Podcasting as the Ultimate Branding Engine | Mark Savant

David McBee: Hello and welcome to Simpli.fi TV. I'm David McBee. Our guest today is Mark Savant, founder of podcast production agency, Mark Savant Media. Mark is a resource for business owners, coaches and brand builders. His company has produced tens of thousands of pieces of content and uses podcasts as the engine to power his client's websites, emails, social media, and long form content. He hosts the globally ranked top 1% podcast After Hours Entrepreneur and leads dozens of entrepreneurs in the After Hours Entrepreneur Mastermind community. Mark, welcome to Simpli.fi TV. Mark Savant: What's up? What's up David? Glad to be here today. David McBee: I'm feeling a little intimidated, Mr. Top 1%. Mark Savant: Hey, we're off to a great start. You got your checklist. You kind of got a good thing going here, so I'm excited to jam, baby. Let's have some fun. David McBee: So I've made a good first impression? Mark Savant: So far, so good. David McBee: Well then let's dive into the questions. I did a lot of research on Mark Savant and I uncovered that you are a believer in the power of podcasting for branding. So why are you so passionate about podcasting? Mark Savant: If you're not showing up online, you basically don't exist. It's the same concept where in the Yellow Pages, everybody had AAA at the beginning of their name. You need to stand out online. That's where commerce happens. And one of the challenges that businesses and brands have is how do we show up online in a compelling and consistent way? And podcasting is an immensely powerful way of getting to that vision. It's the engine of your digital media production. It's the engine for your networking. It's an incredibly powerful tool in this social media age, which is why more and more people are getting into podcasting. More and more brands are investing into podcasting. It's why podcast booking agencies are getting thousands of dollars to make connections and it's not going anywhere. David McBee: Is this good for everyone from a local business owner to a big national brand? Mark Savant: 100%. It doesn't... Listen, if you have a business, you need people to be able to find you online and for a business like yours, you turn your podcast into a blog article. You're creating SEO, you're creating value, you're creating referral partnerships. So again, different podcasts are going to have different purposes in mind. I don't think that the best reason to start a podcast is because you want to get rich off sponsorships and quit your job. That's a very difficult thing to accomplish. But to your point, the branding, the showing up day after day in the newsfeed is really important. And also as we move into this age where AI is creating lots of clips, it's become much more accessible A and B, I think that we're moving into this place where people are hungry for longer form conversation. Sure, I like getting the ten-second cat clips, but is that really going to improve my life? And it might release dopamine for a second, but what people need from your brand is to see the short clip, to remind them that you're still there and to have a place where they can listen to your ideas, a longer form and podcast serve that purpose perfectly. David McBee: So you mentioned content creation, everything from ten second clips to long conversations. What trends do you see emerging in the near future and how can agencies help their brands stay ahead of the curve? Mark Savant: Well, the things are changing so quickly. AI is really revolutionizing the way that content's created. That's really what I focus on, helping thought leaders launch and automate podcasts because it's just really dramatically changed everything. I think that at least right now, in July of 2023, short form clip creation is still a very, very important part of your process of your strategy. It's becoming harder, I think, to network with people. And again, having a podcast as a tool for bringing people into your atmosphere is a good way of leaning with value. But listen, it's hard to say if there's one thing that I would predict is that more and more people are going to stop watching the traditional corporate media and more and more people are watching podcasts like Bill Maher is getting just about as many views on YouTube as he is on his HBO show, right? Tucker Carlson left Fox News bigger than ever on Twitter. He's offered $100 million from Valuetainment. So again, you're seeing really big money going into these podcasts, and I don't see that trend slowing. I see that actually accelerating. David McBee: That's awesome. Do you have any examples of a brand like a shoe or a soda or a boutique that started a podcast with your direction and it really turned into new leads and sales for their business? Mark Savant: Listen, I'll use myself as a source. I'll use myself as a resource because I know this works. So A, by going on podcasts, being on a guest on podcast, I'm going to reach a lot of new listeners and listeners are going to see me show up on your show. Some of them are going to reach out and say, "Hey Mark, loved what you had to say. Let's connect." And that can lead to business. But as a podcast host myself what I'll do in what when I'm bringing on guests is I'll look at who are the perfect clients, who are the people that I want to connect with? Who are the people that are the gatekeepers to more leads? I'll invite them on the show, I'll give them a great experience both beforehand, during and after. In the post-production, I'll have a referral program set up so they know that, hey, if I refer Mark business, there's a benefit for me. I'll give special offers and that 100% does result in new business. You just got to kind of be strategic on the people that you're bringing into your atmosphere, the people that you're bringing on the show. I'll give you another quick example. I just had James Altucher on the After Hours Entrepreneur podcast. He's written 25 books. He's