In this guide we will show you how we give value to our podcast, how we measure that impact and how we can make it stand out in the market.

First things first: this is a format that cooks on low heat and with that certainty we need to start the process of creating a podcast. If your goal is to claim value in the short term, the podcast is probably not the ideal format to do so. Podcasts take time to consolidate: just as a YouTube channel does not generate "youtubers"With two or three videos on the air, it takes months for a podcast to gain an audience of its own and a market acceptance that allows it to claim value. 

Second, if your aspiration is not to see the fruits of this content against the clock then a good starting point is to ask yourself what are the minimum aspects that your podcast must have before enjoying the value it will produce.

At Naranja Media, we believe that there are two key concepts that we should be able to guarantee in order to claim the value of a show: 

1. Content market fit: basically, this term refers to finding what is the content that our audience really wants to listen to and is deeply engaged with. It is the initial phase of the podcast, where we give the content the most thought to make all the necessary adjustments until listeners and episodes "match" or "click" or tie perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle... When that happens, we achieve our "content market fit". 

But how do we know if the puzzle is well put together or if, on the contrary, we are fitting two pieces that simply do not work together? By the metrics. Numbers don't lie and, in this case, they don't lie, the metric that allows us to know whether or not there are content market fit is retention. 

Retention shows the percentage of listeners who started listening to our content and, effectively, finish listening to it. To know this measurement, we take as a reference the percentage shown by platforms such as Spotify and Apple podcast in the third quartile. That is: if we divide the total length of the episode into four equal parts, we would have the four quartiles of each chapter; in the third quartile, when the episode has been played for 75%, is when we measure retention.

Why do we measure at that point? Because the percentage that the platforms show us in "complete" refers to how many people stayed with us for 100% of the episode, listening to every second, including, for example, the credits. If we take that metric into account, well, we may not have the same luck of Avengers making the audience stay with us attentively until the end. So it's more realistic to wonder how many people continued to listen to us when the episode was already three-quarters through.

Metrics are a whole universe and, although they allow us to understand many things, we do not always know how to analyze them correctly. That is why, below, we share some possible analyses for different metrics and, especially, to know whether or not there are content market fit: 

• - Retention between 1% and 50%: the content has not yet found its niche or its message and has to keep making adjustments to the concept. 

• - Retention between 51% and 69%: the content is attention-grabbing in its promise, but, for some reason, still fails to satisfy the listener's needs. 

• - Retention between 70% and 85%: ¡Content market fit at a glance! Both the message and the profile of the audience we want to reach make match and we can move from having an audience to creating a community with deeper ties. 

• - Retention higher than 85%: !Absolute and resounding content market fit! The content is excellent for the listeners, who, for sure, will have a great leverage in the organic growth and voice to voice of the show. 

On the other hand, the second aspect that is vital to ensure that a show is generating value is...

2. The number of downloads or reproductions of the content: refers to the number of reproductions that each episode achieves in a certain period of time. 

In this aspect, it is important to set some milestones with our content because what we understand as "a good" or a "bad number of downloads" is not universal. 

• Milestone #1: surpass 1,000 cumulative downloads in the show.
• Milestone #2: have month-to-month growth in excess of 20%. 
• Milestone #3: achieve a cumulative downloads of more than 10,000.

These three milestones are key to understand that a podcast, however niche, does have traction and an audience on which it could claim value. 

Here are two pieces of advice in case this is not yet your reality. If you haven't achieved content market fit, keep iterating with content, talk to the people in your audience or who you would like to be your audience, ask for feedback and iterate as much as you can throughout your creative and editorial process.

On the other hand, if they have not achieved their milestones in downloads it is probably due to a lack of content market fit or, if not, a lack of organic visibility of the show. In that sense, it is a great idea to make some investments in advertising to gain more traction. 

Once we have these two things happening -the content market fit and, at the very least, achieve the first milestone in terms of downloads-, we can go on to understand the different ways in which we might claim value from a podcast. 

In general, although there are many categories, we can group the following branded podcast -branded podcasts, i.e. podcasts that are endorsed by a brand or have a company behind them - into two main sections: with an external audience, a podcast in which a brand speaks to the world, and with an internal audience, a podcast in which a brand speaks to its collaborators.

