#47 Why Startup Founders Are Investing In Podcasts
Investment strategies, founder journeys, and favorite books are just some of the topics discussed in podcasts hosted by founders. But why have they become the go-to format for marketing?
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Nithin Kamath’s “WTF with Nithin Kamath” is only a year old but is already one of the most talked about podcasts and has garnered over 16 million views on YouTube. Despite each episode being between 2-3 hours, this podcast has a huge fan following. In fact, many listeners have said that they prefer this long-form content as it is detailed and outlines every step of the topic discussed.
However, this is not the only founder-started podcast that is popular among listeners. A few more examples are SparX by Mukesh Bansal (Founder of Myntra and Cure.fit), The 1% Club by Sharan Hedge (Entrepreneur and Influencer), What the Hell Navya by Navya Nanda (Entrepreneur), and Speak Greasy by Gauri Devidayal (Founder of FoodMatters Group). This is a testament to the trend that podcasts are becoming the go-to format for personal branding and content marketing.
We’ve always maintained that podcasts are a great way for companies and founders to connect with their audience and establish themselves as thought leaders, and in the past year that statement has proven itself true multiple times.
In addition to audience engagement, podcasts serve as an excellent platform for releasing content that resonates with a particular brand strategy. By taking centre stage and interacting with a diverse range of experts within and outside their industry, the host — and consequently, their brand — demonstrates a depth that extends beyond their product. For example, SparX hosted by Mukesh Bansal is a podcast that covers topics from AI and Investments to History and Health.
Shantanu Deshpande, CEO of Bombay Shaving Company and host of the podcast, The BarberShop, said in an interview that he recognizes a growing weariness toward traditional advertising among younger audiences. Rather than directly pushing his products, he integrates the brand into the podcast's content.
By chatting with other experts and big names in their industry, they can dive into important topics, share their insights, and give listeners some practical advice they can use.
As we’d discussed in an earlier newsletter, social media allows celebrities to shape their own narratives, away from traditional media, and fans also turn to social media first to get updates from them directly. Founders also seem to be doing the same, relying more on personal branding than on traditional media for a more seemingly organic marketing approach.
The audio and video industry is booming and it doesn’t seem like it will reach the point of saturation anytime soon. Further, given the versatility of audio and video content, which can further be repurposed as articles, interviews, and bite-sized social media content, podcasts seem like the ideal content marketing strategy.
So in this year as well we can expect an increase in podcasts hosted by founders of emerging start-ups, leading to many opportunities for companies that do offer end-to-end video production services, or even freelancer script writers and video editors.
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