In today’s crowded digital landscape, companies are constantly competing for visibility. From improving SEO via AI platforms like ChatGPT to increasing engagement on LinkedIn, leaders must find ways to boost the reputations of their brands. While traditional earned media placements help build awareness, brands must diversify their public relations efforts to distinguish themselves among their competitors and reach their target audiences.

Enter podcasts.

The number of U.S. podcast listeners is expected to hit 630.9 million by the end of 2025. Growing in popularity for their convenience and conversational nature, these long- and short-form audio sessions provide a direct, sometimes unfiltered conduit to reach their audiences.

The Value of Podcasts

Once known for mainstream genres like comedy and true crime, today you can find a podcast on nearly any topic. Myriad trade publications, for example, now offer podcasts to complement their print, online and other efforts. This allows brands to reach highly targeted and engaged audiences through the media sources they already know and trust.

Additionally, podcasts provide a valuable quality for PR pros and brands alike: listeners actually pay attention to them. In a world of goldfish-like attention spans, lengthy articles are sometimes skimmed (or even skipped) by busy readers, sending your carefully crafted messaging to the bottom of an algorithm’s totem pole. Podcasts, on the other hand, provide a more passive way for audiences to consume information, making your brand’s message more digestible than a long-winded article.

Podcasts also allow for a conversational tone, which helps to demystify and humanize your brand. And like with trade media, podcasts often have loyal followings. This helps position your brand as more credible among your target audience.

How to Leverage Podcasts

Securing a podcast interview is a huge win, but amplifying that coverage once it goes live is vital for a brand’s return on time. Once you have landed a podcast interview, sharing and repurposing the content can help to increase listeners and amp up your brand exposure. Here are some best practices to amplify a podcast interview:

• Share social media posts leading up to the interview to encourage followers to listen and interact using appropriate links and tagging the podcast and its hosts.
• Post a public thank you to the host with a link to the interview once it is live. This will help further raise visibility among the podcast’s audiences.
• Incorporate the podcast into internal marketing materials like your newsletter, blog, website and—if possible—the email signatures of the brand’s team members for at least one week after the podcast is live.
• You can even turn the podcast interview into a Q&A article or social media content. You should always source and link to the original content but first be sure to check with the podcast host to get permission to stay on the right side of copyright law.

As podcasts continue to grow in popularity, they offer a strong platform for brands to share their messages in an authentic and conversational way. By leveraging this medium, companies can effectively grow their media presence and reach highly targeted and engaged audiences.