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The relationship between your brand and the content you create is a two-way street, and this is especially true when it comes to a project as robust as a branded podcast.
This is a medium with massive reach, depth, and scope that will generally amount to dozens (if not hundreds) of hours of material made for your audience.
Needless to say, content of this scale will have a massive impact on how your audience perceives your brand — for better or for worse.
Bearing that in mind, it’s important that your podcast is perfectly brand aligned; it should influence your brand identity, and reflect it.
Below, we share our five key tips for podcast-brand alignment, and how to make a series that fits with your big picture, and your long-term goals.
Find the right niche
You have probably already guessed that the niche you choose for your corporate podcast will be key to maintaining brand alignment.
That said, while this step does seem obvious, there are several effective approaches you can take here, and for many brands, this choice becomes a struggle.
To give your team a better sense of what this looks like (when it’s done right), let’s take a look at the approach of some industry leaders with successful podcasts.
You might follow in the footsteps of American Express. Their show, Build it Braver is made for folks with small businesses, a vital segment of their target market…
Or maybe you take notes from Lush, the cosmetics giant that drove home their ethos with The Sound Bath, a show that leans into their values, not their products…
Or perhaps it makes sense for you to keep things simple like Cineplex, the Canadian theater chain that celebrated the magic of cinema with its series Hello, Movies.
While each company took a unique approach, all three of these podcasts tell listeners something vital about:
- “Who” the brand is
- Where it came from
- Where its going
- What it values
- And the people it prioritizes
Master visual branding
If you want your podcast to be a fit for your brand, you should also work with a production agency that understands the value and importance of design.
We would never recommend that you slap your logo on a square JPEG and call it cover art, and your series really should have its own visual identity…
That said, if you work with a team that knows what they’re doing, the creative elements that surround your series should feel harmonious with the rest of your brand.
While their work may seem tedious to some, the hundreds of tiny choices designers make are paramount.
The visual identity they create for your podcast will send very important messages (both subliminal and direct) about the identity of your series, and your brand.
Connect the dots
While the primary focus of your series shouldn’t be your business, strategic and appropriate brand mentions are an important part of this process.
At the end of the day, content marketing that doesn’t explicitly call out your company isn’t really marketing at all — it’s just content.
You may be asking yourself whether in-show brand mentions (in the absence of conventional advertising) will actually make an impression on your listeners.
The answer appears to be “yes,” and we’ve got some data to back that up.
One 2019 BBC report found that consumers are even more engaged during the branded parts of a podcast episode than they are during the rest of the content…
And for ambitious brand builders, that’s a pretty outstanding promise.
Don’t make an “ad”
While we’re on the topic of brand mentions, we really have to stress that no podcast should feel like a 30-minute or hour-long ad.
This is one of the biggest misconceptions people have when they imagine a branded series — but common sense tells us it couldn’t possibly work.
A corporate podcast production that’s truly brand aligned will say something much greater than “this is your problem, and here’s how you solve it,” or worse “buy our product.”
We’re looking to send a sweeping, and largely subtextual message about brand identity, while creating something awesome for your listeners.
Again, the goal here is the bigger picture, and creating relationships that foster loyalty and investment. It’s not an immediate sale.
Build for your audience
You’ll want to pay special attention to this tip because, if we’re being totally honest, it’s probably the most important piece of advice we can give.
A brand-aligned podcast should put your audience at the core of your process — because your audience is also at the heart of your work.
At the end of the day, these people are the reason your business exists, and the content you create should absolutely reflect that.
A show that fails to address the needs, wants, and pain points of your ideal customer probably isn’t truly aligned with the mission, identity, or long-term goals.
Exceptional content marketing packs massive value. That’s what sets it apart from a standard ad, and why it works.
To create a series that really delivers on that, you need to understand the folks that already follow you, who you want to attract, and how you can build an audience-tailored show.
Enjoy the perks
While this might all seem like a lot to keep tabs on, a corporate podcast production that nails brand alignment will be truly transformative for your business.
Well executed content marketing has the power to…
- Finetune your brand identity
- Attract your ideal audience
- Prequalify your listeners
- And foster long-term growth
If you’re ready to dive into the world of spoken audio, check out these free guides to podcast ROI and growing the audience of your branded show.
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