The podcast field in Egypt has been slowly flourishing, we can frankly say that it needs more recognition and attention since it provides a lot of useful information on many different topics.
To continue our Experts’ Expectations for 2022, we interviewed Mohamed Salama to share his thoughts about Podcast.
Mohamed is the co-founder of Content Crafters and he started his own podcast under the name of State of E-Commerce in 2020; the podcast discusses topics related to e-commerce, entrepreneurship, business, and marketing in Arabic.
Here’s what Salama had to say about working in the field of Podcast.
1- What are the expectations for the Podcast field in Egypt especially in 2022?
The audio content field is growing massively in Egypt and in the past 2 years alone (2020/2021) I would say it’s doubled. In 2020, it was kind of hard to find lots of people consuming audio content whether it’s audiobooks, podcasts, or book summaries. Recently, and especially after the rise & fall of Clubhouse, I say audio content is gaining more recognition, people are getting back to their normally busy lives, internet speeds are getting better/cheaper, and all these elements are opening the road for more podcast listeners in 2022.
2- What are the expected challenges that will face the field and hosts in 2022?
As in any new field, the first adopters would reap lots of fruits if they know how to play the game! I would say that the greatest 3 challenges that would face the field in 2022 are consistency in content production, gaining valuable insights to provide high-value content, and lastly, attracting sponsorships. The later is a global problem especially in countries like Egypt where the podcast adoption rate is still low, and it contributes to more hosts not being consistent in producing audio content vs the mainstream channels like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc!
3- How do you measure the success of your podcast?
There are two main ways to measure it. The first is numbers or as the common terminology in the industry, downloads. A quantitative set of numbers that tells the podcast host how many times their podcast has been downloaded, where in the world, and on which devices.
The second is the impact on listeners. Despite being hard to measure, since it is a qualitative factor, but I personally favor this method to speak to my audience, ask business owners and people interested in E-commerce & startups which episodes they favor the most & what they would like to hear in the future.
The two methods are necessary & complimentary to each other.
4- What do you think the podcast field needs to gain more recognition in Egypt?
I think it would all depend on the quality of content hosts will provide and be as diverse as possible. Despite being easy to produce but running a podcast channel is costly and it requires lots of diligent work to be consistent with the content that the audience would like to hear. Add to that the limited ability to track podcast numbers (compared to more developed channels/content formats), it’s a tough job!
Yet, producing high-quality content in terms of topics, narration, and production is key to gaining more momentum from sponsors, organizations, high-profile guests, etc!
5- What other podcasts do you listen to?
I try to listen to as many podcasts as possible from outside as well as from inside the Middle East Region, so it all depends on the category I want to listen to. If I want to listen to podcasts with general topics, then it is something like “Tim Ferris Show” or “Joe Rogan Experience” or “On Purpose by Jay Shetty.”
As a marketer, I like to also listen to podcasts discussing topics from the field like “Business Made Simple” by Donald Miller, “The Wolfs Den” by Jordan Belford, and “Masters of Scale” by Reid Hoffman.
Other podcasts that I love from Egypt are MQR Podcast and Zamm It Podcast. Both are produced by key players in the Egyptian Entrepreneurial eco-systems with rich insights right from the market.
6- Who is your favorite podcast host?
I consider myself an avid podcast listener, and I basically listen to podcasts every morning! I find myself sticking to hosts who ask questions or discuss topics because it’s high value rather than trendy. Hosts like Tim Ferris and Joe Rogan are always on the top of my list.
Here’s How To Listen To State Of E-Commerce
State of E-commerce Podcast Website & Social Media
We had a pleasure having this discussion with Mohamed Salama and wait for more 2022 expectations.