How Much Branding Should My Podcast Have?
We believe in the power of branded podcasts. It takes multiple factors working together in harmony to create a successful branded podcast. But how much branding is too much branding?
Why brand your podcast?
Branding your podcast is a chance to increase the awareness around your brand in an engaging way. There are many strategic benefits to creating a podcast for your brand, including:
Networking with key people in your industry (or other industries you want to associate with!)
Adding flexibility and adaptability to your marketing strategy
Growing the reputation of individuals within your business
Making the most of your existing content strategy
Connecting more authentically with your audience
… Amongst many other benefits.
All this hinges on creating a podcast that holds an audience – that is coherent, easy to follow, enjoyable to listen to, and which deliver on its promise to entertain or inform (or both!). That means that there’s a balance to be found. You want to let the world know about your brand, but overdo it and you might just end up driving listeners away instead. So, how do you strike the right balance?
How to maintain your branding balance
1. Always lead with the story, not the sales pitch!
While having a podcast can do a lot to teach people about your business and what it offers, the people listening to your podcasts aren’t just there because of your brand – they’re there to hear your story!
This is because a podcast is a storytelling method that can be personal and authentic – hearing a voice speaking directly to you is inherently connective. It’s an opportunity to teach, inspire and entertain.
Trying to sell your product or service too often in your podcast is bound to get tiring to listen to, and is likely to be ineffective. After all, podcast listeners have really good recall of your business or brand – they’re more likely to engage with your brand, resonate with your content emotionally, and remember your story long term. That means that you don’t really have to keep hammering home on the hard sell. Telling a great story will do all the selling for you.
So, remember that branding in your podcast should be secondary to the amazing stories of your company, or the inspiration behind your podcast. You are storytellers who are explaining the story of your brand, rather than advertisers selling a product. Show off your company in your introduction within the podcast itself (i.e. by saying “this podcast is brought to you by…”), your outro and through any promo codes you might share.
Do you need help branding your podcast? Check out our ‘Press Play’ package that will make sure your podcast is up and running with a cohesive message throughout.
2. Keep the visual branding connected – but separate
It’s good to use elements of your branding in your podcast – think colours, style, fonts, etc. However, it’s not always good to slap your logo and brand name as front and centre on your podcast’s visual assets.
Maintain a sense of your branding without the podcast looking like a repeat of your website or other visual presence. After all, a podcast is a unique medium – treat it like one!
You don’t need to mention your brand too often – either visually or audibly – for the podcast to resonate as being a part of your brand. A great example that we’ve helped to create with Buffer is the Small Business, Big Lessons podcast. You can see that the podcast is related to Buffer, but it isn’t the overwhelming message – the podcast is a distinct offering that sits alongside the wider brand strategy.
3. Plan for the long term
Brands change over time, and podcasts are growing in both their audience numbers and the creativity of the stories they can tell, every day. By viewing your podcast as a long-term component of your brand strategy, you ease the need to keep hammering home about your brand right now.
After all, with time will come new ideas, new stories to tell, and more chances to keep offering your audience the information and/or entertainment they are looking for, that will successfully introduce your brand to the world. Space out your branded moments, and focus on long-term value over the temporary sell!
There you have it – some ways to keep the brand in balance, while delivering great podcast content.
