IAM2232 – Merging Podcast Shows for Business Growth

Title: Transcript - Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:16:52 GMT

Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:16:52 GMT, Duration: [00:16:55.32]

[00:00:01.28] - Intro

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gretch from the Imceo podcast, and I wanted to share with you one of the episodes that I was a guest on for someone else's podcast. I always talk about how important it is to build a media company. One of the next best things you could do is be on somebody else's media company. So I had the pleasure of being a guest on this podcast, and I wanted to share a little snippet with you because it would help support the eight business pillars we've really been trying to focus on with a lot more of our content and a lot more of the solo episodes that I'm doing. So make sure, of course, that you subscribe to our podcast, but of course, you take some time out, check out the show notes, and subscribe to the podcast that I've been featured on as well, too, and get to learn about some of those eight business pillars and how you can continue to kind of leverage and build that up so you can go from builder to architect to, of course, Rockstar and luminary. So this is Gretch signing out. I hope you enjoy this ImceO special episode.

[00:00:55.47] - Yoann Bierlingg

What is actually a podcast, in your opinion?

[00:00:59.57] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a really, really great question. And I almost feel like so many times people kind of confuse podcasting, because I feel like I wasn't podcasting when I was just recording the interviews. It wasn't until I put it in a podcast host, so to speak, that it became a podcast. And I started to have what some people might know as an RSS feed, which is basically every time you post something, you have that RSS feed. So there's one for podcasting, and when you put it on a podcast host, you can use things like Podbean or anchor or all of those different ways. Libsyn is another big one. Blueberry. But the idea is that those podcast hosts basically create a feed for you so that when you go to Apple podcasts or you go to Google podcasts, they basically subscribe to your feed, and that's how people are able to kind of take in your content. So I feel like podcasting, to some degree is audio content, but I think when you're actually able to allow people to subscribe to it and have those feed set up and people are able to subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, to me, that's really when it becomes a podcast. But I think at the heart of what I'm hoping to do, and we're able to do as well, too, here is just have a conversation. So I think it's just having a conversation, hitting the record button and then trying to get it out to as many people as possible so that they can kind of learn from it as well.

[00:02:18.91] - Yoann Bierlingg

Exactly. So actually, nearly anyone can create a podcast. And in your experience, I guess it is a great way to learn more about other businesses and to help other businesses.

[00:02:33.84] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. For me, it's definitely been that a way for people to learn more. And a lot of times, especially pre pandemic, a lot of people, I'm in the Washington, DC area, so they were always kind of stuck in traffic. So podcasting was a really great way to kind of take in content, taking information, learn from people, hear great stories, hear great conversations while you're sitting in traffic or maybe working out. For me, I always walk my dog. So those are different ways that I try to take in podcast content. And I've always felt like it's a really great medium because you don't have to. You can do it better when you're doing something else. So if you're driving, you can listen to a podcast. If you're working out, you can listen to a podcast. It becomes harder to do that if you're trying to watch a YouTube video or if you're trying to read a blog. You shouldn't do that when you're driving, you shouldn't do that, you know, when you're working out. So a lot of times it allows you to really kind of multitask and do other things while you're listening to, hopefully great content.

[00:03:31.12] - Yoann Bierlingg

Exactly. So actually listening to podcasts is a great way to make the best use of some ideal time, like, as you mentioned, working out your dog or being stuck in traffic. Did you notice a change in your audience beginning of this year, as probably people are less stuck in traffic than before?

[00:03:55.16] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. I think definitely with the pandemic, there's, all across the industry, there's been a drop in people because everything is kind of shifted. There's been a disruption in the way that people are taking in content. So those regular habits that people had, especially in my area, where it would take an hour sometimes to get to work, you were listening to podcasts after podcasts, but now people are working from home, so they're consuming content in a completely different way. So I think it's been of more importance for people to be able to drive traffic, probably. I've always been a big proponent of driving it through the site, through the podcast site that you have. I think that's been elevated even more because people are now taking in content in different ways. They're not sitting and driving, and some people are still haven't, haven't been back to the gym. So a lot of times those, those regular habits that people had on how they take in content have been completely disrupted. So, yeah, we've definitely all seen it as podcasters.

[00:04:51.43] - Yoann Bierlingg

Did you see a positive or negative effect on your, on your audience?

