How to Maximize Podcast ROI for your Company

Are you considering creating an internal communications podcast for your enterprise? Or maybe you’ve already started one and are looking for ways to improve it? 

In business and in life, you often get what you put in. It’s always nice to know that your efforts are providing you with the desired results. The worst thing would be to put a lot of work into starting up your podcast, and not be able to see the benefits of it. 

If you’re trying to determine how to maximize podcast ROI for your internal communications podcast, we’ve put together some tips to help you out. 

In this post, we’ll address how to define podcast ROI, how it’s measured, and some tips on how to maximize it for your enterprise podcast. 

What is podcast ROI?

Before we delve deeper into how to maximize podcast ROI, let’s first address what it is and how you can measure it. 

Similar to regular ROI (return on investment) in business, podcast ROI is the return on investment you get for your efforts in creating your podcast. Depending on the company or individual’s goal, this will often translate into a steady listener base, or even into sales figures. 

How do you measure podcast ROI?

Since the podcasting medium is different than youtube videos or social media posts, ROI will have slightly different measurements and goals. This said, the essence is the same: are you getting out of it, what you’re putting into it? 

Here are some steps to measure your podcast ROI:

Determine your goal

The first step in measuring a podcast’s ROI — or any type, for that matter — is to determine your goal. 

It is easier to figure out whether something is working or not with a specific goal. What exactly would you like to achieve through your podcast? 

With a private internal communications podcast, you may not be trying to acquire sales on a product or service but instead, make use of the podcast format to improve your communications, get employees more involved, unify your remote workers, and improve the company culture. 

Determine what you would like to track or measure

Give yourself something trackable to measure and a timeframe to measure it. It’s important to note that podcasts often take longer to build a consistent audience, so give yourself some time to see changes. Time markers of three to six-month blocks are suitable to see podcast growth. 

Trying to compare your podcast listenership growth to followers on a Facebook or Instagram page is like comparing apples to oranges, so don’t get discouraged if it’s not growing as quickly as another channel. If you’re uploading quality content consistently, you’ll likely see some growth even in the first month. 

While your goal may be to improve communications and your company’s internal culture, find something quantifiable to track this. For example, you can track the number of subscriptions, listens and downloads per episode, as well as the average listening time. 

These will all help you to determine the engagement levels of your employees, short of asking them.   

ROI Podcast tips

Now that we’ve defined podcast ROI and some ways to measure it, here are some tips to help you maximize the return on investment for your enterprise podcast:   

Create quality content 

This may seem self-explanatory, but good content works. 

Especially in the digital age where information is at the tips of our fingertips, quality content is crucial. That’s why many businesses are investing so much to produce the high-quality content their target audience will want to read, listen to, and pay for. 

While the goal of your podcast is to improve the communications within your enterprise, the principle of quality content remains the same – your content should provide value. 

Your employees have work to do, so they won’t have time to waste if the podcast isn’t providing any value to their workday or work life. Good content is original, focused, and provides a solution to a need. The need may be information or education about current events, or it may include entertainment around the more stressful times of the year. 

Before you begin, draft up some enterprise podcast episode ideas to integrate into your schedule. Give each episode a clear purpose and structure. Is it a fun holiday-themed episode, or a tutorial? Do you have guest speakers? Address all the necessary information, like company updates or news first, then build around that. 

Listen to your audience

Wait, shouldn’t your audience listen to you? Yes, but only if you give them what they want to hear. Your employees have busy lives, and if the content isn’t relevant or interesting, they likely won’t tune in. 

We all like to feel heard and included. Give your employees a voice and ask which episodes they like the best. Have regular conversations with your employees off the air, but also invite staff on the air so you can learn about the day-to-day operations of each department. This is a great way to foster a supportive community and prevent miscommunications between departments.  

Let your employees be the audience that builds and directs the enterprise podcast culture while also maintaining the original purpose, which is to update, stay connected and keep each department informed. A podcast may be a brand-new medium, so, while your employees may not know exactly what they want to hear if you ask them, your data and metrics will tell you. 

By listening and adapting, you can make sure that you are producing content that is giving you the results you want so no one’s time is wasted. 

Use a podcast manager to help you track growth  

One of the best ways to maximize podcast ROI is to use a platform that allows you to track your podcast growth. A podcast manager like PodBean can assist you in the podcast process from creation to analytics tracking. 

Podbean allows you to track various measurements like individual listener analysis, so you can determine what’s working for your podcast and what you can improve on. Our hosting platform provides detailed analytics and statistics with in-depth but easy-to-follow charts so you can better understand and improve your podcast ROI. 

Use your podcast as a podcast 

A podcast is a unique medium that gives you uninterrupted time in a listener’s ear. To maximize podcast ROI and get the most benefits out of it as possible, use your podcast as a podcast, not as something else. 

Your company podcast is not an Instagram page, a TikTok account or a YouTube channel. In the corporate setting, it’s not a message board or an email, so, while you can have a script, you shouldn’t sound like you’re just reading facts off a paper. 

Make it conversational and personal. It’s a great opportunity to mention inside jokes or make a shoutout to the staffroom hero who always prepares the best fresh coffee in the morning. To get maximize the podcasting medium, embrace it.  

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a way to get the most out of your internal communications podcast, try PodBean. 

At PodBean, we’ve created a fully-integrated platform solution to help you develop your enterprise podcast and get the most out of the medium. 

Click here to start your free trial today.