What if I told you that you can use podcasting to help you launch or grow your business or personal brand?
No, not you as a podcast guest (although that can work); I mean, you as a podcaster.
You probably already know what a business is. But you might be wondering what a personal brand is, and if you have what it takes to be/start one.
Read on and you’ll find out; you’re definitely in the right place.
This blog post is also for you if you were wondering about ways to launch or build your business or personal brand.
If you read to the end, you’ll know just how you can use podcasting to launch or grow your business or personal brand.
1) What do you have to offer
With every business (whether it’s a big, medium-sized or small company or even a single salesman or affiliate), one of the first questions anyone asks is What do you have to offer?
That’s the point of the business’ existence.
And if what you have to offer isn’t relevant to the person(s) you’re speaking to (or to folk they know), they don’t buy from you. Simple as.
Personal brands work on the same principle. And a personal brand, in simplistic terms, is a widely held, constant perception of a particular person within a space (industry, marketplace, group, etc).
There are people whose names you hear, mention or remember and you automatically think of certain things they stand for.
Even in your physical offline life, if you’re in the habit of going to the market, there are sellers you don’t buy from – no matter what.
Just like there are some you’d go out of your way to buy from, even if you had to climb hills or cross rivers to get to them.
It’s not about the product they’re selling. It’s actually something about them, that makes their own product more desirable to you, than the products of their contemporaries. That something is their personal brand.
In the same way, there are probably millions of lawyers, authors, reality TV stars, actors, etc in the world. But there are certain things you think about, say when the name of one author is mentioned, that don’t come to mind with another author – even if you try.
It’s the same thing even with motivational speakers and coaches. Even when you have a bunch of them in the same niche who can offer you the same result, there’s something that makes you say yes to a particular one.
So, a personal brand is actually more than just a person’s reputation; it’s what they really have to offer, even when it’s not (in) a physical product.
When you know what you have to offer as a business or personal brand, you might want to think of podcasting as a way to let your potential customers know that you exist.
However, podcasting isn’t for absolutely everyone on the planet. And if you are considering it, you need to know if the kind of customers you’re after, even listen to podcasts at all.
If they do, podcasting would be a way to go about launching or growing your business or personal brand.
Otherwise, it’s probably a waste of time and not a good idea for you to start a podcast.
2) Be focused
After you know what you’re about whether as a business or a personal brand, you need to be focused if podcasting is to work for you.
Just as with anything, there is a temptation to offer a whole range of things, so that you can be all things to all men.
But try to remember that there’s a reason that oncologists or neurosurgeons earn more than general practitioners.
You may also be tempted to offer something in your business or expand your personal brand to include that thing, just because you see everyone around you is offering it.
However, when it comes to podcasting, you can’t afford to be all over the place with your messages. You’ll run yourself ragged and listeners (read as potential customers) won’t know for sure, what you’re about.
Staying focused on podcast topics that
- are related to what your business or personal brand offers, AND
- your current and potential customers want to know about
will serve you and your listeners better than if you chased after every fad and shiny object.
3) Be you
So, now you know what you’re really offering and have an idea of the topics you should go for, what’s next in your podcasting journey?
There are loads of podcasts in existence and what will make you stand out from them all is your ability and willingness to be you.
While there’s a place for emulating others, if you try to ape another business or personal brand, it’s only a matter of time before the customers you’re targeting, find out. And they’ll punish you by porting to the original.
Yes, customers will find out because you can’t fake forever. Customers tend to be a lot more discerning than you might give them credit for.
They’re also swifter with negative feedback than with positive. They might even drag you online for being a poor photopcopy of an established business or personal brand.
Plus if you don’t have access to the mind of that business or personal brand you’re trying so hard to photocopy, the truth is – no matter what you see or hear on social or other media – you don’t really know why they’re doing whatever they do, however they do it.
Meaning you don’t really know what they’re doing.
When it comes to podcasting to launch or grow your business or personal brand, the same rule applies. Be you – for the sake of your mental and physical health, bank balance, and business or personal brand.
Two personal brands for instance, might be talking about relationships. Even if their core message is the same, they’re going to come at the subject in different ways.
So, when it comes to podcasting to launch or grow your business or personal brand, it’s not enough to pick podcast topics related to what your business or personal brand offers.
Part of being you as it relates to podcasting is to understand that you don’t have to get podcast equipment you can’t afford and/or you won’t even use – just because you heard another business or personal brand does.
And you don’t have to let your inability to purchase a specific brand of podcast equipment, prevent you from podcasting.
4) Tell your story
One of the major factors that draws and connects customers to your business or personal brand is your story.
It’s not enough to have a really good product or tangible service, a massive advertising or the penchant for publicity stunts. Even when you have or employ these things, customers want to feel connected.
And one way to do that is with your story. So if you’re the CEO of a hair products brand, it stands to reason that you have the kind of hair you claim your products will give your buyer. Else why would they give you the time of day? Physician, heal thineself, right?
But you have to take it one step further; you need to tell your story. Having great, healthy hair while you’re selling haircare products is one thing. However, if you’ve always had that kinda hair, how can you claim to be able to help those with problematic hair or scalp?
It’s the same way all you’ll get is side eye, if you’re selling healthy foods or snacks and you’re not of a certain weight. Unless you can demonstrate or accurately convey to your customers that your healthy food or snacks has actually helped in your weight loss journey, you’re probably going to need voodoo to make people buy not getting any customers.
When you’re podcasting as a way to launch or grow your business or personal brand, remember that your story – especially if it’s a transformational one – will help your listeners feel connected and more inclined to listen to you.
You don’t have to make anything up but bear in mind that people listen to you because they’ve been given reason to believe that you have come through what they’re currently going through.
No, you don’t have to put your entire life out on blast on your podcast, just cos you’re a personal brand; it is actually possible to be a successful personal brand and keep certain details of your life, private.
There’s an easy way to do this.
5) Learn on the job
Just as with everything, you’re going to make mistakes. Some will be avoidable and some will be larger than others.
Hopefully, they’ll be learning curves and not things that send you/your business/your personal brand into oblivion.
Prepare your mind to learn because if you’re going to use podcasting as a way to launch or grow your business or personal brand, there’s an easy way to do it.
And you can find out if you register below.
If you haven’t done so already, click HERE to learn how to start a podcast the easy way.
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