Sarah Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Speakerbox Media, joins us this week to talk about all things podcasting. As Houston’s first full-service podcasting agency and the producer of the My Edge podcast, Speakerbox Media helps businesses grow communities and drive engagements through high-quality podcasting tools that adapt to any budget. Sarah breaks down the essentials of podcast marketing and the types of businesses that can benefit from taking advantage of this form of media.
From improving SEO to reaching outside of the normal barriers of traditional marketing content, podcasting can be a vital addition to any company looking to step away from the barriers of location to have authentic conversations with clients and peers. While the barriers of technology and wariness to try something new can make podcasting seem daunting, Sarah has great information on how to best take advantage of the opportunities this media can provide and the potential each of us have to become masterful podcast marketers.
Transcription
Sarah Smith (00:05):
Hi, I’m ha Harrington, 2021, 2022, AMA Houston president.
Vlad Vidaeff (00:09):
And I’m glad for of 20 21, 20 22 president white.
Sarah Smith (00:14):
Welcome to the, my podcast. Hi, welcome to another episode of my edge. AMA Houston’s podcast. I’m ha earring, 20 21, 20 22, AMA Houston president and I’m
Vlad Vidaeff (00:34):
Flad Vidi president elect 20 21, 20 22.
Sarah Smith (00:38):
Hey Vlad. I’m really excited about some upcoming events that we are having. Oh
Vlad Vidaeff (00:42):
Yeah. Which events, Tommy. We
Sarah Smith (00:44):
Have a lot of events that are coming up that thank you. I think that we’re gonna be in person. How excited are you? That
Vlad Vidaeff (00:50):
Is, I think we’re all longing for connection right now. So I’m all about it. <Laugh>
Hami Arrington (00:55):
Yeah, me too. I know that Ray, our producer had had a happy hour an AMA Houston happy hour, and it was really the most amount of people that had showed up in person. That’s right. Since the pandemic started. So I think that we’re all feeling this right. We want some human connection in person and we are board has been at work planning, some really great events this spring and this coming up year. So in January, we’re starting off with marketing edge. That is our one day conference it’s coming up on January 20th, 2022. It’s gonna be at the Norris conference center. Yeah.
Vlad Vidaeff (01:33):
I’m really excited about marketing edge. We have a great lineup of speakers coming in and we’re talking national speakers, including one from Google. I mean, beyond that, it’s a great networking opportunity. You’re gonna have leaders from across the marketing community who are attending this event and we’re still in the process of finalizing all of our speaker and our lineups and everything. But it’s a great way, you know, it’s going on at the beginning of January. It’s, it’s a way to hit the ground running in 2022, make sure you’re staying true to all of your new year’s resolutions. You don’t want to be the person who got their gym membership and they went for two weeks and then they quit marketing edge is a way to stay committed to all of your marketing goals. So to keep up to date with everything that’s going on and all of the updates, make sure to check out AMA marketing edge.com.
Hami Arrington (02:34):
I’m really excited about another event that we’re putting on. It’s the first time that we’re ever gonna be doing this. It’s a gives back casino night. So AMA gives back as a program that AMA Houston has. It’s our philanthropic arm. We give away each year a third of our net profits, number one or $10,000, whatever is the greater of those two. And so this year we’re holding a fundraiser. It’s a casino night it’s happening on February 23rd. I’m so excited about this. It’s giving me like the office vibes, right? <Laugh> where Michael Scott has the, all those people in the warehouse. Right. So actually we’re having an at warehouse 72. So maybe there’s some me like a love triangle there or something. And
Vlad Vidaeff (03:20):
It’s basically a week after my birthday. So I’m hoping I have some birthday luck <laugh> at this
Vlad Vidaeff (03:26):
Event. Yeah. Good luck FLA. Yeah. So keep an eye on your email box for that, or visit am houston.org to have all of the information. We’ll have that up as soon as we get it. But casino night, February 23rd, 2022. And then finally, this is like the event of the year, right? The crystal awards. It’s, Houston’s, Texas’s maybe the nation’s largest marketing award show. We’ve had to kind of scale it down over the last couple of years, but I think this year we’re gonna bring it back big it’s happening in may of next year. And I know that that chairs have been working hard on the theme and getting the venue secured and everything like that. And so keep an eye on your email box for that information. For the crystal awards, we have probably a few surprises, like like we always do. That’s always my favorite event of the year. I was a crystal awards chair two times. So it has all always has a place in my heart. It’s always a good time, right? VLA.
