B2B SaaS Podcast Marketing – How Do You Use Podcasts in B2B SaaS?

Last updated on September 20th, 2024 at 07:01 am

What if you could reach hundreds—or even thousands—of potential B2B SaaS clients simply by talking about the topics you already know inside and out?

That’s what starting a podcast can do for your business.

Podcasts give you the chance to showcase your expertise, build credibility, and connect with your audience in a way that written content alone can’t achieve.

Overcoming this obstacle can open up a whole new way to engage your customers, generate leads, and grow your brand.

Keep reading to discover how to jumpstart your B2B SaaS podcast marketing efforts!

We’ll break down how to turn podcast listeners into customers.

Are Podcasts Powerful Tools for B2B SaaS Growth?

Podcasts are booming, and it’s not hard to see why they’re becoming a big deal for demand generation and B2B SaaS growth marketing.

In 2021, there were about 82.7 million podcast listeners in the U.S., and that number is expected to hit over 110 million by 2029. (Source)

That’s a lot of ears that are ready to hear your marketing insights about the SaaS industry.

Plus, more than half of marketers are already on board with using podcasts to reach their target audience. (Source)

On Apple Podcasts alone, the platform has seen an 82% increase in the number of branded podcasts. (Source)

Podcasting isn’t just popular—it’s profitable. In 2022, podcast ad revenue grew by 26%, and by 2024, spending on podcast ads in the U.S. is projected to reach $2.16 billion. (Source)

This means businesses are seeing real value in podcasting, and you bet the SaaS industry is also in line.

So, why should B2B SaaS companies consider podcasting as a medium for SaaS growth?

• Connect with Niche Audiences: Podcasts are ideal for reaching specific groups. They let SaaS companies explore topics that matter to their target market, engaging podcast listeners who are keen to learn.
• Build Thought Leadership: Sharing insights and stories through podcasts helps position brands as marketing leaders. This is invaluable for SaaS businesses aiming to establish authority in their field.
• Resonate with Decision-Makers: Podcasts offer long-form content that allows for in-depth exploration of complex ideas. This format helps break down your product’s benefits in a straightforward way, making it easier for decision-makers to understand and appreciate.

So, if you’re in the B2B SaaS space, don’t miss out on the opportunity to leverage podcasts as a powerful content marketing tool.

How to Plan and Structure Your B2B SaaS Podcast

Starting a podcast is more than just hitting record on your phone; it demands a well-thought-out content marketing plan.

Strategic planning ensures your content is engaging and consistent, which keeps your audience hooked.

With the right blueprint, you can effectively reach your target listeners and build a successful podcast.

1. Choose Topics that Resonate with Your Audience

Before you start planning your B2B SaaS podcast, it’s essential to know who your audience is.

Understanding your listeners helps ensure that the topics you cover, from marketing automation to industry trends, are not only informative but are also in demand.

When you know who you’re speaking to, you can tailor your content to address their interests, challenges, and needs, making your podcast a go-to resource for them.

To choose the right topics for your podcast, it’s helpful to use tools like the Customer Avatar Canvas.

This approach allows you to create a detailed profile of your ideal listener, which can guide you in selecting topics that genuinely resonate with them.

After getting clear with your Customer Avatar Canvas, focus on these actionable steps:

• Analyze the Completed Avatar: Review the detailed profile to identify industry trends that align with your audience’s needs and interests. This ensures your podcast remains current and relevant.
• Align with Audience Pain Points: Use the pain points identified in your avatar to create content that offers solutions or insights. This makes your podcast a valuable resource that addresses real issues.
• Leverage Interests for Engagement: Focus on the hobbies and interests highlighted in the avatar to craft episodes that capture attention and foster engagement.
• Use Feedback Loops: Encourage listener feedback after each episode to refine your understanding of what topics resonate. Adjust future topics based on this input to keep your content aligned with audience expectations.

2. Develop a Podcasting Schedule for Consistency

When planning your B2B SaaS podcast, having a consistent release schedule is key.

Why? It helps build anticipation and loyalty among your audience.

When listeners know exactly when to expect a new episode, they’re more likely to make your podcast a part of their routine, increasing engagement and strengthening your connection with them.

Consistency not only keeps your audience engaged but also builds trust.

A regular schedule signals professionalism and reliability, showing that you value your audience’s time and commitment.

This consistency can differentiate your podcast in a crowded market, making it a dependable resource for your listeners.

