Your Brand Story has the power to set you apart from your competition. We live in a busy and chaotic world, and struggle against invisibility and looking, sounding, and communicating like all the other folk you share your industry with. Your Brand Story, on the other hand, is unique to YOU. Done properly, it places you in front of the right people, and in a manner that makes them feel. This breeds loyalty … and endorsement … and word of mouth … and referrals … and profit …

There are many ways you can share your brand story, but one method keeps lingering in my mind. To be honest, I never used to get it, and never wanted to do it. It didn’t fit my style for some reason, but the more I ponder, the more I realise how perfect it is for my brand story (and maybe your brand story, too),

What is this wonderful brand story elixir? Let me explain…

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PODCASTING: 2015’s BRAND STORY ELIXIR

Podcasting has seen a recent resurgence, after seeming to fall by the wayside for a few years. For instance, when I first started TURNDOG, I saw Podcasting as a rather old-school attempt of communication. We live in a visual world of Youtubing, after all, so why spend time on an audio-only platform?

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In the two years since, the entire podcasting world has grown and grown and grown, and it’s set to boom in 2015. Between successful conferences like Podcast Movement (co-founded by the awesome Jared Easley), folk like Pat Flynn, Michael O’Neal, John Lee Dumas, and Omar Zenhom developing mega-platforms, and the fact iTunes and Stitcher are far less crowded than WordPress, Youtube, Facebook, et al… podcasting’s back in the game.

But I’m not here to sing its praises, and how you can jump on the bandwagon and be part of this year’s SEO boom, or follow what every other blogger does. Oh no, I choose to focus on how a podcast benefits your brand story, and as such, improve how you form real relationships with your customer and audience.

[Tweet “”In the 2 years since, #podcasting has grown and grown, and set to boom in 2015…””]

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There are many reasons to implement a podcast in 2015, and my Successful Mistake brother & sister, Jordan Harbinger and Dorie Clark, discuss a few of them in this awesome article. I set up my own, The Purple Coffee Podcast, during the summer, on a bit of a whim to be honest.

In a bid to share The Successful Mistake Interviews, I decided to dive in an offer an audio and video session each week. I’ve enjoyed the process, too, but never fully understood it, embraced it, or commited to it. This is set to change, but more on that later…

Although I jumped in on a whim, it’s taught me a great deal, and introduced me to many inspiring folk. Like I say, I never really ‘got‘ podcasts, but today I do. I’ve fallen for their storytelling ways, and when it comes to my own brand story, I plan to make it a vital cog in an ever growing machine.

Does it suit your brand story? Well, here are a few reasons why I think it may…

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A CONNECTED WORLD

We live in a connected society. I’m connected to the internet twenty-four hours each day (phone, laptop, wifi, 3G/4G), and more and more countries (India, plenty in Africa) are starting to join the forever-connected revolution. Everything’s getting faster, more powerful, portable, and it leaves YOU, as a consumer, plenty of choice.

Over the next decade, they suspect every new car will have an in-built podcast player. Phones already do. In the same way on-demand TV grows and booms, on-demand radio is doing the same. Well, podcasts are on-demand radio. You have the ability to share your brand story, with your audience, at a time that suits them.

Think about what this means to a commuter, who spends three hours in a car each day. Or two on a train. Or to a travelling family, who are able to listen to THEIR show, rather than all listen to the same one. You can’t always connect with people through video or words, because they’re driving or in a busy environment. But through audio, and a podcast, you can.

You can share your story, share other people’s, offer lessons and valuable content, and all the while immerse your audience through your greater brand story. We already live in a connected world, but I sense we’ve only scratched the surface. Things are about to get crazy, and podcasts have the power to play a MASSIVE role in your brand story, your marketing, and your general communications.

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INTIMACY

There’s something intimate about a podcast. Maybe it’s because someone talks into my ear, and the fact I can’t see them, it remains somewhat mysterious. I’m not sure, but when I listen to a podcast, I feel like I’m having a conversation with the person – which watching TV or reading a book doesn’t always achieve.

