Podcast guests can help your marketplace build credibility and boost exposure.

To make sure you are getting the most out of your guest content, try creating a schedule of social media posts that will lead up to the big reveal. Here are 4 ways to help you promote your podcast before it goes live.

One thing to note: Not all social media platforms are created equal.

Rule of thumb… do not post to Twitter more than once an hour. It’s ok to repeat content at certain points throughout the day, but don’t go overboard. Think about creating a couple, slightly different versions of each piece of content so you don’t sound too repetitive. There’s no need to post the same content more than once per day on other social media platforms.

Check out The Social Media Frequency Guide for comprehensive details.

Introduce Your Guest

Before your guest podcast hits the web, make sure that your audience knows it’s coming. Great content is essentially useless if no one is consuming it. It’s like planning an awesome catered party and forgetting to invite your friends.   

Just because your guest is an authority and has tons of insight into real-world problems, people may not know who they are or why they should take the time to read or listen. In our most recent podcast with Max Wesman from GoodHire, we began introducing him to our social media audience the week prior to his podcast airing. This gave our viewers an idea of who he is, what knowledge he has, and when they could expect to hear it.

• Be sure to include your guest’s personal and company handle (if they have one) in order to credit them and link to their audience.

Link to content

After you have introduced your guest, be sure to create some posts that highlight the value they bring to your industry. Provide links to your guest’s previous blogs, podcasts, articles, or any other content to put his/her skillset into context for your audience. A great way to find published content is to look at the guest’s LinkedIn “Posts.”

• The “Posts” section appears right below the profile header. Look here to see what your guests have published and share relevant content with your audience.

• When you create a post, be sure to leverage #hashtags and @handles so people can find their way to it. This will make it more widely available, even to others outside of your audience reach.

Use Quotes and Images

Mike Parkinson from Billion Dollar Graphics discusses the power of images in his article, The Power of Visual Connection. He explains that images can affect the way we understand text and develop emotional responses:

“Cognitively: Graphics expedite and increase our level of communication. They increase comprehension, recollection, and retention. Visual clues help us decode text and attract attention to information or direct attention increasing the likelihood that the audience will remember.”

“Emotionally: Pictures enhance or affect emotions and attitudes. Graphics engage our imagination and heighten our creative thinking by stimulating other areas of our brain (which in turn leads to a more profound and accurate understanding of the presented material)."

Honestly, I’m a big podcast listener. I like to do a little research on the podcast host and guest before I listen so it’s not just faceless voices talking to me through my earbuds as I ride Bart into the city. Odds are, your listeners feel the same way. You should try to make this process as streamlined as possible. Introducing a few images with text or quotes can help to create a more visceral connection between your audience and your guest. Here is an example of a simple post we created for Max in Photoshop.

• Use quality pictures of your guest and a powerful quote to align their image with their expertise. Be sure to reach out to request images and more importantly, permission.

Say “Thank You”

Just because your podcast has gone live and you’re getting more views than ever, it doesn’t mean your job is done. You probably put in a good amount of effort cultivating a relationship with your podcast guest. Taking time to say thanks and sharing how happy you are with their contribution can go a long way. Not only will this show your guest that they were appreciated, it will tell your audience that it’s worth their time to listen.

• Don’t miss out on this simple opportunity to maintain a valuable relationship!

Put Some Icing on that Cake!

Something extra our team does for each podcast is pull interesting and powerful quotes from our guests and publish them to social media. This is a great way to extract value from the content and tease your audience into listening.

• Make sure to use @handles and a link to the podcast so your audience can find it in one click.

These are the techniques our team uses to make sure we provide the most value for our podcast. By creating a strategy, you can really take advantage of your network. The more viewers that engage and share your content, the more appealing your offer to the next podcast guest will be.