Tools for Promoting Your Podcast on Instagram

You’ve got your podcast idea together. You’ve experimented, refined it, and got it to a place you’re happy with. It’s recorded, edited, and ready to go. What next? If you’ve ever researched how to create a successful podcast, then you’ll know that promoting it is really important. To gain listeners, people need to know you’re out there.

Our social media use is increasing all the time. 3.4 billion people across the world - 45% of the entire population - log on to some form of social media. It only makes sense then, that you’d want to use those same platforms to promote your podcast. And with more than a billion active users every month, Instagram is one of the biggest platforms out there. But how do you go about it? Here we look at the best tools to promote your podcast on Instagram.

✴ Audiograms

Audiograms are images paired with snippets of audio. This means you can take a short clip from your podcast, put it over the image, and ta-dah, it’s ready to post on Instagram. Our attention spans are pretty low when scrolling through social media newsfeeds, so 30 seconds as a maximum is a good rule. You don’t need to be a technical wizard either as there are apps out there to help you put your audiograms together. They even include a groovy animated audio wave to accompany your voice.

✴ Audiogram Apps

Wavve is one of the most popular tools for creating audiograms from your podcast clips. It’s very user-friendly and you can publish the result straight onto Instagram from the app. If you find a template you like, you can also save it to use for future snippets. You can sign up for a free account which will give you 1 minute of Wavve branded video per month. If you need more than that - or you want to produce audiograms without the Wavve logo - then you’ll need to sign up to one of their pricing plans.

A popular alternative that will help you promote your podcast on Instagram is an app called Headliner. Like Wavve, you can share your audiograms directly from the app and you have a good range of editing options to choose from. You can add audio captions to your clips and also include text and images in your video. Headliner offers 10 videos per month on its free package, which includes transcription. There are also other packages available if you’re willing to pay for them.

✴ Create Videos

If you want to take your Instagram posts one step further, creating a video is a great way to go. If you fancy attempting DIY, you could film yourself recording your podcast and post a clip as a video on Instagram. Not only will this promote your podcast on Instagram, but it’ll put a face to your voice as well. This can create a more personal connection with your listeners, giving them the sense that they know you. It also means that your posts will not have the generic look that often happens when using branded audiograms.

However, if you’re feeling camera shy, there are apps to help you put videos together. A good example of this is Powtoon. Through this app you can create slick attention-grabbing videos to complement your podcast clip. You can put together animations that illustrate the topic you’re discussing, giving your Instagram posts a completely unique feel. There is a free option but if you need more storage space or you want a wider range of animations, then you’ll need to sign up to one of their paid plans.

✴ Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are extremely effective for engaging with your audience and promoting your podcast on Instagram. More than a third of the app’s users are regularly posting or watching stories and more than 70% of stories are viewed with the sound on. This is a huge advantage when you’re trying to promote audio content. It means those watching will more likely than not also be listening to what you have to say.

Instagram Stories appear in a slideshow format and disappear after 24 hours. When it comes to the big stuff - new episode announcements, for example - you’ll want to reserve that for permanent posts. However, for quick behind-the-scenes video snippets or engaging images, Instagram Stories is the perfect tool to reach your potential listeners. And if you’re big enough to have hit 10,000 followers, you can add a link so that those watching can swipe up to listen to your podcast immediately.

✴ Hashtags

A free and easy tool to promote your podcast on Instagram is the use of hashtags. Hashtags are a staple of social media, particularly on Instagram and Twitter. You have a couple of options when it comes to getting the most out of them. You can piggyback on existing hashtags that relate to the content of your podcasts. For example, if your podcast features a series of interviews with successful female figures then you could use #powerfulwomen. This will get you traffic - and possibly engagement - with people searching for or following that hashtag.

You can also create your own hashtag to reflect your podcast. Yvonne Orji and Luvvie Ajayi, co-hosts of the Jesus and Jollof podcast, run a popular Instagram account that combines photographs and videos. The posts they make promoting their podcast are attached to the #jesusandjollof hashtag, which throws up hundreds of pictures and videos when you search for it. Even if this might initially seem like a waste of time - for example, if you’re only just getting started and have yet to build a following - it’s still worth doing. Later on, that unique hashtag may well be getting searches all on its own.

✴ Your Bio

The first thing potential listeners will see if they click on your account is your bio. It could be the difference between them choosing to follow you or not, so it’s important to get it right. You need a short description that encapsulates what your podcast is about. It should let your audience know what they’ll be getting but also entice them to give it a try. And whatever you do, don’t forget to add a link to either your full podcast channel or the most recent episode only.

✴ Images

When all is said and done, Instagram was originally designed for sharing images. This is still a powerful and effective tool and you can use it to your advantage. Creating and posting engaging photographs that build up a following will naturally increase exposure to your podcast. You can use images that stay true to the topics or themes you explore to convert those who came for the photos to listeners further down the line. You can also use images with text to post about new episodes or upcoming guests.

✴ How to Successfully Promote Your Podcast

One of the keys to creating a successful podcast is by using the various available tools to promote it on social media platforms such as Instagram. Ultimately, a combination of approaches including audiograms, Instagram Stories and hashtags to name a few, will bring the best results as each method comes with its own advantages. See to it that your promotional content follows your brand’s customary style and tone as well. That way you’ll be sure to attract the kind of listeners who will turn into advocates and keep coming back for more.

Feeling like a marketing pro? Check out these other strategies for growing your podcast.

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Tools for Promoting Your Podcast on Instagram