Courtesy of Shawn Flynn, Host of The Silicon Valley Podcast
In 2020, podcast’s regular weekly listenership is projected to reach over 68 million people, with an additional 20 million people to be added in the next 3 years. Podcast’s popularity has made it an emerging niche prime for distribution of quality content that young and educated listeners are tuned into. During these challenging times, it has become a relevant marketing mix that entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes would love to adopt, because it gives us a captive audience that we can build our brand affinity with over time.
A Bridge that Connects People
Starting a podcast channel has been a dream for Shawn Flynn, current host of The Silicon Valley Podcast. Shawn has great passion for entrepreneurship and is an avid supporter of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial community, where he works on a daily basis connecting with both local and international start-ups and building connections with them in all key aspects that contribute to their successes in the global economy. Following his stint in China where Shawn had started his business in the education sector that grew into a placement agency for foreigners to work with organizations located in various provinces in China, Shawn returned to the US and started his Silicon Valley Success TV show, in collaboration with a local TV station. He delivered over 48 episodes of interviews with top industry experts, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, who shared their vast knowledge, resources and experience to those who seek them and help take them to their next level of success. From there, Shawn joined the podcast platform, The Investor’s Podcast Network, where he produced 36 episodes with his distinguished guests, that gave his listeners an in-depth look into the workings of companies based in Silicon Valley.
Through his growing experience as a host, Shawn has found his voice and decided to branch out on his own and set up The Silicon Valley Podcast in April 2020, further strengthening his role as a podcast influencer and producing quality content that gives start-up as well as established companies a platform from which they can discuss a genre of rich topics, ranging from start-up funding to roles of investment banking in fundraising, smart cities, AI technology, and the competition in finding engineers. According to Shawn, the most challenging part in starting a new podcast channel is laying the foundation and deciding on the goal for his show. Once it’s set up, then finding the first few solid, elite guests to start things off in the right path are essential. Through his network, he managed to bring in prominent folks such as the Co-founder of Square, Jim McKelvey; CEO of Canva, Melanie Perkins; and Founder of Rotten Tomatoes, Patrick Lee, whom served as a launch pad for his show. “I found that working with more influential people is easier, because their time is locked in when I’ve reserved a specific time to talk to them,” said Shawn. “Making my guests feel special as a celebrity in my show makes them feel good, that builds good rapport for us, resulting in greater collaboration between us with relationships and friendships that last long after the show.”
Building a Trusted Brand Voice
Shawn’s bigger purpose for his Silicon Valley Podcast is to build a trusted brand voice for information, helping people and the world connect and get access to opportunities that they otherwise won’t have access to if they were to find them on their own. At this point, Shawn wants to focus on building his brand voice. “As a host, I not only have to interview guests, I also need to produce quality content that people like to listen to and drive growth for listenership,” said Shawn. “Equally important is driving growth through content distribution using various touch points, such as on my website, Spotify, Twitter, and content that can be transcribed easily later for e-book publication, as many of my listeners are not native English speakers.” He found that it was also helpful to have a content roadmap that gives him flexibility to focus on interview topics for the year, but not so rigid that he needs to focus on specifics each month. He also shared some good advice for new and upcoming podcast hosts in developing their brand voice. “Think of your end goals and focus on producing quality content. Spend more time researching the questions that you want to ask of your guests and provide the most beneficial content for your listeners,” said Shawn.
To date, his podcast channel has garnered over 3,000 downloads from his listeners. His growing popularity has elevated his brand to engage more with a diverse set of audience. Next step for the Silicon Valley Podcast is going global. Shawn is planning several events which he hopes to take off later this year in Cameroon, Kenya, and in Singapore, where he will moderate the events live as a podcast host. Listen to Shawn’s podcast, go to https://link.chtbl.com/TheSiliconValleyPodcast, or connect with him @https://shawnflynnsv.com/
*An edited version of this article will be published in my Business Matters Technology and Marketing column in the Los Altos Town Crier, July 22 Issue.
