I’m a podcast junkie. Have been for years and I continue to listen to at least one podcast a day, sometimes two.
The podcasts I listen to span a range of categories of interest, although a large proportion focus on marketing and PR generally, and social media and content marketing specifically.
Below I’ve listed a dozen podcasts I listen to regularly and recommend to anyone working in PR or marketing who wants to get ahead of the game. Business owners too will get value in the form of actionable ideas and insights to help give them an edge in the marketplace.
Here they are (in no particular order) – 12 PR and marketing podcasts that get you revved up for a huge 2018:
Brand Newsroom
I have this podcast set on weekly rotation and I listen to it pretty much when it comes out.
Presented by James Lush and Sarah Mitchell from Lush Digital Media and Media Stable’s Nic Hayes (pictured), Brand Newsroom is “for anyone who has a say in how companies are communicating”.
Most episodes feature James, Sarah and Nic riffing on a given topic, but if one of the trio is away for whatever reason, they often will interview a guest instead.
If you listen hard, you might hear Sarah mention the importance of strategy.
Sarah and Nic also don’t mind agreeing to disagree on many topics, which makes for fun listening.
TOP EPISODE: #159 Are you a thought leader or just pretending to be?
You Are The Media
After 148 episodes, Mark Masters pulled up stumps on Marketing Homebrew, the podcast he ran for several years with co-host, Ian Rhodes (the split was amicable).
However, Mark wasn’t out of the podcasting saddle for long. His new effort is part of his growing sub-branded content initiative You Are The Media, which started as a weekly email newsletter and over time has broadened into a monthly lunch club event, a conference (the first of which is being held in May next year) and now, a podcast.
Unlike Marketing Homebrew, in which Mark and Ian riffed on a different topic each week, You Are The Media is an interview format. I had the pleasure of appearing on episode number three chatting about the power of telling micro-stories on LinkedIn.
Mark is a likeable character with a quirky sense of humour. In You Are The Media, he explores how brands can build their audience using an owned media approach.
TOP EPISODE: #5 How To Position Yourself As The Industry Source
Social Pros
Hosted by Convince & Convert’s Jay Baer and Adam Brown of Salesforce, Social Pros is a must-listen podcast for marketers generally, and social media professionals specifically.
The Social Pros mantra is “real people doing the real work for real companies” and features in-depth interviews with social media practitioners who are in the virtual trenches, day in and day out.
A key reason why it works is because you’ve got two hosts who have a wealth of knowledge in the space yet are curious to learn more, and I think this comes through in the conversations they have with their guests.
I always get ideas from listening to Social Pros. Highly recommended!
TOP EPISODE: #294 How to Grow a Facebook Page From 6,000 to 175,000 Fans
Content Pros
Also from Jay Baer’s Convince and Convert Media stable, Content Pros is similar to the aforementioned Social Pros podcast but instead focuses on content marketing.
Hosted by Randy Frisch (from Uberflip) and Tyler Lessard (from Vidyard), Content Pros features a great line-up of expert guests, many of whom work on a day-to-day basis with brands and are neck-deep in this thing we call content marketing.
Authors and subject matter experts round out what is a varied but always interesting guest interview roster.
Brands represented include Lenovo, Microsoft, TrackMaven and AT&T.
Content Pros serves as an excellent bookend to Social Pros, and accordingly, comes highly recommended.
TOP EPISODE: #134 How Lion Brand Yarn Company Turns Customers Into Influencers
The Sophisticated Marketer’s Podcast
This podcast is the baby of Jason Miller, Global Content Marketing Leader at LinkedIn.
I’ve only recently discovered it and still playing catch-up with the backlog of episodes, but there’s a lot to like.
Best description of this podcast is that it’s a rollicking good chat between Jason and some interesting guests around marketing and business growth generally, but including allied areas such social media, brand storytelling and content marketing.
Like me, Jason is a rock music buff and I love how he weaves rock references through the podcast. Indeed, he has a segment in which he highlights a quote and asks his guests whether it came from a rock star or a marketer (it’s a little harder than you’d imagine!).
Another cool thing Jason does is to get Image Think to create a visual recording of each episode (above).
TOP EPISODE: Seth Godin’s 7 Life-Changing Ideas for Marketers (And Everyone Else)
The Echo Junction Podcast
Sydney-based Adam Fraser has built up a solid offering over a couple of years and continues to attract an A-list of guests from the worlds of PR, marketing and social media, including Lee Odden, Joseph Jaffe, Mitch Joel, Brian Fanzo, Joe Pulizzi, Jay Baer, Scott Monty and Mark Schaefer.
While many of the guests talk on digital media and marketing, Adam tends to mix things up topic-wise, covering such things as blockchain, AI and bots, experience design, digital transformation and leadership.
The mix of topics works well, and Adam has developed into a confident interviewer whose style is very relaxed and conversational.
TOP EPISODE: Saul Colt talks brand strategy
The Marketing Companion Podcast
This podcast is enjoyable to listen to, thanks to the quirky banter between author, blogger and speaker, Mark Schaefer, and his good friend, Tom Webster, the Vice President of Strategy for Edison Research
But don’t let the shenanigans between the pair fool you. These guys have deep expertise.