Vlad Vidaeff (04:25):
It is. It’s one of the events that I look forward to every year. They say everything is bigger in Texas. So I’m hoping that we can really let loose this year and celebrate all that makes the Houston marketing community special.
Hami Arrington (04:40):
Yeah. And thanks to the board for putting so much time and effort into everything that we do. Of course, our luncheons each month, our academies, we have north Houston group, that’s putting together events as well. And so it’s a really big board. We are here for the Houston marketing community. Okay. That’s enough about us and AMA Houston today as our guest, we have Sarah Smith, she’s the co-founder and CEO of speaker box media, who is the producer of this podcast and host of B2B growth hex podcast. Welcome Sarah. Thanks for having me ha and Blad. I’m so excited to sit down with you guys today. Yeah, we’re really excited. Sarah, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure. I am a native Houstonian. I am a Latina. I am married to my wonderful husband Ray, and we have a miniature nower Tyson. And on the career side of things, I’ve spent the last decade of my life in various cells and management roles for Houston brands.
Sarah Smith (05:37):
And did that all the way up until about three years ago when I started to speak rocks with my husband, Ray, and we’re super excited to be part of the Houston community at, at such a time where innovations on the rise and really, really proud of having the opportunity to start Houston’s first full service podcasting agency. Sarah, I talk to a lot of people in marketing, a lot of marketing directors, agency owners, CMOs, and a lot of them are talking about podcasts, right? Yeah. They’re all either weighing out podcasts or they’re looking at podcasts or they’re executing on a podcast. So let’s get down to a, who’s a good candidate to start a podcast. It’s a great question. You know, it differs per industry, but in general, first, those are who are looking to build an engaged niche community. If you have a niche business or something really niche to talk about podcasts typically do well because they’re easily searchable by your niche also as businesses, what are we always looking for referrals? So if you to build a good referral network, a podcast is a great option for that. And then the other is the more obvious marketing question, a brand who’s looking to maximize content output or to build a content strategy. A podcast is a great place to start.
Vlad Vidaeff (06:51):
So to follow up on that, when you’re thinking about your marketing mix, you have a lot of choices. So, you know, companies may be involved in social media, email marketing, paid search billboards, radio TV, what goes on and on why should podcasting be a part of the mix?
Sarah Smith (07:12):
Well, I think that there’s so many great reasons why podcast could be a good addition. The a big one is just the SEO value that it provides your searchable explorable content is the thing that gets you the highest on Google rankings. And, you know, in all having podcast conversations allows you to generate a certain word count automatically per minute. It, so you transcribe that, you put that up on your SEO blog and not only if you’re inviting great guests, you’re getting guest expert advice, but you’re also getting the benefit of the flow of web traffic that we’re all trying to get. Anyway, our websites are our front door now, right? We have to have a digital presence. And so in addition to that, the content distribution that you get from a podcast, so audio can go into a blog, can go into video. Snippets can go into surveys.
Sarah Smith (08:03):
I mean, there’s just so much content that’s generated from 1 45 minute podcast episode. And I think as marketers, business owners, brands, we’re all charged to create content and be in the content space. And so podcasting allows you to do that with one piece of pillar content in a way that other pieces of content don’t allow you to do some of these things that we’ve been practicing like blogging. They’re not new. So adding podcasting in helps you accomplish all of the current strategies you’re using and helps kind of create this natural downflow of content. It sounds like we get to, you can get so much out of one on piece of content, which is something that we preach at our agency all the time. We also always have to balance ideas out with bandwidth. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>, you know, there’s a lot of tactics that we can choose from.
