To continue with our experts’ expectations in 2022, we decided to get more information on the podcast field. There are many talented podcast hosts in Egypt and as we enjoyed discussing podcast previously with Alaa Elsheikh and Ahmed ElAshrey, we wanted to get more information and expectation from Youssef ElAkkari
Youssef is a digital growth consultant and he launched his own podcast under the name of Khamsa Business. The podcast discusses ideas to help entrepreneurs and marketers, and also companies’ growth strategies.
Here is how the interview went.
1- What are the expectations for the Podcast field in Egypt especially in 2022?
Podcasts fill an important gap. The time when you’re doing chores, driving, at the gym, in a waiting queue…etc. There are times when people have free “dead” time but can’t or don’t want to look at their phone screens and don’t want to listen to a song. That’s when podcasts shine and I think they will continue to grow rapidly.
2- What are the expected challenges that will face the field and hosts in 2022?
I think the biggest challenge continues to be public awareness. People flock to YouTube and other social media platforms without giving it a second thought, but a lot less people are familiar with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast distribution platforms. This means creators not only have to promote their podcast’s content but often need to promote the concept of listening to podcasts as a whole as well.
3- How do you measure the success of your podcast?
This is a really good question. Podcast success is a lot more difficult to measure compared to, say, YouTube success. With YouTube, you have all the data on one platform. YouTube now offers very detailed statistics that help you understand if you’re making the desired impact and achieving the desired goals. With podcasts, it’s different. There are many distribution channels, data is scattered and not always accurate and public awareness is still not at its peak.
I think measuring the success of a podcast largely depends on its goal. Is it to sell a certain product or service? Build a personal brand? Just get more listens? I think the biggest metric people look at right now is listens/downloads. I look at those numbers and compare how they do over time, I also compare how episodes do over time and the organic growth of the podcast.
For me, the biggest success metric is when I see episodes continue to get listens for long after I stop promoting them or mentioning them. I think that type of organic growth is the biggest indicator that you’re heading in the right direction.
4- What do you think the podcast field needs to gain more recognition in Egypt?
I think 2 main things: content variety and bigger influencer/celebrity adoption. Business-only podcasts attract business people only, while broader podcasts such as ones in the entertainment industry attract a much broad audience. That broad audience then starts exploring podcasts more and continues to discover more interesting podcasts to them.
If you look at ClubHouse, Elon Musk heavily contributed to taking it from nowhere to around 10 million users now in practically no time. As more and more celebrities appear on podcasts as hosts and guests, more and more people will flock to podcasting platforms to hear what their favorite celebrity has to say. This pushes podcasting further into the limelight and greatly helps the industry become mainstream.
5- What other podcasts do you listen to?
Even though I’m technically biased because he’s a friend, I have a lot of respect for Ahmed Elashrey’s “Copycast”. It’s an awesome podcast about copywriting and branding in Arabic. Don’t take my word for it though, give it a listen yourself! For an entertainment podcast, you should definitely check out Alaa El Sheikh’s “Kefaya B2a”. That one is perfect when you’re stuck in traffic for hours contemplating the reason you’re even a resident of planet Earth.
For foreign podcats, I mainly listen to finance/business ones such as Plat Flynn’s “Smart Passive Income” and Amy Porterfield’s “Online Marketing Made Easy”. I recommend both for business/marketing people.
6- Who is your favorite podcast host?
I don’t really have a single favorite host as there are so many people out there hosting amazing podcasts. However, if I had to choose I’d probably go with Pat Flynn as he’s the one who had inspired me to start my own podcast, “Khamsa Business”.
You can listen to Youssef’s podcast from here.
We enjoyed this lovely and insightful conversation with Youssef and wait for more experts’ expectations.