So, let's look at what value looks like in each of these scenarios.

🎙️✨ Branded podcast with an external audience: 

Sales 

The first way to keep a podcast alive, the most obvious, the most desired, but the one that needs more stars aligned to make it happen is: sales through the format. 

Many companies think that through podcasting they will achieve new revenue streams or become a direct source of leadsAlthough this can happen, there are several things that must be aligned for it to happen. In this sense, our greatest example is Sales machinewho has become responsible for the 45% of the new leads from Sandler Colombia and also the main driver of sales of its digital products. 

What is behind the podcasts that do become synonymous with more sales? 

They are podcasts that find a perfect crossover between the audience's biggest pain being precisely the biggest pain that I solve. And not only do I solve, but it's the field in which I have real expertise. 

What does this look like on the Sales Engine? 

On the one hand, the audience is very clear: people working in commercial areas who want to sell more or better, at all levels. What are their strongest pains? Precisely, lack of knowledge and/or tools that prevent them from improving their sales and breaking the current limits they already know. 

On the other hand, we have Sandler, one of the best sales training companies and consultants in the world, which addresses all those pains at all business levels. There are trainings for people junior even for managers and leaders of commercial areas. 

Now, what would happen if Sandler only had products or services for managerial profiles? In this case, the podcast would probably be a source leadsBut there would be a very large part of the audience that, although they might be hooked, would be very far from achieving a sale thanks to the content. In this case, the return would not be sales because the main part of the value that the podcast would leave behind would be in the branding. 

What would happen if, to this same audience, the product we sell solves an "indirect" pain? For example, what if we aimed to solve their need for a better computer? While several of the listeners might happen to need a better computer and have the purchasing power to buy it, it would be very difficult to understand how the podcast increases my computer sales. 

When I said that this is the point that needs more stars aligned is because it is very easy to disguise my products as "pains" and make thirty-minute commercials in podcast version. The key is always to really deliver value, to give knowledge that solves needs and to explore as many sides of the same issue as possible. 

I can guarantee you that if every episode of Máquina de Ventas revolved around "sign up for my academy to become a better salesperson" we would not have the results we have today. Those results are the product of actually generating content that the audience can appreciate, value and use in their daily lives. For example, I leave you with an image so you can see the diversity of topics in some episodes: 

Finally, that a podcast brings sales is also a reality that happens when, thanks to all the valuable content, the format becomes a community that asks us for new solutions in the form of products or services. Here we also generate a positive spiral towards the creation of new products. 

2. Positioning 

This is one of the places where podcasts have the best chance of seeing fruit and doing a job so well done that it can open other doors.

What is the key? Simple and with three steps: 

1. Put at the center of the podcast the topic on which you want to position yourself. For example: sales, sustainability, entrepreneurship, innovation, financial knowledge, and so on. 
2. Talk about it from as many faces and as many guests as possible.
3. Again: worry about providing content full of real added value and not about starring or "self-promotion".

In general, companies get the first point right: they decide on a topic and then jump right into creating content. But 80% of the cases fail in points 2 and 3, and, because of these failures, they finally fail to see the fruits of positioning. 

Usually, companies choose a broad and interesting topic: artificial intelligence, for example. But then they say, "Let's get our VP to talk, let's interview our artificial intelligence projects and, at most, our suppliers". 

This train of thought makes perfect sense from the company: "I pay for it, so my people speak", but it doesn't make any sense from the audience. If I want to learn about artificial intelligence, why would I want to hear only the perspective and success stories of a single company?

Two examples of companies that have managed this very well with our podcasts: 

• Gasco: a company, whose main product is liquefied gas, is positioning itself in energy transition issues with its podcast. What Watt. The show discussed the energy transition, through many ideas and initiatives, with just over thirty external guests.
• Today, as a result of the podcast, the company: achieved partnerships with several protagonists of the episodes, gained recognition in this community for providing a space to make energy transition initiatives visible and has been part of the academic content of university professors.
• 
  Here we share with you in more detail why this podcast has been a successful strategy for the company. 