Here are some tips for B2B SaaS marketers on choosing the ideal schedule for releasing podcast episodes:

• Consider Audience Habits: Analyze when your target audience is most likely to listen to podcasts. Are they morning commuters, or do they prefer evening relaxation? Tailor your release schedule to match these habits.
• Align with Content Production: Ensure your schedule is realistic for your team’s production capacity. Consistency is important, but quality should never be compromised. Plan a schedule that allows for thorough preparation and editing.
• Keep an Eye on Industry Trends: If certain days or times are popular in your industry, consider aligning your schedule with these trends to increase discoverability and competitiveness.
• Test and Adjust: Start with a schedule, but be ready to adapt based on listener feedback. If your audience suggests a preference for different times or frequencies, be flexible and make data-driven adjustments.

3. Podcast Branding and Positioning in SaaS

Branding and positioning your podcast consistently with your business brand is essential. Why?

It reinforces your brand identity and builds trust with your audience.

When your podcast channel mirrors your company’s established image, it becomes a seamless extension of your brand.

This consistency in your podcast strategy helps listeners easily recognize and connect with your brand, enhancing their loyalty and perception of your business.

Here are some tips for B2B SaaS marketers on effectively branding and positioning their podcast channel:

• Align Visual Elements: Use your brand’s color palette, logo, and design elements in your podcast artwork and promotional materials. This visual consistency helps listeners associate the podcast with your company at first glance.
• Maintain a Consistent Tone and Messaging: Ensure the language and style of your podcast reflect your brand’s voice. If your company is known for being innovative and forward-thinking, let that shine through in your podcast content. This attracts customers into becoming listeners too.
• Reflect Company Values and Mission: Your podcast should embody the core values and mission of your business. This alignment strengthens your brand’s message and resonates with listeners who share similar values.
• Ensure Consistency Across Platforms: From your website to your social media channels, maintain a uniform brand presence. Your podcast should be integrated into your overall marketing strategy, ensuring all platforms work together to support your brand.

The 5 Best B2B SaaS Podcasts to Tune Into According to Reviews and Listeners

Since you’re in the stage of preparing to launch your B2B SaaS podcast, here’s a curated list based on popular mentions from various reviews, Reddit discussions, and Quora threads for your inspiration.

Each of these podcasts provides actionable insights for SaaS entrepreneurs, marketers, and product builders like yourself.

Check out these five shows to help you refine your B2B SaaS podcast strategy before the launch.

1. The SaaS Podcast with Omer Khan

Hosted by Omer Khan, a SaaS expert and founder of SaaS Club, The SaaS Podcast offers in-depth interviews with successful SaaS entrepreneurs.

With nearly 400 episodes, Omer delivers actionable advice on launching, growing, and scaling SaaS businesses.

Expect discussions on product-market fit, growth strategies, and founder lessons, providing valuable content for early-stage startups looking to navigate the complex SaaS landscape.

2. The Martell Method with Dan Martell

Dan Martell, a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, hosts The Martell Method.

Dan shares his playbook for scaling SaaS companies, often drawing from his own experiences building and selling multiple startups.

His episodes cover leadership, sales, and marketing strategies, making it a go-to resource for those seeking practical advice to accelerate growth in their SaaS journey.

3. SaaS Breakthrough by David Abrams

David Abrams, from Demio, hosts SaaS Breakthrough, where he dives into marketing strategies that drive success in SaaS companies.

The podcast features insights from marketing leaders who are “in the trenches,” working to scale businesses.

Each episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at marketing experiments and tactics that are delivering real results, making it essential listening for SaaS marketers.

4. Lenny’s Podcast with Eli Schwartz

In Lenny’s Podcast, Eli Schwartz and other thought leaders in SaaS share their expertise on product development, growth, and customer success.

This podcast is known for in-depth explorations of growth hacks and the evolution of SaaS businesses.

Whether you’re a product manager or a founder, Lenny’s conversations are packed with insights on building impactful and scalable SaaS products.

5. Startups for the Rest of Us by Rob Walling

Rob Walling’s Startups for the Rest of Us is tailored for bootstrapped SaaS founders.

This long-running show features tactical advice on starting and scaling software companies without venture capital.

Rob offers a no-nonsense perspective, focusing on profitability and sustainability, making it an inspiring listen for anyone aiming to build a SaaS business with minimal resources.

These podcasts are filled with valuable knowledge from the best minds in SaaS and offer practical advice for every stage of your business journey.

Whether you’re a founder or a marketer, these shows will keep you informed and inspired during a workout, a drive, or as you slowly begin your very own B2B SaaS podcast yourself.

Tools and Technologies for Producing High-Quality Podcasts

Launching your first podcast as a B2B SaaS marketer or business owner is a significant step.

