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The Complete B2B Podcasting Guide (w/ Strategies & Examples)

Use this jargon-free, complete B2B podcasting guide to learn how to create a high-performing show that transforms how your business connects with its audience.
May 21, 2024

Ever wondered how you can skyrocket your business’s brand visibility while building a loyal audience that not only hangs on to your every word, but also converts? B2B podcasting can be the answer to all this and much more. 

In this comprehensive guide, we're pulling back the curtains to reveal the steps to create a successful B2B podcast. From the essential components to effective strategies and inspiring examples, we've got it all covered. So, are you ready to tune into the potential of B2B podcasting? Let's get started and transform how your business connects with its audience.

What Is a B2B Podcast?

A B2B podcast is a strategic tool businesses use to reach individual consumers, other businesses, and professionals in their respective industries. Created and produced by a B2B company, it's part of a broader marketing effort to build industry authority, increase brand visibility, and attract potential customers.

Unlike traditional podcasts, B2B podcasts have a distinct focus - they target other business leaders and professionals, offering content that resonates specifically with this demographic. The aim is to entertain and provide value, share industry insights, and showcase the company's expertise and unique offerings.

Why Start a B2B Podcast?

Considering a new way to connect with your audience? A B2B podcast can help with that. Let's explore how a B2B podcast could transform your business.

Reaching Your Ideal Buyer

Starting a B2B podcast lets you connect directly with your ideal buyers. A podcast enables you to create tailored content addressing your target audience's needs, concerns, and interests, thus deeply resonating with them. 

A well-curated B2B podcast can serve as an efficient, personalised marketing channel, reaching decision-makers you intend to engage. It can help you bridge gaps, establish rapport, and promote meaningful conversations around topics relevant to your business and your ideal buyers, drawing them to your brand. A podcast can enhance your business’s relevance and solidify its position as a resource hub for your audience.

Fostering Audience Growth & Community-Building

As you establish a clear understanding of your ideal buyer and create content that resonates with them, your podcast can become a powerful tool for promoting audience growth. This growth goes beyond just increasing numbers. It's about cultivating a loyal, dedicated, and invested community who find value in your content and are more likely to share it within their networks, further expanding your reach.

Moreover, a well-established audience can help you reach your business goals, including conversion rates. This isn't a mere transactional process but a relationship-building journey, turning casual listeners into potential leads, then, ultimately, loyal customers. Your podcast becomes an ongoing conversation with a growing audience of dedicated listeners, each a potential advocate for your brand and a key player in driving your business growth.

Establishing Thought Leadership & Industry Authority

A podcast gives you the unique opportunity to elevate your brand from just another player in the market to an authoritative voice in your industry. You can build a reputation as a thought leader by sharing your expertise, providing insights on industry trends, and hosting industry experts.

Over time, this positions your brand as a 'go-to' resource in your industry, boosting trust and credibility among your audience and potential customers.

Building Brand Awareness

B2B podcasts have substantial potential to heighten a brand's profile and recognition within its intended audience. By offering meaningful and impactful content, businesses can connect with a varied listenership, encompassing prospective and current customers who may be out of reach via conventional B2B marketing avenues.

Brand consciousness is critical for any brand as it fosters familiarity and trust among prospective customers, swaying their choices and ultimately impacting their buying behaviours. Elevated brand awareness can enhance market dominance, customer fidelity, and sustainable business expansion.

Humanising Your Business

Finally, through the medium of a B2B podcast, businesses have a unique opportunity to add a human touch to their brand. Podcasts can bring a company's behind-the-scenes operations, values, and stories to the forefront, making it more relatable to the audience. This not only strengthens customer relationships but also fosters trust and credibility. B2B podcasts can help transform a faceless corporation into a relatable entity with its voice and personality.

So, Should You Create a B2B Podcast?

A well-implemented B2B podcast strategy can enhance brand visibility, promote your products or services, create a loyal community of listeners and potential customers, generate new leads, and increase conversion rates - which all contribute to your business growth. And while the benefits of starting a B2B podcast are clear, it's crucial to consider if it's the right step for your business.

Creating a B2B podcast requires dedication, consistent effort, and a clear understanding of your business goals and objectives. Deciding to start a B2B podcast involves careful introspection and planning. It's not about jumping on the bandwagon; it's about leveraging a powerful tool to add value to your business and audience.

