Podcasts are a great thing in general, but any podcast fan knows that finding one you truly like, that has valuable information and a host whose voice you can stomach for an hour or more, is tough.
When it comes to business, entrepreneurship and social media marketing podcasts, there’s a lot of information that’s simply repackaged and reiterated – you’ve heard it before and it’s no more compelling the second time around. That said, what you may find boring and obvious may be news to a beginner. And what you assume is impractical or misleading could be the start of a creative idea. Good business advice is a subject with lots of new ground to cover, but the basics and general best practices aren’t changing wildly with the times.
I’ve collected some of the best marketing podcasts out there for you to try. Take a look at what kinds of topics they cover and see which ones could offer you valuable information, then give them a listen.
Note that while many of these podcasts are social media-related, some cover broader topics about business and entrepreneurship. Also, many business topics include social media information, even if the episode title doesn’t specifically mention social media or marketing.
1) Under the Instagram Influence by Jumper Media
We know, we’re biased — but we can’t help but shine a light on our very own podcast, . Every week, host Ian Ryan covers a different Instagram marketing topic. Guests include pros from the Jumper Media team, plus small-business owners and Instagram influencers, all sharing their Instagram marketing strategies that work (and maybe mentioning the ones that don’t).
We strive to take the mystique out of Instagram marketing by providing real-world examples and actionable advice. Plus, every Tuesday we offer quick tips to connect you with the best resources and share behind-the-scenes secrets.
2) The Art of Paid Traffic with Rick Mulready
What’s great about is that the topics are very marketing-focused and they drill down to specific issues, like Facebook Messenger campaigns, starting-stopping-starting ad campaigns and how to market niche businesses. We love the tagline for the podcast, appreciating the “no fluff” mantra:
The go-to business podcast for people who want actionable online marketing advice from real experts (zero fluff, guaranteed).
3) Casual Fridays Podcast with Tyler Anderson
The podcast is hosted by Casual Fridays CEO Tyler Anderson. In addition to interviewing experts and brand leaders, Anderson also shares his own experiences with marketing – and since the Casual Fridays marketing agency works with entertainment, hospitality and tourism brands, anybody in those industries will probably find even more wisdom to soak up. Even the more general topics are timely, like LinkedIn video marketing and working with micro-influencers.
4) The Creative Empire Podcast
The had its finale in October 2018, but you can still listen to all 250 episodes. While they cover some content marketing and social media, their best episodes take on topics about entrepreneurship and freelancing. Their website also has detailed show notes so you can jump right to specific takeaways instead of listening to each episode in its entirety. Some episodes are just the two podcast hosts, but my favorites are interviews with experts.
5) The DigitalMarketer Podcast
goes into deep marketing topics that a lot of other podcasts don’t cover. Many of their episodes are interviews with experts, including CEOs, founders, marketing VPs and other creative leaders. Past episodes have covered LinkedIn advertising, event planning (in the marketing realm), business tech and skyscraper content. There are human-interest episodes, too, which beginners may find valuable – going into topics like dreaming big and how to communicate.
6) The GaryVee Audio Experience
from CEO/entrepreneur/investor/public speaker/vlogger Gary Vaynerchuk is filled with inspiration and knowledge about content marketing and entrepreneurship. Gary interviews experts and influencers, and also shares his own tips in the #AskGaryVee series. He frequently uses his own platforms as examples and to illustrate his point.
Gary’s advice is practical while also being aspirational, and “wisdom” is a word that pops up over and over again in audience reviews of his show. There’s some tough love in there, too, which a lot of you will appreciate. Gary doesn’t focus too much on specific industries, so this may be a good podcast to combine with another, more niche go-to source.
7) Good Social Media Podcast
is the perfect weekend marketing podcast – you’ll learn plenty, but you won’t get stressed about new stats you now have to measure, strategy upgrades you have to plan, everything you’re doing wrong, etc. Host Todd Austin covers a more positive side of social media marketing than you’re used to seeing.
For example, recent episodes envision a better version of Facebook, discuss the unlikely social media influence of Colonel Sanders and ponder the social media exposure of Fyre Festival. Think of it as a work podcast for when you don’t feel like working too hard.
8) Hootcast by Hootsuite
Every social media marketer has heard of Hootsuite, and the social management powerhouse once had its own podcast, the . Many of their episodes are topics you don’t find on other marketing podcasts, and some also connect to the features that Hootsuite is best known for, like social post timing and using hashtags. Examples of of their niche episodes include using Instagram as a plant-based influencer and storytelling insight from the British Museum. The podcast is now inactive and they only have a handful of episodes, but those episodes are chock-full of useful information and case studies.
9) Manly Pinterest Tips
Men aren’t the typical Pinterest user or expert, which is part of the charm of . With a dose of humor, host Jeff Sieh delves into Pinterest marketing and speaks with “Power Pinners,” but he also shares insights about Instagram marketing and social media marketing in general. Any brand that has a highly visual presence will want to make this podcast one of their regulars. Pinterest is an often-overlooked yet still powerful social platform, and one that most other marketing podcasts completely ignore.
10) The Marketing Book Podcast
On , host Douglas Burdett interviews the authors of new marketing books – think of it as a preview of an industry book you may (or may not) want to read. It wouldn’t serve the authors to give away their biggest secrets on a podcast – that’s what the book’s for – but you will be able to tell if a book is worth your time before spending money and at least 4 hours to read it. Even if you’re not “a reader” or aren’t compelled enough to add the book to your Amazon cart, you will still walk away from each episode with a little more insight.
