When it comes to generating that critical "Know, Like and Trust" factor with a personalized, 1-on-1 marketing approach on a social network like LinkedIn, there's an often-overlooked marketing method that's proving more and more popular with the social media network's 467 million plus users: Podcasting.
New data recently released by LinkedIn revealed a promising increase in podcast listenership among its users - which means that if you're not already considering podcasts in your LinkedIn marketing process, you should be looking at them as another instrument in your "Know, Like and Trust" toolbox.
Here's why podcasts work: Not everyone has time to sit and read blog posts, whereas a podcast can be consumed during a commute, a workout, or walking the dog.
With a podcast, you can literally "get in someone's head," and that person takes your voice along (via ear buds, car stereos, etc.) wherever he or she is headed at a particular moment in time.
Underlining this, LinkedIn recently shared this infographic which outlines that 35% of LinkedIn users globally are regularly listening to podcasts - and that the level of engagement with podcasts increases significantly with seniority.
Why Podcasts Work So Well
Podcasts are a richer medium, which means they can communicate your message more effectively. Using LinkedIn messages and posts to talk business is great, but you lose important cues like tone of voice and other additional words that help you communicate - not to mention your personality.
Just as I coach my clients on using LinkedIn to generate new business not to scrub all traces of personality and individuality from their profile page, photos, or posts, a podcast is an excellent chance for your clients and prospects to get to know the real you.
Using a podcast to build in those "know, like and trust" factors works so well because people trust you more when they hear the sound of your voice. They also feel your emotion, passion and expertise in your respective area.
Getting Your Podcast Noticed on LinkedIn
You can also embed podcasts on LinkedIn using SoundCloud, and with LinkedIn's newly enhanced publishing platform features you have the ability to publish native blog posts along with embedding everything from podcasts to tweets to training videos right inside the platform as well.
You can also use your podcast as source material for a LinkedIn blog post - using a tool like SpeechPad.com, for example, you can also easily convert that audio into written posts. For example, I recently interviewed expert David Newman talking about public speaking tips, and had it transcribed to turn into a series of blog posts.
More Content = More Customers
It's also been shown in numerous marketing studies that multiple pieces of content are consumed by prospects before a purchasing decision is made.
Offering longer-form content - like giving away a free book or doing a podcast - are examples of content marketing and "extending the conversation" outside of LinkedIn invites and messages.
The goal is to make yourself memorable, relatable, and likable with every piece of content you share on the network - so get to it
