How to nail your podcast social media
So you’ve got your podcast up and running and now you want to make sure you’re doing the best possible job of marketing your show through social media.
Do you need to create new accounts for your podcast or can you use your personal ones? Do you need to be on every single social media platform or can you choose one or two?
And how do you strike a balance between informing people about your podcast and annoying them?
Do you need an account for your podcast on every social media platform?
If you want to do your podcast social media well, the answer is no (I can hear that sigh of relief from here).
Having an account for your podcast on every social platform makes it hard to pay attention to each one individually. And there’s no point doing a bunch of things poorly when you can do one or two things really well.
Naturally, what you can manage will be different if you’ve got a team who looks after podcast social media for you.
But if it’s just you behind the scenes it can take A LOT of time to prepare, post and schedule content on one platform let alone many.
Rather than starting a million different accounts with a spattering of followers on each, you want to be on the platforms your audience are most likely to be.
If your content suits a visual medium and your potential listeners are on Instagram then just nail your Instagram page and grow your audience there.
If you know your audience is scrolling for content in your niche on Twitter then make sure you’re tweeting.
Do your research to find out where people who consume your content are, and start there.
You’ll have a much better chance of success if you grow from a single platform than if you try to take on everything at once.
Can you use your personal social media profiles to share your podcast?
Absolutely, but only if it’s a good fit.
Of course, it makes sense to tell your followers what you’re up to. But if your personal profile is the only place you’ll be sharing your show you need to make sure there’s synergy between your podcast and your personal brand.
The other thing to be mindful of is whether there are any clashes in the tone of your personal page and your podcast.
If your Instagram feed is chock-a-block full of photos of you doing tequila shots, it’s probably not the best place to be promoting your “Cooking With Kids” podcast.
Look at your feed with fresh eyes and think about what a new listener would think if they found it.
Would they get a sense of your show from your personal account? Or are there things on there that might confuse a listener or turn them off? If so, it might be a good idea to start a new one.
Do you have to share your show on social media?
If you want to do everything you can to grow your audience, the answer is yes.
Social media is great for sharing content with people who follow you but it’s also great for finding new listeners who are searching for content in your niche.
If you’re just starting out it might seem like things are taking a while to gain momentum and those early days can feel like you’re bleating into the cyber wilderness.
But like everything, social media builds over time and the more you share your show the more aware of it people will become.
Don’t be afraid to share your show multiple times
This is a mistake I see a lot of podcasters make…they share an episode on the day it’s released and never speak of it again.
If your content is evergreen, which means it doesn’t date, you should be sharing each episode multiple times the week it’s released and then on a regular basis for the rest of time.
Most of your followers won’t see something until you’ve posted about it for the tenth time because not everyone gets served everything you post. So come up with a posting schedule that doesn’t feel spammy and go for gold.
Even if your podcast contains topical content, which means it’s only relevant for a short period, you can still share it multiple times.
Remember some social media platforms are more forgiving than others so make sure you’re sticking to best practice strategies for every platform you’re on.
You might be able to get away with a higher frequency of similar posts on Twitter because it moves like the wind but not on Facebook or Instagram.
Think about where your audience is, what messages they’d like to see and then come up with a schedule that ensures your show gets in front of as many eyes and ears as possible.
Want to start your own podcast but need a little help? Download my “How To Start A Podcast” guide or sign up for my online podcasting course, PodSchool.
Hi Rachel,
What is the best way to hire someone to run your social media account?
Hey Fletch, I’d maybe look at putting a job on a platform like UpWork? Rach