PPB December 2020

that because it’s hard to determine what listeners might find valuable. Since ceasing production of unScripted in June 2020, they parlayed their experience into a new podcast launched in July called PromoUpfront . The format is similar to the original podcast at about 20-30 minutes, which they believe is ideal. Content is always focused on the promotional products industry with a game or other fun aspect at the end. Despite the popularity of their original podcast, they saw listenership dropping off when the pandemic hit because people were no longer driving to work or going to the gym—both ideal opportunities to listen to podcasts. Like with unScripted , the pair records PromoUpfront every Wednesday at 4 pm CT and shares the necessary tasks. Hasseman creates the music “bumpers” for the front and back of the podcast, and Petrie develops the graphics and writes the Facebook posts. They use Zoom to record the podcast along with high-quality external microphones, and use separate audio and video tracks. The audio is posted on Sound Cloud, the video is on YouTube and the podcast is distributed through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher and is promoted through social media. The finished podcast is housed on the Brandivate website where it is also used as a tool to drive web traffic. When asked about some of the mechanics of recording a professional- sounding podcast, Hasseman explains, “We sometimes let technology hold us back. I say just start. We’ve gotten better as we’ve gone along. If the barrier between starting [a podcast] and not is that microphone, use the one on your computer. As things evolve, you can get a nicer one.” Petrie offers another piece of advice: commit to doing at least five or 10 podcasts to start. “Don’t fail yourself,” he says. “It takes time to build traction. It’s hard to put yourself out there but you will find your own voice.” They also say not to be concerned about the number of downloads. “You don’t know who’s listening but there are more people listening than you think,” says Hasseman. “If there are three people listening to your podcast, be grateful they are spending their time with you.” Petrie adds, “If one person comments [about your podcast], there are 10 other people wishing they had.” Unlike other types of marketing, it’s difficult to get accurate metrics on podcasts. Rather, they consider the engagement that comes from individuals. “Content marketing doesn’t work that way. Success in podcasts comes from showing up consistently with an authentic voice. Have fun with it,” advises Petrie. Hasseman quotes marketer Seth Godin’s explanation about the difference between direct marketing and brand marketing. “In direct marketing there are analytics, something you can measure. For brand marketing, Coca-Cola doesn’t expect you to leave the Super Bowl party to go buy Coke,” he says. “They are building a brand. Content marketing is brand marketing. I’m not selling you a t-shirt. If you measure brand marketing using direct marketing metrics, it will always fail. It’s important to look at it for what it is. We’ve lived this for the past four years and we’ve grown because we just keep showing up.” Like in a live broadcast, things can go wrong on podcasts. Petrie recalls their first episode of unScripted . He began speaking and realized he wasn’t using the correct microphone and his voice sounded like it was being transmitted through a tin can. Hasseman gently pointed it out, they chuckled, corrected it and went on. Another time, Petrie’s 90-pound puppy came into the room and wanted to play while he was recording. During another session, recorded while on the road, their internet was intermittent and Hasseman had to piece together the recording afterwards. Looking back over the past four years, Petrie says doing podcasts has made him more tolerant of other people’s opinions. “It’s given me pause to really listen. When we started, I’d close my eyes to really focus on what Kirby was saying without responding and it made me be a better listener. I’d let Kirby say what he wanted, let it breathe and then I’d respond. It works to talk over each other when you are having a conversation at a restaurant but it’s clunky on a podcast.” Hasseman says the lesson he’s learned is that people who are good at this are not necessarily thought leaders or special in some way. Rather, they are people who just kept showing up. “It’s like fitness. People try it for two weeks, get really sore, but there are no results and they quit. The lesson is that it doesn’t take someone special—it takes grit and persistence. You get better at anything if you do it over and over. If we’ve gotten better at this, it’s because we’ve put in the reps.” Both Hasseman and Petrie see the future of podcasts as bright and unlimited, predicting that the next generation of podcasts will offer more video, less editing, more authenticity and audience engagement in real-time. “We’ve seen a spike in content [this year] because people had time; I predict that will drop as the world opens back up,” says Hasseman. “We love engagement; if you can get it as the podcast is happening, that will be the next evolution and I look forward to that.” Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB . 2020 Pyramid Winners | FEATURE | DECEMBER 2020 | 69