From WXXI news.

This is connections.

I'm Rachel Stephen.

Our connection this hour is being made right in this room today.

We're taping the show in front of a live studio audience.

As part of a part of the farm and all day event that brings together podcast pros and entrepreneurs.

People are using their voices, their personalities and their platforms to connect in new ways.

We've seen a big shift in the business world.

More and more, our producers are becoming broadcasters.

They're launching podcasts.

They're on TikTok.

They're building YouTube channels, all to reach customers directly, to tell their stories and build their brands.

But what does that shift mean?

How does it change marketing, Archer partnership and even traditional media?

We've brought together a panel of experts to dig into those questions.

Joining me in studio, I have jazzy T, the founder of Jazz Cats Pros podcast.

You can make a round of applause.

Thank you.

Thank you Eric and long time broadcaster now helping women and people of color.

Launch mission driven shows.

Thank you for joining us, jazzy.

Thank you.

I also have been Albert and he does have ears I heard.

Archie Preneur and host of Rochester Business Connections and the Real Business Connections Network, which brings local businesses voices to a wider audience.

Thank you for joining me, Ben.

Thank you.

And I also have Elena Maceo.

She's a clinical associate professor of marketing at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.

My alma matter, whose research and teaching focus on digital strategy, consumer behavior and ethics.

Thank you for joining us, Elena.

Thank you for having me.

And welcome to all of you in our studio audience.

Now we're talking about what what's driving this shift?

Why do businesses, business owners feel the need to become their own broadcasters?

Now, jazzy will start with you.

What did you see in the marketplace that made you think entrepreneurs needed their own media network?

Well, content is everything.

So when you're talking about marketing and this was mentioned earlier in the pod athon, is when you meet somebody in person and they're telling you about their product and they're telling you about their service.

The first thing you do is look them up online.

So you may Google them.

But you most likely you're going to go to one of those social media pages and a way to expand upon that sort of content, long form content is to have a podcast.

Now, what I love about audio specifically is that you don't have to get all made up like like we are today, right?

You can just turn on your microphone and you'll be able to show up as the expert, as the authority in that particular space.

So when people want to learn about a specific topic, they come to you as an expert.

And then when they're ready to buy a product or service, then they know exactly who to go to.

Oh great answer.

Now, now then I want you to see if you can top that.

Okay.

Yeah.

To build a podcast brand around business connections.

How is that going and how has it shaped your journey?

I mean, it's going amazing.

When I started Rochester Business Connections, the reason I started that podcast wasn't because I'm the connection expert.

It's because I needed some.

I had just gotten let go during the pandemic, and I didn't know how to do business.

So I thought, let's start a podcast to learn how to do a business called it Rochester Business Connections, because born and raised and super full circle that we have this conversation today.

I was listening to connections like, and gosh, I had to have been like 2013, 2014 that I first started listening to this show and I was like, let's start a business Connections podcast.

And my guest became my mentors.

They became my peers, and they also became friends and clients.

And I wanted business connections, but it was the heart to heart connections, the mentorship.

That's really what changed everything.

Wow.

And I have a question off of that.

Wow.

How often is that story told?

Is that people story usually they started a podcast to become the student.

What I hear most often is they're starting a podcast and even starting a business to serve their younger self, to give people information that they wish that they had.

To Ben's point, to create that connection that they wish that they had.

Right.

So podcasting is an amazing way to connect locally, but also globally.

We're so proud to have our first international connection, with the spiritual shortcut to host out of Australia.

Yeah.

Now, Ellen, I want you to join in on this conversation.

How is this kind of communication different than other forms of marketing?

Yeah.

So I love that you mentioned just that content is really what we're looking at.

And content is king.

And when we think about our empowered consumers, they're going out there researching.

They're investigating in ways that traditional marketing couldn't serve them.

And so being present when they're looking for us, when they're looking for our services, that's really how this dynamic has shifted.

And it's been a complete 180 from traditional marketing where we were in control of the conversations.

