Podcasts are nothing new. Chances are you’re currently subscribed to one or two.

But podcast marketing needs some time to catch up. While prominent brands like LinkedIn and Shopify are notable success stories in the world of brand podcasts, many companies are slow to embrace the podcast as a marketing medium.

But let’s go back for a moment. What exactly is podcast marketing?

Proprietary podcasts allow you to market products and services directly to consumers through this modern audio medium. But that is not everything. Branded podcasts give you the ability to reach consumers who fit your brand, share updates about your business, better understand the human side of your business, and more.

And perhaps most importantly, you can control the story from start to finish, creating full episodes of engaging content that serve as a powerful and impactful marketing tool.

Many companies may see podcasting as a challenge, but let’s break that down, find out why and provide some useful tools to take advantage of this valuable marketing medium. After all, a brand podcast allows you to unlock a highly engaged audience of potential customers and build relationships that can increase exposure and revenue for years to come.

Here’s how to overcome the hurdles of podcast marketing.

Related: 4 Reasons to Start Your Own Podcast

Why podcast marketing can be a challenge

There’s a reason many companies have been slow to embrace the podcast. At first glance (or listen), starting a podcast can seem costly, time-consuming, and intimidating. After all, compared to creating a quick social media image or composing an email newsletter, conceiving and conducting a crystal-clear audio interview with guests, appropriate topics, and product marketing can seem like a monumental undertaking, even with tech. and trend-smart marketers on staff.

In addition, some assume that a branded podcast is difficult to market outside of the actual podcast itself. “There are so many podcasts now. How will ours stand out?” is not an uncommon study. And in a sea of ​​choices, designing a compelling brand podcast can become an intimidating prospect.

Finally, there is the matter of gathering insights. Most campaign managers are used to traditional social, email and website traffic tools. But many don’t feel good enough when it comes to podcast data. It’s also true that podcasts offer very limited analytics, at least compared to the many other marketing channels out there.

But while these three hurdles certainly exist, they are quickly overcome. Here’s how.

Related: 5 Ways to Use Spotify’s Podcast Branding and Marketing Growth Strategies

Tip 1: Use the right software and experiment

Worried about the time and effort it takes to start a brand podcast? Fortunately, this format has been around for a while and there are plenty of easy-to-use tools at your disposal. Gone are the days of high-tech recording studios. These days, everybody can create a podcast using an affordable USB microphone and any number of editing software products available.

If you’re concerned about the creative element of your show, try mixing up guests (and even hosts!) so that the burden isn’t on one person to produce excellent content for each podcast. You don’t have to make weekly episodes either – make sure you have a fixed calendar. Start slow and experiment regularly!

Related: 5 Reasons All Entrepreneurs Need a Podcast Today

Tip 2: Cross promotion is your best friend

Sure, there seems to be an endless number of podcasts. But something is already available to market your new podcast: existing platforms! While organic findability is certainly a problem in the podcast world, it doesn’t have to be a barrier to your success.

Cross promotion should be your best friend. You can use everything from social media accounts, email newsletters, and even physical products to promote your podcast. Plus, you can pay or trade for shoutouts with similar podcasts as well. And when it comes to organic reach, you can always ask loyal listeners to rate your podcast on whatever platform they choose. This will make a big difference over time.

Related: How to Use Podcasting to Help Your Brand

Tip 3: Be smart about collecting data

Many companies are hesitant to use podcasts for marketing purposes, often because of a data shortage. As I mentioned, podcast platforms generally have less robust data than quasi-traditional digital marketing spaces like social media. However, you can get creative here.

Experiment with converting podcast listeners to your other platforms. For example, inserting specific links into each podcast episode description — links to third-party sites — can be a great way to collect audience data. Or setting up social media accounts just for the brand podcast can help shape the demographics of your listeners. You can even run podcast-specific campaigns (for example, promotional codes on products) to test how, when, and to what extent that audience converts into customers.

Notable success stories are emerging from the brand podcast space. And with technology constantly evolving, the barrier to entry has never been lower. By leveraging cross-promotional marketing strategies and being creative with audience data, some of the most frequently cited hurdles to podcast marketing disappear. So what are you waiting for? Record!