Tag Archives: Capsho

Get Emotional: Why Personality Enhances B2B Content



In this bonus episode of Insider Interviews, I’m not interviewing anyone. I’m having a brisk 20-minute conversation with Julie Livingston of Want Leverage Communication, discussing the art and value of adding personality to your B2B content  — and especially to your company podcast. Taken from Julie’s LinkedIn show, “PR Patter,” these are some of the tips I shared for infusing B2B content with personality and approachability — as your best “never knew what hit ‘em” way to appeal to prospects.

I hope you’ll listen to (or watch) the full episode for the details, but here’s the headline:

“People buy from people they like” (and also gets you more “likes”!)

You’ll learn why humanizing a brand and its executives helps create a better connection with the audience — or prospects. Then we’ll discuss the differences between branded podcasts and B2B podcasts, adding personality, using storytelling, getting good guest …and getting the most out of your host… and even simple tech tips for putting your business in its best light.

Remember, there’s a time and a place for sales brochures, and for leveraging audio for technical explanations. But that place is not your podcast. So:

Get Emotional. 
There are great lessons on what drives purchases from an emotional perspective. See this presentation by Binet and Fields on the Principles of B2B Marketing. For my part, I’m not speaking to what drives a B2B buyer — like “fear of losing one’s job” or “fear of missing out”. I’m speaking about the fear of not being oneself. Or rather, the fear many exhibit of vulnerability in a business setting. Where’s the story? Where’s the humor? Where’s the human side? That is what we buy when we feel comfortable with someone. And that is what B2B podcasts can stand to offer a little more of.
Branded or B2B?
Well, it’s kind of a Venn diagram. Your branded podcast can be for B2B purposes, but it’s often more story-driven content that could easily be B2C — or B2B2C! There are great companies that specialize in crafting endearment of a brand wrapped in a Trojan Horse of great storytelling. I’m all for that. Think the beloved Trader Joe’s show. Or Trailblazers with Walter Isaacson, which is a BTYB from Dell. There’s a reason iHeartMedia just announced Ruby, a studio dedicated to creating branded podcasts, so go on in; the water’s great!
This POV is more focused on what I see as the traditional B2B audio content that is courting business customers, most frequently done as an interview to inform, and hopefully entertain — or “edutain.”
Know your why — and your what:
So, just as I ask all my podcast development clients (did I mention I train companies in launching their B2B podcast?): why do you want to start a podcast? And what’s in it for me as a listener? Those answers will inform the rest of your strategy. Whatever that is, you can afford to make it compelling!
If you can’t seat the best spokesperson who may be more junior but effervescent, you can train the bigger brass to be likeable and mic-able. And PS: that begins with having a good mic!
And how will you make your guests shine? Because frequently you’ll seat your prospects or customers, so you’ll definitely want to put them in their best light. That takes preparation. Just like my favorite joke about the skeleton who walks into a bar and asks for a drink… and a mop. (Think about it.)
Ask your guests for what they’d most like to discuss…but come prepared with personal insights that will humanize them as well in conversation. That’s never to say embarrass anyone; but a little disarming can be fun and delightful to your guests and the listeners. You’ll often find me motivated to sing to my guests. (Yes, I illustrate that in this bonus episode. Why it’s called a bonus.)
Do understand the value(s) of creating a B2B podcast
Yes, podcasts are great for communicating in a personal way that can explain more complicated ideas, or for reaching your customers even if they’re out for a walk. But given a sea of five million podcasts out there, it’s not the listens or “counts” that count, but how you spin, slice and dice the content. Remember that this podcasting is just another form of your sales collateral. Then, since you’ll be creating some form of show notes or a transcript – and do consider leveraging AI to help you turn your transcription into good show notes and social media posts: like Swell AI, Podium, Listener.fm or Capsho, who spoke with me in Insider Interviews Episode 5  — then take your show notes and turn them into a blog post for your site or social. And so on.
And create promo spots or clips to share and post, via a service like Headliner. <– promo code in that link for free two weeks, FYI.
Encourage your guests to share on their site and social too. (Guilt is also a good incentive. Ask Mrs. Fields about reciprocity marketing!) And once you’ve proven your executive / host has the power of personality, they’ll be invited to guest on other shows! It’s a flywheel.
Clearly, everything is a reflection of your brand so how much you employ humor or human touches might require a balancing act: Your podcast might be the place where you can be a little less serious, and perhaps your site is where you’re a little bit more formal. But you do express the personality of your company and your executives. They’re your megaphone. They should wield the power of personality.
This episode is packed with insights and practical tips to help you create a successful B2B podcast. But you may want help beyond these 20 or so minutes, so please ask about my No More Bored Rooms Podcast Launch Training! podcasts@mossappeal.com
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Five Podcast Pros Offer the Insider Scoop



In a spontaneous episode I discussed five different aspects of the business of podcasting – from using AI to “audio or video?”, to leveraging the star power and engagement power of podcasting.

