Power of Podcasts
The first person to come up with the idea of a podcast must have faced a lot of glaring stares and funny faces. The general idea of a podcast itself is simple yet sounds insane. To start a podcast, one just needs to buy a headset, sit in pajamas, and talk to a wall for 45 minutes. To believe that people, especially renowned guests, will turn up for a ‘podcast’ would have raised a few doubts on the sanity of the individual. Contrary to popular belief, podcasts exemplified that The best ideas are often the simplest ones. With over 30 million episodes online (as of April 2020) and a user base of over 60 million families, podcasts, most definitely, are the fastest way to build one’s audience, create an evergreen media exposure, and capture the attention of an ideal customer, that too at minimal overhead cost. Currently, the majority of its user base lies in the age bracket of 12 to 24 but with growing popularity, podcasts are gaining the luxury of reaching a wider audience, and hence, these already spectacular numbers are bound to increase.
At first, a podcast may just seem like a conversation between two people, but if one does a deep-dive-analysis, one understands that a podcast is people sharing their stories. The fact that nothing is staged, is what makes a podcast so influential. Podcasts have the ability to depict successful people in their casual, uncensored form. This sense of originality is what helps the audience connect and learn from their inspiring stories. So the driving force behind any podcast is the interpersonal connection. Having an idea or a company is not enough to compete in the brutal market that exists in the twenty-first century. With limitless competitors and communication mediums, the audience needs to be able to identify one’s brand and what distinguishes a brand is the face behind it. The relationship between Steve Jobs and Apple is the perfect example. People were obsessed with Steve Jobs because he was the face of Apple. We’ve gone past the stage of faceless companies because we are in a generation where people crave personal connection and podcasts provide the perfect medium to form that connection.
In today’s world, ‘Ideas are welcome but the execution is worshiped.” One could be the best at what they do but if nobody knows, then he/she doesn’t exist. Being influential is such a powerful tool, but conventional advertisements don’t hit the mark. The market has an attention span of a goldfish and being in front of someone’s face for two seconds is worthless. Forcing the audience to hear an idea without emotional contact would not be wise. The audience would want the advertisement off the screen so that they can enjoy their content.
Podcasts provide a better alternative. One is creating content and providing some value. People willfully invite podcasts into their ears. When the perfect audience is willing, there is a connection and with the audience already convinced, influencing becomes a whole lot easier. Apart from that, podcasts are evergreen content. People can watch a podcast that was recorded years ago and can still feel the same impact.
In the words of Daniel Gefen, “Over 80% of listeners listen to the whole podcast and the average podcast is 45 minutes. That’s gold. I’ve given you a stock that is going up like crazy and you need to be going and investing in that stock. You’re crazy not to invest in that stock right now.”
David Gefen’s confidence in podcasts isn’t misguided. Through the medium of his podcast, “Can I Pick Your Brain”, he went from being a guy who ran a business from a hotel room to David Gefen, Founder, and CEO of Gefen Media Group and a best-selling author. He went from interviewing, some people that he knew in the community to interviewing three billionaires!
A podcast is a simple yet effective tool for anyone looking to create a space for themselves in this cramped market, but sadly we are at the borrowed time. With podcasts going mean-stream, some guests have already started to ask for money to show up. If one doesn’t jump in before the market is saturated, one would kick themselves on missing this glorious golden opportunity. One can indeed fail, but as long as the flame to succeed, remains ignited, one will succeed. It’s not about if, it’s about when.
Contributed By- Gursimar Singh Bedi, Content Writer @ Mitti Ke Rang
At Mitti Ke Rang, we started with a COVID-19 community support fundraising, as an emergency response to provide a safety net to families. This will help them survive in the lockdown period. We aim to directly support these families by providing a minimum wage, through transferring the same into their accounts or partner with local NGO, Organisation, Fellow, or a Volunteer and support them with groceries.
You can donate at:
Our Social Media:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitti-ke-rang-mkr-81b230120/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mitikerang?s=08
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitti_ke_rang?r=nametag
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitikerang/
YouTube:
