For decades, late night shows have had actors come on the week of a big movie release. The actor comes on and for a few minutes tells funny stories or does entertaining skits with the host. Then for a few seconds they talk about their new movie.
It’s entertaining for the audience, which is what the host wants. It’s a way for the actor to build awareness for themselves and for the movie. It’s a win for everybody.
You see a lot of this in the podcasting world with book authors. Anytime a fairly popular author releases a book, their publisher has them go on every popular podcast they can book. They share stories, tips and insight. The audience is entertained and educated, which the host loves. And the author gets awareness for their book.
Any business can use guesting to their advantage in this way.
But one key aspect that often goes overlooked is promoting the guest appearance after it’s already happened.
Here are few ways to do that…
1. Multiple Sharing On Social Media
Social media is the obvious place to share the guest spot you just had. Whether it’s a podcast, blog post or YouTube video, you want to share it right away with your audience. But not just right away, multiple times over the coming days, weeks, months and even years.
Keep a simple spreadsheet of your guest spots. Share the posts at random times or on anniversaries. This is content that isn’t just great the moment it’s published, but great for years to come. Some of the most popular videos on YouTube are late night TV actor spots from over a decade ago.
2. Social Media Interaction
Something people love is when they comment on a piece of content and get a response from the person that created or was a part of the content. Like an actor replying on Twitter or Instagram. Or a business or the business owner responding to a post on LinkedIn.
You can really boost the reach of a social media post by responding to everyone that leaves a like or comment on the piece.
3. Owned Content You Create
You may have your own blog or podcast. Let’s say you have a great guest spot on another podcast. You can mention that guest spot on your next podcast. Encourage people to go check it out. Send listeners to the host that had you on. They will love seeing the extra boost in listeners and that’s good for you as well. It builds a strong reputation as a guest. Other hosts may hear you do this and think, “I want that person on my podcast so they mention me…”
4. Other Guest Appearances
This one is tricky but sometimes it can work. You may be on two podcasts. Two that aren’t really competitive and wouldn’t mind if you did this. But you can sometimes mention past guest appearances when you’re doing a new guest appearance.
Again, be careful with this one, but it can sometimes work out really great for all parties.
Conclusion
You want to be a great guest. The better you are the more often you’ll be asked to come on. Not just the show you were just on, but others. When you build a reputation as a great guest the opportunities will come to you. That’s a great position to be in. But obviously it takes effort. Not just in creating your content, but by helping to promote your guest appearances.
It’s what the hosts want. So give them what they want and they’ll want you back.