Why podcast?
Content is king for a growing healthcare practice. Any content that you or your team create is considered a business asset. By creating a single podcast, you will have content that will be turned into an audio file — but you can also turn that same content into video and print assets. You can transcribe your podcast and use it in articles, white papers, and books. Record a simple video of your podcast with your laptop camera and create a YouTube video post. The more assets (i.e., Intellectual Property) you publish, the more valuable and searchable your practice becomes.
Your Podcast Strategy
First, you will need a thorough creative brief for your podcast that spells out who your audience is, what your podcast message is, your goals for the podcast, what your podcast is about, and, perhaps more importantly, what your podcast is not about. From there, you can determine your ideal guest. For a growing healthcare practice, the podcast’s goal is likely to inform potential and current patients about your specialty and build credibility with them. In this case, you will want to interview other healthcare influencers who will provide thought leadership and futurist insights that support your message.
You can also interview key members of your team who have specific areas of focus. Celebrating your team members’ knowledge and sitting at the same table with other accomplished healthcare leaders are both ways to educate and instill consumer confidence in your practice.
1. Create a Guest Avatar
It may be helpful to create an avatar of your perfect guest — especially if you are approaching other healthcare leaders. Consider things like:
- Do they have a certain title like CEO, COO, or Chief Medical Officer?
- What kind of organization, industry, or practice do they represent?
- Does their organization have a minimum/maximum number of employees?
- What is their specialty that supports your messaging strategy?
Ultimately, you must remember who your audience is and what guests will most resonate with them. Identify guests who will attract that audience and will augment your podcast message. Other key criteria to consider:
- Look for guests with a large industry following and a known reputation.
- Look for guests with extensive experience and passion who will support your podcast theme.
- Look for guests who are creating a ton of content already. These leaders understand that content is king and they will be happy to partner with you to create another asset they can attach their name to.
2. Connect With Your Ideal Guests
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a tremendous tool. You can create custom lists with the specifics listed above that isolate leaders with certain titles, work in certain industries, and/or represent organizations with a certain number of team members. From this list, you can spearfish your perfect guests. You can follow them, and Sales Navigator will alert you when they post or publish content. Now you can identify guests who fit your criteria and who are creating content — and will likely be open to joining you on your podcast. Read their posts, interact with them, and connect with these ideal guests individually with a sincere message.
Following industry magazines and trade journals is critical. Notice who is getting articles published. Target leaders who are participating in healthcare panels. Reach out to healthcare authorities who are being interviewed as experts in the news. You can go back to LinkedIn to connect with them personally, and let them know you read their article or saw their interview. Not all of them will be on LinkedIn, of course, but many of them will be.
Tip: If you are having difficulty reaching an ideal guest, see If they have a Director of Marketing or a PR contact listed on LinkedIn (you can search the organization on LinkedIn for team members.) Their corporate website may also offer this information. Reach out to the Marketing or PR team member to book your ideal guest. It is their primary goal to get their leaders booked in the media!
3. Create a Booking Process
Create your guest booking process — from identification of your perfect prospective guest, all the way through to the recording of the podcast. Then document it. If you use LinkedIn for initial outreach, create a brief introduction message. The request to connect message has a maximum character limit, so you’ll want to craft your message to utilize most of those characters and address each prospect by name so they know you aren’t sending spam. You may need to beta-test your message until you find one that works. Once you have a message getting consistent responses, make that your documented initial outreach.
Track the progress of each potential guest through your CRM or project management tool (Monday.com or Trello, for example). Consistency is key, so template your messaging for each step so you can copy/paste and not recreate your communication with each guest. Update your documented process when you find messaging that works better or when you can streamline the steps.
Continued Communication
Once your podcast has been recorded, you and your team will likely have shared a deep connection with the guest. You’ve heard their struggles; you understand their vision; you’re familiar with their story. Stay in touch with the guests with whom you can develop a beneficial relationship or strategic partnership.
Tip: Review the goal of your podcast. This will guide you in producing your ongoing communication strategy with your carefully procured, growing podcast community.