[00:04:56.75] - Gresham Harkless

I think it's been. Overall, it's probably been. It's interesting because I think I was still kind of growing my podcast. So it hasn't been completely negative, but I just know as an industry I've seen it. So I've been, you know, one of the best things that I've been able to do too, is get listeners from people that have been on the podcast. It's kind of like a community within itself. So as I have more podcasts, there's also more people to actually listen, more people to share it out. So because I've had it daily, that's helped out a lot. But generally speaking, like, habits have definitely changed. So I've seen an increase. But I think part of that is just because of the number of episodes, the number of time that I've had, the connections and outreach that I try to do more so than I was doing it for five years, and then it just kind of stopped. So it's more a buildup of, I think, me kind of getting started and building it up and being more efficient and effective with the marketing.

[00:05:52.06] - Yoann Bierlingg

Have you seen, have you noticed a shift from audio to video? For example, in my case, now that I'm working full time at home, I like to have video cast playing on the tv. So I can not only listen when I'm working, but sometimes I can look at it and have a kind of a change of scenery because otherwise it's just my living room. You noticed this kind of behavior change?

[00:06:17.24] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Funny enough, I have YouTube Premium, which allows you to actually listen to videos and you can be on different screens while you're listening to videos. And I think that just speaks to the different ways that people are taking in content. Especially if you can't find the specific content you're looking for, you can often find it through YouTube, and then you're able to kind of search a lot, a lot better than you would, maybe with podcasting, generally speaking. So I think that's allowed that opportunity for people that are looking for a video and they just want to listen, that they might be working out in the next room or they might be cooking or something like that. They're not actually watching the video, but they're playing the video. And I think platforms like YouTube, they understand that, which they provide those opportunities for people not to have to sit there and watch the screen while they're listening. And I think that it speaks to really that multi pronged approach that people have to take and should take when they're thinking about their content. Because even if you have a video, people might be listening to that video. Even if you have a podcast, people might want to read and follow that transcript. So really having those different touches and different ways that people can take in content, depending on how, how and what is more convenient for them, has been absolutely huge.

[00:07:38.64] - Yoann Bierlingg

Exactly. So actually, it is important to be on all possible mediums with audio, of course, recording the video and also providing transcription. So for somebody that is starting a podcast, would you recommend directly starting with video recordings?

[00:08:02.43] - Gresham Harkless

I think that there's definitely a different connection you have with doing video. I think I'm a big proponent of really understanding why you're doing what you're doing. Why are you starting a podcast? You start from there and then you really understand who you're trying to target. The reason I say that is because I think there's a lot of different ways to really execute your marketing strategy or your podcast strategy. And I think so many times we, we often hear we need to do x, y and z because so and so is doing x, y and z, when in reality, the, the real thing we should be following is our goal and our target market, and then working backwards from there. Now, generally speaking, definitely, you know, you have a lot of opportunity to really build a stronger connection with video because obviously you have the opportunity to see the person, you get to see the expressions, then you also get to hear. So I think you have more touch points, which, which typically will result in a greater conversation. But that should say if the person or the people that you're trying to target are still commuting. They've been commuting this entire time during the pandemic. Video may not be great for them because they don't really have the opportunity to do that because they're driving. So really understanding that might have you switch or tweak your strategy overall. So I think it's important to kind of make sure you answer those questions. But generally speaking, yes, absolutely. Video provides a stronger connection. It performs better across social media sites. And obviously, YouTube is the second largest search engine and it's also owned by Google, so it allows you to be found in the index a lot easier as well.

[00:09:40.94] - Yoann Bierlingg

And regarding audio publication, which platform do you use? If you use one, maybe use a platform that is itself sending your podcast on all of our publishing platforms.

[00:09:55.65] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. So funny enough, when I set it up, I actually set it up myself. So I actually set up all of the directory listings myself. So I didn't actually use one. But I will say this, when I did start the second podcast, the imceo podcast, initially, it was on Anchor. Anchor is a free platform that allows you to post podcasts, and they automatically will set up those directory listings for you. So I end up moving it, you know, directly under one podcast host that I'm using now. But Anchor made it super simple and super easy. I think they call themselves like the WordPress for podcasting. So they made it simple for people to be able to just sit down and record, and then they take care of submitting it to Apple podcasts and the Google podcasts and Spotify and all of those places. So you didn't have to worry about that. So there's pros and cons of using a platform like, like Anchor, but it does make it super simple for people to use and leverage.

[00:10:53.77] - Yoann Bierlingg

Actually, that's the one I am using, Anchor FM. But you mentioned that you left it.

[00:10:59.13] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I actually left it. So I merged my podcast together because I had them as two separate podcasts initially, and it ends up being a lot of work. They tried to get people to subscribe to both podcasts. So because they're the same topic, because it's just a different way that I had the conversation. Like, the CEO chat podcast was more of a long form podcast where the Imco podcast is more laser focused. I wanted to just combine those efforts that I was having, and it's under the umbrella of CEO podcast, but it's all that same feed and same opportunity. So I merged both of them together.

