So, what makes a podcast successful?
At Casted, this is a question we get asked all the time. And sure, we could answer that with an industry standard, checklist, or product recommendation (who doesn’t love a good checklist?!).
But it’s so much better to hear firsthand from those in the trenches. Buckle up, because today we’re taking a deep dive into our very own Casted Podcast to explore how we measure success and, even more importantly, how you can replicate our wins with your own show.
To Each Their Own
We’ve seen a lot of different approaches to showrunning in our time. And there is no one perfect way to do it. But one thing is for sure: we all want to know that our hard work is paying off. That the blood, sweat, and tears are worth it and our podcast is moving the needle for the brand.
But in the ever-changing podcast landscape, it can be tricky to know where to start with measuring ROI. The first step is deceptively simple: you just have to set the scale. And that comes down to simply outlining your goals.
Podcast Goal-Setting for Beginners
Setting goals is and should be a huge part of any podcast (or really any business initiative). But when you’re first starting out, setting goals for a completely new channel can be like throwing darts in the dark after a few martinis.
If you’re struggling to set realistic podcasting goals, we’ve got you covered:
When we were first starting out here at Casted, we had to determine how our podcast would fit within our larger marketing strategy and business goals. As a B2B podcasting platform, we knew our podcast would play a big role, but we still had to identify where and how it would make the most impact.
And one of our biggest passions, of course, is wringing all the goodness out of each and every episode (one of the best things about podcasts is how versatile and far-reaching they are!). We’re big believers in repurposing content, which is why you’ll not only hear our interviews on the podcast, but see them in blogs, Tweets, emails, and more. (For example, take this podcast episode, recap blog, thought leadership blog, and Tweet on our interview with Privy’s Dave Gerhardt.) That’s some serious content goodness right there! We knew from the get-go that repurposing content had to be a foundational part of our strategy because it’s such an integral part of the brand.
So when it came time to start laying out some goals, we started with the broader foundation of where we wanted the brand to head and narrowed in from there.
Metrics That Matter
Some podcast owners measure success through downloads and listens. Others are more subjective with assessments like social engagement, relationship building, and reviews.
For us, success doesn’t just come in the form of listener numbers or another singular metric. And our good friend and digital guru Jay Baer agrees:
“There are all these other signals that indicate that the show is doing something for your brand beyond just how many people downloaded the show.” (We hear ya, Jay!)
At Casted, we have a lot we’re trying to achieve, and we use our podcast as a strategic way to reach more than one goal at one time. That means looking at multiple metrics and mapping them to the specific outcomes we’re looking for.
We get tons of mileage out of our podcast as we aim to build audience relationships, grow our listener base, educate the market on the value of podcasting, drive demand, and influence buying decisions. And each of these goals comes with its own set of metrics for us to keep our eyes on. We’ve broken it down for you here:
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Build audience relationships
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# of subscribers
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# of listens/downloads
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Social engagement (shares, comments, likes, etc.)
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Grow the listener base
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% change in subscribers
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% change in listens/downloads
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# of visits to podcast pages
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Educate the market on the value of podcasting
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# of leads through podcast-driven content (episodes, blogs, Audiograms, etc.)
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# of form/chat/demo conversions on podcast pages
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Drive demand and influence buying decisions
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Pipeline influenced by podcasts
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# of listeners converted to meetings
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# of prospects listening during the buying cycle (and which episodes)
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This list is by no means exhaustive. And we realize it may not be the same for your organization. But the point is to get focused (and get creative). Measure anything and everything you can to get a good gauge on how your podcast is driving success. And then map your metrics to goals that matter.
We might be in the business of B2B podcasting here at Casted. But we had to start somewhere, too. Our road to defining goals and metrics wasn’t always a neat and clean one. Usually these things take some trying, testing, and mess-making to land where you need to.
And part of our mission is to help you realize there’s tremendous value behind every word you and your guests share behind the mic. Podcasts are so much more than brand awareness and subscribers. They’re about relationships, loyalty, learning, and everything else in between.
So try it! Start setting your brand’s podcast goals today. Look at what makes sense for achieving your organization’s distinct mission. Then, map your goals to attainable metrics — whether numeric or abstract. When you use your podcast as a way to fuel your strategy (instead of just managing yet another marketing channel), you accelerate your pipeline to meet business goals faster. (And who doesn’t want that?)
Can you tell we’re more than just a little passionate about podcasting? That’s because we see the power of conversation for brands big and small every day through our all-in-one platform for executing, managing, and measuring your podcast gold. Get in touch with us to see for yourself.