• Bancolombia: the company decided to open up the conversation about innovation and openly share how innovation processes work, both internally and externally. This, the first podcast launched by Bancolombia, continues to be the most successful today, becoming a key content consulted by innovation teams in large companies and putting Bancolombia at the forefront of the innovation process. top of mind in a subject that, although at first glance has no major correlation with a bank, today has been very relevant for the positioning of its brand. 

The positioning of a brand also has an additional benefit: the actions that we can generate from an engaged audience that has us in their hearts. top of mind: 

• Growth of our database from lead magnets. We already see in many cases how a podcast manages to bring that audience hooked to do a specific action and from this there is an increase in their databases. 
• Increase the audience in face-to-face brand events. 
• Generate conversations with the audience, which, little by little, transforms into communities through, for example, WhatsApp groups. This brings the additional benefit of allowing us to have a group of people with whom we can talk, to have feedback and interact far beyond the metrics or the super official podcast channels. 

3. Prospecting strategy disguised as a podcast.

In this scenario, the return on a podcast is crystal clear: your guests are your prospects. The question is: if there are so many ways to prospect, why do it with a podcast? Does it work? 

Important: It is necessary to have a very clear profile of who we are going to talk to and make the podcast a space in which, even if they are our prospects, the conversation has a clear intention to leave valuable content for the audience. It is not a "lock-in" or a "face-to-face", it is a genuine invitation to talk and get to know each other around a topic of common interest for both parties and, mainly, for those who listen to us. 

Many of the podcast's benefits come to light here: 

• Inviting someone to a podcast in a cold email is much more pleasant than inviting them to a business meeting. Usually the response rate to participate in a podcast is up to four times higher versus a cold commercial email. 
• The podcast can become the perfect opportunity to qualify a prospect: conversing and better understanding their pains, motivations and challenges is a wonderful setting to start connecting from there. 
• Closeness and reciprocity are two very difficult things to achieve with a cold prospect. However, they are very easy to achieve when a space for genuine conversation is created. In addition, the prospect has the possibility to reach the audience we are building. 

🎙️ Branded podcast for internal hearings: 

Increasingly, we are seeing podcasting rise in popularity for both external and internal audiences. This type of content is having a major impact on the culture and the ways in which we connect people within an organization. 

One of the biggest challenges in internal communications is how to ensure that all key messages reach the team correctly and are not interpreted as "just another message" sent by the HR communications team. 

Podcasts have several features that allow them to increase attention spans and thus stop being seen as a "spam"every time we send a message. 

So, why make an internal communication podcast?

• The format does not interrupt, on the contrary: it accompanies. 

Being audio, people can connect with our message, without having to dedicate additional time to the tasks they are doing. This brings the advantage of not having to look for "spaces in the agenda" of our teams or ask them to dedicate time beyond their working hours. 

• Innovation in communications 

Teams see the podcast as a new and fresh format, which attracts attention. This brings innovation to communications and, as a result, we increase the team's attention to the content. 

• More spaces to make the team the protagonist: 

The format allows interaction with the internal audience. In fact, in several of the formats, it is the internal audience itself who is the protagonist of the content, who in their own voice explains the milestones achieved or the way in which they have faced various challenges. By giving these spaces to the team, several of the challenges, such as generating cultural transformations, transmitting knowledge in different teams or adopting good practices that are developed in some cells, becomes something transversal and possible. 

• Accompany in the process of onboarding and training 

The above panorama allows us to imagine why the podcast can act as a facilitator in the processes of onboarding or training, which are processes that normally take people weeks, with complex agendas. The podcast allows for a continuous accompaniment throughout the process, with a format that is easy to update, timeless and that adjusts to the path of onboarding we have. 

Indeed, as we said initially, understanding why making a podcast can generate value for a company always depends on the objectives of each company, but it starts from a point common to all: quality content, which really leaves something to its listeners.

Of course, all of this is based on the advantages that the format brings and that are inherent to it, among them: the capacity to retain the audience, the ability to accompany without interruption, the timelessness of the format, which can be consulted and kept current at all times, and the ease of consumption. 

So, if you want to start a podcast, but you're not sure why, what for or how, write us here at our whatsapp and receive advice.