7 Great Ways to Use Interviews in your Marketing Mix
What do Oprah Winfrey and…YOU… have in common?
Maybe nothing yet, but you’re just a few steps away from joining the queen of interviews by discovering how you and your business can benefit so much from opening up your door to interviews, customer conversations, and more.
Read on to find out more about how interviews will help your business, and discover my 7 tried-and-tested ideas for incorporating them in how your marketing.
How do Interviews Help Your Business?
Interviewing new people is an amazing networking tool. Invite the biggest experts to your platform! It will highlight your own authority, teach you something new, and build rapport with people who have influence, knowledge, and impressive stories.
Plus, interviews will get you noticed. In my podcasting career, the interview episodes were big audience favourites. People love that they discovered interesting new voices with my help! The download numbers were higher, and the shares and email responses came in regularly.
Let’s not forget that in a world of AI junk content, your human connections will shine like a diamond. Build those skills right now and watch how you’ll step into the spotlight, simply by having the best chats in the biz.
And let’s not forget market research and customer connections. When you learn how to use interviews to learn more about your audience members, you’ll get yourself an absolute treasure trove of content ideas, sales copy, and product inspiration.
Finally, interviews will bring diversity to your platform and featuring many different voices matters. It doesn’t always have to be the “expert” - why not record and share conversations with the people who have new perspectives?
For example, try
interviewing a client about their experiences (here’s an example from my first retreat)
inviting a business friend round to discuss a topic or news item
featuring the speakers at your upcoming event or summit
asking someone in your industry about their experience with a different background
Want a bonus marketing benefit? Many people google their favourite big names - and if they find your podcast, blog, or social media page through that, you’ll grow your audience for free!
Where to Use Interviews in Your Business
Here are 7 killer ideas showing you how a great interview will fit into every part of of your business – from testimonials to social media lives.
Hosting Guests on Your Podcast
Hosting guests on your podcast is great because the podcast format gives you time to become comfortable and go deep, plus your audience will love that they can listen on the go. Plus, happy guests love to share their episodes!
Learn more about promoting your podcast the easy way here.
As a podcaster, I interviewed over 100 guests and I loved all the conversations! I got to feature experts with fascinating stories and connect with great new people every month!
Want to repurpose your content? Podcasts started as an audio format, but now you’ll see them in video everywhere too. So your interview will pay off in lots of ways: YouTube content social media clips, and even a juicy blog article.
Livestreaming on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & more
Ever tried Instagram or Facebook Live? If not, it's high time you did! Going live is a great way to connect with your audience and invite them to feel like they’re in the room with you.
Now imagine how excited they will be about meeting your guests? Invite industry influencers, successful students, or even fellow coaches. This not boosts engagement but also positions you as a well-connected leader in your field.
Blog Content
Like I mentioned above, podcast interviews are a great source of facts, thoughts, and opinions for your next blog article. You can feature the best information right from the expert source, and even embed a live podcast player or Youtube video into your page. Readers will find your article via SEO, hit play, and fall in love with your awesome interview skills.
Make sure you snap a screenshot while you’re chatting to your guest, and consider using a handy tool like Castmagic (affiliate link) so you can easily provide a transcript and sum up key points with AI.
Testimonials
Imagine the impact of video testimonials featuring interviews with satisfied customers sharing their success stories. It's like watching a friend rave about their favourite book - exciting and relatable. Next time you have a happy client, don't just ask for feedback - invite them to tell their full story!
Here’s an example from my chat with Ruth Poundwhite, who is a successful student on my course Podcasting 101:
Market Research Interviews
Do you need fresh ideas and inspiration for sales copy? Drawing a blank when it comes to sales emails? Wondering if your next project will sell?
Don’t wonder. Don’t google. Go and ASK, and your customers will love it! Market research interviews are great fun, because you can connect with people who might buy from you…but they’re not always there yet. And you get to ask them why not, who else they’re buying from, and what your brand can do to serve them better.
And just like sales conversations, improving your interview skills is a must, so you can listen well and get the most valuable results from your interviews.
Conversations & Panels for Your Best Online Summits
We’re most used to a presentation format from guests at online summits, but what if you shook it up and stepped into the hosting role a little more? Interviewing a guest about their chosen topic adds variety, and you can choose to do it live with audience interaction, or pre-record to keep things easy.
Next level? Stand out with a panel discussion, featuring a diverse set of experts who can come together and elevate the conversation by sharing their best tips and stories. We tried this with the online conference Women in Language and absolutely loved it! For example, check out this recorded panel about feminism in language learning.
And guess what…you can repurpose these as well for podcasts, blogs, and social media.
Sales Calls & Conversations
Interviewing well is about knowing how to connect, listen, and value the other person in any conversation.
And if you ask me, those are also the most valuable skills for hosting sales calls. Your prospective client WANTS to tell you about their story and their needs, so step into the role of interviewer for just 10 minutes and you’ll be able to uncover more about how you can help.
Want to learn how to level up your own interview skills? Check out my course Inspiring Interviews, where I teach everything from the right questions to the perfect ending.
Are there any disadvantages to interviews?
Hosting interviews and conversations in your business is full of amazing advantages, from great connections to incredible content. But is there a downside? Yes, a small one: Interviews are time-consuming and difficult to set up. If you learn how to repurpose them to create great content on many platforms, you’ll soon find the effort pays off long-term!
Plus, you might find them awkward at times so be sure to train a few of the right skills that will help you sail through silences and more.
Practical Tips for Conducting Effective Interviews
If you’re feeling motivated and excited to feature a new guest in your business, the next step is to check on your interview skills.
If you’re a great interviewer, you make everything better. Interviewing well means
choosing the most brilliant people to talk to
preparing questions for a fascinating conversation
putting them at ease with your confidence and charm
smoothly gliding over any awkward moments
finishing on a high so your interviewee feels delighted with their experience.
I teach all this and more in my course Inspiring Interviews, and highly recommend you check it out so you can get the most out of your next guest feature.
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