Win New Audiences With Good SEO Strategies

There are some small but very important things you can do to help boost listens to your broadcast. The combination of a relevant, catchy show name, great episode titles, and the use of keywords which give good results will work together to improve the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on your show. Search results are heavily dependent on keyword relevance, so you want to get the most out of the capabilities you have. In this series, we will be talking about these three things to help optimize your SEO and search engine ranking for your show and in turn, drive more traffic to your broadcast.

The Name Game

An important point to remember: your show name should be memorable and not too long. Having a name that clearly lets people know about the subject of your show is a good way to hook subscribers. When someone is searching for a show to add to their weekly listening library you have limited time to capture their attention so you want to pick your show name wisely.

A great way to test your new show name? Tell someone the name of your show and see if they can tell you what your show is about. Call up your Aunt Martha, your best friend, or tell a few friends from work. Tell them the name of your show and if they can tell you something about what your podcast will be talking about then you have nailed it.

Some good examples of apt show names:

“Coffee with Kenobi”, if you have guessed it then you must be one of the millions who have seen Star Wars.
“Unresolved”, they delve into the mysteries of unsolved crimes.
“Grants Rants Hollywood Talk”, clearly an entertainment talk show.

One of the most publicized podcasts was “Serial” this was simply a serialized audio narrative.

Some things to avoid when naming your show:

Your name, unless you are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Oprah Winfrey you’re most likely marketing to a new set of listeners and your name will not mean much to them…yet!

Inside jokes, if you are hosting a show with some friends and you name the show something unrelated to the content but relevant to an inside joke, the only people listening who get meaning will be you.

Inappropriate words or phrases. Your show will end up with the explicit tag, with limited viewing which will, in turn, limit your audience as people might not want to listen to something they deem inappropriate and which they need to sneak off with the headphones on to listen to!

Is it easy to say? Say it out loud. Is it pronounceable? Does it roll off the tongue well? You will want to avoid things like the mistake the company Radius made their 1st name was Fwix, not only is it difficult to pronounce but it’s without meaning!
How do you spell it? Do not spell your show name wrong, it will hurt your search rankings by making it harder for people to remember it and therefore find you on the internet.

In our next installment of this series, we will talk about episode titles and how to bring more people to your show by using the right framework for them.

Listening to your broadcast has become even easier. You can now submit your radio show to Tunein which will make your show available on Amazon Alexa devices. Amazon Alexa devices are wireless, voice-activated “smart speakers”, they have a personal assistant voice service named “Alexa” that is comparable to Siri. According to new NPR-Edison Research data smart speakers are becoming more popular in the way people are listening to streaming audio and they can now be found in over 20 million homes across the US. 42% of smart speaker owners claim they’re already an important part of their household. They work with voice activation by simply asking for the weather, access to your music, and, most importantly, tune in to radio and podcasts.

For your listeners tuning into your show on Alexa is easy, the Amazon Echo pulls directly from Tunein. For example, if you want to listen to a show you would simply say “Alexa, play The Chad Benson Show” and Alexa will immediately start playing the latest episode, if you want to hear the previous one just say “play the previous one”, it’s that easy.

The process is fairly simple to submit your show. It’s a one-time submission process, you click here and fill out the form and submit your show. Of course, you will need your RSS feed, which would simply be your BlogTalkRadio link and end it in /podcast. So an example would be http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yourshowname/podcast

So get your show on Tunein and listeners can start to “Tunein” “pardon the pun” to your show on their Alexa devices while they are in their homes.

Be a Top Notch Broadcaster

Being a radio broadcaster opens many doors, interviewing celebrities and other A-listers give you the opportunity to meet some pretty amazing people. For example you could interview one of Hollywood’s top stars one day and the next day and you could be interviewing someone who won a pulitzer prize. People and their stories are the true core of broadcasting.

Interviewing the right people can be very effective right from the start, since it provides some initial exposure. More notable guests are a good sign that you’re going to be producing great content and will also help attract more quality guests.

Create a doable plan that works for you and your guests

You will get the most out of having someone with a bigger social stamp on your show by simply making it easy for them to share the broadcast that they were on.

