How to Promote a Podcast: Tactics to Stand Out in B2B

B2B podcasts are enjoying a well-deserved moment in the sun, and we are here for it. 🌞 Marketers have discovered the efficacy, and efficiency, of building a content flywheel upon long-form video and podcasts.

Podcasts are the best way, explains Rachel Elsts Downey, Founder and CEO of Share Your Genius, to create authentic content that people connect with.

“There’s something very innate to us as human beings that loves to hear people engage in conversation and rhetoric, and podcasts just naturally do that,” says Rachel. “I think that’s why we’re seeing this moment happen.”

But simply creating a podcast isn't enough. How sad would it be if you put all that effort into your first few episodes and no one knew about it? In this guide, we'll explore nine of our favorite strategies for promoting your podcast.

Starting a B2B podcast is an accomplishment worth celebrating. 🥂 And after a quick toast, the work to promote it begins.

B2B marketers are under more pressure than ever to prove value and ROI. Effective podcast promotion is the linchpin to unlocking your podcast’s full potential. To cut through your industry's noise and capture attention, you'll need a strategic approach that goes beyond “post and hope.”

Consider yourself a private eye on a mission to uncover your audience’s burning questions and toughest challenges. Sleuthing around online—a.k.a. social listening—helps you come up with angles and topics that hit the bullseye every time.

Top tips:

• Track industry conversations: Use tools like Hootsuite or Brandwatch to follow discussions in your niche. These tools scrape and summarize trending topics instead of relying solely on your personal digging (you’re only one marketer, after all).
• Engage with comments: We get it, you’re sneaky—but you don’t have to be a silent observer. Engage with your audience in comment sections and forums to gain insights and build relationships.
• Identify influencers: Look for thought leaders within your industry. What are they talking about? Any chance you can score them as a guest on your podcast?

With ears on the ground via social listening, you’ll keep your podcast content compelling and hyper relevant.

Niching down is the new mass appeal. If your podcast focuses on a narrow niche, cool—now make sure you’re involved in all the communities around that niche.

Top tips:

• Participate in forums and groups: Actively engage in forums, subreddits, and Facebook groups. Offer insights and share your new episodes, if allowed. (Some of these communities have strict non-promotion rules, which you’ll need to follow!)
• Recruit listeners as ambassadors: It’s as simple as asking listeners to spread the word about your podcast with their networks.
• Host community meetups: Organize virtual or in-person meetups for community members, especially if your podcast aims to educate your audience. Of course, you already know we recommend repurposing any events you plan into promotional content.

By embedding your podcast within a passionate niche community, you can amplify your reach organically and build trust with your listeners.

If your podcast is hard to find, it won't matter how brilliant the content is. Accessibility across platforms is table stakes for a successful podcast. Plus, you put the hard work into creating great content—making it available to the widest audience possible just makes sense.

Top tips:

• Distribute widely: Syndicate your podcast on major podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Most podcast hosting platforms offer easy distribution to multiple directories.
• Transcribe episodes: Publish transcripts for each episode to improve accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO). Hint: You can auto-generate these with AI.
• Optimize for mobile listeners: Use a mobile-friendly player on your site and make sure your podcast pages load quickly to cater to on-the-go podcast listeners.

Making your podcast accessible on all podcast directories removes barriers and invites a wider podcast audience to engage with your content.

Ever smelled something totally delicious and suddenly realized you’re starving? Teasers and recaps are like the savory aroma that lures diners into a restaurant. They reveal just enough to pique your audience’s interest in content they didn’t know they were hungry for.

Top tips:

• Create video snippets: Clip engaging video snippets from your episodes and share them on social media platforms or as YouTube videos.
• Email recaps: Send out episode recaps to your email list with highlights and key takeaways. Include links to the full episode to drive listens.
• Create audiograms: Don’t have a video podcast? Audiograms combine soundbites and engaging visuals, perfect for sharing on platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn.

Creating all this supplemental content doesn’t have to take days. And, in fact, the quicker you get it out, the more effective it’ll be at promoting your new podcast episode.

Goldcast Content Lab helps you repurpose your podcast into video clips, social media posts, show notes, email copy, and more—and you can get it done in minutes, not days.

Create your free Content Lab account today to upload and repurpose up to an hour of audio or video per month.

Once you’ve established an audience, you’ll discover that there’s a segment, lurking out there, of people who sporadically listen to your podcast but haven’t subscribed.

Your goal is to convert them to subscribers so they don’t miss an episode. Offering exclusive content is an easy way to do just that.

Top tips:

• Bonus content and behind-the-scenes: Create content accessible only to subscribers, like deeper dives into topics or blooper reels.
• Member-only webinars: Offer exclusive events featuring your hosts or special guests, providing further exploration of popular podcast topics. (These can include giveaways! 😉)
• Early access perks: Give your subscribers early access to episodes before they go live to the general public.

Exclusive content not only helps build your subscriber list, it also creates more hype around every new episode.

An interactive podcast may not be right for everyone, but this unique angle can make your show stand out big time. If you already have an engaged listener base, consider experimenting with some of these engagement tactics.

Top tips:

• Live Q&A sessions: Host live episodes where listeners can ask questions in real-time, making them feel part of the conversation.
• Polls and surveys: Use polls during or after episodes to gather audience input and shape future content. It can be as simple as “Would you try X strategy we just discussed? Yes or no?”

