Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
As we’re talking about Social Media Strategy, you are probably already sold on the fact that your podcast needs a strong social presence. You’re probably already convinced that this can increase awareness, generate listens, leads and website traffic. But maybe you’re not so convinced that you need a social media strategy?
The urge is generally to start posting on as many social platforms as possible, before crossing your fingers and hoping that potential listeners will a) find you and b) care enough to engage with the content you’ve pushed out.
Throwing content at the wall and hoping it sticks is a sure way to waste resources and get discouraged at the lack of return. In fact, you might be reading this because you have already experienced this while trying to promote your podcast on the web. But fear not: that’s exactly where a Social Media Strategy shines.
Focusing on your specific podcast or business goals, and how social can support those, will streamline processes, save resources and help you to decide your social output.
Still not entirely convinced your podcast needs a social media strategy? Let’s get into some of the specifics of why it is so essential.
A Social Media strategy will outline your social goals and define how these will be achieved. Having a roadmap that lets you clearly see what is and isn’t working is priceless if you want to be able to pivot your focus based on informed decisions. Understanding what type of content engages your listeners, what platforms are best, and what you want these platforms to achieve: these are all things to work out before you dive head-first into podcasting. Otherwise, you might lose direction. Set the foundations first and you’ll be much more stable.
Big Mistake – One of the mistakes I see most often is content and messaging being repurposed across all social media channels, without any consideration of consumer habits across those different channels. If you post the same message on Facebook and Twitter, why would anyone follow you on both?
A social media strategy will make those differences clear and allow you to take a streamlined approach to your social presence. We actually covered this in our recent blog post: Podcasts On YouTube – 4 Mistakes To Avoid.
Not all social channels are built equal. Just like you wouldn’t have much luck shopping for bread at a car salesroom, you probably won’t have much luck reaching your desired consumer group by just posting content indiscriminately onto the web.
It might seem like a good idea for your podcast to be present on every social platform, but that’s a lot of unique content to be creating. What’s likely to happen is you will end up wasting your energy talking into the void, while there’s a community ready and waiting for you to engage them on another network.
A social media strategy will help you clearly define where your podcast’s listener base is present and how to reach them. This will make it a lot easier to adapt further down the line if you want to shift your focus, or market to a different demographic.
TOP TIP: Once you have a Social Media Strategy in place, getting to know your analytics tools inside out is crucial. If you’re looking for a social media management tool that makes scheduling, community management and analytics super streamlined, then I would highly recommend Sprout Social. Driving lots of traffic to your site? It’s definitely time to get to grips with Google Analytics too.
In order to improve your ROI, your social media should be fully integrated into your overall strategy. It should always align with your podcast or brand goals and fit into a clearly defined funnel. Where are you sending your people and why? Is your social presence purely for awareness purposes? Are you trying to form a community that stays on that channel, or are you trying to transfer them over to your website/Patreon/Discord? Are you giving them value, or just shoving a product in their face? How many data touchpoints are in place?
Understanding exactly how this all slots together will shift your social presence into a different gear and allow you to improve your ROI much faster. And this makes it all the more important that your podcast has a clearly defined social media strategy as soon as possible.
Warning – If you are thinking of putting paid ad spend behind your content, then a social media strategy with a focus on ad spend in particular is absolutely crucial. When done wrong, it’s incredibly easy to spend a lot of money on social networks and see very little, if any, return on investment.
Social media moves quickly. There’s always a new trend, social network, meme or hashtag to be harnessed and used as a marketing tool. However, that also means it’s incredibly easy to chase trends and lose sight of your brand identity. Does your tone of voice online represent what your podcast or brand stands for? There are plenty of examples of ‘community management gone wrong’, where potential or current customers have felt alienated. A social media strategy allows you to determine how people will be engaged with, how crisis management will be dealt with and what sign-off process should be put in place to prevent mistakes in the first place.
There are a million podcasts out there creating social media pages and posting the same kind of content every single second of the day. You probably thought long and hard about your podcast’s niche and Unique Selling Point (USP). The same strategy and focus is needed when considering how you will promote it online. Every detail matters when consumer habits are changing at lightning pace and when your voice is easily drowned out. Having a clearly defined social media strategy will make it easier to cut through and see a result.
For further reading on social media marketing for your podcast, check out our blogs:
Community is Key: How to Grow Your Podcast on Social Media
8 Hacks for Growing Your Podcast on Instagram
8 Hacks for Growing Your Podcast on Twitter
What Social Media Platforms Should My Podcast Be Active On?
Should I Be Putting My Podcast on TikTok?
A Podcaster’s Guide to Social Media
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