Now it's a dialog.

And so it has to be interactive.

It has to be available and it has to be entertaining at the end of the day.

Entertaining.

I love that and agitating.

That's my word.

Agitate it.

Yeah.

Educational and entertaining.

Right.

We're going to use that word today.

Agitating.

Does creating your own platform change the relationship between business and and its customers.

And how so many of you want to I treat my podcast like a business.

I market it like a business.

It has its own website.

It's search engine.

Optimize.

Because the more the bigger audience I can reach, the better it helps my business, but better it helps the message.

So, I treat podcasting just as any old business.

And do you see this shift lasting a long time?

I don't think we go back from here.

Yeah, there are only going to be more channels.

And that's really where the challenge lies as we think about our entrepreneurs, our local businesses.

And how do we how do we allocate our resources, our time, our energy, our budgets, our personnel, because there are only going to be more channels, more opportunities for content.

And so thinking about which ones matter most is a real challenge.

But there is definitely no going back.

Oh, and jazzy are we what do you think about that?

Are we going to stay in this this form of broadcasting for a long time?

Well, what I saw during the pandemic was really a peak with podcasting.

Because we were at home, we were looking to connect with other people.

You had apps like clubhouse popping up, where you just show up in a room and and have conversations with people, right?

And so now that we are quote unquote, like back to normal, people are back into routines, we're still seeing that a lot of people are engaging with audio podcasts on road trips, while they're working out, while they're cleaning.

Right.

And it's such an amazing gift in the world of TikTok, where it's 15 second or three seconds, you might get three seconds on a scroll.

But if somebody has decided to open up their podcast platform, their player, and say, I'm going to listen to a podcast, they're intending on spending ten, at least ten minutes with you.

15 minutes is kind of the sweet spot.

So just imagine having your core demographic, your ideal customer, tuned into you for a solid 15 minutes.

That's everything.

That's gold.

And hundreds of them and hundreds of them at the same time.

So are we seeing is there a negative here?

Right.

Because people now anyone can become broadcasters.

So that's it's the opportunity for misinformation.

Are we seeing any downfalls in having this platform be so accessible to just anyone?

I'll say something here.

I think a big challenge is the congestion.

And so there are so many choices.

And so how do you break through that noise?

How do you find your audience, and how do you ensure that it is the right audience?

So there is, of course, the risk of misinformation and in addition to that, it is just this noise.

And so how do you break through that?

And that is where, again, being strategic and thinking about those resources.

Is this the right platform to connect with our audience?

Are we able to make use of it in a way that is engaging, that is entertaining?

Can we keep up with it?

I mean, how much time and energy effort it takes to maintain it and to have those stories?

I think that's where there's a lot of risk and a big challenge.

Can I speak to that?

So as far as like maintaining it.

Right.

So with jazz Castro's is a podcast production company.

So my motto is, you know, just record with your guests and let us handle the rest.

It is very taxing if you try to do everything on your own.

Right.

Booking the guests, doing the interview and then post-production, then distribution and then promotion and then monetizing and all of that stuff.

So if you can get with a production company or just have a friend that can help a cousin, somebody that will treat it like a business to your point then and have those accountability calls every week we get on a coaching call, say, all right, what's our plan for next week?

Do we have our recording.

And that's going out this Wednesday.

Same day same time.

Be consistent.

So your your followers and your guests can expect that.

And I'm pretty sure there's a process before you become before it becomes a business.

Right.

At what point do you know your podcast is a business now?

It can be lucrative.

What are we looking for?

To make sure that our podcasts are lucrative, or it's time for it to be?

It's really hard to be a full time creator.

There's only one Oprah.

There's only one Larry King.

It's hard to try to speak for yourself in I mean, you could be bad goals.

You could be bad.

And I think our voice is our greatest asset.

So as we develop it, we can be our own Oprah.

We can be our own Larry King.

But it's hard to be a full time creator.

Part of treating it as a business is finding like, who's my audience?