Proper preparation is key to ensuring your podcast not only resonates with your audience but also stands out for its quality.

Having the right tools and technologies in place is fundamental to achieving a professional-sounding podcast.

Essential Tools

First, let’s talk about the fundamentals of recording a podcast episode:

1. Microphones: A quality microphone is the cornerstone of any podcast setup. It captures clear audio and reduces background noise, ensuring your voice comes through crisp and professional as you read your podcast transcript. Investing in a decent microphone is key to delivering content that sounds well-produced and engaging.
2. Pop Filters: This simple tool helps to reduce popping sounds caused by plosive consonants like ‘p’ and ‘b.’ By softening the impact of these sounds, a pop filter enhances audio clarity, making your recordings sound smoother and more pleasant to the ear.
3. Headphones: Wearing headphones during recording allows you to monitor audio levels and identify any issues on the spot. This real-time feedback is crucial for maintaining consistent sound quality and ensuring that everything is captured exactly as intended.
4. Audio Interface: An audio interface connects your microphone to your computer and converts analog signals into digital format. This tool is essential for maintaining sound fidelity and providing the necessary inputs and outputs to achieve professional-grade recordings.
5. Soundproofing Materials: Reducing external noise is vital for high-quality audio production. Using soundproofing materials like acoustic panels can help minimize echoes and ambient noise, creating a controlled recording environment.

Choosing Platforms

Now, in terms of podcast platforms to use, there are a number to choose from on the web. But that doesn’t mean using just whatever.

Based on what the data are saying regarding the mostly used podcast platforms, here are the top 3 platforms to choose from:

1. Spotify – 4.7 million podcasts
2. Apple Podcasts – 2.5 million podcasts
3. iHeartRadio – 250k podcasts

If you’re curious about using Spotify, check out this flowchart that breaks down the steps you need to take to start a Spotify podcast.

Editing Tips

The editing process of any show or podcast is crucial to creating an engaging and polished episode that highlights your brand and hooks your audience with valuable insights.

Here, I’ll share some key tips and best practices to help you elevate your podcast editing game.

Selecting the right editing software is the foundation of your editing journey.

Here are a couple of top picks:

• Audacity: This free, open-source software is great for beginners. It’s user-friendly, with plenty of features to edit your podcast effectively.
• Adobe Audition: For a more professional touch, Adobe Audition offers advanced features that are ideal for detailed editing. It’s perfect for those who want to take their editing to the next level with its powerful tools.

Editing for Maximum Engagement

1. Maintain a Natural Flow: Your edits should keep the conversation sounding natural. Avoid over-editing, which can make the dialogue feel choppy. Listen for natural pauses and adjust your cuts to maintain the flow of the conversation.
2. Enhance Audio Quality: Start by using noise reduction tools to eliminate background noise. Then, equalize your audio to balance the frequencies, ensuring voices are clear and crisp. Clean audio is key to keeping listeners engaged.
3. Strategic Use of Music and Sound Effects: Carefully choose music and sound effects to enhance storytelling. Use them to signal transitions between segments or to underscore key moments in your episode. However, be mindful not to overshadow the conversation with excessive sound.
4. Balance Technical Precision with Storytelling: While technical skills are important, remember that storytelling is at the heart of your podcast. Use your editing skills to highlight the narrative, drawing in listeners with a compelling story.

Best Practices to Engage and Build a Loyal B2B SaaS Podcast Audience

Can podcasts be interactive, you ask?

Yes, you can make podcasts interactive by integrating various proven growth strategies and technologies that encourage listener engagement and participation.

Now, let’s uncover proven growth strategies for creating interactive podcasts:

Live Podcasts with Q&A

Hosting live podcast episodes allows listeners to ask questions in real time through platforms like Zoom, YouTube, or social media.

This creates an immediate interactive experience where you get your community involved in the conversation.

Polls and Surveys

Including polls or surveys in your podcast episodes—either announced during the show or linked in show notes—gets your community involved, too, and lets listeners provide feedback or vote on future topics.

Plus, it allows you to develop episodes that tackle meaningful conversations for your target audience.

Tools like Google Forms or social media polls can be used to collect responses. For Spotify users, a built-in feature makes this easier.

Interactive Show Notes and Links

Providing detailed, clickable show notes with timestamps, resources, and interactive content (e.g., quizzes, surveys, links) allows listeners to dive deeper into the episode and engage with the content in a more interactive way.

It can also help listeners jump onto their favorite SaaS marketing bites from the episode.

