What Defines an Effective Healthcare Podcast?

The next #HITMC Monthly chat (Tues Nov 19th at noon ET) will be hosted by HITMC Friend – Joy Rios @askjoyrios. Below is her article.

Podcasts are gaining in popularity by minute. Listeners typically tune in on their smartphones, which allows them to be heard along morning commutes, while multi-tasking, or even during a workout. With more than 550,000 shows to choose from on nearly every topic, the wealth of content has turned 73 million Americans into podcast listeners, according to recent data, and that audience is projected to grow by 81% by 2022. Among the masses, there are easily hundreds of podcasts dedicated to healthcare. So, if you’re thinking about starting one, how would you break through the noise knowing that the discovery process of a podcast can be quite challenging.

One interesting thing about the medium is that typically, the goal of a healthcare podcast is not awareness, nor is it necessarily reach. Instead, a great healthcare podcast is more commonly about depth. In other words, it’s not about using a podcast to make more people aware of your business; it’s to move people who are already aware of you further along the buyer’s journey. Some healthcare podcasts drive large B2B deals, some are focused on attracting investors, some foster customer loyalty, and others drive revenue through sponsorship.

In fact, there are several tried and true advantages of creating a podcast:

• Increased website traffic – listing your podcast on networks lets you link back to your site
• Greater brand visibility – your brand appears in more places online
• Search saturation – your podcast will show up in branded search results
• Content marketing variety – you can host a podcast on your site, a separate network, and other places online
• Passive consumption – Listeners can enjoy your podcast anywhere, even when they’re driving
• Loyal Following – releasing regular podcast episodes encourages a strong, loyal listenership

Regardless of the goal, podcasting as a medium allows for in-depth storytelling and an exploration of topics. And even better, podcast consumers are an advertiser’s dream:

• 78% approve of podcast advertising
• 67% remember brands and products from podcast ads
• 63% made a purchase after hearing podcast ads

Join me on the next #HITMC monthly chat – Tuesday November 19th at noon ET, 9am PT (for your local time click here) when we will be discussing the following:

• T1 What healthcare-related podcast(s) do you listen to and what about it/them keeps you engaged?
• T2 If you don’t have time to listen, have you found other ways to absorb podcast content, such as transcriptions, show notes, or blogs on the same topic?
• T3 Have you ever been on a podcast? What was your experience like? Did any business come from it? Other surprises?
• T4 Does it matter to you if a podcast guest has “paid to play”? Why or why not?
• T5 Has your company ever advertised on or sponsored a podcast episode? Did it drive website traffic, increase your brand visibility, or prove effective in other ways?
• Bonus: Have you listened to any @HITlikeagirlpod episodes? Did you gain any depth about one of the healthIT/healthcare topics discussed?

Joy Rios is a four-time author on various government-led models that help accelerate the transition to value-based care. She is the Co-Founder of Chirpy Bird Health IT Consulting and Co-Host of the HIT Like a Girl podcast. She lives in San Diego and has recently taken back up surfing as a hobby.