Menu
Wondering how you can shape the perception of your brand all whilst expanding your customer-base? Well, B2C podcasting may be the solution you’re looking for.
In this ultimate guide, we're revealing the steps to create a successful B2C podcast. We’ll cover what a B2C podcast actually is and its essential components. Then we’ll go through effective strategies and give inspiring examples demonstrating the power of B2C podcasts. So, are you ready to discover what B2C podcasting can do for your business? Let’s dive in…
A B2C (business-to-consumer) podcast is a strategic tool businesses use to communicate with their target audience. In this case, that’s both current and prospective customers. While B2C podcasts differ in style and format, they’re all typically started as a means of effective brand management.
B2C podcasts buck the common goal of marketing channels to push consumers to purchase a product or service. Instead, their main focus is to provide value to listeners, and shape how the brand is perceived as a result. By fostering a positive perception of their brand, this in fact can lead to higher sales.
Want to shape your brand perception and create brand loyalty as a result? Well a B2C podcast is an effective way of doing just that. Let’s take a look at how…
B2C podcasts offer a unique opportunity to communicate directly with customers. Obviously brands might have advertising, marketing methods, and social media in their arsenal. But with these channels, the feeling of selling something is hard to shake, even if it’s not the intention. Thus making consumers sceptical and disengaged with these branded channels. Add in how oversaturated consumers are with calls to buy, and it becomes even harder to capture consumers' attention.
But with successful B2C podcasts, selling a product or service is rarely the primary aim. Instead, they’re designed to bring value to listeners. As selling is no longer the main objective, this opens up a direct communication channel where customers are more open to engaging with the brand. Allowing the business to gently reveal the brand principles, without the suspected inauthenticity that comes with direct selling.
Many popular products or services belong to industries that aren’t inherently exciting or glamorous. And so this presents a challenge for some businesses. How do they create a strong brand identity when novel tricks (like silly PR stunts or cool sponsorships) aren't appropriate?
Through the course of each B2C podcast episode, there’s ample opportunity to convey a brand’s principles and standards. Brands might convey how their business has changed with the times, and how it’s continually striving for improvement. Brands can stress their value for customers by talking about what changes they’ve made based on customer feedback. Going even further, brands can align themselves with the values of their guests, and the narratives that their B2C podcast spotlights.
Even for the least glamorous businesses, conveying a strong set of brand principles is at the core of establishing your brand identity. And a strong brand identity tells a customer what to expect by buying your product or service.
Creating a B2C podcast is a powerful strategy for conveying brand values and speaking directly to a customer's emotional levers. By addressing the fears, frustrations, desires, and dreams of customers - through the relaxed format of podcasting - brands can align themselves with consumers to build trust. In an age where consumers don’t buy from brands but buy into them, this is crucial for growing your customer base.
Customer interactions with businesses can be tricky. With the rise of automated or outsourced customer service, many consumers feel frustrated with a business when things go wrong. It’s easy to feel negatively towards a faceless corporation, but less-so a team of individuals with their own personalities. With a well-picked host at the helm of your B2C podcast, you can bring the human element back into your brand. Through their own personable style, and putting the human-stories of your company front and centre of your content, you can foster positive customer relationships and turn your business into a relatable entity.
Across all channels, the content that gets the best engagement is the content that provides the most value to consumers. By its nature, a B2C podcast can offer value in various forms to your audience.
For example, by featuring interesting and relevant guests, your B2C podcast entertains your listeners at no cost to them. Or, by breaking down complex concepts, a B2C podcast becomes a helpful and informative resource. Equally, when a B2C podcast explains the features of a product or service, customers get more out of their purchase.
A well-implemented B2C podcast strategy can shape how your brand is perceived with far-reaching benefits. Every element of brand management can be carefully managed - from raising brand awareness and establishing brand identity, to building brand loyalty. Through this careful brand management, you’ll have the key components in place to grow your customer-base, while creating an engaged community of listeners.
And while the benefits of starting a B2C podcast are clear, it's crucial to weigh up if it’s the right step for your business.
Creating a B2C podcast requires dedication, consistent effort, and a clear understanding of how it will represent your brand values. Deciding to start a B2C podcast involves an acute understanding of what guests, narratives, and stories align with your brand. It's not about jumping on the bandwagon; it's about leveraging a powerful tool to provide value for your customers.