One great way is using multimedia elements you can make in social media along with tagging your guest. Multimedia elements can be very powerful and combine different elements that complement one another to make the post more interesting, complete or compelling. One great tool is Canva that will allow you to make images and is simple to use. Nick Yahl from insideSTL said: We use multimedia elements in our social posts whether it be pictures, videos or gifs to tease an interview and “tag” our guests so they can share our social media posts to their audience to better grow our own brand and promote the episode.

Using social media tools to help you do the work is essential in saving time. Being able to schedule posts in a timely and ongoing manner will help your social practices and also help your guest even months after the show has aired to grow your audience. Lose The Cape For Working Mom’s said: We use SmarterQueue to schedule social media posts, so a guest’s episode will show up on Twitter or Facebook a few times a quarter, and they are tagged in those posts, so that usually initiates another mention or share from the guest.

Creating a standard communication that includes pre-written social media posts with links back to the epidose that you send to your guest or the agency handling their public relations before the show is essential, it can be done in the form of an email or something you have posted on your website they can reference.

Mike White from The Projection Booth contacts his guest before the show: “I let them know how and when to connect to the show but also I let them know how to share the show via their social channels with links to where the broadcast can be heard, I keep everything in one place so it’s easy for them to navigate and reference”.

A great tool you can utilize for this practice is Click to Tweet. It allows you to write the message you want others to share

Generate the link

It also allows you to track those clicks with their “Insights” section. Remember, the easier you make it for your guest to share the show the more they will do so.

Planning & Consistency

Planning ahead of time how your guests will be able to share the broadcast is key, consistency is very important, and simple is most effective. Over time if you keep up best practices in having your guests help promote your show you will see your listens grow beyond your dreams.

So open up your BlogTalkRadio studio and reach for the stars, you may be the next radio super star!

Left and right road sign on the road

There are many different destinations that audiences can listen to your podcast. As a podcaster, you want to make sure your podcast is available everywhere your audience is. The key is that one distribution point (your podcast host) is responsible for spreading your podcast across the internet via your RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed.

Your RSS feed should be available in a few key places. Apple Podcasts is generally accepted as the destination where a majority of your audience will listen to your podcast. At least 65% of podcast listening is done through Apple. What about the population that doesn’t own an Apple device? Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Cast, Tune In are among the more popular podcast destinations for Android users. Jay “PodVader” Soderberg, the Head of Content at BlogTalkRadio/Spreaker, recommends these destinations for podcasters:

• Apple Podcasts – Not just because it’s the largest source of listens, but because other listening apps will pull the RSS feed from Apple to feed their services
• Stitcher – a destination that is both Apple and Android friendly
• Tune In – Amazon “Alexa” powered devices pull podcasts from this destination. Smart speakers are a key audience listening growth point. Spreaker has developed an Alexa skill for podcasters on the Spreaker platform.
• Aha Radio – Part of the Harmon group, Aha Radio’s app is already in car dashboards – another key area for podcast listening growth.
• Your own website – BlogTalkRadio/Spreaker provide embeddable players that Content Creators can feature on their websites and social media posts.

The key is that all of these destinations are fed from one distribution point (the podcast hosting site) so that all listens are accounted for and presented to the Content Creator.

The Trap

Falling into the trap of submitting your show to many platforms can create what is called a split feed. A split feed is when another platform imports your podcast to their servers and creates another feed with duplicate content, then syndicates this content from that platform. Often times, Content Creators will create accounts on multiple podcast hosting sites and this causes multiple distribution points. Creating a split feed will cause you to lose control of your podcast statistics and monetization efforts very quickly. When you have one podcast feed that syndicates to all of the listening destinations, you can track your listens in one place, gauge your audience more efficiently, and monetize on a more effective scale.