Sarah Smith (08:49):
What are, you know, if we are looking at doing a podcast, what are some pros and cons with executing on a podcast? Sure. I think the, one of the biggest pros of doing a podcast is it kind of helps us highlight something that we do every day, which is conversation. It’s probably something we’re all pretty decent at. If we have a, a corporate role or we own a business, or we’re communicating on behalf of our own brand. So it comes so natural and it allows you to really create a great synergy with potential partners, maybe potential customers. And just in general allows you to really communicate on a different level with your brand, the access and the barrier to entry for podcasting is relatively low right now, versus pay per click and things like that re that requires certain monetary investment podcast thing is much lower.
Sarah Smith (09:36):
And you get this kind of worldwide global access kind of right out of the gates because of platforms like apple and Google and Spotify, you have the ability to reach outside of your normal barriers there, and you just get more bang for your time and money. We’re all looking how to maximize our market budgets and our spend. And you can get so much, like we said, from one piece of content on the other side, there are a few things that you have to kind of keep in mind, and that could be barriers when it comes to podcasting. One, there is an art to interviewing and messaging. As you guys know, as marketers, you do need to come in with specific goals and metrics and K eyes and have a very clear view of where you’re trying to get with your podcast. Otherwise, you’ll be disappointed in a few months when you don’t reach the results that you want, and it does involve some technology and some investments. So that’s one of the common things to get asked is tech can be pretty scary to a lot of people, especially, you know, if you have really well, you know, vetted older CEOs who just prefer to talk in person, this can be an, a little bit of a barrier to get used to, but like with anything practice makes perfect. Oh,
Vlad Vidaeff (10:46):
That’s right. So on a personal note, I have been a fan of podcasts for a long time. I love the city of Houston. One thing I don’t like about Houston is the traffic. So I got in the podcast just as a way initially, to pass the time on my way to work. And then it’s really expanded beyond that. It’s something that I listen to when I’m at work. But when we’re talking from a business perspective, what makes podcasting different than other media?
Sarah Smith (11:16):
I think podcasting gives you a more of a global reach. Like I said, no longer is there this barrier of state or office, or you have access to a global network overnight. It also allows you to form like an inate connection, both with the person you’re interviewing and your listener in a way that other mediums don’t. When we’re sitting down, having natural, we get to learn a little bit about who each other are as humans first, which I think is the basis of any good business relationship. We wanna know who we’re doing business with or who we’re gonna be referring to. Podcasting allows you to create this really authentic connection that I think is different than other mediums. There’s also a longevity that exists with audio that doesn’t exist. In other things, if we look back at history, radio is the longest standing medium that’s been around and podcasting is simply internet radio, audio blogging.
Sarah Smith (12:09):
And so it’s something that kind of spans generations comes to learning curves when it comes to information. And so that once we can really figure out how to get everybody access to it, by going to specific platforms, by which at this point, most people have a smartphone. So it’s one of the oldest mediums and people have adapted to it are used it. And there’s no one around who I’ve said who’ve asked me what is a podcast. And if I said internet radio, didn’t know what I was talking about. So it provides you a good opportunity to connecting with different age demographics. So as any good marketer would ask, what kind of data can I get? If I do start a podcast, I love my marketing friends. They’re always about the data let’s talk data. So of course, web traffic, we’re all trying to figure out how to decrease our bounce rates, how to keep our websites interesting, how to make sure our messaging connects.
Sarah Smith (13:05):
And so you can definitely look forward to seeing an increasing your web traffic, your social reach across whichever platforms. So your social media, Instagram, Facebook, typically when you’re doing a podcast, if you’re accompanying video with it, you see some great metrics as far as increasing your visibility online. And the obvious one with podcasting is download. So looking at listeners subscribership, it tells you a good, you get some good data metrics for who’s listening and where on most platforms. So that’s is helpful information. But either way, it just provides you informed timely data so that you can get good feedback on your content and, and it can help you make informed decisions. So based on how certain episodes pop for my podcast, I know when I’ve hit a sweet spot with my audience, I know when I’m getting lots of feedback or more questions, that specific content that I’ve found something of value, and that does a couple things, allows you to connect with your audience, but it also allows you to verify your data. So that’s the important thing about data, right? We, we don’t wanna just collect it. We wanna use it to help us make better decisions. And so that’s some of the data you can get from a podcast.
