Blogging has been around for more than 20 years since the internet was invented. It may have come in different forms, but the basic idea of writing content for people’s consumption has been around for a long time.
On the other hand, podcasting is a relatively new concept that popped up around 2004 and has been making strides to becoming one of the most popular content types on the internet.
These two content types serve the same purpose; to avail information to people but through different forms. Podcasting uses voice while blogging is all about writing.
Podcasting has certain features that make up its strengths while its weaknesses are complemented by blogging’s pros which makes the combination of these two digital marketing strategies powerful.
Where podcasting fails to shine, blogging shines and vice versa. For instance
Podcasting has limitations in searchability. Search engines are working around the clock to include features that enable podcasts to appear in organic results, but these strides are far from the SEO capabilities of content.
Secondly, while podcasting allows for the mentioning of sponsors and advertisements, it’s impossible to include links and calls-to-action within the recordings.
Links and Call-to-action are what lead to high conversion rates within blogging.
Lastly, podcast listeners have to listen from start to finish which can be limiting, especially for those with limited time.
But with blogging, a reader can skim through content in less than a minute and get the most critical points. This is instrumental in today’s world where there’s too much content to consume.
Now, what if I told you there are areas where podcasting kicks blogging’s a$$.
Let’s see
Why Podcasting is Better than Blogging.
1. Ability to Sell a Brand’s personality
Podcasting involves you talking to an audience. It’s a conversation between you and them about a topic you understand and that your brand majors on.
There is that human connection and personal touch that you get from podcasting. You are in control of the rhythm, tone, and flow.
The conversation portrays your personality, which, by extension, shows your brand personality. With podcasting, you ought to be genuine and professional while talking to your audience to send the message correctly.
This is not equally effective with blogging. Your audience is limited to reading texts on the phone, and they will only discern your brand personality if you’ve implemented stylistic devices to do so
2. Builds Credibility Better
Podcasting involves many interviews with experts and thought leaders who bring their personality and energy to the conversation besides sharing pro content.
And this builds credibility because people enjoy listening to known experts in any discipline.
On the other hand, blogging gains credibility through sharing well-researched information, which can be painstaking and time-consuming.
If interviews with experts are done, one has to transcribe it into a blog post which will not bring out the personality of the interviewee and the energy of the conversation.
3. Enables Mastering of a Niche
You ever heard about the learn-by-teaching effect, which, through numerous research, has been proven to be the most effective method to retain knowledge?
Well, podcasting is all about teaching.
Before you start podcasting, you must read widely and understand what you’re planning to share. You are well aware that you’ll be talking to an audience, so you don’t want to sound like you don’t know your stuff.
So you force yourself to learn, but it doesn’t stop there.
When you do podcasting daily, you become an expert on your content. The more you read, the more you share, and the more your brain creates brain wires based on the new information you’re acquiring.
Within a few months of daily podcasting on a focus topic, you’ll not even recognize yourself. Your knowledge will be far beyond your expectations.
Writing can also have a similar effect, but it takes more time to gain expertise because writing does not challenge you to master your content. After all, you can always research, copy, paste, and link content on the go.
4. It Complements Today’s Consumption Habits
People today don’t like reading, and the fact that our attention spans have significantly reduced makes it even worse. There is so much content online and so little time.
So why not just consume content that is enjoyable and allows us to save time.
That’s why video and podcasting have become popular today. People will rather watch videos or listen to podcasts.
A recent study showed that podcast listeners listen to 80% of entire podcasts. This is compared to blogging, where people spend an average of 37 seconds to read entire articles. That’s basically skimming.
Today’s generation doesn’t have as much focus. There’s just so much distraction from attention-seeking and clickbaity content online. Reading has become cumbersome.
Podcasts allow people to listen to content just the same way they listen to music, and they can multitask while listening, something everyone strives to do.
This can be detrimental to them, but as an added advantage to you, your content gets more exposure as they spend more time on your content.
5. You Can Repurpose Content
Podcasting enables you to repurpose your content. You can transform your transcription into an unlimited number of content types and share on numerous social media platforms from a single podcast.
It can be a
- Blog post
- Infographic
- Video
- Instagram Story
- Tweet
- Pinterest share
- E-book
I mean, if you can be creative, there’s so much you can do with a single podcast.
But as you’ve noticed, the best part is that you can transform it into a blog post. It’s like striking two birds with one stone.
With the right SEO skills, you can transform your podcast transcript into a blog post that brings in crazy organic traffic.
Podcast listeners can also use the article as a reference in the future, which creates brand awareness, builds customer-brand relationships, and opens avenues for sales and conversions.
Conclusion
From these advantages, it’s clear that it’s necessary to involve podcasting in your content marketing processes. Because if you don’t, it’s non-progressive to change, and it’s leaving money on the table.
Most importantly, though, is the fact that podcasting makes you an expert in your field. If blogging is your passion and you are so soaked in the world of a specific niche, the best way to become a thought leader is by talking about it with confidence.