Podcasting continues to increase in popularity and there is significant PR value for podcast guests. 75% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting,” according to Infinite Dial 2020, up from 70% in 2019. Podcast guest interviews are increasingly seen as a required component of a promotional strategy, and there are ways to amplify the PR value for podcast guests.

This year, First Lady Michelle Obama just launched her own podcast, and top podcaster Joe Rogan signed a record breaking, exclusive deal with Spotify for a reported $100 million.

According to The New York Times, Rogan and his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience” became an “unlikely political influencer” in the 2020 presidential election after presidential candidates Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard both saw measurable surges in both popularity and fundraising following guest appearances on the show in 2019.

As a form of earned media, podcasts are ideal PR because their main format consists of a host conducting interviews with guest experts. Whether you are a brand with a new product, an author publishing a book, an expert looking for more visibility or a person with a unique story to tell, being interviewed on a podcast puts you in the spotlight and provides you with a lot of free exposure to a new audience.

The rise of leveraging guest appearances as a PR tactic offers big visibility and positive brand association, but it has also created stiff competition for interview slots on top shows. PR firms now offer podcast appearances as part of their service offerings. This trend has also created a whole new category of service providers and booking agencies.

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Many interviewees don’t take full advantage of the PR value for podcast guests, and there are a lot of opportunities to get PR mileage out of being a guest on a podcast.

Here are the top 5 things to amplify the PR value for podcast guests:

1. Promote the show

Promoting the show you are guesting on is a good way to enhance your visibility with a podcast’s audience along with your own connections and followers. Your positive brand association with the show, along with your role as the featured guest expert, are powerful earned media wins.

Promoting the show is also a way to help the host get more visibility for their efforts. Don’t just market your interview right after it airs—also add it to your content calendar or scheduler to promote it again in the future. This increases the PR value for podcast guests as well as their show hosts.

2. Use hashtags 

By using hashtags that are relevant to the podcast topic, you help people interested in the general topic find the episode you are featured on, and associate yourself with the larger subject matter. It will also show up in searches for those hashtags, increasing the visibility of you and the show. A podcast may have its own dedicated hashtag, which you will want to use in addition to topic-related hashtags.

3. Engage with the host on social media

Shout out the host by adding social handles to your social promotion. This is a great opportunity to publicly thank them for having you on as a guest. It also associates you with their brand. It is another way to get you and your episode more visibility in front of their audience, as well as allowing it to be found via search, so it can reach even more people.

4. Repurpose the content

Making a guest appearance on a podcast provides a lot of content that can be repurposed into different lengths and formats, extending your PR value even further. Interview soundbites make great social media graphics and posts, while interview transcripts can be turned into blog posts or other written content. A short audio clip can be turned into an Audiogram– those animated soundwaves you may have seen pop-up in your social media feed recently.

5. Add it to your media kit

Treat your podcast interview like other media hits and add it to your media room and media kit. This adds fresh PR to your clippings, and shows that you can shine in multiple interview formats.

The value of one podcast interview can pay dividends for years to come. To get the most value, continue to share the episode and its repurposed versions on a regular basis. Unless your interview is focused on a topic that is specific to a time period and can become dated, there is no expiration date or shelf life on promoting your podcast interviews.

> This article first appeared on MuckRack Blog