Vlad Vidaeff (14:13):
Yeah. So you touched on some of key metrics that we’re gonna look at when it comes to podcasting. So let’s say, you know, my company started a podcast and we’ve been doing it for a couple months. What are things we should look at to judge? Whether our efforts have been a success or whether we need to at a, you know, rethink our strategy.
Sarah Smith (14:36):
Yeah, that’s a tough one because it, it differs for brands and it differs depending on what you’re trying to accomplish with that. Sure. For some brands that’s gonna be brand awareness. That’s simply we have no social landscape online and we need to create that. So visibility is one conversion or growth of your referral network, site analytics, a decreasing bounce rate, an increase in your email, your email, open rate, those same data points, help you identify whether or not the information you’re putting out there is connecting with your audience in a meaningful way. So let’s say we were down the road and we say, you know what? We have committed to it. We are going to start a podcast. What does it take to get started in producing one and starting one there’s layers? <Laugh> there, that’s a very layered question, but just in general, there’s kind of four areas that we as a company quickly kind of put together for people just to kind of let you know how it you can get started.
Sarah Smith (15:33):
The first one is your branding. There’s some obvious branding you need to do, you need a cover, you need a name, you need a topic. You need an idea, right? There is equipment that’s required. And that can range from a very basic startup equipment or a full scale internal podcast room. Like we’re sitting in now, you need a host in a guest workflow. You need to be thinking about who’s gonna host this show and whether or not you’re inviting guests on. And if you are, who are those people? Why are you choosing them? And then the last is the actual physical recording and media distribution. So those are gonna be the four key points that you’re gonna wanna talk through when you’re thinking about starting a podcast.
Vlad Vidaeff (16:11):
And so when you you’re, when you’re starting a podcast, I think one of the big decisions you have to make at the outset is, is this something we’re gonna do in house? Or is this something we’re gonna outsource? Can you talk us through some of the things a company should consider in making that decision? Yeah,
Sarah Smith (16:28):
Absolutely. Just like with anything, we kind of have this standing Oak internally that if you ask your marketing team to do one more thing, they might revolt <laugh>. Because there’s always so many different things that marketers are doing. And so some of the things you need to consider is resources, your team, both in your team and their time, and also physical resources. Are you going to record this on site? If so, do you have the necessary area equipment or do you have an external source that you can use on average podcasts take about eight to 10 hours per episode, start to finish when it comes to actually mapping out your content, scheduling recordings, calendaring, actually doing the interview. And then post-production, that’s about how much time it takes per episode. So you get bang for that eight to 10 hours, but it does cost something.
Sarah Smith (17:16):
So that’s really one of the highest considerations that I would say you really have to talk about internally is who’s handling what, what’s the actual cost of time, and who’s gonna be responsible for executing these different pieces. And what we find more often than not is you don’t have to go one way or the other, you there podcast partners all around the us like us or other companies that can easily integrate with your team and help pick up the pieces that maybe someone on your team isn’t equipped to handle, or simply just doesn’t have the time for. So the eight to 10 hours tracks, because I would say they were probably four to five hours into this podcast. <Laugh> okay. So who should host this podcast? How do you determine who is the best to be the face of your company? That’s a big one voice of your company.
Sarah Smith (18:05):
Excuse me. Yeah. I mean, well, if you’re doing video, they do be come a face. People begin to recognize you. An obvious answer would be first let I can give you some roles and I can give you some kind of things that you should look for when you’re picking a podcast host. So the first one is obviously somebody comfortable communicating somebody who doesn’t mind having great conversations and who can listen. Well, a lot of podcast asking people assume that you’re supposed to be the one talking all the time, but if you’re interviewing someone, you really have to be a great listener. If you’re inviting great subject matter experts, you want the information that they have for your audience. You want them to provide the value. So a great listener internally, someone who’s passionate about the brand or mission and who can explain it really well and articulate it because flow of conversation requires you to pivot very quickly.
