Podcast: (noun) a digital audio file made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically (Oxford Dictionary).
What You Know
You probably have heard of podcasts whether you listen to them or not. A few years ago, they were not as popular as they are now, but now it seems everyone has listened to at least one podcast even just to see what they’re all about. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio are a few different ways to listen to these popular audio files. Personally, I use Apple Podcasts to stream my favorite podcast shows. It’s ironic that they’re called shows because they are all audio; unless of course, they choose to upload a video file to YouTube or other platforms. Anyways, podcasts are now one of the most common ways to consume content and information. If you’ve been thinking about starting your own, now is the time.
What You Need to Know
In doing research, I actually listened to the podcast "Ace the Gram," a social media podcast made by Australians Tash and Viv. They are experts on all things Instagram and growing your personal brand using social media. What better way to learn about the podcast industry than from podcasters themselves? Episode #63, “How to start a podcast + biz tools” is all about why podcasts are popular and what you will need to get started. Increasing in popularity, podcasts had 55% of Americans listening in the year 2020. While this might not seem that high, it had increased 4% from the previous year and it is not expected to plateau anytime soon. "Ace the Gram" mentioned a few things that are interesting to think about:
- Ad revenue for podcasts in 2020
reached over $1 billion!
- Podcast companies are starting
to sign talent: Spotify signed Joe Rogan on a $100 million contract.
- Stars are announcing breaking news
on podcasts rather than televised news stations: Miley Cyrus announced a new album and talked in-depth about her inspiration on the popular podcast "Call Her Daddy."
Podcasts aren’t just taking the place of listening to music on your commute to work, they are also starting to replace news channels, magazines, and other forms of informational content.
What to Consider
If you weren’t interested in starting a podcast before, maybe you are now. There is a lot of money and visibility in this industry. Just in case you are interested, "Ace the Gram" mentioned a few tips to follow when developing your podcast:
- Pick a niche and stick with it: You don’t have to have a specific niche that limits what you can talk about. A niche can simply be “girl talk” or “sports” and this gives you endless possibilities of topics to talk about. Pick a niche that isn’t too broad where you lose listeners, but broad enough where you don’t limit yourself to 1 topic.
- Choose your podcasters: If you want to be a single host of a podcast, make sure that you are able to talk conversationally with ease. When podcasting with another co-host, you might find that talking to the microphone will come more naturally.
- Decide on guests or no guests: Guests can bring in variety to your podcasts, but you want to make sure you choose guests that are still relevant to your niche. If you are a single host, it might make more sense to have guests to help the conversation flow between two different individuals and bring in another voice for interest.
- Consider your host: To upload to Spotify and other platforms, podcasts must first go through a “host”. The host will sort the podcast data and distribute it to different platforms. Some popular hosts are Libson, Soundcloud, and Anchor. This is a step that not a lot of people interested in podcasting know about.
What You Need to Have
So, you’ve decided to start a podcast. Great! The next step is knowing what equipment and software are necessary to begin producing. As a beginner, "Ace the Gram" has given some different equipment that can fit different budgets.
- Microphone: One of the main equipment pieces you will need to start a podcast is a microphone. You can obviously just record through your phone or laptop, but "Ace the Gram" mentions the Blue Yeti microphone as being an affordable option that a lot of beginners purchase when they first start out.
- Editing software: There are different editing software’s out there, some free and some with a monthly subscription. However, "Ace the Gram," says that they use Audacity to edit their podcast, which is free editing software. You can decide which platform you would like to use based on your budget and skills.
- Extras: Microphones and editing software are all you really need to get started. If you want to step up your game after you have gained some listeners, a headphone/microphone set-up is a great addition to your arsenal. You might be familiar with these if you’ve seen a radio host wear one. Basically, the microphone is attached to the headset which means it is always with you. "Ace the Gram" brings up the valid point that if you have guests on, they might not know to stay a certain distance from the microphone at all times and could fidget around; therefore, causing their audio to be spotty. With the headset option, the microphone would follow them around wherever they move. They also mention that these headsets are great at canceling out outside noise such as dogs barking or loud rain.
Where to Go from Here
Hopefully, you now have some knowledge on how to start a podcast and why you can be successful at it. Follow the tag “podcast” at the bottom to see more of our blog posts on this topic and feel free to explore our other blog posts covering all things social media marketing.
Comments