Avoid These Common Corporate Podcast Pitfalls

Dave Jackson
So your boss has come in and said, hey, we're going to start a podcast, and you're put in charge of this. There are a couple things that you want to think about. I used to work for Libsyn.

Libsyn is the oldest podcast hosting company, and I would see people blow this all the time. So the first thing you want to get out in the open is who's going to be your host, and you want somebody who wants to do the podcast.

I used to listen to a podcast, and I knew the person that was doing it. It was for their company. They didn't want to do it. They. Even though they were a marketing person, they.

They didn't really want to do it, didn't really have the personality for it. And it sounded exactly like what it was. Somebody who didn't want to be there, didn't want to talk about this stuff, and it really.

Eventually they removed that person, but it did not go over well. So you need somebody who wants to do it, but they also have to know it's not their show.

And the reason I say that is what happens if this person leaves the company? They've done 37 episodes, and here's, you know, your host, Jill, and then Jill leaves because she got a better deal.

Well, okay, but Jill, it's not your show. It's the company show. And so when you left that job, you also left the podcast. So you need to know that. And then a couple other things here.

When you sign up for services, so a media host or anything involving the podcast, then you want to make sure you use some sort of generic, like podcastourcompany.com email. Why? Because if it's under Jill's email, and Jill, unfortunately gets hit by a bus, you need Jill's password.

And yes, it should be able to, you know, somehow give you access. But I've seen positions where it's a really small company.

There is no IT department, and Jill used her Yahoo account, and you're kind of, you know, stuck. So you want to use an email that more than Jill has access to.

So this is where something like 1Password comes in really handy, because you can give people access to a website without them actually having a login and password. I've seen that happen.

And that gets really sticky because as weird as it is, there are people that might try to steal a show and go, hey, you know, Jill left and I'm the new host, and they're not. So media companies have to really have you prove, you know, they'll have you identify the last four digits of the credit card, things like that.

So keep that in mind. Then the other thing you have to figure out is, like, why are we starting a podcast?

And if the answer is, well, because podcasting is hot and everybody has one, that's not a good reason. You need to figure out, why am I doing this? And I remember Evernote, the software where you take notes.

They had one for a while, and it was amazing because they had their marketing director, they had the CEO, and then some person that I think their web designer, their website guy, and you could ask questions and the CEO would answer it. It was amazing. Why they quit, I don't know. I know Evernote has been bought a couple times. Maybe that was part of it, but it was amazing.

And what was great is their audience would send in, hey, here's how I'm using Evernote. I did this, we did this. We tied it to that, and then so. And so did this. And it's amazing.

And what it was, you were interacting with your customers and getting testimonials at the same time, but they would communicate, hey, we released a new feature. Here's what it's about, et cetera, et cetera. And because you can't just be, buy the software. Oh, hey, welcome to the podcast. Buy the software.

That's an infomercial. And nobody is, you know, recording the shamwow commercial. You don't want it to be a giant commercial. You want to deliver value.

So this is where really knowing who your audience is and what they want.

And so in some cases, like Trader Joe's does a podcast and they do things like they explained how they were swapping out the freezer section, and you're like, how is that valuable? Well, Trader Joe's, that audience is really conscious about global warming and efficient energy use.

And so they were explaining how they were swapping out the freezers because it was going to save on energy, and that would then make that audience go, this is amazing. And this is why I shop at Trader Joe's, so that kind of thing.

But the biggest mistake I see is choosing the host who doesn't want to be a host and then letting that host sign up for everything. And then that host doesn't like being a podcaster, and so they leave. And then the company can't get into their own podcast.

Keep that in mind, but have a reason why you're doing it. And then when I first started the school of podcasting, I had a coupon code that was never in print. And I say it on this show listener.

If you use the coupon code listener, you'll save on either a monthly or yearly subscription. Well, in the first 10 years of the show, I wouldn't put that in print because I wanted to make sure it was a listener.

I want to make sure the podcast was working, and it worked great. And I could tell because I could see that coupon coming through. So you might want to have a way to track is this working?

And that starts with knowing, why am I doing this? Maybe it's just to strengthen the relationship with your customers.

Okay, well, maybe you use something like Heartbeat or something like that to create a community where you can get feedback immediately from your customers, and then you can use the podcast to promote the group that then provides the feedback. There are all sorts of different ways that you can use this, but you need to know your why, and you need to know how you're going to measure that.

Otherwise, when that company has a not so great year, they're going to be looking for things to cut. And you need to be able to say, no, this is what's happened because of the podcast, and I've got the stats right here.

You have to be able to prove this is effective at doing whatever you wanted the podcast to do. If you need help with this, Simply go to schoolofpodcasting.com join and sign up for either a monthly or yearly subscription.

And of course, use the coupon code listener. And if you're a person like Dave, I don't really need a membership. I just have a few questions.

Go to schoolofpodcasting.com schedule and you can schedule some time with me and I'll answer your question. Questions. I'm Dave Jackson. I help podcasters. It's what I do. It's what I love to do, and I'd love to see what we could do together.