7 Tips to Increase Podcast Audience Engagement
If you have been running your show for a while or are starting from scratch, you may be looking to increase your engagement for your show. And by engagement, this could be more than just people listening, you are looking for more people to interact with you, your podcast, and your brand.
Here are 7 tips to start helping increase your podcast audience engagement today!
1. Post Engaging Posts on Social Media
This is more than just posting a post that reminds people there is a new episode out. You are wanting to share content that makes people want to interact with you. Whether that is providing valuable information or tips and tricks, give them a reason to want to connect with you.
For example, a poll, Q+As, a call to action for them to comment, BTS, valuable concepts or subjects from the latest episode, or asking a question on your story for them to respond. Depending on your audience and what sort of engagement you are looking for, this could vary in a few different ways.
2. Make Sure Your Content is Geared Towards Your Listeners
There are a few questions you can ask and evaluate yourself:
What does your social media, email newsletter or anywhere else you are wanting to get more engagement look like currently?
Are you providing content in the first place that your audience wants to hear?
Are they interacting and excited about guests?
Are they interacting with certain topics more than others?
Make sure you are giving them value and content that they want to be engaging with in the first place. If your content isn't currently functioning the way you want it to then provide some surveys or polls to your listeners to get an idea of what they are wanting. You can do this through your social media, email, or even Spotify polls.
3. Add in SEO and Keywords
Adding keywords and SEO for episode titles, episode descriptions, and over on your website if you utilize show notes. That way you are maximizing your potential visibility of not just listeners but people who may researching and looking for answers on your topics. You want to reel people to listen to your great content!
4. Improve Your Shows Visibility
This could be within the show itself and on your social media. Add close captions on your social posts and if you do video format as well include it on your YouTube and wherever else you can stream your video podcast. Also include a transcription on your website or a link in your episode description for those to access. You want to make your show accessible for all of your community.
5. Start Interaction Yourself
Ask your listeners questions both in your show and on social media. Include ways that they can get in touch if they have thoughts, ideas, or suggestions for the show. Get on live or stories and chat with your audience, answer questions, and get to know them in an authentic way. Sometimes you just need to start the conversation and get them going!
6. Include Listeners in Your Show
Another way to get more listener engagement is to include them in your show! Ask questions and read listener responses on air, and have segments that are for listeners like they tell a personal story or you read whatever they sent in. You can do shoutouts to loyal listeners or have them send in questions you or your guests will then answer. It’s a great way to include them in your show and give them more reason to want to talk to your brand!
7. Have a Podcast Giveaway
Not only will this help with engagement but it can help bring in new listeners depending on what your giveaway entails. We like doing a rating and review or sharing with your friends and family.
A subscribe, rating, and review giveaway can be good to help increase your visibility or potential listeners clicking on your show. This may not have as big of an impact as you think it will but it can be great to help bring life to your show again and allow for people who do come across it to see what people are loving about it. I suggest when doing this giveaway to have in the instructions to send you a screenshot once done, as Apple reviews can take up to 24+ hours to show up and you don’t want to miss an entry!
Sharing with family and friends is another great giveaway, this can help bring in new listeners. As Buzzsprout points out, 19% ask friends and family for podcast recommendations. That could be a good amount of people you could reach if you have your listeners share what they love about your show. Again, I would have your listeners either tag you or screenshot their shares on social media so you are able to track who has shared your podcast for your giveaway.
No matter what there will be some trial and error on what works and doesn’t work for your show. Give some things from above a shot, evaluate them after you’ve done them, and make notes of what you should continue doing and remove. It’ll take time but you can put strategies in place to help increase your podcast audience engagement for your show while also still gearing toward your listeners.
Let us know what methods you’ve tried for increasing your podcast audience engagement below. And if you are looking for more podcasting tips, check out our blog!
Aleea