Sarah Smith (18:54):
So you want someone who gets it right? And someone who’s willing to practice. It’s not an easy thing to interview a variety of people, and you have to be committed to learning and adapting to multiple styles. And so someone who’s a good listener as far as within a company, CEOs or founders are great, great hosts. They just have this different, unique view of the landscape of the business and the role so they can communicate with multiple facets. They typically have a great network too. So that’s always a plus other roles that Excel really well in, in hosting is your sales leads. It’s great practice and such a great tool for your sales team to implement talking about different brands, talking about different tactics, talking about different solutions with a variety of people and not just about your brand, but other things that communi or that help contribute to the industry, your obvious answer, your marketing leads or are your CMOs. They’re well versed on messaging. They get it. They understand how to adapt and how to communicate. And they typically flow very well in hosting. And then anyone who’s in charge of a business dev or community role podcasting can definitely help you build a good community. So if you have a community host because you have an online portion of your brand or offering, they’re a great host
Vlad Vidaeff (20:13):
As well. All right. So let’s say we’ve identified the right host for our made up organization that we’re <laugh>, we’re all a part of it’s nower
Sarah Smith (20:23):
Society. <Laugh>
Vlad Vidaeff (20:24):
That I, I love it. That that has a nice ring to it. I would listen to
Sarah Smith (20:28):
That. <Laugh>
Vlad Vidaeff (20:29):
I think a lot of people would. Yeah. So with that, you know, you wanna make sure that people are gonna listen and they’re gonna engage with your content. So are there specific topics that are good go-tos or, you know, anything you would recommend in helping the develop that strategy?
Sarah Smith (20:49):
So again, that’s very industry specific and it’s really difficult to answer that question on behalf of everyone. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> because I can’t be an expert in everything. That’s the value in podcasting, right. But overall, I like to stay around just a general, I think a general answer for that they could apply to multiple people is topics that are malleable and vast. So instead of going for maybe just like online marketing marketing in general is a great topic because there’s different layers to that, that you can discuss, which opens up work and topics of conversation that you can hit, something that’s relevant. That’s always a good one. If you’re doing news, if there’s something relevant in your industry, a piece of newsworthy, you know, information that’s relevant to start from something that’s controversial, differing perspectives always hit and allow you to kind of attract different audiences, different perspectives, things that are informational news, what’s the newest gadget or widget that’s come out in your industry.
Sarah Smith (21:50):
What’s the newest marketing tool that’s available to you. Anything that’s informative and topics that answer a problem or a question. So that’s typically those topics kind of could fit into any industry I think, and could help someone start on where they could start developing a brainstorm topics. I’ve seen podcasts that are an hour and a half long. I’ve seen podcasts that are three minutes long. <Laugh> what is the ideal length and what should I be looking at to determine the ideal length for me? So depending on that’s a loaded question. So everyone wants the magic. I think right now the average listening time across podcast is about 35 minutes. So I tell people that starting between 20 to 40 minutes is a great place to start. If you’re doing another thing that’s gonna impact on how long your episode should be is the frequency.
Sarah Smith (22:44):
So if you’re doing something like a daily podcast, then that’s probably like a 10 to 20 minute max. Most of the time, those are typical like news or informational podcast or quick spills, quick tips. And so in order to turn that over that quick, it needs to be shorter. But outside of that, I typically recommend that people start between 20 to 40 minutes. It seems to be a great range that it will capture an untrained ear, as well as someone who listening to podcast routinely. Now there’s no right or wrong answer to that. There are podcasts that are two hours that have great listenership. But what I see with that is that most of those podcasts have developed their audience over time. And so they they’re listeners have a much longer trained ear. It, I think it’s a mistake sometimes to assume that certain platforms that you built up will automatically convert to audio. For example, I have 250,000 Instagram followers. So if I start a podcast, it’s gonna be really successful, right? Well, Instagram’s a different medium. If you came to me and told me you had 200,000 clubhouse followers, I would tell you, you have a potential to convert because that’s audio to audio versus a social platform is video. It’s different, it’s visual stimuli, it’s different. And so I think that it really depends on what platforms you’re on, things like that. When you get into kind of the weeds of how long something should be.
Vlad Vidaeff (24:09):
So I know a lot of organizations are, are thinking about adding podcasting to their marketing mix if they haven’t done so already. I think my company is an example of that. But one of the barriers that is, I think a common discussion is if we start one, you know, we’ve, we’re all familiar with podcasts. A lot of them are daily. Some are weekly, some are monthly. Do I need to marry podcasts? Is, is this gonna be forever? <Laugh>, that’s a big commitment.