Ensure you're prepared for the commitment before embarking on the podcasting journey. Without careful consideration on how your B2C podcast is an extension of your brand, it may fail to make an impact. Or worse, damage your brand.
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.
The first step in launching your podcast is understanding the type of B2C podcasting strategy you will implement. Here are some of the more popular strategies:
This strategy places storytelling at the heart of your B2C podcast. That could be either stories in relation to your business, or stories from outside your business that align with your brand values. In both cases, narrative-led content brings a human dimension to your brand, which in turn helps it become more memorable and distinguishes it from your competitors.
Brands don’t exist in vacuums. Instead, they occupy a position of meaning within our cultures. By spotlighting the movers and shakers within relevant industries, your B2C podcast adds to the cultural discourse. This strategy signifies that your brand understands it is a part of something bigger and something of value, irrespective of its own position within it. All the while providing value for consumers who are invested or interested in the culture.
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.
8 Elements of a Successful B2C PodcastOnce you’ve established your strategy, the next step is putting together the main components of a successful B2C podcast. From cover art that captures attention and compelling content to effective marketing strategies, each element plays a vital role in your B2C podcast's overall success.
Once you’ve established your strategy, the next step is putting together the main components of a successful B2C podcast. From cover art that captures attention and compelling content to effective marketing strategies, each element plays a vital role in your B2C podcast's overall success.
Value for listeners is the overarching component a successful B2C podcast should have. Listeners must derive some value from listening to your branded podcast. Otherwise, they’ll simply turn off and not return. With this in mind, consider what value you could offer. For example, you might provide easy-to-understand breakdowns of complex processes in your industry. This was the strategy for Home Truths, the podcast from UK bank, Halifax (produced in partnership with Cue Podcasts). Episodes focus on explaining every step in the property-buying process for first-time buyers.
Once you’ve established the value you could offer, consider how to gently relate this to your product or service.
A B2C podcast should offer something unique to stand out amidst the sea of content. Evaluate what your traditional and podcast competitors offer to determine how you could do things differently. Remember, popular formats are popular for a reason. So you don’t need to try and reinvent the wheel but consider what unique spin your podcast could have. For example, McDonald’s B2C podcast The Sauce takes on the ever-popular investigative format, but rather than covering a crime-story or scandal, reveals the story of their relaunching of Szechuan Sauce, a PR disaster.
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.
For a successful B2C podcast, your target audience will be your customers and potential customers. Any information you have about these two groups is of high value. Who are they? What are their interests, challenges, or goals? For DJ learning resource Crossfader, their podcast Off The Record has a clearly defined target audience of those looking to expand their DJ skills. Each episode is hyper-focused for this group and they each focus on different elements of the DJing world. They range from skill-acquisition to navigating bookings and live events.
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.
For a break-down on how you can discover more about your podcast audience, check out the guide below:
A Step-By-Step Guide to Defining Your Podcast Audience
Great sound and video are cornerstones of great content. The best B2C podcasts are highly polished, so you can’t let poor-quality production let yours down. 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. Likewise, if your B2C podcast will be a video podcast, you’ll need a 4k camera, 3-point lighting system, a controlled environment as well as some decent editing software.
Whether it's an interview, solo commentary, or a panel discussion, your show's format (and length) can significantly impact audience engagement. When a format aligns with your content strategy, complements your topic, and appeals to your target audience, your podcast will perform better. Creating a content calendar can help you plan and manage your episodes effectively.
Devising and sticking to a podcast format is easier with a podcast planning template. Check out this guide on how one can make your production process smoother and see the best free and paid-for templates on offer.
Why You Need a Podcast Planning Template in 2024 (Resources)
Your show's host is your brand's voice, and while your guests bring valuable insights to your audience, they should also be a reflection of your brand's values. Choose podcast hosts who can engage your listeners and represent your brand well. As for guests, seek out relevant and interesting people within your industry who can share stories, knowledge, and insights that are engaging for your listeners.
Beyond your host and roster of guests, 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.
Or for a streamlined solution, Cue Podcasts can take care of the whole production process for you. From the initial concept right through to distributing and promoting, you can be comfortable knowing you have a dedicated and experienced team taking care of your B2C podcast. For a free proposal, get in touch.