One area that can be confusing about split feeds are listening destinations that cache your RSS feed. The best way to describe what “caching” is: the listening destination is recording your RSS feed and then broadcasting the recorded version of your podcast to their audience. Two of the biggest listening destination that do this are Google Play and Spotify. Caching creates a split feed because you have your original feed being listened to everywhere else and the recorded feed only being listened to on Google Play or Spotify (for example). Since your recorded version is being broadcasted, there’s no way for those episodes to be updated with dynamic ads, so only the original ad included on the feed (if there was one) will be heard on those cached listening destinations. Also, since the feed is being cached, unless those listening destinations have special arrangements with your podcast hosting site, you can’t get any credit for the listens on those destinations. If growing your audience is your goal, doing so on a cached listening site will not help you in that goal.

In conclusion, to avoid splitting your feed, distribute your podcast to many different destinations from one singular distribution point. Set goals for your podcast and understand what destinations will help you achieve those goals. Once you do that, there’s nothing stopping you from becoming a successful podcaster.

Old fashioned radio disc jockey broadcasting

Having a conversation is something we do all the time, a part of everyday life. However, the power of the humble conversation as a marketing tool is being re-evaluated by marketers around the world as they are starting to see what an integral part of a communications strategy it can be – especially when it comes to broadcast media.  AdWeek stated that

“the lack of strong scripting creates a spontaneous flow, which leads listeners to repeat these conversations to their peers, their friends and their families, creating their own versions of the discussion and making new connections.”

This is particularly applicable to radio where conversations have the opportunity to last for longer periods of time compared to TV or video, meaning that in turn they become more natural and consequently draw listeners in. So, let’s take a look at conversation and how you can use it to your advantage in your content strategy!

Start by asking yourself what you would prefer to listen to, a monologue or a discussion between two people? Exactly. A dynamic back and forth between two people is inviting as an observer and this rule also applies to conversations between a broadcast presenter and their guest – it creates engaging content for listeners. Scientists have also proven how well we listen when engaged in conversation – speakers wait just an average of 200 milliseconds before responding – an incredible feat if you consider that it takes 600 milliseconds to retrieve a word from our brain,

“this means that we have to start planning our responses in the middle of a partner’s turn…We continuously predict what the rest of a sentence will contain…this work shows that even the most chronic interrupter is really listening.” 

What does this mean for your audience? It means that as a consequence they get brought into discussions too and can become as engaged and passionate as those holding the conversation, the real bonus is that it helps listeners focus on the content at hand.

The knock-on effect is that the marketing community is starting to take note of what a useful tool the conversation can be and have even coined the term ‘conversation marketing’. At a basic level, conversation marketing is a completely grassroots promotional tool, think of it as what shopkeepers do on a daily basis with their customers. Those everyday chats where they gain invaluable insight, feedback and knowledge about their customers likes, dislikes and habits. For you it means stripping back and interacting offline to gain insight into your listeners, that way you’ll be able to boost your followers online. By connecting with and understanding your audience, you will be in a much better position to create content which interests them.

In communications terms it is another form of content marketing, something which you are no doubt already doing, so it’s not about reinventing what you already do, it’s simply about refocusing it. Forbes has defined it as:

“a term that describes a feedback-oriented approach to driving customer engagement, building brand loyalty and, of course, positively impacting the bottom line.” 

Most of the techniques you employ for conversation marketing are the same you would in traditional marketing, you just use them in a different way to obtain different results, for example: e-mail marketing and surveys. What’s different is that with traditional print, TV or radio marketing you send it out into the world, often without gaining feedback – the aim of conversation marketing is to gain a response. What you should be aware of though is that it isn’t about reeling in the big numbers, it’s about being specific and targeted and reaching smaller crowds. Ian Lurie says:

“conversation marketing ensures that you know your audience, target them with an appropriate message, and then observe their response and adjust that message accordingly.” 

The idea of quality over quantity should be seen as anything but limiting, the real positive of conversation marketing is that it can be used on both a B2B and B2C level with broadcast media. Use the method to create organic conversations which in the long-term will better your show, for example use twitter to ask listeners their thoughts on a topic or invite guests and brands to be involved with your show. Obviously, this level of activity requires an investment of time but in turn it will create relationships and offer you ‘insider’ knowledge which will allow you to create content which your audience wants; bear in mind this will require you to be flexible, observing and adjusting your content plan as guided by your audience.