[00:11:32.99] - Yoann Bierlingg

Okay. And actually interviewing all these entrepreneurs, is it bringing you new ideas for your own business?

[00:11:41.02] - Gresham Harkless

Yes. I'm an idea person anyways. So it's definitely been to the extreme now just really getting to hear people's stories, to hear how they really solve problems, because at the heart of entrepreneurship, it's always about solving problems. I think when you start to flex that muscle, you start to see problems everywhere and you start to think, how can I solve the problems? And then when you hear people and have them on the show and they start to say, okay, I saw this problem and this is how I solve it, it really starts to get and produce more and more ideas, really gets that muscle working out even more. Yeah, to answer your question, I mean, there's been, there's some phenomenal people building some really awesome things to help out the world, and I think that can't help but, you know, make you more idea driven and. And really focus on how you can solve these problems.

[00:12:35.83] - Yoann Bierlingg

And have you been a guest on many podcast?

[00:12:40.47] - Gresham Harkless

I've been a guest on a probably maybe 20 to 30 podcasts or so. Not a tremendous amount, but it's something that I wanted to ramp up into doing a lot more. I'll tell you, the best thing that podcasting probably has done is it made me more confident as far as my delivery and just having a conversation. I think one podcast I was on, someone asked me when did I find my voice? And I said I felt that I found my voice just from the repetition of doing and being on podcasts that I don't worry as much about. You know, what are the questions that are going to ask? Is my microphone on it? Did I hit the record button? Just all of those things that I've made mistakes with. It's allowed me to really just be present and have a conversation just from the repetition. So, yeah, it's definitely been a great thing, but I think the best training, at least I can say, has been actually having a podcast to be on podcast, which is weird kind of saying that, but it's definitely helped out a lot for me.

[00:13:39.37] - Yoann Bierlingg

So you learn by doing.

[00:13:41.28] - Gresham Harkless

Yes, exactly. I'm very much so that person.

[00:13:45.53] - Yoann Bierlingg

I must admit it's the same in my case. And of course, the more we podcast, the more fluent the conversations can be. And although we understand more what to expect from a podcast recording, eventually how the guests will respond, or sometimes not. And I think, I don't know for you, but in my case, it's what I feel the most, the blank in the conversation and not knowing where to go next while we are recording.

[00:14:12.42] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, it's so funny. Like a lot of times when I have like an intro call for people on the podcast, I'll say a lot of times it's a lot like dancing. Like you are in like a club or something and you're trying to figure out from your partner how exactly they're going to move. And I feel like the first couple of minutes you're trying to figure out, are they going to, you know, are they going to talk a lot? Are they not going to talk? Am I going to have to ask a lot of, you know, follow up questions? So you try to figure out exactly how that flow is going to go. Of course you have the whole podcast to listen to, but it's definitely a flow and you try to figure that out at least in the very beginning as much as possible.

[00:14:48.67] - Yoann Bierlingg

Yeah, I definitely agree. So we mentioned that if you do a podcast, it can be interesting to record video, to post the videos on YouTube, for the audio, to either use a platform as anchor fm or to manage yourself the publication on different, different podcast platforms. But it's also important to have a website to support your content, to build backlinks. And how do you see the importance of having a website to support a podcast?

[00:15:26.44] - Gresham Harkless

I mean, I think it's absolutely huge. I mean, we kind of touched on it a little bit, you know, just, you know, not too long ago. I think what we're really trying to do is have our podcast and the message that we have get out to as many people as possible and then definitely the right people. The interesting thing about podcasting is the discoverability of podcasts. Being able to find podcasts is not as fluid. It's kind of a little bit, kind of everywhere to some degree, because sometimes the biggest player is Apple podcasts, but there's also Spotify, there's Google podcasts. So a lot of times if you just take a poll and ask somebody how they listen to podcasts, sometimes people have their go to player that they use. Sometimes they have no idea. And I think when we talked a little bit about YouTube and having videos, that's more of a search engine. So it's very easy to find those podcasts. Hello. Hello.

[00:16:21.62] - Intro

Hello, this is Gresh again, and I hope you enjoyed that special episode of the Imceo podcast. Just like I mentioned in the beginning, we're really trying to laser focus on these eight pillars to show you as a builder how you can leverage these eight pillars and really level up there. So it helps to level up your business and organization. So hope you enjoyed this episode. And definitely please check out the show notes so you can learn more about the pillar, learn more about the person that I guessed it on their episode, and of course learn more, a little bit more about us as well too. This is grass signing out.

[00:16:53.34] - Gresham Harkless

I hope you have a phenomenal rest of day.