Bringing a big idea to life starts with small achievable steps. In the case of B2B podcasting, that first step is deciding what your show will be about, who it’s aimed at, and how it fits into an overall integrated content marketing strategy.
However, depending on your individual experience with podcasting (as in maybe you listen to podcasts, but you’ve never been a host or show creator), that first step can be overwhelming, paralytic, and something you eventually table to reconsider some time in the future. But that doesn’t do your brand any good.
The thing is, you don’t really need to know how to create and run a podcast. Learning new things is something content marketers constantly do as they evolve in their careers, especially in terms of emerging channels. Fifteen years ago, nobody saw podcasting as the valuable marketing channel it is today. The way we’ve all adapted to podcasting is the way you can too, regardless of your previous experience in the medium. Because the axioms remain the same: WHO is your audience, WHAT do they want from your brand, and WHERE do they prefer to find that content?
In this episode of The Casted Podcast, we’re going to hear how Michael Lynn, Principal Developer Advocate at MongoDB, created the brand’s show, The MongoDB Podcast, not as a channel for selling MongoDB’s software developer platform, but as a developer community where the greatest resource is the collective experiences and knowledge of other developers in the same industry. By intentionally setting out to inspire, motivate, and educate his audience, Michael’s show has successfully contributed to MongoDB’s bottom line and has continually evolved into one of the best B2B podcasts for software developers.
Digging into Key Takeaways
For each episode, we like to highlight some key takeaways. Think of it as a podcast outline or live show notes. Here are just a few of the takeaways that really stood out to us in this episode.
The Importance of Knowing Your Mission and Goal for Your Podcast 💪
One of the first questions you have to answer when starting a podcast is what is the show’s mission. The answer comes from other decisions you need to make early on: Who’s the intended audience? Do we want to educate, entertain, or discuss thought leadership topics? And what do you want the podcast to do strategically? For example, you’re probably thinking about connecting with your audience over pushing your product because there are other channels that already exist for that. Michael answered all these questions up front as he shares in this episode.
How to Get Your Podcast Off the Ground with Minimal Tech and Team 🚀
One thing that can overwhelm a content marketer trying to launch a podcast is the tech and equipment. This is especially intimidating when you’ve never worked on or hosted a podcast before. However, as Michael says, you don’t need anything fancy to get started. Just a way to record either audio or video. It’s likely you already have that capability with the devices and software you own. And if you want to upgrade down the line, you have several options to choose from.
Why Human-Forward Stories are Worth Sharing, Even on a Software Development Podcast ❤️
Getting a show off the ground is a tremendous step for a brand, and over time, you often discover ways to improve the content, cover more audience-relevant topics, and better serve your brand with this incredible marketing channel. That’s just what Michael has done at MongoDB, growing their podcast and moving up the B2B Podcast Maturity Curve.
Interested in More from MongoDB?
For more on what MongoDB has to offer to the world of software developers, be sure to visit MongoDB. And to learn more about the exciting educational and thought leadership content Michael puts in every podcast episode, check out The MongoDB Podcast.
Want to skim through Michael’s episode instead of listening? Read the transcript here.
About Season 8 of The Casted Podcast
Welcome to Season 8 of The Casted Podcast, where we focus exclusively on our customers, brands who know the value of delivering high-quality podcast, video, and written content that their audiences truly want. Hear from the most forward-thinking brands discovering how to harness the power of conversation and amplify their content marketing in a range of formats and channels — and how they build integrated marketing strategies around podcasting. They're practicing what we preach, and we want you to hear all about what they're doing, why they're doing it, and most of all, how you can do it too.
