Podcasts serve as a fun and engaging medium to connect with both existing and new audience segments. One of the best things about podcasting is the low barrier to entry – a microphone is all you need to get started and reach a global audience.

But then, it is a bit different with B2B podcasting. When starting a podcast for your business, you would want to decide on technicalities like the type and the strategies to use.

In this write-up, we will discuss the most popular B2B podcast strategies and types so you can decide what suits you the best.

Let us get started

B2B podcast

A B2B podcast is created by B2B companies to engage target audiences via content marketing. B2B podcasting is also helpful to create industry authority.

Popular B2B Strategies

Demand Gen

This B2B podcast strategy focuses on increasing the number of audiences listening to the podcast. Most channels using such a strategy bring in subject matter experts to share their valuable insights. Such podcast channels focus more on conversational and solo episodes rather than on It also has fewer interview-style episodes.

Such a strategy aims to use the business’ thought leadership to drive demand for its product or service. This strategy is maybe slow in terms of showing ROI; however, it works well if your business already has a decent following and you wish to increase it.

Industry Influence

This B2B podcasting strategy works for businesses that aim on creating influence within the industry of operation. In this strategy, the top dogs from the industry are roped to give interviews and talk on specific topics. Adopting this strategy works best if you are aiming to break into a competitive market and create a sustainable brand image.

Remember this: The people you are interviewing (industry thought leaders, company owners, or social media influencers) may not be your clients. However, associating with them could give you more power in your field.

ABM (Account-based Marketing)

The ABM (Account-Based Marketing) approach can be used as a B2B podcasting strategy to reach out to specific target segments. This approach is ideal if you want to interact with the key decision-makers (business leaders or top executives) from the target accounts.

This strategy uses content-based networking to interview ideal consumers from your company’s target accounts.

The ABM B2B podcasting strategy focuses on developing relationships with potential customers. This method can be used to target three different sorts of people:

• Customers who might be interested
• Your sales pipeline’s leads
• Customers who are currently using our services (to upsell or cross-sell)

Interviewing people outside of your organization makes the most sense because your major KPI is the number of relationships. This technique also gives you the quickest time to impact – only one interview can result in a significant return on investment.

Furthermore, when you create content with potential clients, your audience grows in the background.

Customer success

While the three strategies that we have discussed above, Customer Success is a B2B podcasting strategy that does not overlap. This strategy is used by B2B companies that want to reach out to their existing customers and engage better, to reduce customer churn.

With such podcasts, you can highlight customer success while also addressing customer issues in a friendly manner. The impact of a customer success podcast takes time to be noticed. However, increasing retention rates is well worth the effort.

Internal podcast

The internal podcast is usually used for internal communication within the team/organization. Therefore, the audience size is limited to the number of people in the team/organization.

Such podcasts are used for

• Getting to know the team better
• To train new people
• To store audio assets at one accessible spot

To choose the strategy that suits you best, you will have to consider two factors –

• The type of podcast
• Your target audience

Types of B2B Podcasts

Apart from the strategy, it is also important to decide on the type of B2B podcasts. There are several different types of podcasts to present your content. You can choose from them based on the type of audience you have.

Here are some popular types of B2B podcasts –

Interview podcasts

Just like any other format of an interview, the interview podcast also features the host(s) interviewing the guest(s). The guest delivers unique expertise or insights on a certain topic, industry, or theme in this manner. This format can be further divided into two types:

• Expert interviews: Here, the interviewer asks questions about a specific topic to get deeper insights from the interviewee. There are many listeners to such podcasts as they are educative.
• Entertainment interviews: This type of podcast have guests telling interesting stories about their life. Usually, comedians or entertainment journalists host these programs.

Podcast hosts need to do some research before conducting an interview-style podcast. At the same time, they need to be skillful to draw up interesting stories from the guests. Interview-style podcasts can necessitate a significant amount of study. This format is the best suited to present new ideas and opinions.

Storytelling / Investigative podcasts

Who doesn’t like a good story? That’s right! Everyone does and podcast listeners are not an exception. Podcast listeners say that storytelling and investigative approach gives them immersive experiences. In the format, the host(s) share a story/chapter in each episode of the podcast. 

Conversational podcasts

Conversational podcasts or co-hosted podcasts are quite similar to radio talk shows. Such podcasts usually have two hosts sharing entertaining conversations about a specific topic or theme. Conversational podcasts may also have guests contributing to the discussion.

To host this format, the hosts are required to have high levels of familiarity and comfort, else, the audience may find out that it is all scripted.

Monologue podcasts

In this format, a single host speaks for the duration of the episode. These podcasts are usually hosted by an expert on a certain topic. Members of the audience listen in to learn more about a certain issue or to hear an informed opinion on current events.

One of the biggest advantages of the monologue podcast is that you would not be dependent on others. The monologue format has the advantage of not requiring the assistance of others. This technique, however, still necessitates significant research.

Roundtable podcasts

Roundtable podcasts are also known as panel shows. They have a regular or rotating set of hosts discussing or commenting on a variety of issues. In these formats, the main host MCs the entire episode while the co-hosts do something specific, such as providing in-depth knowledge.

Panel shows frequently attempt to make viewers feel as if they are members of an exclusive club. Roundtable podcasts distribute the workload around a group of individuals, reducing the burden of a single person.

Theatrical Podcasts

This type of podcast has been trending in recent times. Some theatrical podcasts have a single host narrating a story in the same way as an audiobook does. To create more immersive experiences, some podcasts in this genre employ a whole cast of performers and sound engineers.

In this format, hosts aim to construct fictional worlds that fascinate their listeners. While this format may not necessitate as much research as the others on this list, it still necessitates a significant amount of effort.

Wrapping up

B2B podcasting is a great marketing step that will take your business further ahead. In this write-up, we have discussed strategies and types to get you started. But before selecting the strategy or type of podcast, you will have to determine what you want from the podcast.

Is it to

• Build relations
• Grow audience
• Reduce customer churn
• Build relationships with your prospects
• Pass on your organizational information?

Once you determine the goal, you need to think of the type that your target audience likes the most and stick with it.

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