Engagement is all over the place on Instagram. Some posts get barely any views, likes, or comments, and it just fluctuates a lot. If you’re on Instagram, if you’re active on Instagram, and if your business is built on Instagram, then you probably have noticed that views are low compared to a few months or years ago. This is scary, especially if you rely on Instagram for your marketing.
In this episode, let’s talk about it. I will answer the question, can you still grow a podcast audience on Instagram in 2023?
Is Instagram Still a Good Way to Promote Your Podcast to New Audiences?
I do not believe that in this year, 2023, Instagram is going to be the best platform to grow an audience. I do think that there is a place for Instagram in your podcast promotion and marketing, but I see Instagram more as a way to reach your existing audience.
What I mean by that is the people who already know of you, your brand, and your business, will most likely check out new episodes of your podcast.
However, for new audiences, I do not think that Instagram is your best bet. There is a lot of work that goes into creating Instagram content, especially if you want to make it very shareable and very enticing for new people. I think that there are better platforms to do that, or at least easier platforms to reach new people.
Promoting value through Instagram
For our podcast promotion, we use Instagram to reach our existing audience and to just let people know when there’s a new episode. We try to make the posts on Instagram as valuable as possible.
Even if people do not go and listen to the podcast, that’s fine because they still have a win there. They still get value from what we post. It is not just letting the audience know to check out a new podcast episode because the post itself doesn’t tell you anything. It is best to ask how valuable this post is. And then if people do go to the podcast, that is awesome. We also have more content to repurpose in a valuable way.
It’s a little bit of a mindset shift. It doesn’t matter how many people eventually go and listen to the podcast. It is way more important that you serve your audience.
Other tools that are available for podcast promotion
What other tools, platforms, or strategies are available to reach a new audience?
Being a podcast guest
My favorite way to get in front of new audiences is being a guest on other people’s podcasts.
This is my favorite because I like podcasting a lot! For me, this is the most fun way to promote my podcast and my business. Also, you will reach people who are podcast listeners. They’re already in their podcast app, and it’s a very small step to just click on your show and listen to your podcast next. So there are no real barriers for a new listener. They can stay in the same app compared to Instagram where they have to leave the Instagram app and then go to their podcast app and search for your show.
If you are thinking, “Okay, how on earth am I going to do this?” Make it easy for yourself by reaching out to podcasters and asking if you can be a guest on their podcast. Include what value you will bring to their podcast in your pitch. You can even ask what they think or if they think you’d be a good fit for their show.
Long-form content creation
Another tool is having long-form content. It usually depends on the format of the podcast, but an example would be a timestamped interview. Make sure that at the end of this content, your call to action is included.
Collaborations
You can also do collaborations. Maybe there is a blogger that you can collaborate with and you can write a guest blog. It can also have links to your podcast or to a specific episode that you have about similar content.
For collaborations, come up with an idea, research people to reach out to, and then reach out. Make sure that the pitch is super specific and make sure that the person that you’re pitching to knows that we want to provide as much value as possible for their audience.
Being a guest speaker at summits or events
You can also speak at virtual or live summits, which is a great way to get new eyes on your brand, your content, and your business.
If you want to speak at a summit, make sure that you know what kind of summits you would like to speak at when they are going on, and when you can apply to be a speaker.
Maybe you want to network a little bit with people who regularly attend these summits or speak at these summits or host them.
Always provide value first approach. That is probably my biggest tip. If it’s for Instagram or if it’s for a different platform, just make sure that you have that value-first approach, and you will almost automatically get new eyes on your podcast.