How can I serve them and how can I make money serving them?

It's often providing a product that's related to the podcast, but not specifically the podcast.

If you want to be a full time creator, though, it's finding that niche that people want to sponsor you.

A friend of mine does vertical farming, has a vertical farming podcast, doesn't have millions of listeners, but all the vertical farming industry professionals sponsor it because his audience is 100% the people they sell to.

So you really just got to be strategic in how you handle all that.

And Jesse, how do you know when your podcast is ready to be a business?

Well, I think if you treat it like a business it will become a business.

I mean today is all about aligning and manifesting, right.

So it's only focus on the end result right.

So if that is your intention but also if you're already a business owner you can build in those, you know, those products in those services.

So say for instance, you know, if you have a podcast about, you know, human resources and you know, for instance, like Paychex is here today, you know, that you have the best, you know, H.R.

Compliance products in town and the pay checks, flex app and all of that, then that's really easy to to tie that in to the conversation about human resources.

And then on, what does the Simon Business School say about your podcast Becoming a Business?

I think, you know, it depends on who your audience is.

Is it a niche audience?

Has it grown and scaled to the point where it can be profitable and understanding what is that trajectory, the sustainability of it?

Is it content that is going to be more short term, or is it something where you can continue to evolve and grow with your audience, understand where they're going?

And I think the point of that scale, when you have to bring in a partner because it doesn't turn off, you don't get to take a break or go on vacation necessarily.

Someone has to be there to keep it going or you're planning in advance, of course.

And so that tipping point of how you're able to manage it, how you're able to make it profitable, and understanding what is the trajectory for where it's going.

It takes a lot of planning, a lot of strategy, a lot of resources and a little bit of that perspective that you know where it is going.

And one of the challenges I've seen with people starting podcasts is consistency, right?

And you're going good for one month and then something happens and you're you're not you haven't film for two weeks.

That challenge is real.

How do we get past that or how do we combat consistency?

I can start there.

So part of it is having a client, a calendar, a plan, having those milestones mapped out, building out an editorial calendar, building out your production schedule and then having accountability partners.

That's a critical part of it.

Making sure that you are being held to deadlines so that you're not falling behind.

Because if you're an entrepreneur, your day to day is your business.

And so while this may be a part of your marketing mix, it's not necessarily your top priority.

And so it's very easy for it to get set aside.

And you probably have other marketing activities.

And so all of these activities are pulling your resources.

And so you have to have the discipline of your calendar, your partners and your schedule that you're really holding true to those deadlines.

Yeah.

And then how how do you manage to say stay consistent with, with your I was going to say you got to love it.

Like podcasting isn't for anyone.

And as a marketer I can do marketing research and know who I need to sell to and put out content.

Specifically, I get bored.

I make editorial decisions and creative decisions that are not good for my business.

But I love it and part of the consistency comes from enjoying it.

So if you're going to start a podcast, make sure you enjoy the process in the first place, and make sure you choose a topic and audience and guests that light you up, or else it just feels like work.

And we're already busy, you know?

Yeah, and I guess we missed, like, the basics, right?

You have to love what you're doing for you to actually be consistent with it.

All right.

And, my question would be, at what point?

I'm sorry, I kind of.

It went somewhere.

You just took me.

You lost my train of thought.

I see what you mean.

I know you got me so excited while you're gathering.

I'll just throw in here, like, remember your why, why you started your business and why you started your podcast.

And who are you looking to connect with and who are you looking to serve and remembering?

There wants in there needs, and then your own talents and desires.

And just remember that you're serving them and they're looking forward to you showing up.

Yeah.

And as far and now with I emerging and new social media platforms emerging, how does this influence this trend?

Artificial intelligence.

Right.

Yeah.

We have a love hate relationship where I how do you see it?

I want to repeat just one thing with this.

You said your voice is your greatest asset.

So AI is going to be our greatest partner, our greatest amplifier.

Make life simple.

But your voice still needs to come to the surface.

