See what I did there? I didn’t say they WILL fail, but they CAN fail… if you are not careful.
Most corporate podcasts fail due to four core bottlenecks: undefined strategy, lack of focus, poor production quality, and inconsistent publishing caused by time constraints.
The rise in the popularity of podcasts has been nothing short of meteoric in the last few years due to the advent of video podcasts that make discoverability much easier than ever before, coupled with the relative ease of getting complex messages across via the enduring power of storytelling.
However, just as quickly as companies have sought to capitalise on this popularity there are just as many that have started and now abandoned their podcast plans.
So WHY do so many corporate podcasts end up being abandoned or just don’t reach the goals that were originally set out? Also, what can companies do that will set themselves up for success, and not failure?
Luckily for you, dear reader, we have some answers that will help make sure your best laid plans are not wasted. So let’s look at the 4 main issues that cause failure and how you would deal with each one.
Time and time again we see companies rush into doing a podcast and they don’t actually define what it is they want to achieve at the end of it. They don’t know the end goal. They think they do by saying they want to build thought leadership or generate sales leads. Yes, these are outcomes, but they aren’t the actual playbook. The key is mapping out how you get there.
Easier said than done, you say, but all this actually entails is to pin down and map out your content, i.e. what you want to say, the format of the content, define what your opinion is, identify who your audience is and then work out what problem you are solving for that audience. That will give you the tools to give actual value to your audience.
For example, one of our clients, a health & wellness coach, initially approached us wanting to build awareness of her new consultancy and her own personal brand. However, when she started to record, she was just a question asker to her guests and didn’t give her own insights to the conversation. We sat down with her and mapped out what she needed to do to turn the ambiguous hope into a predictable lead generation engine that attracted her desired audience.
Where we at Poddworx add value is to help you map out that clear gameplan, turning the abstract statement of “become a thought leader” and “generate more sales leads” into a cadence and show format that attracts and holds an audience.
When you are all over the shop! This is when you start on one track and even start with a strategy, but then along the way you get sidetracked with something new and shiny. Change direction and pivot by all means, but make sure you are doing it in a measured and systematic way that fulfils the goals and strategies that you had at the beginning.
So you have a strategy, but maybe you are not seeing instant results, so you jump on to the next “shiny new idea” that comes your way and you start to confuse your audience, who then cease to be your audience. Obviously, sometimes you will have to pivot, but you should always make sure that it still supports your original goals rather than changing on a whim.
When working with Poddworx we will act as your editorial anchor to keep you focussed and always on track.
Often a business exec will have an idea of what the show will look like in their head, but when they actually record, the audio is poor, the lighting is not very flattering and the location looks nothing like how they had envisioned it. What was in their head didn’t appear on the finished product, and it doesn’t feel as professional as they have seen others do.
What looks great in your head often looks and sounds wildly different when recorded on a laptop mic in an echoey meeting room. If you want the credibility, you need pro lighting, multi-camera angles and studio-grade acoustics that show your audience that you are as professional as your content.
Recording at Poddworx means you take advantage of our fully equipped studio and 25+ years of TV production and content experience that handles the cameras, lights and audio, so your show looks pro from the very first episode.
Finally, and probably the most common reason most corporate podcasts fail, is that they just give up. It’s easy to start a podcast but it’s really difficult to sustain one given the time commitment needed. If you are not consistent then listeners will gravitate to podcasts that are. It requires dedication to distribute, build a community and engage with it.
Podcasting is easy until you get to the bit where you have to edit, write show notes and chase guests. Time is the #1 killer of corporate shows. To survive you need a system that is repeatable and keeps you on a regular schedule of episodes.
For busy founders, the podcast is often the first thing to slip once the calendar fills up. The fix we use with clients at our Kuala Lumpur studio is a batched workflow: block out one afternoon a month to record several episodes back to back, and the show keeps a steady release schedule without taking over your week.
This is where Poddworx comes in. We can take that operational burden from you and your team, from booking and recording to editing full episodes and cutting social media clips, and keep your podcast running week after week.
So there you have it. If you get your corporate podcast right, you will attain not only thought leadership in your space, but also generate sales leads that are much warmer than a bog-standard advert.
We recommend batch-recording at least 3 to 6 episodes before launching to ensure consistency and eliminate the time-crunch bottleneck.
The primary killer is time management. Without a dedicated production partner to handle editing, show notes and scheduling, founders quickly become overwhelmed by the operational burden.
Absolutely. We offer dedicated coaching to ensure you sound confident and professional from day one. We can also provide professional hosts who can give extra credence to your podcast.
That is the perennial question. You could record something brilliant at home or in your office and get an audience of millions, as good content will always win out in the end. However, no matter how good your content is, if the sound isn’t crystal clear or it looks like it was shot through a mouldy old sock, you will struggle to find that audience, who will often turn off before they have given it the time it deserves. Using Poddworx’s production expertise and top-end studio, we will give your content the best chance possible of succeeding.
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