(3 P’s to stop you committing a criminal offence)
True crime has been the big hit of podcasting. According to criminologists, we love hearing about gory murders because we can feel fear, without experiencing real danger or trauma.
Storytellers would see it slightly differently. A crime has a classic story arc – a beginning, middle and an end, with some dramatic twists and red herrings thrown in for good measure.
And there’s a lot you can learn from both the crime and story experts when it comes to your B2B podcast.
If you don’t, you could be in danger of committing a podcast crime!
So, here are 3 things to consider when putting a podcast together – conveniently they all begin with P.
Production -The temptation with podcasts is to assume you just need to find a couple of people in the business to chat about the latest industry development and all will be good. Sadly, it won’t.
The best podcasts are well produced. By that I mean, researched to find a killer story and then executed brilliantly.
One approach is to think about your audience. What are their fears? Can you help them face these fears and overcome them without having to suffer in real life?
Presenters – Next, consider who’s the best person or people to talk about those subjects.
Assuming they’re in your company, ask yourself if they are good talkers. Whether you like it or not, your podcast will die on its proverbial if your presenters can’t tell a good story.
It’s also worth considering using someone not attached to the business to ask the questions e.g. a journalist or presenter. They’ll bring a bit of objectivity and they’ll ask questions your audience is likely to want answered. Someone from the company might miss basic stuff because they presume, ‘everyone already knows that.’ The curse of knowledge.
Points – This covers points to make and points of view.
When you decide what you want to cover in your podcast, put these points in some order – your beginning, middle and end.
Try to make it logical, so your listeners can follow where you are going. As in a good presentation, it’s not a bad idea to start your podcast with what you are going to tell them. Then tell them and at the end tell them what you’ve told them.
Of course, don’t forget a few twists along the way. Everyone loves to hear if something went wrong, particularly if you can share what you learned from the experience. The horror.
Also, the best podcasts deliver points of view. You can’t afford to be bland – make sure you’re giving some personal insight. I know this will have to be balanced with the company line but there is still plenty of scope to have an opinion.
An example of a series I liked – Shell produced a series of excellent energy podcasts (https://www.shell.com/inside-energy/the-energy-podcast.html) and weren’t afraid to tackle the difficult questions. E.G. Why doesn’t Shell stop producing oil and gas?
I hope you find these 3 P’s of podcasts useful. If you’re thinking about launching your own podcast series and want a few tips get in contact at paul@wearematrixmarketing.com – happy to help.