Sarah Smith (24:39):
So we have non-committal people in the room <laugh>
Vlad Vidaeff (24:43):
So, you know, what, what do we do to get over that hump? Cuz that’s it, it seems like at least initially a high level of commitment.
Sarah Smith (24:52):
Sure, sure. And I, to your point, a lot of the noteworthy podcasts that, you know, it’s because they’re providing content so regularly, so it makes us think that’s the rule, right? But there isn’t a one size fits all the medium is developing and it’s really cool to see the way different people adapt it based on their strategy or product, you can do just a podcast series, say you have a, a new product developing, or you have a new book coming out or a new series of online offerings. You can do just a podcast series around that. You don’t have to have a continual podcast. If you’re looking to build up audio listenership, you obviously would be penalized by not continuing. But if your goal is something outside of that, you can totally accomplish that with a seasonal or even a series based podcast. And the other thing is if you’re going to do it routinely, it actually is manageable to do a biweekly podcast, which is where I recommend most people start, especially if you’re new to it, it can be exhausting to do. And it is a little bit labor intensive, even on the host part. So I recommend that you do it biweekly podcast to start out with that’s two episodes a month under 30 minutes. And to be honest, could knock out one to two months of content all in one at one time, which helps maximize your time. And also helps you kind of get over this hump of feeling like the podcast is tugging at you every day.
Vlad Vidaeff (26:20):
<Laugh> I feel like not really marrying a podcast got is.
Sarah Smith (26:24):
So we helped you get over your issue. I
Vlad Vidaeff (26:26):
Feel anyone with she
Sarah Smith (26:31):
Sitting on out there, VLA commitment. She <laugh>, it’s not on, I didn’t think it for a second. So there used to be a saying though, is you have a face for radio, I guess now it’s a, you have a face for podcasting, right. But let’s think about that there. Like what if I don’t have a voice for podcasting or I don’t feel like I have a voice for podcasting. Should I still do one? If I have things that I feel like I need to say. So I think like with anything else, first of all, I know I can’t be the only one who doesn’t like the sound of my own voice. It’s just one of those things. I think everybody kind of cringes at, but what’s funny is other people listen and they don’t think that. So a lot of that’s in your head, first of all, but second of all, just like anything practice makes perfect.
Sarah Smith (27:15):
I feel like developing your voice and your ability to communicate is so vital and important to everything we do. Whether you’re selling, selling yourself in an interview, talking to someone at the grocery store, it’s important to be a good communicator. So I think that I would bark back at someone who says they don’t have a voice for podcasting. And in fact, encourage that they develop the skill, cuz it’s gonna push you into a place that is vital and kind of is giving in multiple facets for you. And we get this a lot. You know, I have something to say, should I start a podcast? Sure. But make sure you have a goal in mind define where it is that you’re trying to go. Because if you start a podcast because you simply have a voice and you don’t see results, results that you never plan for anyway, you won’t stick with it. And our goal is never to help someone and launch a podcast or encourage someone to launch a podcast without getting out of it, what they were hoping to get. So that just comes with defining what you’re after setting KPIs. But yeah, I think everyone has a story and there’s so many humans and perspectives on in this world and, and why not? I just think it’s really important to define where you’re trying to go with it and
Vlad Vidaeff (28:24):
Stories are, I think just generally so, so powerful for sure. Podcasting is just a perfect medium for that. So earlier we talked about one of the big decisions that you have to make when you’re starting a podcast. Is, are you gonna do it in house? Are you gonna look outside? Another big question would be, you know, you could do a video podcast or you could do an audio podcast. Can you walk us through some of the pros and cons or differences between the two?