The most popular podcasts that have a consistent wave of listeners are commonly seen using timestamps in their show notes; timestamps make it easier for their listeners to track key parts of the episode.

Engaging podcast audiences is a great start, but transforming listeners into a thriving community takes it to the next level.

While capturing attention is essential, creating a sense of belonging and interaction among listeners fosters deeper connections and loyalty, leading to long-term engagement.

To cultivate deeper connections with your podcast listeners, look into leveraging these tactics:

1. Create a Dedicated Podcast Landing Page
   Develop a podcast-specific landing page on your website where listeners can find all episodes, additional resources, and opportunities to subscribe. Include email opt-ins to build your community and keep listeners updated on new episodes, exclusive content, or events.
2. Feature Industry Experts and Customers as Guests
   Inviting well-known SaaS founders, SaaS entrepreneurs, marketing leaders in your industry, or existing customers to your podcast. This provides valuable insights and encourages your guest, whether they’re a SaaS founder or an expert, to promote the episode to their network, expanding your community reach.
3. Collaborate with Influencers in the SaaS Space
   Partner with SaaS founders, influencers, guest speakers, or related SaaS companies to cross-promote podcast episodes. This opens your podcast to new audiences while building credibility through these partnerships. Plus it can create more opportunities for more SaaS marketing bites.

How to Track the Success of Your B2B SaaS Podcast

Part of running a successful podcast channel is knowing what and how to track the metrics that measure your B2B SaaS podcast’s progress and success.

Let’s focus on how you or your marketing team can monitor your podcast’s listener growth, engagement rates, and lead generation.

1. Tracking Listener Growth

Step 1: Use Podcast Hosting Analytics

Podcast hosting platforms provide key data on your audience’s growth, including downloads, streams, and subscribers over time.

Do this: Choose a podcast hosting platform like Libsyn, Buzzsprout, or Anchor that provides detailed analytics.

Step 2: Monitor Downloads per Episode

Monitoring downloads helps you understand which episodes perform best and gives insight into audience preferences.

Do this: Track the number of downloads or streams per episode over time (e.g., within the first 7 or 30 days).

Step 3: Track Subscriber Growth

Subscriber growth indicates listener loyalty and how well your content is resonating over time.

Do this: Monitor subscriber counts across platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

2. Tracking Engagement Rates

Step 1: Monitor Episode Completion Rates

Episode completion rates show how engaging your content is and whether listeners are staying for the entire episode or dropping off early.

Do this: Use analytics from platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify to track how much of each episode is listened to.

Step 2: Analyze Social Media Engagement

Social media engagement can provide real-time feedback on your content and show how actively your audience is interacting with it outside the podcast platform.

Do this: Track mentions, shares, comments, and discussions about your podcast on social media using tools like Hootsuite or Buffer.

Step 3: Encourage Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings not only boost your podcast’s visibility but also offer qualitative feedback from your audience.

Do this: Ask listeners to leave ratings and reviews on platforms like Apple Podcasts.

3. Tracking Lead Generation

Step 1: Use Unique Tracking Links

Unique tracking links help you see how many visitors are coming directly from your podcast, making it easier to measure conversions.

Do this: Include UTM parameters in your episode show notes and calls-to-action to track listeners clicking through to your website.

Step 2: Measure Email Opt-ins from Podcast Calls-to-Action

Email opt-ins are a direct measure of lead generation and allow you to nurture podcast listeners into potential customers.

Do this: Direct listeners to sign up for a free resource or newsletter on various marketing channels and track sign-ups using tools like Mailchimp or ConvertKit.

Step 3: Include Form or Survey Links

Forms and surveys help you collect listener information and gauge interest in your services, turning podcast listeners into leads.

Do this: Add a simple survey or form in the podcast description where listeners can provide their details for further engagement or consultation.

FAQs

Key Takeaways

Using podcasts in your B2B SaaS content marketing strategy can make a big difference in reaching new audiences, building authority, and getting leads.

Podcasts are a cool way to connect with decision-makers, show off what you know, and get the listeners more involved than traditional content formats.

By planning well, using the right tools, and keeping track of the right metrics, you can make sure your podcast becomes a valuable asset for growth marketing.

It’s a great time to use these content marketing strategies and kick off your own podcast to boost your B2B SaaS marketing.

Staying consistent, sharing valuable stuff, and interacting with your audience will take you far on this journey.

Ready to take your podcast and business to the next level?

Be sure to check out our other blogs for more insights on content marketing, business strategies, and mindset growth to gain even more value and elevate your business to new heights.