You don't want the AI to replace that?

Yes, absolutely.

So I will say on the post-production side, AI is definitely your friend.

On the research side, the AI can definitely be your friend, but don't get to a point where you're having AI script everything for you.

Pause.

Yeah, don't get to a point where AI is the voice of your podcast.

You are the human behind this podcast.

You are the connector to the listeners and people want you.

They don't want what your chat bot thinks of this particular topic.

Yeah, you're very passionate about hey, I see, I see it, I think I see it too many times.

And then also, you know, sometimes when we're using it to write as well, write emails, write post, you know, people can sense that a mile away.

Now, it's helpful as a tool, but you have to go in there and put your own spin on it.

And that's what people will connect with.

Elena, how do you feel about are you helping jazzy jump AI or, I'm right there with you.

Yeah, absolutely.

The thing is, it's a tool.

It's a fantastic tool.

But at the end of the day, if I can go to a generative AI platform or any AI tool and get what you are giving me, then what value do you bring exactly?

At the end of the day, I'm here for you and so I want to hear your voice.

I want to hear your perspective.

And it's a tool that helps to finesse or to problem solve or to think creatively.

But at the end of the day, I want your voice.

I want your expertise and context.

Yeah.

And that's all missing.

And I and I and with my students, I talk about this.

If you go into an interview and you've scripted everything from AI, what happens when they go off script?

What happens when your guest has a question that you didn't plan for?

Or there's a push in an area that you hadn't prepared for?

Well, suddenly you're in a pretty compromised position.

And so remembering that you are the attraction, you're the voice and you're what's interesting, then you can think about, how can I use this to compliment me as opposed to replace me?

Yeah.

So so what are some of the key components to really having a successful business podcast?

I'll say, know what the mission of the podcast is, first and foremost, who you coming to serve?

So you should have some sort of, positioning statement, right?

The podcast to help you grow your business into a six figure empire.

Right.

So people know in the first 10s exactly what they're in for, right.

There are a lot of people that just like to, to chat.

You know, I call those vlogs, they're on YouTube.

They're just, you know, news of the day.

But if you are in a business focused podcast, then people should be able to know exactly what what they will get by spending some time with you in the first 30s.

I think that's very key to be, somewhat niche, right?

Of course, you can explore a couple things that surround your main topic, but for instance, like if I'm tuning into the dose, I know I'm going to get tips on on sleeping and getting better rest.

Yeah.

Yes.

And then what?

What you think is what separates your podcast from from others like yours.

Who what separates it?

Yeah.

You know, I'm just going to sound arrogant, but me, you know, that's it's it's it's I say all the time, it's my goal to get the mission and the vision and the solutions from the people who have it to the people who need it.

But I'm not the person who has it.

I mean, the need it category.

So my podcast is an audio journal.

We talk business, we talk marketing.

But it's me coming to the table.

Yes, I look stupid a lot of time, and I ask first great questions because I don't have the answer, and my audience might need that answer as well.

And as I evolve as a person, as a host, the podcast evolves.

And the one thing as a creator of any kind, you want your audience to evolve with you, in my opinion.

I mean, I want them to grow with me.

If they stay in the same place and I stay in the same place, something's going wrong, in my opinion.

So is this a space for everyone?

Is someone not a good podcaster?

What would make you not like.

You know what?

Maybe I shouldn't do this.

You're looking around.

Maybe if you're shy, I would say you have to be able to, you know, form sentences and being knowledgeable about the topic at hand.

No.

But when people have the fear of public speaking, they're not able to form sentences.

You know, as well as if they were just in their their mirror at home.

So I think a little bit of that got to be confident.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think you've got to have an audience.

Otherwise it's a hobby and hobbies are fine.

But if this is taking time away from your business, if this is taking time away from the things that could be incrementally moving you closer to achieving your business goals in terms of marketing resources, then maybe it's not the best fit.

Yeah.

And so those that energy, that, budget, those resources could go to something that will move you further along.