Sarah Smith (28:53):
Sure. Obviously video is more expensive. So it’s one of those things that sometimes comes in as a budget question. I wouldn’t be doing you justice. If I didn’t suggest that you do add video to your audio podcast, just across platforms. We know video performs the best. It allows people to really attach to the human side of a brand. And I think at the end of the day, that’s what all brands are trying to do. We’re trying to be relevant. We’re trying to connect with society as people and on mission. So yeah, I, I think there’s a couple considerations you have to think through are trying to make that decision. One. Do you have the time and the bandwidth two, do you have someone who’s comfortable with the medium as far as just understanding that it’s not do or die? <Laugh> you know, I think that’s one of the major fears people have when it comes to recording audio and video together is they don’t wanna be on video or they don’t wanna be recorded, but it’s pretty awesome because honestly, if you mess up, you can simply pause it and start over.
Sarah Smith (29:54):
There’s not many things you can do that with. Right? So I encourage people to kind of try it, but if you’re going to start, I think consistency is key. So always start smaller and scale up as you go and become more comfortable. So starting small could look like just a biweekly audio podcast. And as you start to get the hang of it, incorporating video later on could be beneficial. Or if you have a more robust team, a more robust budget, why not? With the best of both worlds, which is having audio and video to accompany the, the ongoing content strategy that you hopefully already have in place. Yeah. I like that adding both in there because then the podcast is not just audio. You have the visual that goes with it and you can cut it into a lot of pieces and put it on social media as well.
Sarah Smith (30:40):
I really like that. Okay. So how should I be planning my content calendar? What are some best practices around what should I post when yeah, of course you wanna look at what mediums you’re looking at distributing on different mediums have different high times. You can literally Google those or ask, go to your favorite marketers website. I am sure that they have dress this question for you, but when it comes to podcast content, one of the first things I recommend is calendaring your dates based on what’s coming up in your organization or what’s coming up socially. If you’re a donut company and you’re not doing something for national donut day, shame on you, <laugh>, <laugh>, it’s that kind of thing, right? Look for opportunities to be humorous and human with audience. And so that’s always a plus for us. We always look for those type of opportunities.
Sarah Smith (31:27):
The second is to look at what type of upcoming guests am I having. So if I’m going to be interviewing based on a specific product, then I wanna make sure that’s timely based on a conference or based on the product launch or things like that. So you kind of have to keep all that in mind topics based on relevance. So if there’s something national that just happened, that’s relevant to your show or your audience, then you’re gonna wanna calendar those type of things. And if you’re a B2B org or B2C org, you wanna be thinking about the stage of your buyer and communicating that solution. So if they’re what stage, actually, you know what, I have a great book for you, Henry Daso wrote a book on content mapping and it was really, really great, but he talks about this in the book, you know, depending on what stage your buyer is in, whether they’re in awareness of the product, whether they’re researching or whether they’re ready to convert, looking at topics that help address those different stages that you’re or referral partner as in could definitely help you carve out some good key places to start.
Sarah Smith (32:29):
So yeah, this is a really good segue because Henry DOSO is a friend and his second book is coming out. It’s called the gap and is about when you set a goal, how do you cross that gap? I joined AMA because I wanted to find a job, frankly, at that time. And I was able to because of AMA. And so now as president this year, our goal is to put focus on the of community and really what can AMA do for you and how can AMA be a resource for you because when you join the community, that’s what our goal is. And whether that’s a resource in knowledge, or maybe that’s a resource in finding a job, finding a vendor, finding clients, that’s what we wanna be there for you. So that being said, say, you know, as part of the AMA community, how has AMA helped you?
Sarah Smith (33:23):
Oh, man, AMA has been so vital to our org for all the entrepreneurs out there who are wearing five hats, including the marketer, the biller, the <laugh>, the communicator, the podcast host. I see you. So you should run and join AMA. And I’m gonna tell you why as a younger business owner, there’s so many great experienced marketers in that community. And my experience with the AMA community is that everyone’s so generous. Everyone’s so willing to share. Everyone’s willing to connect you with somebody. If you’re coming in, looking for a job they’re willing to help you and refer you to great organizations. So it’s been a momentous tool for us as far as building a referral community, just getting acquainted with the business landscape. I mean, I think there’s such a, a vast variety of people within the organization all the way from very young marketers or students who are just looking to get out into the field, find a job all the way up to really experienced CMOs who really have done some great things for brands. And so you just get access to this amazing network. And I think that’s the most value is, is doing, you know, building a community of people in your local city that provides such great resources and such great experience is invaluable. I
Vlad Vidaeff (34:42):
Couldn’t agree with more Sarah, when I joined the AMA back in 2013, it was when I had moved back to Texas and I tell people again and again, that it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life and I’m serious about it. But, you know, we’ve had such a thoughtful discussion about podcasting. I can’t help, but ask you one more question <laugh> and selfishly, because I’m always eagerly trying to find new podcasts to check out. Is there a podcast that you really like? And if so, why?
