Image Description: 30s woman with black hair in black jacket, white blouse smiles next to podcast mic, opposite bearded dark-hair man in dark jacket.
You get an email or message asking you to be the guest interviewee on a podcast.
Good news, right? The host has finally recognised your standout expertise in your field and is giving you the opportunity to showcase why you’re better than your rivals.
Well, yes, it’s flattering, but the key question to ask is ‘How will this help me achieve my current business goals?’ Because your time is a finite resource and you could be doing other things which might help you make better progress than this.
From the perspective of a qualified ethical Public Relations professional, the questions you need to ask before answering are clear:
- How many subscribers does the podcast have? Will it introduce you to enough new potential customers to be a good use of your time?
- What’s the average listenership of recent episodes? It will vary.
- Can they send you a link to previous episodes? Do your due diligence – what if the host turns out to regularly share views you don’t want to be associated with?
- What are the professional or demographic backgrounds of its listeners? Are these people useful to you and your business or organisation? Llama herders in South America would be great if you sell llama husbandry items. Otherwise, probably not.
- Will you gain some other professional benefit from appearing on it? Maybe gain favour with an organisation or person you want to influence.
- Why are they asking you on? I see some business consultants interviewing business leaders to boost their LinkedIn profiles more than help the guests meet their Objectives. Who gains what from this and are those terms clear?
- What will the topics covered be? To be useful to you and your business, this has to be an opportunity to talk about your Key Messages.
- Will it be ‘visualised’? In other words, will it be recorded on video – for posting on YouTube and clips used on other Social channels to promote it? If so, dress as you want to be seen by your target audiences and/or key stakeholders.
- When will it be published? Will the timing co-ordinate well with other Marketing and Public Relations you have planned? Can they move your episode to fit?
In short, all ‘gift horses’ should have a dental check! Some podcast appearances will be valuable and a good use of your time in enhancing your reputation. Others won’t.
Always use your time effectively and targeted towards your Business and Communication goals!
Thinking of using best practice communication to help reach your business goals?
Get in touch with me because I’m:
CIPR-qualified (only a third of PRs are) ✅
CIPR-Accredited ✅
Highly-experienced ✅
Highly-recommended (30 client Recommendations) ✅
An MBA since 2003 – so I bring strategic business knowledge, thinking & experience to my work ✅