| Just like the fertiliser a gardener uses on their gardens, think about some organic means of growing your audience. Stats on email open rates https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-marketing-benchmarks/#:~:text=Email%20open%20rate%20is%20the,average%20open%20rate%20of%2018.0%25 Databox stats on FB click-through rates https://databox.com/average-facebook-ctr#:~:text=According%20to%20a%202017%20Facebook,seeing%20the%20highest%20at%201.61%25 Forbes Article on Word Of Mouth Marketing https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/?sh=74bbb0954a8c Transcript You’ve just spent a couple of hours perfecting the graphic and promo blurb for your next podcast episode, but could your time have been better spent? I’m Louise Poole and I’m Andy Le Roy, and we’re giving you the insights that elevate you as the expert in your field Elevating Experts! Louise: I know the feeling all too well. We’ve got an episode in the can, and we need to make something visual to catch our audience’s eye. Andy: And when you’re the podcast host, editor and promoter, you can loose a lot of time switching hats and using skills that a larger company would be able to pay somebody to do. Louise: Take Gerrie as an example. Gerrie hosts a gardening podcast and speaks to a range of interesting guests every fortnight. Andy: They source the talent, interview them and cut the interview together for their show and once all that’s done, Gerrie creates a graphic to publish and promote their program. Louise: And how does Gerrie promote their show, Andy? Andy: Great questions, Louise! Gerrie has a mailing list of subscribers to the program they send the alert to and post a link to the new episode on Facebook. Louise: So, hang on… how people are on Gerrie’s email list? Andy: Gerrie is proud to report they have 227 email addresses they email to every fortnight, and a hundred-odd Facebook followers. Louise: So, out of those 227 emails, how many people actually hit play on Gerrie’s episodes? Andy: Data available from Campaign Monitor suggest the average open rate for messages sent to subscribers is around 18 per cent. Louise: Right. So Gerrie’s efforts are netting them about 40 listens, then? Andy: Not exactly. The data goes on to say the average click-through rate is estimated to be around 2.6%. Louise: Oh… that’s only about six listeners for Gerrie’s episode from her email strategy. Andy: And if we take a look at average click through rates for Facebook ads, that’s about 0.9%. Louise: That’s for paid advertising, but Gerrie had about a hundred followers, didn’t they? Andy: Yes, but even if we use a generous figure of 20% click-through from their Facebook followers, that only adds another twenty listeners for the episode. Louise: That two hours spent on the graphic and promotional blurb is starting to feel a little bit unnecessary. This is why it’s so important to understand what’s happening behind the data available to you. Andy: Yes, so let’s run through a few things Gerrie can do to make better use of their resources, including the all important time factor! Louise: If Gerrie isn’t already doing this, they need to start right now… what am I going to suggest, Andy? Andy: Make a template for the podcast graphic. Louise: Bingo. While it’s really lovely to have a graphic for each episode that reinforces the theme, it’s going to be a lot quicker for Gerrie to make a good graphic for their show that can be slightly altered with details of each new episode. Andy: Now that Gerrie can churn out an episode graphic in a quarter of the time, they’ve got more time to think about how to grow their audience. Louise: Just like the fertiliser their listeners will be using on their gardens, Gerry needs to think about some organic means of growing their listenership. Andy: Paid advertising is all god and well, but time and again, what comes out as the best recommendation for anything you’re trying to sell? Louise: Word of mouth. Andy: Correct. People trust referrals made by someone they know. And what’s a group of people who know each other also known as? Louise: A community. Which is why Gerrie needs to start engaging on social media to create an organic following. But be warned: people can spot a fake a mile away. Andy: So it’s really important Gerrie starts finding ways to increase their reach with regular, genuine interaction. Louise: I feel like Gerrie’s road isn’t a particularly hard one, so let’s recap on some simple tips they can use to really get things going. Andy: First up, have a look at whatever data is available to you and analyse what’s going on behind the scenes. Louise: Create some shortcuts for yourself to make sure you can put your energy into growing your audience instead of promoting it to the same people every time. Andy: Think about how different social media platforms might be able to boost your following. Louise: And make sure you’re talking to your audience, not at them. Andy: Genuine engagement is key. Louise: If you’ve had some success in this area, let us know! Andy: We can also give you a hand with one of our tailored solutions, so get in touch! OUTRO Elevating Experts with Welcome Change Media, giving you the insights that elevate you as an expert in your field. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Check our show notes and website for more information on today’s topic. Hit subscribe and share with your friends and colleagues so we can all rise together. For a tailored solution to help with your branding goals, contact us today via welcomechangemedia.com.au Elevating Experts is a Welcome Change Media Production. |