Ensure you're prepared for the commitment before embarking on the podcasting journey. If you don’t take time to ask yourself the hard questions, you might be faced with a podcast that fails to draw in the right audience and doesn’t reach your business expectations. 

Tip: Outsourcing podcast production is the perfect option if you lack the time or the necessary skills. Cue Podcasts is a full-service podcasting agency specialising in giving brands a voice. We handle everything from podcast production to distribution, allowing you to concentrate on your core business functions.

5 Popular B2B Podcasting Strategies

The first step in launching your podcast is understanding the type of B2B podcasting strategy you will implement. Here are some of the more popular strategies:

1. Demand Generation (Demand Gen)

This involves targeted marketing programs to drive awareness and interest in a company's products and/or services. With a B2B podcast, you can create episodes that educate your audience about the problems your product solves, feature customer success stories, or discuss industry trends.

2. Industry Influence

In this strategy, your podcast serves as a platform to establish your company as a thought leader. This could involve interviewing industry experts, discussing the latest industry news and trends, and providing unique insights that others in your industry will value.

3. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

This strategy focuses on marketing efforts directed towards specific target accounts within a market. Your podcast could feature content tailored to the needs and interests of these target accounts, potentially even including interviews with key stakeholders in these accounts.

4. Customer Success

This strategy aims to increase customer retention and maximise the value customers get from your product or service. Your podcast could feature episodes that help customers get the most out of your product, answer frequently asked questions, or share customer success stories to inspire other customers.

5. An Internal Communication Podcast

This strategy uses podcasting to improve internal communication within your company. You can create episodes that provide company updates, share success stories from different departments, and foster a more robust company culture.Each of these strategies offers unique benefits and can be effective in different situations, so it's essential to consider your company's specific needs and goals when choosing a strategy.

8 Core Elements of a Successful B2B Podcast

Once you’ve established your strategy, the next step is putting together the main components of a successful B2B podcast. From cover art that captures attention and compelling content to effective marketing strategies, each element plays a vital role in your B2B podcast's overall success.

1. Understanding Your Business Goals & Objectives 

Launching a successful B2B podcast starts with clearly defining your business goals and objectives. Are you looking to build brand awareness, establish thought leadership, or nurture leads? Once you have a clear vision, you can tailor your content strategy to meet these objectives. Remember that your podcast should complement your broader marketing strategy, seamlessly fitting into the mix of tools you're already utilising.

2. Finding Your Unique Angle

Your podcast should offer something unique to stand out amidst the sea of content. Consider your industry, expertise, and the interests of your target audience to identify a topic that aligns with these factors. Establishing a niche also helps you to hone your content, attract the right listeners, and build a loyal following. Remember, specificity can be your strength in the crowded podcasting market.

3. Defining Your Target Audience 

Understanding your target audience is key to creating a successful B2B podcast. Who are they? What are their interests, challenges, or goals? The better you understand your audience, the more effectively you can craft content that resonates with them. Remember, podcasting is about creating a dialogue with your listeners, so it’s essential to understand who they are.

4. Choosing the Right Podcasting Equipment

Great content deserves great sound. To ensure high-quality audio, invest in the right podcasting equipment. Start with a good microphone, headphones, and reliable recording software. The audio quality heavily influences your audience's experience, so it's worth the investment.

5. Crafting Compelling Content & Developing Your Show's Format

Whether it's an interview, solo commentary, or a panel discussion, your show's format (and length) can significantly impact audience engagement. Ensure the format aligns with your content strategy, complements your topic, and appeals to your target audience. Creating a content calendar can help you plan and manage your episodes effectively.

6. Gathering Your Team

Your show's host is your brand's voice, and your guests bring valuable insights to your audience. Choose podcast hosts who can engage your listeners and represent your brand well. As for guests, seek out thought leaders in your industry who can share knowledge and insights that resonate with your listeners. But beyond just your host and roster of guests, you should also start assembling the team of people behind creating, publishing, and marketing your podcast. This isn’t a one-person type of job. You’ll need a producer, audio editor (who knows their way around audio editing software), video editor, writer, graphic designer, and a promotion team that will focus on marketing each episode.

7. Preparing for Launch: Hosting, Distribution, & Promotion

Once your podcast episodes are ready, you must decide where to host them and how to distribute them to platforms like Apple Podcasts or Spotify - if you choose the right podcast hosting company, you’ll be able to easily distribute your episode with one-click distribution. Additionally, having a promotion strategy in place will help get your podcast in front of your target audience. This could include social media posts, email marketing, content marketing, or even collaborations with other podcasters. The purpose of your B2B podcast is to boost visibility for your business, so feel free to leverage your existing company distribution channels.