And so I think that's a really, really critical conversation to have.

Sometimes we like to do things.

And at the end of the day, let's be honest, it's for our ego, not necessarily for our business.

Okay.

Now.

And so we've got to be honest.

And that's okay if we understand that that's what it's about.

I use the example.

There are some dentists on TikTok and they, do every trend and they've gotten TikTok famous at the end of the day, how far are you willing to drive to get your teeth cleaned?

And so is that actually moving their business forward?

No, but it's getting them other benefits.

And so being honest about why are you doing this and is there an audience for it?

I think that's a really serious conversation to have because then you can start to determine, okay, is this something that is sustainable, is going to deliver against what I want it to?

So what comes first?

Developing your brand as an individual or starting a podcast?

Or does it matter?

I would say having your brand first, right?

So then you would be able to decide what your podcast would be about and who would be tuning into it.

So I had no brand.

I was like, Ben, what do you think about that?

And we haven't talked about guesting much, but if I'm already a celebrity, if I'm already a thought leader, if I have got the gift of gab, maybe I don't start a podcast to go on a podcast tour and I talk to 50 different podcast host, 50 different audiences, and I blow up my brand that way.

I didn't have a brand, so my brand was the guy who asks questions.

Yeah, and I learned as I went.

I don't think there's I'm imagining a baby.

So when a baby first walks, did they fail to run?

I mean, I guess technically they didn't run yet, but it's called incremental improvement.

So as long as you're starting from somewhere and you start to walk, then you start to jog, then you start to run.

That's cool.

So you can start from zero.

Or if you're already a hero, you might not.

You could just be famous overnight for Olena.

Yeah.

Oh, I love these opposing viewpoints.

Are you are you picking up on going down?

Are you picking up what he's throwing down?

Jesse?

Yeah.

I mean, I, I don't want to start a fight, but.

Yeah, I mean, I think there's there's room for a lot of us to do different things.

I'll just leave it at that.

I love Ben when there's difference.

Looking at, like, from a creative aspect versus a business.

Like I'm tight time allocating something that could be done on business to this.

I'm going from like a crazy creative lens that I'm just loving the process as is, which isn't always the best business advice, but I think it's fun.

Life advice.

And maybe it is a hobby, which is okay.

Yeah, yeah.

And we hear we hear this, this metaphor, like, if you go on the bread, I'll write.

There's all different types of bread and but they're all selling.

They're all doing well.

Right.

When you're doing your market research and you're not the only podcast with the content, how do you separate yourself?

I know you said, you know, just being you, but what are some things that you have to look?

Do you study the other podcasts you try to emulate what they're doing?

Do you go against them, like how do you stand out from other people that are doing that are creating the same content as you?

Well, I think repurposing is really important as well.

So like I said, when somebody is going to listen to your podcast like they're dedicating 15 to an hour, you know, 15 minutes to an hour with you.

So repurposing, making TikToks, guesting on other people's podcast is is a great way to get started and to brand yourself and to get known.

Right.

Going on other people's podcast.

I mean, you can do things like, you know, going to live events and introducing yourself as well.

That also does help.

But I think that, just building yourself up as artists, as it comes down to a brand, when you talk about the bread aisle, you know, it's Wonder Bread, it's Sarah Lee.

Like, we can pretty much all name our bread, right?

So that's a brand.

Yeah, it goes back to that for me.

Yeah.

It's thinking about a mission statement.

You mentioned that.

And what is it that you're doing and what are you doing that no one else is doing.

And from there starting to understand that landscape, what corner of your audience's mind do you want to occupy when they think of Rochester business?

Who do they think of when they think of a certain service or a certain category?

Who do they think of?

And you can certainly draw inspiration from your competitors, but you don't want to mimic them because that's a losing, that's a losing strategy.

If they're doing it well and you're going to come in head on, that's a really hard fight.

And so you can certainly draw inspiration from them, understand and learn from what's working.

