The following is a lightly edited excerpt from Chapter 1 of Ray and Steve’s new book, Podcasting for Small Business.
To podcast, or not to podcast? With apologies to Shakespeare, many small businesses are asking themselves that question in today’s digital world. Some wonder if it’s worth the time, effort, and money to produce a podcast when no one knows for sure how many people would listen.
But people are listening as podcast popularity continues to grow. They’re also watching. The Edison Research Infinite Dial 2025 report (with support from Audacy, Cumulus Media, and SiriusXM Media) shows that the percentage of Americans who have consumed a podcast has reached an all-time high—55% are now monthly consumers, which means they’ve either listened to or watched a podcast. That’s an estimated 158 million of us.
This is also the first time Edison Research has used the term podcast consumption. Edison Research Vice President Megan Lazovick says an overwhelming majority who watch podcasts say they also listen. Much of that listening is on YouTube, as one-third of weekly podcast listeners use the platform.
In fact, YouTube says it has become “the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the US.” As of January 2025, YouTube had “more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of content.” And in 2024, viewers watched “over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly.”
Lazovick says, “As more people discover the platform via video, it’s smart to think about it as consumption instead of just listening.” She also says this isn’t “intended at all to undercut the magic of audio-only content,” adding “there’s room for both video and audio in the world of podcasts.”
Regardless of whether your audience listens or watches, taking the podcast plunge for your small business will yield four concrete benefits.
Digital Marketing
Business owners in the Digital Age need to appeal to two audiences: humans and Google (and other search engines). Before we consider the human element, you must first understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is simply a technique to make your website better and improve your search engine rankings. Among other things, the goal is to help increase your visibility, website traffic, and generate customer leads.
The content you create also gives you credibility when someone finds you via Google. It’s an opportunity to “meet” and “get to know” you before they meet you in real life. This is precisely what makes podcasting so versatile and effective. The podcast’s audio content is almost purely for human consumption, while the text elements published for Google and podcast directories help your audience find you, even if they don’t listen to podcasts.
That can mean a global audience. But don’t discount the power of podcasting for local web traffic, even if you believe your small business only needs to be known in your local community. Remember, too, that optimizing your website for local search growth is more powerful when you have multimedia associated with it. Google favors audio and video in this way.
So, if you add a podcast to your website and to the various places Google searches for local business content, you can compete in a way your competition likely is not.
Branding vis Podcasts
A podcast is an extension of your small business’s branding efforts. After all, you have a website, don’t you? And no doubt you use a variety of social media channels to tell your organization’s story and build your fan base, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social networks. A podcast gives you an opportunity to reach people through even more platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
A podcast also gives you the opportunity to tell the stories you want to be associated with, which can help define and increase awareness of your brand. At the same time, a podcast allows you greater depth, whether you’re talking about key issues or launching new products. A bonus: You can turn the interviews you conduct during your podcast into social media content or blog posts for your website, or any other site that can boost your business’s visibility.
Thought Leadership
Podcasts give you control over positioning your business and its executives as thought leaders in their field. You can design the podcast to show off your or your staff’s expertise and become a trusted source among an interested audience. But remember to put your audience and their needs first. You’ll attract and retain listeners when you focus on content that educates, engages, and entertains them.
At the same time, having a podcast might make it easier when you pitch the media. Reporters are always looking for experts who can explain issues clearly and concisely. Don’t hesitate to point to your podcast as proof you’re the right business and have the right expert(s) to interview. Reporters would rather talk to a “known quantity” than take a risk on someone with the right credentials but who’s a horrible speaker.
Relationship Building
One of podcasting’s greatest appeals is its intimacy. Remember most people listen on their mobile devices with their earbuds, meaning it’s a true one-to-one event. Distractions are less likely, giving your business a better chance to connect with your audience. Your listeners want that connection, too. Roughly 80% of those surveyed in the Business Podcast Consumer say they either recommend or get recommendations from their social circle for podcasts to listen to, providing more proof of the importance of that connection.
Also, as we mentioned in the introduction, think of a podcast as personalized radio on demand. Unlike radio, listeners who download a podcast can hear the program anytime, anywhere, and as often as they want from start to finish. That can be an advantage for both your business and for potential advertisers.
Have some fun with it, too. You could tape your podcast live in front of an audience. Or ask your podcast listeners to suggest topics and guests for future shows. Make the experience as interactive as you can by integrating social media, contests, and promotional merchandise. This can build loyalty, trust, and goodwill.
Ray Sidney-Smith is a small business evangelist and President of W3 Consulting, a firm that helps small businesses succeed using digital technologies.
Steve Orr is the founder of Steve Orr Media, a coaching firm devoted to helping clients become engaging podcasters and more effective speakers.
You can find them on Twitter/X.com here: @w3consulting and @steveorrmedia.
You can order the e-book version on the book’s website, Podcasting for Small Business, read it on Kindle, or order the book.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images for Unsplash+