8. Monitoring Success & Measuring Your Podcast's Performance

After your podcast is up and running, measuring its performance is key to understanding its impact and identifying areas for improvement. So, set KPIs that align with your business goals. Metrics can include number of downloads, listener growth rate, listener engagement, and more. Analysing data regularly will allow you to refine your strategy continuously.

How to Measure Podcast Success: The 12 Key Metrics to Use

Should You Hire a Podcast Production Company?

As you can see, starting a podcast can be quite the challenge. From brainstorming content ideas to handling tech details, the process can quickly become overwhelming. This is where a podcast production company can come to the rescue. They can streamline your podcast journey from concept to launch and beyond.

By leveraging their expertise, you can save countless hours to reinvest in your core business activities. Moreover, these professionals bring industry insights and technical expertise, ensuring your podcast stands out.

How to Find the Best B2B Podcast Agency for Your Business

Here at Cue Podcasts we offer complete done-for-you podcast production packages. If you want to tap into the power of podcasts without the hassle, outsourcing to a team of experts allows you to skip the awkward years and launch a great show right away.

Check out some of our work in our showreel below:

Whatever your requirements, we can handle everything for you including:

  • Market research
  • Podcast concept development
  • Host sourcing
  • Studio hire 
  • Guest booking
  • Professional quality recording & editing
  • Hosting & distribution
  • Marketing & promotion

If you want to create an incredible B2B podcast that resonates with the right listeners, get in touch for a free proposal to see how podcasting can help support your broader business goals.

3 Great B2B Podcast Examples We Love

But what do B2B podcasts actually look like? Let’s dive into the world of B2B podcasting with these three handpicked examples.

1. Shopify Masters: A Podcast for Shopify Store Owners

Shopify Masters podcast artwork

Shopify Masters is a business podcast by Shopify, explicitly created for its users and those interested in e-commerce. The podcast format includes insightful interviews with accomplished entrepreneurs who share their personal journeys and effective strategies for growing an online business. It is a comprehensive guide for listeners seeking to learn and succeed in e-commerce.

Why do we love it?

This podcast shows Shopify's dedication to fostering a supportive user ecosystem. Sharing real-world experiences and practical advice empowers listeners to navigate their e-commerce journey confidently. Furthermore, it positions Shopify as a trusted expert in the industry, helping to cultivate customer loyalty and showcasing the platform as an indispensable resource.

2. The Growth Hub by Advance B2B

The Growth Hub podcast artwork

The Growth Hub is a B2B growth podcast by Advance B2B, aimed at marketers, founders, and people obsessed with growth. Each episode features interviews with some of the best in the business, discussing their journeys and growth strategies in the B2B world.

Why do we love it?

The Growth Hub effectively uses the podcast platform for thought leadership, demonstrating its expertise in growth marketing. Their conversations with industry leaders provide listeners with real-life insights, enhancing Advance B2B's credibility and authority within the industry. It’s a great example of a B2B growth podcast.

3. The McKinsey Podcast

The McKinsey Podcast artwork

The McKinsey Podcast is a podcast by McKinsey & Company, one of the world's leading management consulting firms. The podcast discusses business strategy, leadership, and significant global issues.

Why do we love it?

McKinsey's podcast clearly represents content-based networking. By presenting high-quality content with industry leaders and experts, the podcast positions McKinsey as a thought leader, building trust with its listeners while broadening its influence.

Final Thoughts: B2B Podcasting

Branded podcasts offer many opportunities for businesses aiming for B2B growth and industry influence. It's an ideal platform to establish your brand, reach your target audience, build lasting relationships, and help you reach all of your business goals.

Despite the common misconceptions, launching a B2B podcast doesn't have to be a daunting task. With the right strategies in place and a clear track to your goals, you can tap into this powerful medium to amplify your voice in the business landscape.

And if you need a hand navigating this journey, Cue Podcasts is here to guide you. Equipped with a class of professional podcasting services and a diverse base of expertise, we can help you create the B2B podcast of your dreams.

Make your voice heard, return to your passion, and let the world see the options your business has to offer. Embrace the void of the unknown, and step into the growth that B2B podcasting can bring.

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