Interactive elements give listeners a stake in your show’s direction and helps hold their attention longer.

In your quest to reach as much of your target audience as possible with your podcast, don’t discount existing networks. Spaces where you already have visibility and a reputation are great starting points for podcast marketing.

Top tips:

• Personalize your shares: Encourage team members and podcast guests to share episodes on their personal accounts with personalized messages to increase authenticity.
• Create shareable graphics: Design graphics with quotes or stats from episodes, making them easy to share.
• Engage with followers: Actively respond to comments and messages related to your podcast to build community and show appreciation.

Tapping into guest and brand networks is a great way to reach new audiences without spending a dime on ads.

Now that B2B podcasts are having their moment, it’s time to ditch the scarcity mindset. There’s plenty of audience engagement to go around, and plenty of unique value you can share with listeners.

Cross-promoting with other folks in your scene is a great way to extend your podcast’s reach—and jumpstart your reputation with a little social proof.

Top tips:

• Guest appearances: Appear on other podcasts and invite hosts to yours. This cross-promotion exposes both audiences to new voices (in other words, win-win).
• Collaborate on series: Team up with complementary podcasts to co-create special series. This is a great way to cross borders and generate excellent on-demand content.
• Join a podcast network: Explore joining a network of podcasts with similar audiences or topics to tap into wider reach.

The right cross-promotion tactics stretch your podcast's ecosystem beyond your core audience.

We said you can expand your reach without spending a dime—not that you should. Once you’ve proven your podcast’s viability, spending on ads is a smart way to build upon that traction.

Again, “post and hope” is out; precision is in. Make sure every dollar counts by driving tangible action with your ads.

Top tips:

• Targeted social media ads: Use platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or even TikTok to run highly targeted ads aimed at your ideal listener persona.
• Use retargeting campaigns: Retarget people who have interacted with your content previously but haven’t subscribed, and send them to a landing page where they can subscribe.
• Incorporate clear CTAs: Make sure your ads include a strong call to action. Some ideas: subscribe, listen to the latest episode, visit your podcast website or YouTube channel, follow your social media channels.

The right ad strategies can get your podcast in front of potential listeners who’ll truly appreciate it, and turn casual listeners into subscribers.

Despite your best promotional efforts, your podcast might just not be gaining traction. Check for these common issues.

Your content may be brilliant, but if it's not reaching the right ears, it's like playing jazz to a death metal crowd.

Questions to ask:

• Who is my ideal listener, and does my current content align with their interests?
• What do my analytics say about the demographics of those who are listening versus those I believe should be listening?
• How can I adjust my podcast marketing strategy to better reach and engage my target audience?

The good news is, you can recalibrate your strategy to ensure your content resonates with the right listeners.

Your content might be high quality, but if it echoes what's already out there, listeners might simply be choosing other options.

Questions to ask:

• What unique perspectives or expertise can my podcast offer that others don't?
• How can I infuse my personality or unique brand voice?
• What themes are trending in my industry, and what hot takes can I present?

Having a unique angle that listeners can't find anywhere else will help you build a loyal listener base over time.

Listeners need a compelling reason to hit play. If the value of your episodes is unclear, that motivation may be lacking.

Questions to ask:

• What problems am I solving for my listeners with each episode?
• Are there tangible takeaways that I am clearly communicating in my episode descriptions and promotional content?

By ensuring each episode delivers clear value, you can encourage new listeners to invest their time with you.

Patience, young grasshopper. Podcasting success takes time and persistence. Even the best podcasts often take six months to a year or more to really take off.

Questions to ask:

• What metrics am I using to measure success, and are these metrics appropriate for my podcast's current stage?
• Have I given enough time to gather meaningful data before making changes?
• Am I allowing time for organic growth and audience development?

By evaluating these questions, you can avoid the trap of premature measurement and make informed decisions grounded in data. This may involve some expectation setting and educating leadership on the timeline for ROI.

Make no mistake: sound quality can make or break your listener's experience. It doesn’t mean you have to break the bank of a custom recording studio, but low production value can definitely turn off potential listeners.

Questions to ask:

• Do I receive feedback regarding my podcast's audio quality or production?
• Am I using equipment that meets industry standards for sound quality?
• Have I explored editing tools or services that can enhance my audio output?

Investing in quality equipment and podcast editing software can significantly enhance your podcast, providing a professional sound that keeps listeners coming back for more.

➡️ In the end, diagnosing why a podcast isn't thriving involves a bit of sleuthing and a willingness to adapt. By identifying and addressing these common pitfalls, you can pivot and turn those woes into wins. Keep experimenting, keep refining, and remember—every great podcast started with zero downloads.

Fired up about starting and promoting your B2B podcast? So are we. 🔥

With Goldcast, you can transform your podcasts into an audience-building, multimodal content-generating machine. That means:

🎙️ Recording and hosting podcasts: Goldcast Recording Studio lets you do it all in one place.

📝 Repurposing podcast episodes: Create multichannel content from your audio and videos.

💻 Repurposing event videos into podcasts: Running B2B events? You might already be sitting on a podcast.

Create your Goldcast Content Lab account to try everything for free, or let us show you around by scheduling a free demo today—no strings attached.