PPB October 2019

A Primer On Podcasts With Brian Young T he Dunstan Group, a distributor based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has produced a 20-minute BrandBuilders Podcast (http://dunstangroup.blubrry.net ) every Friday since August 2017. Brian Young, director of business development, who co-hosts the podcast with company Owner/President Scott Dunstan, says, “It’s been an amazing experience and it has been a big boost for our business. We just recently built our own BrandBuilders Studio in our office—a converted conference room—and it has been amazing for our business. The podcast is booming, and we are booked until 2020.” PPB talked with Young about some of the ways companies can excel at producing podcasts. PPB What is your primary reason for doing the podcast? Young We understand that we have a unique following and a one-of-a-kind platform to tell a story, elevate a brand and promote a worthwhile cause. For The Dunstan Group, we view the platform of the BrandBuilders Podcast as being trusted with an incredible superpower. When we educate, inform, entertain and connect our community, we know we’ve used that superpower for the greater good. Ultimately, the BrandBuilders Podcast is not about transactions, products or advances in our particular profession, but about making connections. PPB Who is the audience for your podcasts? Young Our audience consist of friends, clients, prospects and new listeners who are attracted to hearing brand-building stories from community leaders, CEOs, directors, athletes, celebrities and more. We bring in guests who are making a difference and provide a platform to tell their story. Our city and community have a lot of good to bring to this world and we hope to shed some light on those making a difference! PPB How do you distribute the podcasts to listeners? Young Our podcast is distributed every Friday morning across multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and is sent weekly through our BrandBuilders email blast. You can find our podcast on Apple, Android, Google or our website. We also pay to promote the podcast each week to increase the reach for our guest and hopefully connect the dots that will create a positive engagement after our podcast. PPB What are some of the most important elements of a great podcast? Young Be authentic. With thousands of podcasts starting all the time, you are not going to create a “unique” podcast. However, no one can be as authentic as you. Stay true to who you are, be unique to the community you serve and create a podcast that highlights what you are passionate about. You will not only havemore fun, you will havemore people listen in. Second, be consistent. Instant gratification is not the name of the game if you want to start a podcast in 2019/2020. You are going to have to grind and continue to produce consistent content on a weekly or monthly basis. As the BrandBuilders Podcast moves towards our 106th episode we are obsessed withmaking sure a new episode is launched every single Friday. We have never missed a week and never will. Third, have a purpose. What is the purpose of your podcast? Are you using this platform to help or give back? If you are starting a podcast for the viewers or the likes, then you are going to waste your time. Create a platform that can share stories, help others and give back. Once you get over the “InstaLike” and “InstaFame,” you will create something that trulymakes a difference. PPB How do you generate content and what are some sources for good content? Young We have created the BrandBuilders Podcast to promote the brands and leaders in our community. Our entire podcast is an authentic non-scripted interview that captures the emotion and rawness of the people who make a difference in and around our city. Simply put, we want to tell stories of good and have created a platform to make that happen. Other sources of good content are not as far out as they seem. We have interviewed over 18 nonprofits in two years and each of these podcasts give us an opportunity to give back and to tell a story. The bottom line is our guests produce our best content, because our guests are the ones creating the content. PPAI Pyramid Award Winners—Technology | FEATURE | OCTOBER 2019 | 67