Category: Podcasts

Hosting a podcast is super rewarding, but it can also be hard work. 

Whether you’re talking directly to the audience yourself or interviewing industry experts, your listeners’ experience should always come first. Most of our clients’ podcasts (and ours) are in an interview format, which relies on the host to hold an engaging and informative conversation. 

In this blog we’re going to share our five steps to hosting a great interview. 

Step 1 – Prepare yourself 

Before you even start thinking about hitting ‘record’, you need to find the right people to interview. Consider whether your guests will add value to your audience, whether they’re going to be engaging on tape and if they support the goals of your podcast. Once you’ve found the right fit, taking the time to research their background will set you up for success before you reach out. 

It’s also worth taking the time to research what your prospective guests do. Even if you ask them to explain things for your audience, it’s often obvious if you don’t have a clue, and you want to come across as confident and reliable to your listeners. Having that understanding will also allow you to ask more insightful questions that delve deep into their specific expertise. 

Step 2 – Pitch the Podcast

To get them on board, you should pitch the mission of your podcast and explain what you hope you’ll each get out of it. Are you offering them experience and exposure, or the opportunity to network with some of your previous guests? Perhaps they would benefit from being on the radar of your audience. 

Let them know what you’d like to talk to them about. Preparing at least a few rough questions will also help you to strike up a conversation and build a rapport with your guests. Have they just published a really interesting article that’s relevant to your niche? Are they an industry leader in a specific skill that you’d like to share with listeners? Outlining why you think they’re a good fit makes them more likely to agree with you.

Step 3 – Prepare the guest

Once somebody has agreed to come on the podcast, it’s helpful to have a quick introductory call with them. This allows you to gauge how chatty they are, whether or not you have a good dynamic and how much prompting they’re likely to need. This also gives you the opportunity to get to know each other a little better off the record, which is a good way to put them at ease before the big day. 

It’s also helpful to chat to them about any structure you’ve prepared for the episode and find out if there’s anything they want to share with the audience. Have they just published a book that they want to talk about? Are they launching their own newsletter that they’d like your audience to subscribe to? If you’re both on the same page about what’s going to be said, you’re far more likely to have a smooth and enjoyable conversation where they’re not trying to shoehorn in their own promotion. 

Step 4 – Always start with a clear introduction

When it comes to recording, we find it’s best to count the guest in while you’re already recording, and edit out any smalltalk at the beginning of the recording. We also recommend using a clear introduction format. This can be as long or as short as you want, but here’s a rough example: 

“Hello and welcome to episode 1 of the Example podcast! 

I’m your host, Jane Doe, and I’m joined today by my Lovely Guest, who is the Job Title at Company Name Here. 

In this episode we get into all kinds of fun topics like X, Y and Z, including this Secret Snippet that’s a highlight of the show. 

Lovely Guest, welcome to the podcast! 

(let them respond here)

It’s great to have you! So, let’s jump in. Our first question is…”

Doing this will give your guest time to mentally prepare, as well as building a sense of security by introducing them using facts about their professional life. It also gives the podcast a nice structure, which people will come to recognise as a hallmark of your show. 

Step 5 – Guide the conversation 

Steering the interview is a skill that takes time and patience to develop. Some guests will have more than enough to say, while others won’t be very forthcoming at all. It’s up to you to figure out how to get the best from each guest. If a guest isn’t going into much detail, asking some follow-up questions will help you get all the important details. 

It’s also a good idea to learn how to listen. Active listening, while great in conversations, can come across as talking over your guest when it’s recorded. Even just noises like ‘yeah’ or ‘m-hm’ will disrupt the guest’s flow and spoil the experience for your listeners. Good listening means staying silent and giving your guests the space to share their knowledge. 

Still have questions? To find out more about hosting your podcast, download our Ultimate Guide to Starting a Recruitment Podcast eBook, or get in touch on hello@searchstack.co.uk. 

We’ve been noticing a recent trend going on with some of the biggest business podcasts out there at the moment, and we’re all for them.

We’re not quite sure if they have an official name but we’re gonna go ahead and call them ‘bitesize’ episodes.

These short-form podcast episodes will usually either highlight an upcoming episode with the hosts commentary, bring back some soundbite from an older episode, or offer a shorter episode around perhaps a topic that doesn’t need a full episode.

So usually they’re not a unique episode, but more a snippet of an existing episode.

So why would I bitesize an episode and put it out?

Well think of these little guys as teasers or a taste of an episode, it’s something you can quickly listen to and it may inspire you to then listen to the full thing OR get excited about the upcoming episode.

Really it acts as a neat little promo for your episodes and from what we’ve seen it can actually help in a couple of ways.

1. It’s helping podcast keep a consistent timetable of content. In turn this is essentially hacking the podcast platform algorithms and getting these channels sitting on top of the rankings.
2. It’s introducing and bringing attention to episodes in a new way and attracting more listeners to episodes.
3. It gives you some time to reflect on a poignant part of the podcast and give your honest thoughts.
4. It potentially builds anticipation for an upcoming podcast that you want to build some hype for.
5. It gives you the ability to give your sponsor some extra promotion, or discuss an upcoming campaign.
6. Discuss a smaller topic that won’t go on for 30+ mins with your host.
7. Bring back some fantastic nugget of info from an evergreen but older podcast episode.

I think TikTok has shown us that smaller accessible pieces of content are the direction the consumer generation is going. And I think these little bitesize snippets perfectly encapsulate that.

Are you able to distill one of your episodes into the best 6 minutes to entice a listener to download your episode?