New podcasts need to be discoverable, so good B2C podcasts are hosted, distributed and promoted well. To capitalise on listeners, you’ll want your B2C podcast distributed on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Some hosting companies will easily distribute your episodes with one click. Additionally, a good promotion strategy helps 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. All of which can repurpose your podcast content for these channels. The purpose of your B2C podcast is to bring value to your customer base, so feel free to leverage your existing company distribution channels.
Want your podcast to be available on all major distribution platforms (like Spotify and Apple Podcasts)? Want access to powerful analytics to track your show’s growth? Podcast.co is a podcast hosting platform with features designed to boost your show’s growth and make its management easy. You can try it out with our 14-day free trial. Or better yet, hosting with Podcast.co is included in our podcast production services.
To weigh up what’s the right hosting platform for your podcast, check out this article below:
12 of the Best Podcasting Hosting Platforms
The best podcasts improve each episode. For this to happen, you’ll need to measure its performance to understand its impact and identify areas to be worked upon. 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.
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.
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:
If you want to create an incredible B2C 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.
But what do B2C podcasts actually look like? Let’s dive into the world of B2C podcasting with these three handpicked examples.
Dish is a food podcast from the UK supermarket, Waitrose - specifically created for its customers, food shoppers, and those passionate about cooking. Its format is relatively simple: Michelin-starred Chef, Angela Harnett, cooks a meal from Waitrose-only products. Over an informal chat the meal is shared with the co-host broadcaster Nick Grimshaw, and their weekly celebrity guest. The conversation invariably differs from guest to guest, whether that’s Jay Blades or Dua Lipa, but a recurring thread is the topic of food.
Why do we love it?
With its revealing conversations, cooking tips, and undisputable humour, Dish brings extensive value to its listeners while seamlessly and gently promoting Waitrose products. Dish shows how a B2C podcast can showcase a business’s products or service while avoiding the falltraps of aggressive advertising and consequently engaging listeners more. This strategy stands-alone as a way to build brand trust, or can be used to complement traditional marketing methods.
On the Rails is a travel podcast from the UK train operator, West Midlands Trains, and proudly produced by us here at Cue. Targeting West Midlands Trains’ customers, and those with a general interest in the railways, On the Rails provides a behind-the-scenes look at how this vital part of the UK’s infrastructure works. Episodes also provide useful tricks for consumers looking to save money on train fare, tips for staying safe whilst travelling, and more.
Why do we love it?
On the Rails is an excellent example of the benefits a B2C podcast can have for not only improving public relations, but also improving customer understanding of a service. On the Rails places information and education at the heart of its content. It reveals the processes behind decisions that affect customers, as well as providing insight into how customer experience onboard can be improved.
Dear Headspace is the business-to-consumer podcast from the meditation and wellbeing platform, Headspace. It takes on a Q&A format, where three members of the Headspace team answer listeners' questions relating to their everyday lives. All through the particular frame of mindfulness and mental health.
Why do we love it?
On a granular level, Dear Headspace provides listeners with actionable advice for dealing with life’s events and feelings. And generally speaking, it strives to deepen listeners' understanding of mental health while illustrating how mindfulness can have a positive impact. This aligns with Headspace’s mission ‘to provide every person access to lifelong mental health support’. In turn, this fosters positive feelings towards the brand and builds brand loyalty. With the Headspace app serving as an introduction into mindfulness, the Dear Headspace podcast brings additional value to users while helping them get more out of their interactions with the business.
These are just a few examples of some excellent B2C podcasts, but if you’re looking for more inspiration, check out the article below:
13 of the Best Branded Podcasts to Take Inspiration From
For businesses looking to reap the benefits of excellent brand management, B2C podcasts offer a suitable path. And for businesses looking to show consumers there’s more to them than their product or service, B2C podcasts are an effective channel for demonstrating their brand’s values.
B2C podcasts are an efficient way to give back to consumers, at little cost to your business, and build the brand trust and loyalty all businesses aspire to have.
Better yet, there’s no one size-fits-all, which means every business can find a style and format fitting for their brand. While B2C podcasts should be carefully crafted, launching a branded 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 build an impactful relationship with consumers.
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 B2C 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 B2C podcasting can bring.
Join our carefully curated newsletter packed with insights, tips and resources to help shape and share your stories.