Conversation marketing might be a new tool in a broadcaster’s ammunition but it’s one which deserves its own space alongside the other more well known forms of content marketing. It’s something which the business big guns, such as Amazon and Google, have already got down to a T, making it extremely easy for their customers to engage with them. Having your listeners’ trust is a golden ticket in broadcasting terms and conversation marketing allows you to do this for free on so many different levels – so what are you waiting for?

It’s undeniable. Everyone who is putting themselves out there and broadcasting on a regular basis is keen to grow their audience. However, the art of gaining new listeners is not an easy one and is something which takes time and practice. How you go about drawing in those followers completely depends on what you’re talking about but there are some general rules which always help pique the interest of potential listeners. Make sure you’re not missing a trick by following these 5 rules!

1. Promotion

The first and what might seem almost too obvious tactic, is promotion. Don’t be scared off by this word though, promotion doesn’t necessarily mean financial investment, however it will require an investment of your time. Most of you will already have the tools at hand to blow your own proverbial trumpet but you need to make sure you’re using them to the best of your/their ability! Leveraging the social media platforms you are already using will increase your online presence and instantly allow you to reach new listeners – you should encourage any guests to do the same via their channels.

Forbes.com advises asking for shares to get the word out and get new followers asap ‘make this happen faster by deliberately asking for shares and recommendations early on; you can do this on air or off air, depending on your preferences.’

But it doesn’t just need to be about social, use all your available marketing channels – create a newsletter, e-mail all your contacts, add a show link to your e-mail signature and make sure you’re blogging! The more you put out there the better, there are loads of inventive ways to get heard, so, get creative and start to see your numbers creep up!

2. Mind your language!

As in, make sure you’re using the right sort of language to get listeners interested and that it’s as easy as possible to find your show online. Stop potential listeners from scrolling on by writing a punchy description for your show. Getting that description just right is crucial in getting followers for your show, take time to create captivating notes which compel people to start listening immediately.

Language is also fundamental on a more techie level, the vocabulary you use will be picked up by search engines, meaning you should be as descriptive and detailed as possible on your host page and be selective in the words you use. The keywords you use to describe your episode are crucial in helping potential listeners find you!

Social Caffeine suggests: ‘Ask yourself: What might people search for when they need the information I’m sharing? Make a list of words and phrases, then run them through Google’s keyword tool to refine them to perfection.’

3. Target your audience

A golden rule for any company is to interact with potential customers. Find groups, forums and communities, on and offline which are interested in your subject matter and target them. Interact with them, handing out business cards in person and always including a link to your show after your name when posting online.

4. Work with the ‘enemy’!

Always be one step ahead of the competition by working alongside them. Try listening to other podcasts and work out what makes them appealing to audiences, look into what other hosts are talking about and make sure you aren’t covering their old ground – your show should always be fresh. Also, it’s vital that you are interacting with fellow show hosts and your fellow community as you can work together to give each other a leg-up. Podcast Motor says ‘by collaborating with your friends, being guests on each other’s shows, and recommending specific episodes to your respective audience, both of you will benefit from an increase in listeners.’

5. Content is the name of the game

Although, no show is worth promoting if the content isn’t up to scratch. You need to make sure yours is ticking all the boxes, it should always be interesting and informative, audiences should feel like they are learning without being preached to. Tyler Basu of Entrepreneur.com says ‘well-researched and thoughtfully written content helps your target audience – at no cost to them.’

Making sure you are ticking all these boxes isn’t instant and will take time but in the long run it will put you on track to securing you a dedicated following of listeners!

The interview format is here to stay. Whether it’s a talk show, magazine profile or radio broadcast they attract listeners and viewers alike. Why? Huffington Post believes ‘we’ll always be drawn to Q&As about other people’s lives’ and Cultured Vultures confirms this ‘there is something to be said for being offered an insight into the mind of a well-known individual’.

Celebrity or not, we have an innate curiosity about other people’s lives and that’s the beauty of a great interview. On the surface it seems a simple enough format but a dynamic back and forth is much harder than it appears. If you’re not already on the interview bandwagon, you should think about getting them into your content plan, our ‘How to’ guide will answer your burning questions and put you on track to hosting great interviews!