Sarah Smith (35:19):
Oh, that is tough. You know, it’s funny is I was not. When I first, when we first thought about starting speaker box media, I had to confess I was not a listener podcast. <Laugh> I am one of those people who likes to work in silence. And so background audio was not a thing for me, but the more that I started to get into storytelling podcast, like has this masterclass conversations that I just love, first of all, Oprah’s a masterful interviewer. We all know that, right. But I really understood the power of pod. When I listened to her episode with Maya Angelou, who’s no longer here as a young debate student. One of the first things I had ever performed was phenomenal woman by Maya Angelou. And when I heard her interview with Oprah and I mean, it brought me to tears that the amount of relevance that the lessons she was talking about still had that day, even though she had long pass.
Sarah Smith (36:21):
And that’s when I really connected with podcasting, cuz I understood the value of storytelling, the value of putting conversations out into the atmosphere and then becoming historic like that. And so I have to put kind of given O to that one, for sure. It’s one of my favorites. I always going back to see if I can find a new episode, which she’s been on a pause, but SuperSoul conversations, if you ever need something to fill you up is also a great one by her. Nice. What about you guys? What do you listen to? I really like the mind 10 mentor. That is a, this one that I’m listening to a lot lately. And then there’s another one that’s I’m listening to a lot is a a morning show out of Atlanta and they just started a podcast. So it’s really, I’m not even gonna talk about who it is because it’s like salacious stuff that is just like mindless that I can listen to. That’s wonderful. <Laugh>
Vlad Vidaeff (37:09):
Yeah, for me, I, I mean, it’s really tough to choose. I’m really into sports. So a lot of sport podcasts are part of the mix for me beyond that, I’ll mention two. One is how I built this and they just look at all of these that’s famous companies that we’re all aware of, but how did they start? What was the idea? What are the challenges that they experienced and overcame to become what they are today? Yeah. You touched on podcast. Not really having to be a weekly thing, but a series for example. And I think, you know, Dr. Death is an example of that. It became a TV show, but I knew about the podcast way before that they’ve now done a, a couple series and it’s all about a, a different doctor. So some of those podcasts that really focus and telling a story, I really enjoy those two. Yeah.
Sarah Smith (38:02):
They’re super powerful. It’s a way to kind of disconnect. Another one of my favorites is my league Teal’s podcast. She’s the founder of curl box, but she just, I mean, she started a podcast so long ago and just the amount of game that is in that podcast as a business owner and like as a female and you know, business coming up, she’s created, you know, something from scratch. It’s just really, she’s really down to earth and gives really tactical great advice. And so that’s definitely one for female founders, female business women. My league’s podcast is great. Very cool. Yeah. That’s great. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for taking the time out and being on our podcast today. Do you have any last thoughts before we go? You know, I think it would be a miss for me not to say, you know, if you are looking to build a network, one of the best things you can do is join a like AMA you have to find your people, you have to have a strategy associated with getting out there and networking.
Sarah Smith (39:01):
And I think COVID kind of really put that all in our face, right? Is that the value that we have is really, as my husband, Ray likes to say social capital, that’s really the most valuable thing is your relationships. The people that, you know, and as a young business owner and as a female business woman, I think it’s really important for every person to really think about just how they create community. And for me, AMA has been an awesome starting point. Thanks, Sarah. And how do we get in touch with you? Sure. So I’m on LinkedIn. That’s probably the one I’m most active on. So you can find me Sarah on LinkedIn, or you can visit our website. I’m always happy to schedule calls or talk to people about podcasting and that is speaker box media.com. All right. Thanks. Thanks for having me. You guys. Thanks Sarah.
