When we talk about marketing goals and podcast goals, we don't always think there must be a correlation. Yet this is true whether you are creating a corporate or personal branding podcast.
Since I would like to explain to you why I think so, I have decided to dedicate an episode of Podcast for Business to this very topic.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest path to victory. Tactic without strategy is the noise that precedes defeat ”.
From the book "The Art of War".
We will not talk about military art today. So what does all this have to do with it? I'll tell you right away, in the next paragraph.
Strategy and tactics are two fundamental pillars of every business… or at least of every entrepreneur who has a clear idea of what goal to achieve !
The book from which the quotation is taken dates back to the mists of time (6th century BC) and has been attributed to the well-known Chinese strategist and philosopher SunTsu.
It is considered the oldest strategic manual in history and, even today, it is a source of inspiration for those involved in doing business . More generally, for anyone who wants to achieve a goal, in any area of their life.
You must know that, in the oriental culture where it has its roots, it is considered a compulsory study manual for business managers. This is precisely because the concepts expressed fit perfectly with the typical realities of a business.
The quote describes the terms strategy and tactics very well. In everyday language, however, they are often misused as synonyms for each other. In reality they are not and they contain different concepts, albeit similar and strongly connected to each other.
It's important to understand the difference because it will help us answer the topic of this episode: Why should podcast goals be aligned with marketing goals?
In the previous episodes of Podcast for Business I analyzed the reasons why the podcast is a useful tool to integrate into your communication strategy.
Indeed, it is a communication channel at the service of a much broader and more strategic plan. Here's how to make it so.
Ah! In the meantime, if you've never listened to an episode, here you can retrieve the first one.
If your marketing goal is to tell your brand but, not only that, to make it stand out by attracting the right people, the podcast is definitely a tactical tool. I'll explain.
What I mean is that, due to its mode of use and the impact our voice has in bringing people together, it is highly engaging.
That's why I consider it a tactical tool for content marketing or brand awareness .
When I talk about tools, I always imagine a real tool. A screwdriver, hammer or pen. In short, an object through which to work concretely to implement what we have decided (in advance!) To achieve.
This presupposes the existence of a project idea, a mission to accomplish, objectives (including marketing). Goals that we will also achieve thanks to those tools.
Let's take an example.
Let's imagine you want to position your brand in a new market. You then decide to create an image that allows you to make yourself known and appreciated by a new audience, differentiating yourself from your competitors. This is your business goal .
Your strategy will be to work on building your image, strengthening your brand awareness. Translated, it means allowing people to uniquely identify you in their mind, appreciating you for those who recognize you as your strengths .
The tactics you can use to achieve this and implement your strategy can be many:
Do all these things really have to be done?
These tactics can (and in my opinion should) coexist to work, on several fronts, to implement your strategy. Each of them works, in an aligned and synergistic way, to achieve short-term objectives.
So this is how micro objectives and tactical tools will allow you to achieve your strategic and business goals. Try to imagine a sort of pyramid of objectives, dividing it into phases.
All this reasoning is useful to finally get to answer our initial question.
In fact, if all of these tactical micro goals aren't consistent with the whole strategy, they won't have any effect on achieving your business goals.
Misaligned podcast goals will be just "a beautiful waste of time" as Jovanotti sang.
I emphasize beautiful because maybe it will have allowed us to live an interesting experience. Alas, however, in terms of business, it will probably not help to make it grow.
I want to tell you this anecdote that concerns me closely.
Three years ago, when I produced my very first podcast, I wasn't a freelancer . I worked as an employee in a multinational company, in the administration, finance and control department.
My podcast represented for me simply a project I wanted to work on to experiment with this medium, which I was falling in love with. Learn to use it and challenge myself with narrative writing.
My goals were totally personal and unrelated to the work I was doing. Therefore, the podcast did not contribute to goals, neither business nor marketing! In fact, I had nothing to achieve but pure personal pleasure.
This is the concept I would like to pass on to you.
If you have decided to use podcast to support your business, it means that the goals you set out to achieve with your podcast must be aligned with your strategic marketing goals.
What does it mean?
Which must be consistent, sustainable, measurable. It means that the podcast must guide our listeners. We must first address the right target, create an editorial plan with consistent content and create calls-to-action that stimulate precise (also measurable) actions.
In practice, the podcast becomes a tool capable of triggering a marketing funnel .
These are questions that can help you better focus on the actions to be taken, how to use the podcast, what and how to communicate.
This is the method I use when I create a podcast or when I work with my clients: starting from the design, up to defining the marketing objectives and understanding how these fit into their strategy.
But I want to talk to you about this in detail in the next episodes.
I know that your time, like mine, is precious so I hope I have given you some food for thought.
If, on the other hand, you want to have other tips and you are more Instagram-addicted, I am waiting for you on my profile .