Stories are intimate by nature, and if you approach your brand story like the best forward-thinkers do, you’ll share a great deal about who you are, what scares you, what goes wrong in your life, as well as what goes right. Through intimate conversations with your customers and suppliers and staff members, you can share these with your audience, and as they listen, they’ll feel part of it.

Again, a video doesn’t always achieve this type of intimacy, but so long as you have decent audio quality, podcasts do.

And as the above section says, you catch people during intimate times (often filled with stress), like driving and commuting. You have the opportunity to bring joy into their life as they perform mundane tasks, and help them forget about traffic and busy-bodies and stupid delays.

If you happen to share an epic brand story at the same time, you’ll capture these folk forever. 

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SIMPLE & MINIMALISTIC

For the most part, podcasting’s cheap. It’s easy. It’s simple. If you want to do video well, you must consider lighting, camera equipment, various shots, audio quality, where you’re located, where your guest’s located, and a whole host more. For a podcast, all you have to consider is the audio.

In terms of input versus output, podcasts deliver the best ratio going. I love video, but it takes a lot of time, money, and effort to do well. I love writing, but there’s so many words to read, and so little time to read them. Just look at how popular audiobooks are becoming, because folk want to read books, but haven’t the time to do so. An audiobook solves a problem, and done properly, your podcast can, too.

[Tweet “”Your brand story isn’t about the tools you use, it’s about the story your share.””]

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Keep things simple. Your brand story isn’t about the tools you use, it’s about the story your share. It’s about YOU. It’s about thinking outside the box and placing your customer first. It’s about going the extra mile, and sharing aspects you wouldn’t normally share.

Less is often more, and through a podcast, you have little choice but to keep everything simple. Video becomes complicated. So can writing. Podcasts are built around sound, and that’s it. So simple, yet oh-so powerful!

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WHY I’M RE-BOOTING THE PURPLE COFFEE PODCAST

Like I say, I rather jumped into The Purple Coffee Podcast without too much thought or planning. In part, I regret this, but I also think I needed to do it, because otherwise I may never have seen the potential podcasting has for my brand story.

I’ve learned the importance of beginning with a bang though, and how beneficial The New & Noteworthy List is on iTunes. In the same way Amazon holds the keys to your book’s success, iTunes determines a great deal for your podcast. As such, I decided to scrap The Purple Coffee Podcast 1.0 in December 2014, and re-launch version 2.0 in the early parts of 2015.

The great thing is, I already had 25+ interviews live and ready, so I get to share a new session each day for a few weeks.

The format remains the same (Inspiring Stories from Creative Entrepreneurs), but I’ve done the following:

• Placed Greater Emphasis in Keywords and iTunes’ Categories
• Redesigned the Logo/Artwork
• Redesigned the Session Page
• Placed Focus on: iTunes Subscriptions + iTunes Reviews + Email Subscriptions
• Putting More Leverage on Audio (although still offering a video version)
• Using More Channels (Stitcher, Youtube, etc…)
• Striving to Improve Quality (Some new equipment on the horizon)
• A More Defined Launch Period + Marketing in General

To sum up, I’m taking things more serious, and aiming to make The Purple Coffee Podcast a large aspect of my brand story. If you follow my Monthly Income Reports, you’ll know how minimal and disappointing download numbers have been, so if I’m doing this, I’M DOING IT!

All said and done, I do need your help. I’m excited about the possibilities ahead, and hope you’ll be part of things by:

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1. LISTENING TO A FEW SESSIONS (these are great stories from great folk)

2. SUBSCRIBE VIA ITUNES

3. LEAVE A QUICK REVIEW

4. GRAB EXCLUSIVE & ADVANCED ACCESS (there are a few cool free goodies on offer, too)

5. SHARE THE LOVE & SPREAD THE WORD

 

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PODCASTING’S POWER = BRAND STORY SUCCESS

I’m excited to take The Purple Coffee Podcast to exciting levels in 2015, and believe it can play a vital role in my Brand Story. I want a large part of my story to surround the sharing of other people’s stories, and there’s no better platform than the run-n-gun world of podcasting.