You’ll hear from:

  • Michael Kaye, Director of Brand & Communications for OkCupid, an online dating app;
  • Brandon Reed, Host, formerly tired dad, and creator of 12 Hour Sound Machines, a viral podcast that helps people sleep;
  • Bona Rai, COO and Co-founder of Capsho, the tool that helped E.B. use AI to generate these very show notes (!);
  • Chris Whitman, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of GlassBox Media, think ‘music label-meets-podcast marketing machine’; 
  • A.J. Feliciano, Head of The Roost Podcast Network from Warner Bros Discovery, that started the groundswell of podcasts leveraging video and has his finger on the pulse of monetizing best practices to meet the consumer where they’re consuming content.

 It’s five inspiring chats that reveal the brilliant possibilities of audio and video for the future including:

  1. How OkCupid leverages podcasting for success – earned or owned?
  2. The business model behind the 12 Hour Sound Machines podcast
  3. What Capsho is, and how this new tool taps AI to help podcasters save time
  4. How GlassBox Media cracks the code on growing podcast awareness and ups the value of creator IP

    A spontaneous interview at the Sounds Profitable event in Austin
  5. When is a podcast a video and a video a podcast? How should brands embrace the consumer’s content journey? The Roost tells all.

Chapter Summaries/Time Codes:

[00:00:01]

This is episode 5 of Insider Interviews, with five different guests included. Each of my guests spoke about a different area of the business of podcasting. This was recorded spontaneously right after a panel I conducted during SXSW for Sounds Profitable, featuring one of the panelists and four members of the audio ….

[00:01:42]

Michael Kaye, director of communications at OkCupid is naturally inclined towards earned, but says: “We’ve seen tremendous impact from both podcast advertising and from earned, pitching our experts to appear on other shows. In 2023, we’ll be looking again at podcast advertising.”

[00:03:57]

Brandon Reed’s podcast is called 12-Hour Sound Machines. It was created when his newborn couldn’t sleep through the night, now enjoying about 300,000 downloads a day. Reed started by first directly selling to brands, but now he’s on Megaphone, in the Spotify Audience Network so programmatic sales is a really good solution for him. Hear his explanation of why the moments before falling asleep are actually a powerful moment for advertisers….

[00:09:12]

Bona Rai is a co-founder of Capsho, a product that uses AI to tap audio files to create SEO-optimized content for podcasts. At just 10 months old they’re already embracing a more robust version of Capsho 2.0 coming this Spring.

[Note: I tried out Capsho 1.0 for most of these show notes, with an added “human touch!”]

[00:14:15]

Chris Whitman describes GlassBox Media like a record label for podcast hosts. Its goal is to grow the value of the IP for the creators across any sort of opportunity from a revenue perspective. “Now we represent around 65 shows, with no end in sight.”

[00:18:58]

A.J. Feliciano explains that The Roost podcast network is a video-first podcast network. “We have about 90 shows, a third of them are owned and operated. What is it about multiplatform distribution on podcasts that makes it so worthwhile for other podcasters?”

[00:21:18]

Our thinking around YouTube is that it’s less that it’s about video, and more about the platform itself. Who’s your target audience and where have they been conditioned to go to just consume content? And that’s why we’re seeing podcast-like content bringing such big numbers there.

[00:23:54]

The Roost podcast will always have a foundation in audio. It can have video, it can be on YouTube. Heck, we might even see a world a year or two where long form content is being distributed on TikTok.

[00:24:44]

In terms of measurement A.J. says, “A view and a download are counted two separate metrics: A view is :30 seconds of playback on YouTube and then audio download is :60 seconds by unique user. It’s still very much early days and we’re going to have to figure out ways to plug into that back end of YouTube API.” Adding, “We need to properly measure and communicate those returns for the advertising community.

What’s the reason why podcasting is so big today? It’s because Direct Response has used it as their primary tool. There’s money to be had –and we can do a lot better on this front.

[00:27:50]

One of the things that’s helped us build our business is looking beyond the podcast. If you want to properly tackle YouTube and TikTok and other new platforms that will inevitably join the fray into the future, we really have to almost take the “podcast” out of the center of our universe.

The theme music for Insider Interviews was composed and performed by the incomparable Grammy-winning John Clayton, and this episode was edited by Grace Morton.
Send questions or a suggestion for a next stellar guest to:  podcasts@mossappeal.com

Catch all Insider Interviews episodes on the business of #media, #marketing and advertising right here, or wherever you like to listen to #b2b podcasts. 

Connect with our Episode 5 guests here:

Michael Kaye

Brandon Reed

Bona Rai

Chris Whitman –

A.J. Feliciano

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mossappeal
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Please support Insider Interviews at www.buymeacoffee.com/mossappeal

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