Back to News
March 22, 2016
Podcasts Worthy of Your Time — Part I
Podcasts have taken off in the last few years. Even though they’ve been around for nearly a decade, this recent bloom in the format’s usage has led to an influx of genre- and niche-specific broadcasts that share insights on everything from how to bag a deer and entrepreneur tips to social media and marketing insights for firearms industry members. Podcasts can be useful to retailers in several ways. From a listening standpoint, you can learn something new about what consumers are thinking, buying and doing in the field in a relatively short amount of time — listen on your way to and from your store, during your lunch hour, whenever you have a spare 10 to 30 minutes. (That’s another plus to podcasts; many are formatted to take up minimal time).
Many retailers have incorporated media into their sales floor setups. Televisions, computers, tablets and more are often made available to enhance the customer interaction through education and entertainment. If your setup includes such media displays, adding a podcast for play while customers are in the store can provide a fresh in-store experience, especially since most podcasts are also available via YouTube.
Finally, stores can create their own podcasts. Not only can this specific form of social media further engage current customers and enhance your business as their go-to resource, podcasts can quickly become a vehicle for connecting with new customers and improving your community and demographic outreach.
The links provided here go directly to the websites of individual podcasts I recommend retailers listen to, not only for marketing and business insights but also so you can get a feel for the wide variety of podcasts relevant to your business and how they work if you haven’t listened to one before. If you’re an iPhone user, you’ll find these podcast on iTunes. Stitcher on-demand radio is the preferred format for Android users. Most podcasts are also available on their own YouTube and Facebook channels.
You want to learn more about social media and social media marketing:
- Social Media Marketing & Social Media Examiner Show
- #AskGaryVee
- Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield
You have an entrepreneurial spirit:
- Chalene Johnson: Build Your Tribe
- Owner’s Mind with Chris Brogan
- Entrepreneur on Fire
- Harvard Business Review Ideacasts
- Freakonomics
Your right-half brain is screaming to be heard:
You need your firearm/hunting/outdoors fix:
- Steven Rinella
- Randy Newberg Unfiltered
- Joe Rogan
- Petersen’s Bowhunting Podcast
- Big Buck Registry
- Firearms Radio Network
Top 50 conservative podcasts
You have two hours to kill every week (I say this tongue-in-check, but the guy has been awarded Best of iTunes 2014 & 2015): Tim Ferris Podcast.
There are so many great podcasts that its difficult to list them all, so I say the best podcasts are the ones that draw you in and make you want to set the time aside to listen to them. Interested in developing your own podcast? Stay tuned for my next article on how to do just that. In the meantime, take a moment and listen to my own podcast, Back at the Lodge.
You may also be interested in: Facts That Help You Sell: What’s Your Competition Doing?
25650
