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Podcasting Insights from Podfest Cairo 2023

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Podfest Cairo 2023 offered valuable podcasting insights whether you’re a veteran or a beginner. All three featured panel discussions were focused and relatable. Their timely and raw information gave great insight into the industry’s dos and don’ts. They also touched on the challenges, opportunities, and needs of podcasters. And this is what made the conference stand out.

The three panels included Designing Your Digital Footprint: The Audio Edition, The Benefits of Producing an Entertainment Podcast, and Will Your Wellness Podcast Stress You Out? But, the topic of “Designing your Digital footprint” was the most general and relevant. It offered informative help to beginners and veterans alike.

Speakers, PodU’s Wessam Abozeid, and Vereena Bishoy from RADUC Podcast shared their beginner experiences, from challenges to opportunities. And their tips on developing a digital presence were informative. Meanwhile, the Q&A session was like the icing on the cake. It was an educative moment for everyone. Here are some of the podcasting insights from Podfest Cairo 2023.

Having the Right Identity

Wessam Abozeid emphasized the importance of building your podcast’s identity. Under this point, he mentioned podcast positioning, niche discovery, and research and identifying gaps. Just like product and service brands, podcasts also need positioning. This is a unique value that a podcaster presents to his or her listeners. This is the same value that sets you apart from other podcasters. It makes listeners prefer your podcast to another even though you have the same niche. Podcast positioning is not possible without research and niche discovery. For example, Wessam realized that most entrepreneurship podcasts do not offer a link between funders and entrepreneurs and created a podcast that does exactly that. Wessam advises podcasters to find a podcast niche, discover what other podcasters in the same niche are doing and not doing, identify the gap, and take advantage of that opportunity.

Digital identity, AI and podcasting.

Making Use of AI for Podcasting Projects

Wessam Abozeid says the future of podcasting is bright because of Artificial Intelligence (AI). And he couldn’t be more right. Right now, podcasters have AI podcasting tools at their disposal. They can count on AI to get a lot of work done with its functions (speedy production and editing). It is able to remove noise and improve the sound.  You also don’t have to worry about too much editing. AI is accurate in finding and correcting mistakes. At this point, AI software pretty much guarantees quality podcasts. Thus, learning how to use AI for your podcasts isn’t a bad idea. It will save you time from repetitive tasks. And you can publish your podcasts regularly and on time for your listeners.

Podcast Branding

Panelists offer suggestions that podcasters should make their content accessible on all platforms. Further, Wessam emphasized podcasting on YouTube as well. This is because YouTube is helping podcasters worldwide grow their listening audience. As it is, there are still people who prefer video to audio. So adding a video aspect to your podcast is likely to increase listenership.

Meanwhile, panelists also hinted that taking care of your podcasts’ visuals is important. Taking brief extracts or snippets of your podcasts and posting them on social media as reels and shorts is another good method of branding your podcast. Show Notes and transcriptions are also important podcast publications. Show notes are posts that describe what happens in a particular podcast episode. And transcribing means converting audio to text. Show notes help people find your podcast on search engines. And transcribed audio can give listeners an accurate, speedy, and convenient understanding of your messages.  

Look for Lucrative Markets

Wessam shared insight on how data is used to discover audio markets. According to him, PodU records data on audiences. This data is used to analyze audience taste and discover more lucrative markets for audio. From the data saved so far, Wessam believes that (apart from Egypt) Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Jordan are more viable markets for podcasting. 

Just like PodU, podcasters should strive to collect data on their audience. This can include language, taste, culture, needs, challenges, etc. This will help podcasters produce content that the audience understands, relates to, and needs. Further, data helps podcasters to discover other places where this kind of content is appreciated.  If you do not have data generation and analytics software, you can rely on hosting services to provide that info. Meanwhile, conducting your own surveys and carefully noting podcast reviews can also do the job.

Establish your Target Audience & Community

‘Establish your target audience’ is a golden rule for podcasting. But Podfest Cairo added more insight to this rule. During discussions, Vereena and Wessam advise podcasters to know their target audience and community (i.e. youths, entrepreneurs, students, etc.). Targeting a specific group helps to grow your presence online. Rather than a large number of listeners, you need the right listeners for the success of your podcast. Thus, podcasters should know what they want to achieve from their podcasts (including the audience and the channels to attract them).

What’s Next for Podfest Cairo?

Podfest Cairo 2023 took place on March 4. The event was also live-streamed on Facebook. Kim Fox, the founder and organizer of Podfest Cairo, is satisfied with the attendance. She says the aim of Podfest Cairo is to build a community. And the people who attended are the targeted audience. 

Meanwhile, Kim commends moderators and panelists for covering relevant topics like SEO, hashtags, show notes, etc. She says Podfest Cairo “can hold another session or workshop” to have more discussions on these topics. She believes that more people can bring out other relevant viewpoints on the same.

The exciting panels at Podfest Cairo 2023 were informative for podcasters. Building a podcast identity, branding, and finding a viable market for your podcast is important to your podcast’s growth. Furthermore, using AI and having a specific target audience will help podcasters grow. Therefore, you should pick up one or all podcasting insights from Podfest Cairo. They surely can be used to grow your podcast. 

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