But you need to have something winnable, something that is uniquely yours.

It's your voice, it's your brand, it's your offering.

So that you can take that little niche, whatever it may be, and and run with it.

Yeah.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Olivia.

It can be you better than you.

Yeah.

Now, in a world where everyone's attention spanned is very short.

Okay.

We were down to like, 92nd attention spans.

How do we thrive?

How do podcasts thrive in a world where we're not tuning in for longer than a minute, 30.

How do we think there are moments in our life where we want to slow down when we're taking a long trip, when we're in the car, or maybe we're taking a long shower and we just want somebody to just walk us through their own, you know, journey.

And so we want to kind of escape from our own, situation.

It's kind of like watching a movie.

You know, as you're falling asleep, you can put on a podcast.

So I think that we do give people with longer form content.

We give people an opportunity to kind of slow down, because when they're scrolling you, they only want that three second dopamine hit.

That's what they want.

That's not our space.

It's not podcasting.

But if you go to like a Twitch convention where streamers are, these people are celebrities in the streaming world because people watch them for three, 4 or 5 hours a day.

This is a whole tangent.

We won't go down, but a lot of us are lonely and we build these parasocial relationships ships with these hosts where they become a friend.

All of us are Swifties.

Most of us haven't met Swift like the connection in a 32nd world or a five second world.

I think podcasting fills that void real well.

Yeah.

And you know, with TikTok and and online I would Tik Tok.

I was just going to say it's also part, it's a part, not the whole of the mix.

And so thinking about how we have this longer form content, but we do have other complementary shorter form content.

And so we think holistically about what is the integrated communications we're having.

How are we telling an entire story with pieces that manifest in different places?

And there is a space for longer form content that pays off some of the shorter form content.

And I love it.

I love that you brought up parasocial relationships, because we get into parasocial relationships with brands.

That's actually some of the research that I'm doing right now and thinking about how do we look at a brand as an authority, and it's able to help me solve my problems, and I have I care about it and it listens to me.

These are not people.

And yet we have these feelings for them.

And so the ways that they come to life are through these voices that we hear.

Now, finally, I want each and each of you to give me advice.

What would you give the advice you would give to business owners in this audience who are considering stepping in to this space?

I would say, book yourself as a guest on a podcast first.

Wow.

And see how that goes.

See if you feel comfortable.

If you see if it lights you up, see if there's response right to the audience, point of point of things.

And do people want to hear what you have to say?

Yeah.

Start there.

I say it all the time, but there is no key to success.

It's a combination lock in.

Each of us all have our own unique combination.

So what do you love?

What are you good at?

What do you like talking about?

Who's your audience?

What are you looking to accomplish in your business?

What platform are you going to go solo episode and have it?

Sure, you're going to go three hour long diving into nonsense conversations, whatever you want to do.

What is your key to success?

What is your skills?

All these things.

The more you can discover your your fingerprint, your key, the easier it will be to show up to the podcast and do your best job.

Yeah.

I would say before really taking the plunge, have a moment and think, can I actually do this?

Is this sustainable?

I love the idea of sampling.

First, go be a guest.

Just just try it.

There is this pressure for business owners, for entrepreneurs to do everything in marketing, to have all of the socials live and to be active and everything.

And it's not sustainable and it's not realistic.

Know who your audiences know, what you're trying to do and be comfortable with doing less better.

Focus.

Focus on what is going to move your business forward and if it's podcasting, fantastic and do it exceptionally well.

But don't try to spread yourself so thin that you're not doing anything well.

Wow.

Jack of all trades is a master of Master of None.

Well, we've been talking about why business owners are becoming broadcasters and what it means for marketing, entrepreneurship and media.

My thanks to our guest jazzy T of jazz cats pros Ben Albert of Rochester Business Connections and Elena Seel from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.

And you can listen to connections as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, your Alexa or wherever you listen.

Connections live on the air, on our website, and on our Wpxi YouTube channel weekdays from noon to two.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having us.

And.