How to Create Podcast Brand Guidelines
As B2B podcasting becomes more and more widespread, it’s important for enterprise-level organizations to standardize how their podcasts are produced and let out into the wild. This doesn’t mean that every podcast has to be in the same style, but rather that the process for making every podcast should be the same. This makes it easier for all the departments producing podcasts and makes the company look consistent to outsiders. That’s the reason brand guidelines make sense. Podcast brand guidelines are just as important.
This list comprises the most important aspects of any set of podcast brand guidelines:
Audio. What sort of mics should be used, what sort of voice talent should be hosting and what tone do you want to strike, what sort of music should be used and how (you don’t want soft jazz for one podcast and rock and roll for another.)
Stems. This is an audio production term which refers to your intros and outros that should be unchanging from episode to episode: by having the originals of these you ensure continuity if any member of your production team leaves.
Visual aesthetic. You can have standardized podcast artwork or have guidelines for where the company logo should be placed.
Thumbnail designs. Related to the visual aesthetic, you should have templates in place for individual episodes as well as articles that can be created from your episodes.
Social media content graphics. If you choose to use quote blocks and audiograms to share your content, you should have standardized templates to have the same look and feel to reinforce the professionalism of your brand.
Video. Are you going to have video as part of your podcasts and, if so, how will they appear both within the podcast itself and on social media?
Episode format. Will you have specific opening and closing questions in every episode?
Show notes. These should be standard, 200-400 words, featuring key talking points and a CTA.
Transcripts. Will you provide these and, if so, what will they look like, e.g. will the names of speakers be bolded throughout the text as the conversation switches back and forth.
Appearance. How will this appear on the website? For example, where the embedded player sits, how episodes can be searched for, whether you offer links to all the different podcast platforms like Apple or Soundcloud or Stitcher, etc., where show notes and articles and/or transcripts appear.
Sponsor plugs. Less is more here: you don’t want someone simply rambling on; as with show notes you want something consistent, short, ending with a CTA.
If you have taken the time to deal with all the points we have shared above, you will be well on your way to producing top-quality podcasts at your organization. But more importantly, you’ll have ensured that there’s a system in place to repeat that process consistently for any new podcasts that come online in the future.
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This episode is brought to you by Content Allies.
Content Allies helps B2B companies launch revenue-generating podcasts. From startups to Fortune 500s, we have helped some of the world's leading companies build and run profitable podcasts. Contact us for your free podcast consultation at ContentAllies.com