Why B2B Companies Should Have a Podcast: Insights From Dan Sanchez, Director of Audience Growth at Sweet Fish

“A podcast is like a Swiss army knife, it can accomplish so many objectives…”

Podcasts have become increasingly popular over the years, but many businesses have yet to realize the potential benefits of having their own show. In a recent interview with Dan Sanchez , Director of Audience Growth at Sweet Fish, we discussed the importance of podcasting for B2B companies.?

Here are some key takeaways from our conversation (you can listen to our podcast interview here).

Building a Strong Brand as a Specialist

One of the advantages of having a podcast is that it allows you to establish yourself as a specialist in your niche. According to Dan, "the people that end up getting the farthest as far as building a following and a brand online are usually the specialists because people know why to follow them." Instead of trying to be everything to everybody, businesses should focus on creating content that is highly relevant to their target audience (this goes double for individual content creators).

By going deep on a specific subject, businesses can attract more followers on social media and establish themselves as a thought leader in their industry. “Thought leader” is now an abused term, but if that’s your goal then I say you can still achieve it (heck that’s what I’m trying to do).

Connecting with Customers in a Meaningful Way

Another benefit of podcasting is that it makes it easy for businesses to connect with their customers. As Dan points out, "good entrepreneurs spend the most time talking with customers, like getting to know what they are thinking, and what they are...hearing, seeing, talking about, and what keeps them up at night."?

By creating a podcast that focuses on their customers' favorite things, businesses can build deeper relationships with their ideal buyers. For example, a software company targeting graphic designers in churches could create a podcast that features interviews with creative directors and other industry experts. You’re achieving three things by having a podcast:

1. You’re learning more about your ICP/buyer persona.
2. You’re creating content that they want to consume.
3. You’re creating the source material for other content formats you can distribute on other channels (video and written), more on that below.

Creating a Marketing Machine and Measuring Impact

Podcasting can also help businesses create a marketing machine before they even launch. According to Dan, "if I think I want to get into this niche and understand it better...let me start a podcast and start interviewing people." This approach not only helps businesses gain valuable insights into their target audience but also builds relationships with decision-makers who may be difficult to reach otherwise. Additionally, podcasting provides an easy way to measure impact by simply asking customers how they heard about the business. By including an open field text asking how they found the business (at the end of your funnel), customers may attribute their discovery of your brand to the podcast.

Additionally, you don’t even need a big audience. In B2B, with an audience of 300 people who download your episode monthly—if they can pay $25,000 annually as an enterprise client, you’re definitely driving impact.

Growing Your Network Via The Oprah Effect

Finally, podcasting provides an opportunity for businesses (and individuals) to network and build relationships with other industry experts and thought leaders.?

As Dan explains, "all of a sudden, you have so many more friends." By inviting guests on the show, businesses can establish connections with people they may not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. These can be potential clients, partners, and even future employees (podcasts are great recruiting tools).

Hosting a podcast also provides what Dan calls the Oprah Effect—where people perceive the host as knowledgeable and credible (fingers crossed, after 2 years of hosting my own podcast I hope I seem smarter??). This perception can further strengthen the host's reputation and help build their network.

So what’s holding you back?

Podcasting offers numerous benefits for B2B companies, including building a strong brand, connecting with customers, creating a marketing machine, measuring impact, and growing your network. Podcasts are definitely swiss army knives for a marketing team.

With the right strategy and execution, businesses can leverage the power of podcasting to become thought leaders in their industry and establish deeper connections with their ideal buyers. So if you’re still thinking, “should I create that podcast for my team?”

The answer is, “Yes!”

Reach out to 30 people on LinkedIn today—preferably future customers.

Ask them if they would like to be featured on a podcast, that focuses on their work.

Schedule a Zoom recording using Calendly, use headphones as a “Starter Mic”, and then post the podcast on Anchor (or any other podcasting platform). You can also spend a little bit to get each episode edited on sites like Fiverr or UpWork to start.

There are ZERO excuses, get started. You won’t regret it and you'll impress your boss.

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If you enjoyed reading this post, don't forget to follow Dan Sanchez . He's the expert here—not me!??