Millions of people and companies have gravitated towards creating and producing podcasts, as a great format for reaching new audiences and deepening relationships with existing customers.
But when it comes to creating or curating podcasts, very often companies do not know where to start, so the excitement and momentum behind the first podcast starts to dwindle, and the podcast withers on the vine.
This is clear from the numbers - there are approximately 44mn podcasts globally, but only 500,000 are active.
This is why podcast producer and video/audio specialist Tariq Aziz believes advisers need to take time to work out the topics, strategy and audience well in advance before embarking on such a big project.
Aziz told FT Adviser editor Simoney Kyriakou: "A lot of people start a podcast with good indentions but it does not go anywhere, and becomes a vanity project that dies on the vine.
"This is why the 'why' is so important - why do a podcast - and why knowing your audience is so important."
Aziz added: "Once you have those two things in place, it gives you a much better grounding for a consistent, branded, well-written and well-thought out podcast with a definite structure and format.
"You only get to that stage once you know what your audience is going to be - or who - and why you are doing the podcast."
He urged advisers to nail the three most important things: the format, the tone and the structure. This is the "pre-production strategy".
Then comes content. "Think what you have to say, and then think how many podcasts you will say that in. Do you need six episodes? Or more?
"But really, you need to know your audience, and think about what you want to say. Ask yourself a lot of self-critical questions."
Click on the link above to listen to the podcast. By the end of the 30-minute podcast, you should be able to:
- Summarise a strategy for producing and recording podcasts
- List various ways to improve your output
- Explain how podcasts - done well - can enhance your business proposition.
