Podcast consistency isn’t just about sticking to a schedule. It’s also about creating a cohesive brand narrative over the long run. In a world with so many unknowns, podcast audiences want to know that your podcast will consistently deliver high-quality, worthwhile content that sticks with a theme.
With a relevant and consistent theme, you’ll keep them coming back for more. In fact, a 2019 report found that 22% of podcast fans listened to over 22 hours of podcasts each week.
Brand consistency for higher education podcasts in particular demands attention to university communities and groups, including faculty, staff and students. This article will explore a few ways to ensure podcast brand consistency that resonates with a higher education community.
Topic consistency
Creating consistency within topic choices for each episode of your podcast is a key way to ensure overall consistency of brand.
Flash Forward, a podcast created and hosted by NYU alumni Rose Eveleth, features deep dive discussions about the future and what it might look like. Each episode explores a particular aspect of a potential future.
Voice consistency
When starting a podcast, you’ll need to decide on how to present your voice. For instance, will you have a single host? Or co-hosts? Or a rotation of hosts (sometimes referred to as guest hosts)?
The type of voice that you choose to have can depend on the content of your podcast. Some topics may warrant a more discussion-based delivery of content, so in those scenarios co-hosting would be helpful. Interview shows, for instance, might have one or two hosts that handle interviewing responsibilities (such as The Tim Ferriss Show).
Once you’ve determined what voice will be best for your podcast, stick to it. There’s an important reason for this: If you have different hosting styles every week, then this could heavily interfere with your audience’s ability to focus on the actual content of your podcast—instead, they’ll be focused on your different hosting style. If they know to expect weekly monologue-style or co-host style content, then they’ll keep coming back for more.
It’s okay to have some deviation for special episodes (such as a holiday special, for instance), but for the most part, staying the course with one type of podcast voice will allow you to build a sense of familiarity for your audience.
Copy consistency
Consistency across copywriting for your podcast is another vital step in developing a steady brand narrative. Brand copy may appear in several places, such as the podcast website, social media pages, newsletters and more.
Though each of these types of content may demand different writing styles, it’s important to maintain a consistent brand tone throughout.
Visual consistency
Producing thematically similar visuals helps audiences to identify with just a glance content affiliated with your podcast. You’ll want to choose a color palette and logo that you’re comfortable committing to for a while.
All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions is a Stanford University business podcast. The podcast consistently uses brand colors and familiar templates for episode announcements on social media. For example, the All Else Equal LinkedIn page uses consistent colors and formatting. This allows audiences to identify the podcast update with just a glance.
Frequent brand audits
Frequent brand audits can help you stay on track with brand consistency. To perform a brand audit, set aside regularly scheduled time to consider how you present your brand to your audience. Review your logos and graphics, online advertising, social media presence and email communication.
You’ll also want to reflect on your own vision for your brand. What are your brand’s values? What is your brand’s mission and culture? Asking these questions can help you set goals to better communicate your brand’s values to audiences in a consistent, clear way.
