Why Microcontent Matters for Your Corporate Podcast
Why Microcontent Matters for Your Corporate Podcast
It’s one thing to produce a podcast, it’s another to get people to listen to it — so said one of our guests on the Strategic Momentum Podcast. It’s true: publishing an episode to a podcasting directory is like throwing it into the ether and hoping someone crosses its path. Unless you already have thousands of subscribers, your journey doesn’t stop when the episode releases.
Digital promotion of your corporate podcast is crucial to gaining listenership. You have to reach your target stakeholders where they are and draw them in with compelling teasers of your content to entice them to listen to the full episode. That’s where microcontent comes in.
As content marketers attempt to cater to the public’s rapidly deteriorating attention spans, there has been a rise in media that is consumable in 10-30 seconds. Smart Insights puts it this way: “low cost, high-value content appropriate to social channels.” Microcontent can be anything from social posts, blogs, text excerpts, videos, audiograms, graphics, and infographics that are condensed and scannable in a matter of seconds. But most importantly, microcontent is strategically crafted to maximize engagement and heighten interest in a topic in a matter of seconds.
Here are some examples — all of which serve to draw people back to the podcast:
A 5-8-page PDF “slider” on LinkedIn
An article on LinkedIn (a condensed version of the episode show notes)
As the Nielson Group, leaders in UX design research, put it, “Well-written microcontent, when presented at the right time, can draw people in, emulate a courteous customer-service agent, and humanize the user experience.” Microcontent directs people where they need to go, luring everyone who interacts with it back to your corporate podcast. It also builds credibility and trust. According to a 2013 survey, 61% of consumers say that they are more likely to buy from a company that provides custom content. When you consistently show up in places where people congregate online and offer short clips of useful, informative, or even entertaining content, then you are winning over new customers and building loyalty among existing ones.
At Flywheel Associates and Strategic Momentum, microcontent is our bread and butter. We’ve tested and learned for several years to find the right mix of content types and channels to maximize reach. Your mix will be specific to your audience and will require your own analytics and investigation; however, we’ve put together the following general advice for producing microcontent:
Know your audience.
Before launching any content campaign, it’s imperative to have a firm understanding of the people you are trying to reach. Your audience profile will guide what channel you create the microcontent for (i.e. LinkedIn versus TikTok) and what type of content best suits that audience (ie. audio versus infographic). For example, if you are an enterprise tech company whose podcast audience is small business owners, you're likely going to create microcontent for LinkedIn. However, if you have a DTC tech brand and your podcast is Millennial-consumer-facing, then you will have better luck on Instagram. Once you know the mix of platforms, then you’ll want to craft content that is native to those environments for maximum impact.
Get to the point.
Whichever format you choose, being concise in your microcontent topic is essential. Lead with the “so what” in your headline, caption and imagery. This is where quantity and quality meet. If you have several key takeaways from your latest podcast episode that could be attractive to audiences, make a separate piece of content for each (ex. one graphic per quote, one audiogram per idea). Don’t try to do too much at once. Plus, the more pieces of microcontent you have, the more touchpoint opportunities you have with potential listeners.
Make it visually captivating.
We all know the statistic: the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than words. According to a 2014 MIT study, it only takes 13 milliseconds for the eye to process an image. That’s why, no matter how well-crafted your headline is for your 15-second clip, the thumbnail image is the first impression your viewer will have of your content. Ensure that your visual content is engaging, but still stays true to your branding to increase brand recognition in the market. If you have a CTA with your microcontent, ensure that stands out the most.
Always link to your episode or landing page.
Microcontent is useless if it doesn't directly link back to the long-form piece it is promoting. If it’s a social media graphic, make sure the URL to your podcast is included in the design. If it’s a video or audiogram, make sure the clip ends with the link to watch/hear more. Then, if you are sharing the content in a social media post, also ensure the link is included in your post copy. It seems obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people miss this critical step.
As online communities continue to saturate with attention-grabbing headlines, microcontent has never been more important or effective for corporate podcasting promotion. Have questions about creating microcontent? Need help with your corporate podcast content marketing strategy? Get in touch with us here.