After all, I already have 100+ recorded interviews on my laptop, so I may as well share them with the world, right?

But it also happens to be a great community, and one that continues to grow and thrive. Is it easy to stand out on iTunes? Heck no! But what is easy in this life? Nothing worth pursuing, that is for sure. And if you do want to stand out, you need to stay true to your brand story, true to YOU, and be damn different.

[Tweet “”Is it easy to stand out on iTunes? Heck no! But what is easy in this life?””]

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John Lee Dumas grew because he started a daily show, something no one else did. Omar & Nicole grew because they focussed on short-and-sweet lessons, rather than the usual interview-style format. Alex Blumberg continues his rise to fame, because he’s a master storyteller, and serenades folk with his storytelling ways.

So if you do start a podcast in 2015, don’t do it because it’s the cool thing to do. Don’t do it because everyone else is. Do it because you have a story, and it provides you a platform to share your grander brand story/vision. Do it because you wish to begin awesome relationships, and provide REAL value to your listeners.

And to help inspire you, here are a few great examples you may like to check out:

1. MASTERMIND TALKS WITH JAYSON GAIGNARD
2. $100 MBA WITH OMAR ZENHOM
3. REAL TIME, REAL MEN PODCAST WITH NICOLE WELCH
4. LESS DOING, MORE LIVING WITH ARI MEISEL
5. THE SMART PASSIVE INCOME WITH PAT FLYNN
6. SOLOPRENEUR HOUR WITH MICHAEL O’NEAL
7. THE SUITCASE ENTREPRENEUR WITH NATALIE SISSON
8. UNMISTAKEABLE CREATIVE WITH SRINIVAS RAO
9. STARTUP WITH ALEX BLUMBERG
10. ENTREPRENEUR ON FIRE WITH JOHN LEE DUMAS
11. THE ART OF CHARM WITH JORDAN HARBINGER
12. STARVE THE DOUBT WITH JARED EASLEY
13. THE CERONE SHOW WITH CHRIS CERONE
14. FIZZLE WITH CORBETT BARR & CHASE REEVES
15. FIREPOLE MARKETING WITH DANNY INY
16. FRESH RAG WITH DAVE CONREY
17. DESIGN MATTERS WITH DEBBIE MILLMAN
18. EMPOWERED PODCAST WITH ELLORY WELLS
19. USED UP WITH TOM NORMAN
20. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THAT WITH GRANT BALDWIN
21. THE EVENTUAL MILLIONAIRE WITH JAIME TARDY
22. SMART BUSINESS REVOLUTION WITH JOHN CORCORAN
23. 33 VOICES WITH MOE ABDOU
24. LIFE ON FIRE WITH NICK UNSWORTH
25. THE LIMITLESS BUSINESS PODCAST WITH SCOTT OLDFORD

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PODCASTING… THE ULTIMATE BRAND STORY TOOL?

I’ll admit, I once was blind, but now I see. Podcasting didn’t used to be on my radar, and for one reason or another, it never caught my eye. I still wouldn’t call myself an avid listener, but am listening more and more. In the coming years, I suspect it’ll become a staple part of my diet – just like blogs and books are.

And please consider Subscribing to The Purple Coffee Podcast and Leaving a Quick Review. It’s tough to stand out on iTunes, but with your help, we can tackle the New & Noteworthy Chart.

[su_note]LIKE TO DEVOUR YOUR CONTENT ON THE GO? I made an Exclusive PDF & Audio Version of this post, and you can grab it for FREE by Clicking Here[/su_note]

Thanks for reading, and be sure to get in touch via FACEBOOK or TWITTER, and share your thoughts towards podcasting. I’d love to know if you plan to use one as part of your awesome Brand Story.

TURNDOG

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