the founder of 20 different companies, big deal, one of the most prolific writers. He has a podcast, the James Altucher Show that has 1 million downloads a month, big show, invited him, came into my pro group, had a great session. We did 20 minutes of interview, 20 minutes of group Q&A. After the session was over a week later, he enjoyed the experience so much that his team reached out to me and said, "Hey Mark, can you send us the raw audio file? We'd like to share it on James's show." And I've just been able to pick up a lot of new listeners. I've gotten a lot of DMs just as a result of having the right person on my podcast. David McBee: I love your show, by the way. I've listened to several episodes. You have some really successful professionals on there. What would you say is one of the number one lessons you've learned from your guests? Mark Savant: Gosh, there's so many. So something that James said that was interesting in my interview with James Altucher was "If I'm not worried what the audience will think, I don't write it." And I was like, "Wow, that's interesting." Because he's kind of coming up front with a controversial standpoint, and what I thought was interesting about that is it reinforced something that Patrick Bet-David had said just a few weeks earlier, which is, "Mark, you got to be noisy. You got to go against the grain. What are the commonly held beliefs and how do you feel that they're wrong?" Listen, in a media production world, it's boring just to be the me too guy. When podcasters are hosting shows and all they do is nod and agree with guests, it's boring. We want to have a little bit of conflict. And that's something that I actually do in my show. When people sign up to be a guest on the show part of the automation, which again, I teach automation throughout the process, is letting the guests know, "Hey, you better come correct, because I am going to question some of your ideas and your thoughts. I'm not going to agree with everything. I'm actually going to be actively looking for things to disagree on," because that is what people are looking for. That's what creates the tension. And that's what I think is the one of the best ways to create viral moments in a show. David McBee: Well now I feel bad for nodding and agreeing with you the whole time [inaudible 00:08:02] . Mark Savant: You're welcome to disagree. I'm [inaudible 00:08:04] over to it. David McBee: Well then let me challenge you. Okay, I own a brand. I'm doing SEO and I'm doing social media and I'm doing all the things and you tell me I need to start a podcast. I know nothing about podcasting. I'm not a dynamic personality. I can't find guests. How the hell am I supposed to do that? Mark Savant: Well, it doesn't hurt to hire someone, surround yourself with people that have done it, understand it, and could give you tips. You could do it the hard way like I did five years ago and spend tens of thousands of dollars and try to build all the systems and they all suck. And you have to keep refreshing and reframing. So I think finding someone that can help, that helps is a big part. And that's what I do at my agency. That said, if you know how to host a Zoom call, you can have a podcast. If you can host Zoom calls, if you have the right systems in place, you can have a podcast that builds leads for your business and builds relationships. David McBee: Well, I'm going to have to nod ana agree with you on that 100%. Mark Savant: I will also say, just to kind of reinforce that point, that a podcast is perfect because with the tools that are out there, you can leverage the podcast is the engine because the podcast then turns into your website blog and it can be repurposed for the iTunes, it can be repurposed for YouTube. You get the shorts for LinkedIn and for Instagram. With certain strategies, you can collaborate more easily to get more reach. It can fuel your email list, it can fuel your email creation. So the podcast is just the core of your entire digital marketing and digital media campaign. David McBee: Before we go, just real quick, do you have a podcast or a book that you feel has been instrumental in your success? Mark Savant: So a lot of books, atomic Habits is a great book. Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek Awesome. $100M Offers is really good. Just finished Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, I like that. So those are a few books to check out. Just order Gap Selling, which I think is interesting. We've been covering a lot of selling in my pro group. It's great that you have a great product, but how do you sell it? And Gap selling is really just contrasting the pain that the prospect has versus what their life will be like after solution. So I just ordered that. Excited to dive into that. For podcast, I'm really liking My First Million. My First Million had an episode with Rob Dyrdek the other day. That was excellent. I enjoy Patrick Bet-David's Valuetainment in the Patrick Bet-David podcast, the Simpli.fi TV. It's a great podcast. You should definitely subscribe. If you have not yet, now's the time to see the subscribe right there. So those are a few of my favorites. David McBee: Awesome. Mark, thank you so much. You definitely lived up to expectations. Thanks for being my guest today. What is the best way for viewers to find you? Mark Savant: Thanks, David. It's a pleasure. You can find Mark Savant on your favorite platform. Whichever social media platform or YouTube or whatever you're on, just type in Mark Savant. I will be there and I'll be there because I have a podcast which allows me to be everywhere. So you can find Mark Savant all over the web. David McBee: Perfect. Thanks and thank you guys for watching. Simpli.fi TV is sponsored by Simpli.fi, helping you to maximize relevance and multiply results with our industry leading media buying and workflow solutions. For more information, visit simpli.Fi. Thanks for joining us today. I'm David McBee, be awesome, and we'll see you next time.