality not only takes time but also consistency. You need to repeatedly showcase your personality to audiences across a variety of mediums and channels. 

So when it comes to your podcast, make sure to not do a complete 180 from how your brand is portrayed on other marketing channels. While a podcast is a fantastic way for your brand to express some more creativity, your show should still be consistent with the brand personality you exhibit on your other channels. 

Podcasts are a vital part of a robust omnichannel marketing approach, so make sure that all your channels are working with, and not against, each other. 

Insider Tip: We typically recommend brands select someone from their team to host the podcast. When it comes time to select the employee that will take on this role, ensure that you pick an individual that not only has a great voice for a podcast but also displays the personality that you want to shine through. 

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Bring on guests who are aligned with your brand personality 

A great way to showcase your brand personality within your podcast to connect with your audience is through your guests. By bringing on guests who share your brand’s values and worldview, you’re demonstrating that your brand is not just a collection of products or services, but rather a community of like-minded individuals. 

This is another reason why having a well-researched, specific target audience is important since it’ll help you identify guests who align with your brand personality and resonate with your audience. 

For example, if your podcast is aimed at MarTech leaders, you might consider bringing on guests who are founders or leaders at MarTech companies that can bring insights, stories, and advice to your audience.

If your audience is too broad then you’ll have no way of knowing the type of guest they relate to and want to hear from. And by featuring guests who align with your brand personality, you’re giving your audience a glimpse into the kind of people and ideas that your brand values. This helps to humanize your brand and create a more personal connection with listeners. It can also help to position your brand as an authority in your industry or niche, as you tap into the expertise and insights of your guests.

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Know your audience and personality

In today's crowded market, it's not enough to simply have a great product or service - you also need to have a compelling brand personality that resonates with your audience. By infusing your podcast with a strong brand personality, you can create a show that not only entertains and educates but also builds a deep connection with your listeners.

But to truly connect with your audience, you first need to understand who they are and what they care about. This means doing your research, getting to know their interests, values, and pain points, and tailoring your content to meet their needs. By putting your audience first and creating a show that speaks directly to them, you can build a loyal following that will stick with you for the long haul and across mediums.

So in the end, the better you understand your target audience and your brand personality, the better your show will be.

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