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11) Marketing School with Neil Patel and Eric Siu
comes from entrepreneurs Neil Patel and Eric Siu. You can’t get any clearer than their description of their podcast:
“Neil Patel and Eric Siu bring you daily ACTIONABLE digital marketing lessons that they’ve learned through years of being in the trenches. Whether you have a new website or an established business, learn the latest SEO, content marketing, social media, email marketing, conversion optimization and general online marketing tactics that work today.”
Patel is an absolute authority in the field of online marketing, and Siu is the CEO of digital marketing agency Single Grain. Basically, these guys know what they’re talking about. Their podcast covers some basic topics, like and , but they also have more specific topics you don’t find covered elsewhere. They’re also not afraid to talk about .
12) Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman
On , Reid Hoffman talks to big-name guests like Mark Zuckerberg and leaders from Netflix, MailChimp, Google and other important projects. Topics range from how to run a company and what to do when you fail, to creating brand ambassador programs and marketing to millennials. Oh, and Hoffman was a co-founder of LinkedIn, so you can probably trust that he knows what he’s talking about.
13) Maximize Your Social
Neal Schaffer’s podcast covers all the big topics on all the major social media platforms, with topics like creating an Instagram followers policy and trimming the fat on your LinkedIn connections list. Schaffer covers LinkedIn a lot, which tends to be a blind spot for other marketing podcasts. The best part about Maximize Your Social, though, is that all of the podcast episodes are transcribed into blog posts on the website, so you can expand your knowledge whether you’re in the mood for audio or text only.
14) Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield
The topics on are somewhat general – for example how to tease a digital course pre-launch, how to avoid burnout, what you should know about membership sites – but for the beginner entrepreneur or marketer, this stuff is above and beyond what’s par for the course. You can also get a great overview of a topic you want to start learning about even if you’re a total expert in other digital marketing areas.
15) Perpetual Traffic by Digital Marketer
While covers a variety of online advertising platforms (Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube), we love it for its Facebook and Instagram advertising info. Listen to Perpetual Traffic if you want to stay on top of industry changes. You’ll also learn new techniques – and ones to avoid – through the social media experiments they conduct. Overall, the podcast offers actionable tips, and you’ll walk away from most episodes with at least one new tactic to try out.
16) The Science of Social Media by Buffer
According to Buffer, their podcast is, “your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights experimentation and learning.” They post every Monday, and their advice can be used by businesses of all sizes, whether you’re a solopreneur or part of a huge, global team. They cover a lot of broad topics, like , but they also discuss more niche topics such as .
Where Buffer always shines, on their podcast as well as their blog, is in their experiments and case studies, like or .
17) Seeking Wisdom by Drift
, hosted by David Cancel and Dave Gerhardt from the conversational marketing platform Drift, covers a broad range of marketing topics in a variety of ways: the guys talk about the principles of leadership, discuss books that have influenced them professionally as well as personally, and interview pros in growth, marketing, products and sales. They discuss topics like the beginner’s mindset, metrics and experimentation, and how to get the most out of social media channels.
18) Smart Passive Income
Pat Flynn, the host of , can sound a bit hyper on his podcast, but chalk it up to his passion for what he does and the people he interviews. He posts weekly, but there are a lot of episodes to queue up, so you’ll have plenty to keep you busy if you’ve never listened before. Flynn has a lot of experience himself, and he also talks to all sorts of professionals about their successes and the challenges they faced to get there.
I love this podcast because it covers so many topics, which allows me to jump in and out of the archive depending on what I feel like learning about. Most of the topics are about building a business, but there are some episodes that or .
19) Social Media Marketing by Social Media Examiner
Anyone who likes Social Media Examiner articles may want to tune in to . Stelzner covers timely topics, like Facebook research and what it means for marketers, and how to use social media’s latest platforms, like Instagram TV. The podcast also goes into how social media marketing can drive foot traffic for brick-and-mortar stores, which is a topic that a lot of marketing podcasts don’t bother with.
20) Social Pros Podcast with Jay Baer and Adam Brown
is hosted by Jay Baer of Convince and Convert and Adam Brown of Salesforce. They interview social media strategists and end each episode with The Big Two, questions that the hosts answer rapid fire-style (sending them your most pressing social media question could be a good way to find out the truth). Since you’re hearing from actual strategists in the field, you’re bound to learn specifics instead of generalized advice. You’ll be able to take action on many of the tips by the end of the week – or day.
21) Social Zoom Factor
The description for is misleading because there are not actually new episodes five days a week – there weren’t any at all in May 2019. Aside from that, though, Social Zoom Factor has shorter-than-typical episodes, which means you could listen to several of them on your morning commute, getting a ton of helpful information in a short period of time. Topics include social media budgeting, marketing boring products and creating a content calendar.
Find the Podcast that is Right For You
Choosing which podcasts to invest your time and attention into is a very personal and unique-to-you process. “Everyone” may love a podcast that you can’t stand, and vice versa. The only way to know is to try out several until you find your favorite few that you go back to every week.
In my experience, the best podcasts and episodes are the ones that interview real business-owners and marketers – many in this field seem to have their own way of doing things. And if you walk away from your podcast session with even one “aha” moment, you’ll be more inspired and informed than you were this morning.