How to: find those guests

Finding a great guest is the first hurdle to tackle but before you start cold-calling people you need to think about some important questions: who is my audience? what do they want to know? what will this guest bring to my show? Basically, you need to have a specific purpose for speaking to someone, any guest you invite on your show should enrich the themes you cover. A great start is to discover who the experts in the field you want to cover are, an advanced search on Amazon can help identify who has recently published a study in your field of choice – search by topic, then adjust the search for relevance and publication date.

The next step once you have honed in on a guest to is to imagine them as a ‘story’, thinking about the narrative you could create if they were on your show and how you would tell it to your audience. Research them and have an idea of where you want the discussion to go, drawing up a list of potential questions.

How to: secure guests  

Now, the important bit – how to get that person to agree to taking part! Obviously, the more established your show, the easier it is to secure guests but don’t lose hope if you’re just starting out! The best way is to use your existing network both online and offline. Use social media to make connections or contact people who might be able to help, Twitter and LinkedIn are both great ways to reach out to potential interviewees and referrals from your contacts can make you and your podcast credible. But don’t forget about in person networking! Go to events, network and meet new people. Last but not least, if your guest is well-known, find out whether they have an agent, publisher or representative. Once you have direct contact with the desired guest you will be on your way to securing them.

It’s also worth noting that your show will always be researched by potential guests Tyler Basu states that guests will research shows to see what they’re about – so, make sure you look impressive online!

How to: be a good interviewer

There are a few little tricks you should have up your sleeve if you want to make the interview really stand out. The first golden rule (which might seem painfully obvious) is to listen. Easier said than done. Listening well means being prepared to go with the flow – listen to the responses and let your interviewee lead you…a little! Secondly, research your guest’s interview style – have they ever been interviewed before? Understanding how they respond to questions will help you be more prepared. Thirdly, discuss uncovered territory! Your show will always be more interesting if you can gain an exclusive or discuss topics which the interviewee hasn’t covered before – use your power as host to lead your guest in those directions. Finally, the best interviews are where listeners can sense how relaxed guests are, make them feel welcome, potentially preparing them before the interview so they have an idea of topics – you want them to be as natural as possible!

Whether your show is an established talk show or you’re interested in hosting a one-off interview – dynamic dialogue between two people will always add spark to your show. Furthermore, securing an interesting guest will give power and weight to your podcast.

Now you have the guide to getting started, get out there and get interviewing!

Coffee With Kenobi Host and Co-creator, Dan Z says, “We are thrilled to bring members of our Coffee With Kenobi family network to BlogTalkRadio. If you love analysis and Star Wars conversation, this is the podcast you’re looking for!” 

BlogTalkRadio’s Head of Content Jay “PodVader” Soderberg is excited to welcome the Star Wars themed podcasts. “If you can’t tell by my nickname, I have a soft spot for Star Wars content. Dan’s shows bring an intellectual point of view to the stories,” he says.

Along with the title show, The Coffee With Kenobi Network features 4 other programs including Comics With Kenobi, Rebel Reactions, Lattes With Leia and Legends Library. May the Force be with you as you tune in.

Fans can subscribe to podcasts on the Coffee With Kenobi page, website or the individual episodes on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, Aha Radio or Spreaker.com.

About Host and Co-creator of Coffee With Kenobi

Dan Zehr (Host; Senior Writer; Marketing and Media Manager)

As the host of Coffee With Kenobi, Dan Z facilitates discussion that analyzes the Star Wars saga from a place of intelligence and humor. He is a lifelong Star Wars fan and teacher of Literature and Writing at the High School level. He is also a Feature Blog Contributor for Star Wars.com, Key Note speaker, an occasional contributor to Star Wars Insider, and was the Rebel teacher featured in Target’s Rogue One Share The Force campaign.  

About BlogTalkRadio

BlogTalkRadio helps podcasters thrive and profit from their content. Founded in 2006, the platform is a holistic toolkit that helps podcasters host, distribute, measure, and monetize their podcasts. Our monetization technologies include a point-and-click ad insertion tool that helps shows of all sizes offer their audio inventory to ad buyers.