Audio Branding for Your Podcast
There is much more to creating the best sound for your podcast using voice overs, jingles and music than just selecting royalty free music and buying a voice over online. Izabela Russell goes into full detail about how she conducts an audio branding consultation with podcasters who want to create the most professional podcast sound they can possibly achieve.
What Is the Podcast About?
It’s about audio production, imaging and branding. We talk about radio topics, jingles, podcasting and DJing tips, software and anything related to creative audio. The Music Radio Creative podcast already has a back catalogue of topics and an established audience.
Who Listens to the Podcast?
In episode 40 of the Music Radio Creative podcast I announced a podcast listener survey to discover the topics you’d like to hear about. Much of the audience, we have discovered, is male (around 89%) but the females who do listen are very engaged with the content.
I was able to combine my interest in internet marketing and apply it to internet radio back in episode 20 when I went into detail about how to get listed in the best internet radio directories online.
It is important to select the right podcast intro music to match the potential audience you would like to attract. Hard rock, heavy metal would work for a mostly male audience and something that is jazzy or easy may appeal more to females. If you want to appeal to both genders then you could go for a soft rock or pop music track. You should also consider the potential age and life circumstances of your podcast audience. We tend to attract a nice spread with a focus on young listeners getting into radio and podcast but also appeal to more mature professionals who have been there and done that but still have a passion for creative audio and want to get a fresh outlook.
Audio Branding Examples
Oh So Pinteresting Podcast – Cynthia Sanchez hosts a podcast all about Pinterest which has a predominantly female audience and that was reflected in the jazz jingle we produced and branded for the podcast intro. The musical theme does not exclude a male audience however.
Joomla Beat Podcast – Peter Bui hosts a podcast targeted at (mainly male) web developers which uses an up beat, technology focused music intro for the theme music.
Where It the Audience Located?
If you have a mainly UK audience then a British voice would be appropriate and if it’s a US audience you may find a North American voice will work for you. You need to find out the countries that listen to your podcast or, if you haven’t started podcasting, where you hope your listeners will come from.
Sung or Spoken Audio Branding?
Sung jingles will stick in your listeners head and enforce your business name. Listeners will often sing the jingles and the next time they are looking for the service your business provides they will search for your business name online. Spoken audio branding can be great for jingle breaks, introducing podcast topics and giving out calls to action.
If you are using a singer on your podcast intro be sure to keep the musical ‘sonic logo’ the same so that people can remember it. An example of sonic logo consistency is the ♫ Z100 New York ♫ sonic logo.
Can You Alienate Your Audience with Changes?
If you already have an established podcast intro and jingles that your audience are used to how will changing all of that play with your audience? We’ll discus this topic in depth and conclude this audio branding episode on the next episode of the Music Radio Creative podcast.
