Perhaps your accounting agency should not begin a podcast

Podcasting is the brand new running a blog. Everybody’s doing it, and you need to, too, proper? Not so quick.

On the 2024 Digital Deep Dive convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Brandon Corridor and I shared our experiences with podcasting and classes discovered. Whereas our podcasts have seen outstanding success — my present, “The Accounting Podcast,” has notched thousands and thousands of views on YouTube, and Brandon’s podcast, “Tax Good Actual Property Traders,” generates 40-45% of latest income for his agency — we needed to emphasise that podcasting shouldn’t be for everybody.

Earlier than diving into podcasting, corporations should rigorously think about the numerous time dedication, the necessity for a transparent content material technique, and the challenges in measuring success to find out if beginning a podcast aligns with their objectives and assets.

It takes numerous effort

One of many greatest challenges is the time dedication and consistency required to create a profitable present. As Brandon identified throughout our session, “The highest 1% of podcasts have 21 [or more] episodes. For those who can hit the 21-episode mark, you are now within the high 1% of all podcasts. If you speak about launching a podcast, all people will get actually excited. However what you do not understand is that the outcomes take a extremely very long time.”

Many podcasts fail to make it previous the primary few episodes as a result of the hosts severely underestimate the time required to maintain the present working. After a number of years, Brandon’s present takes him about an hour and a half of his weekly time. However initially, it may possibly take lots longer. Finances half a day per week to begin. That may decline as you achieve expertise.

Committing for the long run can also be important. Brandon and I counsel planning to provide your podcast persistently for a minimum of a yr, if not longer, to provide it one of the best likelihood of gaining traction.

As for the way usually to report, Brandon recommends a weekly podcast schedule to maintain listeners engaged and make it simpler in your workforce to provide content material. He famous, “You simply get all people into the behavior of manufacturing a weekly present … it mockingly turns into simpler.” 

You will additionally profit from having your episodes on the high of the podcast participant record. Subscribe to greater than a handful of podcasts, and you may see how rapidly new episodes get pushed under the primary web page of outcomes.

It takes a very long time to generate leads

As a result of a podcast takes a very long time to generate leads, it should create worth in different methods in your agency. And it may possibly. Brandon famous, “For those who pitch it as high of funnel or begin pondering of it as high of funnel, it may take a extremely very long time so that you can understand that objective.”

One technique to maximize the worth of your podcast is to repurpose its content material into varied codecs, similar to weblog posts, movies, social media posts, and newsletters. Brandon stated, “We take into consideration our content material by way of whether or not we will speak about the identical factor in a number of codecs in order that our potential consumers can devour our content material in no matter means they discover best. So we have now movies, podcasts, Instagram and Twitter, TikTok, YouTube shorts, and newsletters. It is all saying the identical stuff, however you get to decide on the way you devour it.”

It is troublesome to attribute income

Measuring the success of your podcast and attributing leads and income on to the present generally is a problem, too. As I argued in the course of the session, “Do not attempt to attribute enterprise to your podcast. The podcast is only a technique to create all of the content material that powers your content material advertising engine.” 

In different phrases, your podcast needs to be part of a bigger content material advertising technique, not a standalone lead technology instrument.

The problem in measuring podcast success and attributing leads and income is why many firms cease investing in podcasting. It is onerous to justify spending the cash when the leads aren’t coming within the door. Having practical expectations and understanding that your podcast’s impression might not all the time be instantly obvious or simply quantifiable is crucial.

Is podcasting proper in your accounting agency?

Whereas podcasting generally is a invaluable instrument for enterprise progress and establishing thought management, it isn’t the best alternative for everybody. As extra accounting corporations discover podcasting as a advertising technique, it is essential to strategy it with practical expectations and a well-defined plan.

Earlier than beginning a podcast, think about the next:

• Do you may have the time and assets to provide high-quality content material persistently?
• How will your podcast match into your total content material advertising technique?
• What are your objectives for the podcast, and the way will you measure success?
• Are you ready to decide to podcasting for the long run, even when outcomes aren’t quick?

Corporations that may decide to long-term funding and create invaluable content material for his or her audience might discover success in podcasting. Nonetheless, it is important to rigorously weigh the challenges and issues earlier than diving in.

For those who nonetheless need to begin a podcast after contemplating these challenges, e mail me at [email protected], and my workforce will work with you to make sure your podcast journey is profitable.