I recently published a post detailing the strategy I used to get ranked No.1 on iTunes in two different categories with a brand new podcast. It was a very well received post, and I felt it important to elaborate on this subject a little further.

That post focused on the HOW, in this post I’m going into the WHY. 

In other words, why, as entrepreneurs in an increasingly active ‘P2P Economy’ (my philosophy for doing business in todays ‘people to people’ business world) we need to be podcasting in the first place – and how it helps to build our brand even further.

That’s my podcasting set-up, in the image above, right.

Podcasting allows us to realize the benefits of presenting information in audio or visual format. This in turn allows you to convey your personality in a much stronger way than is possible through the written word. That clarity in your message is seen and felt through your actions (on video) and the tone of your voice  – all allowing you to emphasize important points within the podcast session.

There are hundreds of millions of people walking around with smartphones, and all of these are podcast-enabled.

The evolution of small business marketing and the onslaught of podcasting as a medium which allows you to reach a far larger audience, has never been anymore blatant, let’s face it – everyone at it!

Podcast subscribers are after information, real life stories, case studies and advice from their peers, and those they follow. Building either your personal, or business brand with podcasting creates a huge viral affect for the brand, and can also generate lots of relevant links to your website.

Remember – you can’t personally be awake and in touch with your audience 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

However, your online brand can!

Podcasts are easy to create, portable, and users can listen to them at any time, anywhere. This is what makes building your brand with podcasting so beneficial, as it engages with people in all walks of life – no matter where they are. They may want to listen in the car, on a train, in the gym, or while working.

It’s time to jump on the podcasting bandwagon people.

13 Tips for Building Your Brand with Podcasting

1. Get started. Do not just sit by and watch the competition build their audience with great podcast content, while you twiddle your thumbs thinking ‘what if’. When you do get started, be sure you produce high quality, clean sounding audio.

2. Be unique. Successful brands speak with a unique voice. Check out these podcasts to see exactly what I’m talking about. Think about the brands you admire – what makes them unique? There must be a reason for people to listen to your podcast ahead of other similar shows. This will come down to whether they like your personality, topics covered and the method of delivery. Don’t be scared to be yourself.

3. Consider your audience. What do they want to hear about from you? You are creating the podcast for them (not yourself!) so think carefully about the topics they would like you to cover. Answer previous questions you have been asked, or the most common problems facing your business today as a starting point. The rest will come along naturally.

4. Be consistent. Stick to the schedule you decided – weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, people will want to know that every Tuesday, for example, that yoursite.com has a great new podcast session released for them to download and enjoy.

5. Have cool looking artwork. Professional looking art is an integral part of brand recognition and it’s no different when it comes to building your brand from podcasting. When using iTunes, the recommended specifications for the artwork that will be embedded on your RSS Feed is 300 x 300 pixels, in either JPG or PNG format. Keep your image the same across all channels of your online brand. This makes it easy to recognize you in search results – a perfect example is my podcast artwork.

6. Use tags on your iTunes submissions, and set-up your RSS Feed. This will help your podcast get found in the iTunes store easier, converting casual passers-by into subscribers, and ultimately, fans.

7. Reach out to other podcasters. This may seem like getting into bed with the competition, but really, you need to be as involved with your ‘competition’ as possible. This provides you with the opportunity to learn from them, hear what they are talking about, and as with mastermind groups, you may even get great ideas by listening to their podcasts.

8. Promote your podcast everywhere. This means submitting your channel and RSS Feed to podcast directories not only in the iTunes store, but in other places like Zune Marketplace, Blackberry Podcast, Miro Guide, Stitcher, DoubleTwist and Blubrry. This is a new one for me, and I’ve already got featured on Stitcher – the rest are happening currently.

9. Go one step further – create your own App. One huge step forward would be to create an overall app for listeners to download. This would be automatically updated with your newest podcasts, blog posts and information about your business. After seeing the success that Pat Flynn has had with this model, I’m considering itself. Would you download and use a free ChrisDucker.com app, if I was to create it? Let me know in the comments.

10. Interview successful business owners. This could mean sit down interviews, recorded Skype conversations, or even a chat over coffee somewhere quiet. Have plenty of questions prepared and also some extra ideas for filler content. If you’re on location somewhere, make sure you’re both mic’d up well, so as to provide good quality audio to your listeners.

11. Be creative. Many businesses and entrepreneurs are experimenting with podcasting now and you need to be memorable, exciting and full of fresh ideas. This will include everything from the intro in your podcast, to your associated brand artwork, website design, as well as the use of social media. Be memorable.

12. Be sure to promote your other platforms. Utilize the opportunity to  mention your Facebook and Twitter profiles, as well as your blog or company website at some stage during your podcast. This gives you more ways to reach your audience and potentially generate more subscribers, listeners, revenue and grow your audience with viral sharing. Don’t overdo it though – it’ll become very ‘old’, very quickly.

13. Provide value and be remembered. Overall, this should be your number one focus. It’ll guarantee your brand will grow through podcasting. Once you establish yourself as a leader in your field, a go-to person, expert (whatever you want to call yourself!), listeners will keep coming back and downloading your podcast – as well as mentioning it their friends.

Not Considered Podcasting Yet? C’mon, Already!

As you can tell, I’m a big fan of podcasting.

Thousands of people tune in to listen to me and my guests impart business knowledge every week. That is something you should not ignore. That many people, all with you injected into their earlobes! That is untouchable, as a brand builder.

It allows your readers and listeners to feel your personality, passion and hear your enthusiasm when you speak about your topic and business. 

Podcasting is here to stay and creates a valuable element to building your online brand. Since it was added to the Oxford dictionary in 2005 – ‘Podcasting’ has grown to become a much bigger success than most believed it would be. I saw this with my own eyes in January this year, when I attended the Podcast Awards that were held at New Media Expo in Vegas. The room was literally not big enough for the crowd!

Getting started with a podcast will help build your brand in a whole different way, to a whole different audience. I hope this post has helped you see that a little.   

So get out there and start your first podcast, if you haven’t done so already.

Got any questions on podcasting? Thinking about starting, but not pulling the trigger for some reason? Share ’em below, I promise to help in anyway I can!

PS. Thank you to those podcast reviewers seen in this post, and to anyone who has ever left an iTunes review and ratings for the New Business Podcast. I appreciate your support.