It happens a lot. A client sends a list of podcasts they'd love to be on, whether themselves as an expert or for their employer. It’s fantastic that they’ve done the research, they’re ambitious and they know where they want to be. But this is not PR and there are a few things to consider first…
A big podcast rarely make sense as a starting point, without the right profile. No problem, for a household name or a known expert. But for the every day company or business leader, several smaller, well chosen UK podcasts usually do far more for a firm, and much sooner.
Can you get my CEO on a big podcast?
The honest answer is that it depends on two things. What podcasts have they already appeared on? And what does their social media profile look like?
If someone has never been on a big podcast, has only a small social media profile or not done much in the way of PR, they're very unlikely to land a massive one. Big podcasts can choose from almost anyone. So, they look at what a guest has already done.
How do big podcasts choose their guests?
Big podcasts want to keep growing their audience. The biggest ones hire YouTube data analysts who read the data and inform decisions, particularly when it comes to guests. They look closely at how potential guests have performed on other shows. Booking guests who have already done well elsewhere and are current helps the largest podcasts keep gaining listeners and hold on to their place at the top.
Relevance matters a great deal. If a doctor's media profile is from ten years ago, nobody will care today. The guest needs to be seen as current. The topic needs to be either current or evergreen, which means it stays useful whenever someone listens.
This is why smaller podcasts matter so much. They don't just build a guest's profile. They also signal to bigger podcasts that the guest is good, keeps listeners hooked to the end and is in demand.
Fit matters too. Looking at a large podcasts also requires looking at their previous guests, the style and content. Someone unexpected can still get onto a glossy podcast if the topic is relevant. A reputation management lawyer could appear on a celebrity entertainment podcast, for example.
But that podcast won't want someone who looks stiff and out of place. It will want a lawyer, doctor or author who is charismatic, polished on camera and easy to relate to. Someone who speaks plainly and gives the audience extra insight into the story, while staying within the law. Even a consumer health podcast will look for the most relevant, plain speaking doctors who come across well.
Is a massive podcast even the right goal?
Suppose a big podcast did say yes. Would it be for the right reasons?
A huge audience can flood a firm with hundreds of the wrong enquiries and questions. That wastes a company’s time and brings little real value or growth.
What To show A CEO instead?
Show them really relevant smaller podcasts, with excellent recordings and strong topics, where a CEO appears alongside other business leaders like them. Plenty of big name companies and entrepreneurs appear on smaller podcasts.
Smaller podcasts also have some real advantages:
They're a safe place to start. The questions are usually friendlier. A CEO can get used to podcasts, practise their key messages and build a profile.
They can happen regularly. Smaller podcasts are easier to secure and come out more often. A CEO who is visibly in demand is better than one who is hardly seen, waiting for the one podcast they think is right.
You never know who is listening. A CEO appearing on a parenting business podcast, talking as a parent growing a company, might connect with another parent who runs exactly the kind of business desired as a client. For example, a friend of mine got a speaking invitation from a big technology company after a talk he gave at a small private school. Good clients turn up in unexpected places.
How many podcasts to expect in the first year?
Expect around 12 to 20 podcasts in the first year. The number depends on how strong the guest's profile is, how well they perform and what they have to talk about.
One of our clients, a solicitor, went from no podcast profile to 15 podcasts in a year. We started small and built up from there. For CEOs, who have never been on a podcast, I've written about what to expect the first time.