The mix of Mark’s marketing experience, skewed social media and content marketing, and Tom’s background in research around tech and social networking, ensures the podcast content is as up-to-date as you’re likely to get when it comes to PR and marketing.
But, importantly, the pair’s healthy dose of pragmatism serves as an effective counter-balance, so you’re not just getting breathless commentary from the cutting edge but perspectives steeped in years of experience working in the marketing trenches.
Entertainment and insights in equal measure. Listening to The Marketing Companion Podcast is the best way to get a regular dose of marketing smarts served up with plenty of laughs.
TOP EPISODE: Should you trust The Meeker Report?
The Echo Chamber
One for the PR peeps, especially senior operatives running agencies.
Produced by PR industry bible The Holmes Report, The Echo Chamber podcast tackles big issues associated with the PR and communications industry today.
Importantly, the weekly show takes a global view of public relations and invariably digs deep into meaty topics that have an effect on the industry. Topics covered include politics, industry reputation, social marketing, fake news and diversity in the workplace.
The Echo Chamber probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but if you’re a senior communications executive, you’ll get value from dipping into the podcast on a regular basis.
TOP EPISODE: #94 David Brain on Bell Pottinger’s demise & the future of PR
The Extraordinary Business Book Club Podcast
Potentially a little out of left field for a list like this, but I thought I’d include it because it does touch on topics such as content, storytelling, building a thought leadership platform, as well as business and entrepreneurship, but from the perspective of books and publishing.
Hosted by Alison Jones (pictured) from the UK, The Extraordinary Business Book Club Podcast is a pretty laid-back listen. Alison’s conversational style puts guests at ease and they generally open up and deliver terrific value in terms of stories, ideas and insights.
On one occasion, Alison was interviewing Seth Godin on the subject of blogging. When the interview was over, she told him: “Man, I really didn’t want to end it there, I would have loved to have kept on talking.” To which the master marketer replied: “Well, I’m not going anywhere. Let’s keep talking.”. And so extra conversation was added to the end of the episode!
TOP EPISODE: #67 Copyright and creativity with Cory Doctorow
Inside PR
This podcast is a stalwart in PR circles and features three genuine PR guns – Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley and Martin Waxman.
It’s raw, unscripted and sometimes a little inconsistent, but that’s part of its charm. It’s kind of like what podcasting was like years ago. Rough and ready, but plenty of fun, and always insightful.
Gini, Joe and Martin are pretty open with their stories and opinions, and I really like that. They cover a lot of ground over and above what people would consider ‘PR’.
But that’s a good thing, because professional communicators today need to be able to ‘join the dots’ across a broad business, media and societal landscape: from social and content to Amazon and Google, from AI and voice search to influencers and political communication, from data science to the future of news publishing.
As an aside, I remember one episode a few years back, Joe (or was it Martin?) regaled listeners with a story of how he was in bed one Sunday morning mucking around with a new video live streaming app called Meerkat, He told listeners it took him a moment or two to realise he was streaming live to the world in his pyjamas. Absolute gold!
If you’re in PR – or work in marketing more generally – I reckon you’ll enjoy the three-way conversation between the three presenters on Inside PR.
TOP EPISODE: Will this discussion get us into trouble?
Brand Storytelling
Produced by Melbourne-based Newsmodo and hosted by its CEO, Rakhal Ebeli, Brand Storytelling is now up to 147 episodes and has found its marketing and PR groove, which emphasis on all things content marketing and brand journalism.
Topics and guests include psychologist Adam Ferrier on how content can shape consumer behaviour, author and leading strategist Shama Hyder on building marketing momentum in the digital age, and String Nguyen on what it takes to become a successful influencer using LinkedIn video.
Brand Storytelling has reached a level of consistency and always delivers. It’s a mainstay on my ‘to-listen’ list and I’m confident it will hit the mark for many of you.
TOP EPISODE: #93 – Building your brand reputation with Uberflip founder, Randy Frisch
InTransition Podcast
Another Aussie offering, this time emanating from Canberra.
Presented by David Pembroke of contentgroup, InTransition is a weekly interview show dedicated to the practice of content communication in the public sector. This alone differentiates InTransition from a lot of other podcasts in the comms space and for that reason provides the listener with a side of PR and content that doesn’t get covered all that often.
David’s guest line-up features leading experts in public sector communications, including policy makers, communications agencies with government clients, journalists and media folk.
The podcast’s theme is: “The world of communications is changing, be part of the transition”.
David is a journo from way back and has the ability to draw out interesting lessons, stories, insights and anecdotes from his interview guests.
TOP EPISODE: #133 Lola Berry on Loyalty and Communication
I hope you enjoy listening to any or all of these podcasts. Please drop me a line on Twitter – @trevoryoung – and let me know how you go! Don’t forget to drop a note in the comments below letting us know what podcasts you’re listening to currently.
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