Want to build relationships, meet interesting people, have great conversations and also generate new business? You should consider starting a podcast. If Both guests and listeners can turn into net new business or into referrers, which is exactly what Tim Bornholdt, Partner at the Jed Mahonis Group has been able to achieve with his podcast, Constant Variables.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How to figure out what content your audience wants to hear.
• How to select your podcast guests
• How to decide on your podcast format
• How to get a podcast started - how to get it off the ground
• How little children always end up headbutting the “sensitive areas” when giving hugs. Totally not marketing related, but any of our listeners who are parents - you will get a chuckle out of that part of the conversation.

Tims’s recommendations:

1. The podcast content needs to stand on its own and should be the focus, rather than focusing on business development.
2. Consider giving your B2B podcast a separate brand with a separate website, to give it more authenticity and separation from your corporate brand.
3. Don’t edit your own podcast
4. Consume some different types of podcasts before producing your own
5. Figure out what parts of podcasting you like, focus on those and outsource the rest.

You’ll need to listen to the full episode if you want to hear the Lightning Round, but here are a few highlights:

• Tim is really excited about testing AR
• Tim can’t function without Slack

Proofpoint’s POV:

We love podcasts here at Proofpoint. Obviously. Gaby and I have now run two of them. The first was Mixing Business With Pleasure, which we put on hiatus and hope to pick up again this year, and the second is this one. With over 50 episodes under our belts, and many more planned, here is what we have taken away:

1. The worst thing that can happen if you host a podcast is you learn something. The second worst thing that can happen is that you mean someone interesting. We have learned a ton from some amazing marketing leaders and power couples, and we have made some genuine connections and even friends through this endeavor. While you can’t take that directly to the bank, there is a lot of value just from that aspect. Of course you can’t use that as a business case to your boss to start a B2B company podcast, but the next few should be good for that.
2. A podcast can be your content development engine. A 30-minute episode can fuel more than a week’s worth of social media and blog content. It can generate content for the company, to be used for demand generation efforts, and it can also generate content for the various individuals (hosts and guests) involved, which fosters personal branding and employee advocacy, which in-turn help put faces to the company name and build trust with your ICP.
3. A podcast can be a business development tool in more ways than one. As we discussed with Tim, getting your ideal customers to come on the show is one strategy, and it’s a great one as long as you focus on the content itself, not the business development activity. The goal is to create good content and build a relationship, not make a sale. But more than that, a podcast can fuel your sales outreach content strategy. Imagine your are having a conversation with a prospective customer and they mention that they are struggling to figure out how to make more from their webinars, and then you say “we actually just had a great conversation about that with Ben Reese last week, you should take a listen to that episode”.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and start your podcast!

A bit more about Tim:

Tim has a journalism and videography background and then got into development. He is the co-founder and partner at the Jed Mahonis Group - a full-stack, mobile software solutions consultancy. Tim is also an avid runner and outdoors enthusiast, and a student of minimalism.

Helpful Links & Resources:

• Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timbornholdt/
• Follow the Jed Mahonis Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jed-mahonis-group/
• Listen to the Constant Variables podcast: https://constantvariables.co/
  
  

Connect with Mike & Gaby at Proofpoint:

• Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/
• Gaby’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/
• LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llc
• Proofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTube
• Proofpoint Website: www.proofpoint.marketing