Who’s doing this then?

Diary of a CEO

Steven calls his ‘Moment’s’ and they run for about 15 minutes.

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Business Anchors

Called ‘Knowlton Nuggets’ and they bring back a nugget of info from one of their older clips.

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The High-Performance Podcast

They call theirs BITESIZE and they run for about 5 minutes.

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Jocko Podcast

Branded as ‘Underground’ snippets, a more conversational but short-form episode that run in tandem with their podcast.

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So is it working?

So we had a quick DM convo with to Dan Knowlton cofounder of Knowlton & the Business Anchors podcast about the benefits of doing something like their nuggets. He had this to say:

“They’re doing really well, they get around 60% of a full show’s downloads but have helped us rank more frequently in the downloads charts. December was our biggest month ever for downloads and our ‘nuggets’ were the main thing we changed.”

So it’s potentially got some fantastic benefits such as the growth of your podcast for not very much work involved.

Great, but how do I do these snippets?

Well, it’s super simple, treat it like any other podcast. You’ll probably get your editor to find a very good soundbite from the episode (or multiple) and splice them together.

Bonus points for being authentic with this and telling a story, as this will help with hooking people in.

It may help if you add in a short intro from yourself, perhaps 30 seconds of you speaking about your experience with the guest and what listeners will get out of the episode.

Post it as you would an episode and perhaps post on a bit of a down day (Weekend / Monday).

Maybe brand it as something completely different, allowing the listener to understand which is a bitesize episode and which is a full episode.

If you’re looking to take your Podcast to the next level then get in touch. We’ve helped businesses in the B2B space maximise the potential of their podcast. Partner with us and do it right.

Did you know there are currently over 2 million podcasts andover 48 million episodes?

With nearly 6 in 10 people consuming podcasts, the demand for this form of content is likely to continue to grow through 2022 and beyond.

So why does your recruitment business need a podcast in 2022?

1. Constant Content

You’re busy, we’re all busy. But we all know that content marketing is vitally important for brand awareness and getting eyes on your business.

Podcasts can help you create consistent content, from one podcast you can easily create 3 videos, 2 sliders and 1 blog! That’s 7 pieces of high value content, created from 1 or 2 hours of your time.

Now if you do this weekly then suddenly your LinkedIn feed goes from a job post every now and then, to a constant feed of digestible engaging content for your audience to consume. Helping you stand out from your competitors.

2. Business Development

Get rid of those cold opens for clients you’d love to land. Approaching someone to join you on your podcast and leaning on their expert knowledge is going to get you on the right foot and open the door to building rapport. 

This may be the first time for many to even do something like this. Why not invite them onto your podcast to find out more about their story?

How did they get to where they are today?

What they see as the future for your niche?

The perfect ice breaker, this not only helps you stand out on your approach but will help build rapport with your potential client.

3. Be seen as experts

Imagine 6 months down the line your website’s podcast page is packed full of interviews with some of the biggest names in your industry, discussing the hottest topics in your market.

You’ve built a web of content that puts your company deep into the industries that you recruit in giving your business the unique position of standing out as a thought leader and go-to resource for the latest news.

With this kind of consistent effort coupled with market-leading guests you will have on your podcast, you set your business up to be on the minds of your ideal clients and candidates as they seek to keep their market knowledge relevant.

I think recruitment agencies are in a unique position as they sit in the middle of their industry, are able to talk to whomever they wish and get a diverse range of guests, and cover a wide range of topics.

4. Build an engaged audience

This point goes back to creating constant content.

Being consistent with your content creation is so important to continue to grow your personal and company brand.

BUT you also have the ability to utilise your guest’s networks, sharing clips, sliders and blogs with your guests is the perfect way to utilise their networks and get them tuning into your podcast.

New eyes, mean new clients or candidates, which can only be good for business!

5. Stay at the forefront of your industry

It’s far too easy to feel like you’re always one step behind, but a the recruiter’s it’s important you stay on the bleeding edge of the market. That’s where Podcast guests can help…

When you’re consistently being challenged by a new guest, learning firsthand the latest market shifts from the very people pushing those boundaries it allows to be part of that growth.

You’ll test and stretch your preconceived notions every week by talking to a diverse range of guests with stimulating topics about your industry, which will help grow you as a leader and continue to improve your business intelligence.

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If you’re thinking about starting a project in 2022 then get in touch. We help businesses hit the ground running by advising and supporting their Podcast efforts.

Are you stretching your #Podcast episodes?

You’ve got a podcast OR you’re thinking about doing one? Great!! 🙌

Podcasts are amazing and we’ve seen them transform clients’ marketing strategies and blast their reach into orbit. 🚀

BUT,

They stretch that content like a goddam Stretch Armstrong… 💪

And one of the best ways to get more out of each and every episode is by creating social media content.

Podcasts can be an unbelievable marketing tool for your business. But if you’re only putting out episodes then you’re losing out on the additional benefits that come from stretching that content.

Here are 3 pieces of social content you can create with each podcast episode.

Clips

1-2 minute subtitled clips from your podcast episode. Share some of the biggest soundbites from your episode and drum up interest in the podcast.

Sliders

Share tips, actionable insights and more with our swipeable graphic template. This gives our client a great mix of media to promote each episode.

Guest Graphics

Build anticipation for your podcast by sharing a guest graphic the day of, or before the podcast is released.

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Spend your time talking to great guests, not editing. Get in touch with our team to discuss how we can help support you with your podcast venture.