The Role of Intent in Podcasting

How Podcast Intent Drives Success

I always search for podcast intent.

I ask this to brands interested in starting a podcast: “What job do you want the podcast to do?” It’s surprising how often this question catches people off guard. Many haven’t thought about it . They haven’t decided its strategic purpose. My role often involves guiding them to clarify this intent.

A podcast without a clear purpose is likely to fail.

The Foundation of Successful Podcasting: Defining Your Intent

Defining the intent for a branded podcast is crucial and serves as the cornerstone of our production strategy. Understanding and clearly articulating the intent ensures that every aspect of the podcast—from the theme and guest selection to the messaging and marketing—aligns with the brand’s broader goals. This alignment is essential because it not only guides the creative process but also ensures that each episode effectively engages the audience while directly contributing to specific business objectives. Without a well-defined intent, a podcast can easily become directionless, failing to resonate with listeners or achieve the desired impact.

For us, intent is not just a guiding principle; it’s the metric by which we measure our success. If our episodes do not align with our clearly defined goals, then we must reevaluate our approach. This rigorous adherence to intent ensures that our podcasts are more than just entertainment; they are strategic tools designed to achieve measurable outcomes. These outcomes can vary depending on the specific objectives of the brand, including but not limited to:

• Boosting Brand Visibility: Through engaging content that captures the essence of the brand, making it memorable and easily recognizable.
• Nurturing Leads: By providing valuable information and establishing trust, which can convert listeners into potential leads and, ultimately, loyal customers.
• Educating the Market: Offering insights and valuable information that positions the brand as a thought leader in its industry.
• Driving Direct Sales: Utilizing calls-to-action that encourage listeners to make a purchase or engage with the brand’s products or services directly.

Understanding and focusing on these objectives is critical, and every member of our team is acutely aware of this. From the content creators and producers to the marketing and distribution teams, everyone operates with a clear understanding of the podcast’s purpose. This unified approach not only enhances the cohesiveness and effectiveness of the podcast but also reinforces the brand’s identity and values, ensuring that each episode contributes positively to the brand’s strategic goals.

How to Determine the Intent for Your Branded Podcast

1. Business Objective Identification: To begin with, make sure that the podcast is aligned with the overall marketing goals. While some companies would like to utilize it for developing thought leadership, others might want to generate leads, while yet some others will be interested in building the loyalty of customers. This answer will then determine the type of podcast and the content that it should have. Expression through podcasting meets the criteria, ensuring that every episode is informative and relevant to whatever listeners one is targeting.
2. Audience Understanding: Next, it would be vital to understand who you are speaking to. What does the audience need or feel, and what is the content that they would want to listen to? The goal would be to come up with a podcast that feeds this interest.
3. Strategic Content Selection: With the goals and the audience in mind, make a podcast that aligns the two. The objective is to ensure each episode contributes to the main goals and, at the same time, remains relevant and interesting to the listeners.
4. Content Alignment with Buyer’s Journey: Additionally, consider where the proposed listeners are in the buyer’s journey and be prepared to meet them at that stage. They could be quite aware of the brand, or they may be at the considering and wanting to purchase stage.
5. Measurement and Adaptation Planning: Finally, based on the objectives, provide measurement metrics to know one is hitting their targets. These metrics could include rates of engagement, conversion, number of listeners, among many others.

Examples of Intent-Driven Branded Podcasts

Let’s reflect on intent and its execution. Here are some examples. In these cases, clear strategies led to success.

• This Is Small Business by Amazon: It focuses on empowering small business owners. The podcast gives practical advice, success stories, and expert insights. It clearly aims to help small businesses grow. It’s a valuable resource for entrepreneurs. They seek guidance and inspiration.

• Wheel of Risk by Allianz Trade: This podcast covers the complexities of risk management. It covers it in various scenarios. It aims to teach businesses about risk and its reduction. This fits perfectly with Allianz‘s role. They are a leader in the insurance and financial services industry.

• Changing Places by Avison Young: Examines urban development and its impacts. This podcast targets professionals interested in real estate and urban planning. It serves to position Avison Young as a thought leader. It does this by discussing trends and economic impacts in urban changes.

• Cirque du Sound by Cirque du Soleil: explores creativity in many fields. It aims to captivate and inspire by discussing art, science, and philosophy. The podcast reflects the brand’s core values of imagination and innovation.

For marketers considering a branded podcast, starting with intent is not just a step. It’s necessary.

Having a clear intent ensures that your podcast will reach your target audience. It will also drive meaningful business results. Align your podcast’s content with your business goals. This ensures that your branded podcast is heard. Then, your business goals are acted upon.

Roger Nairn

Roger transitioned from a 22 year career in advertising account management to co-founding JAR, a podcast podcast production agency. As CEO of JAR, he propels the company’s growth by prioritizing audience engagement and podcast marketing. Under his guidance, JAR flourishes with a global clientele, aiming to broaden its reach across North America and revolutionize brand connections through immersive storytelling.