It’s never been easier to start a business, but it’s never been harder to succeed. Each episode of The Growth Show explores the inspiring stories behind how people grow a business, an idea, or a movement.
We wrote the show description above in 2019--before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way businesses operate and before Black Lives Matter became top of mind for the country. If it was tough for business owners to succeed then, it was much harder to succeed in 2020. As a resource for those leaders, The Growth Show created episodes that would support them as they navigated an unprecedented time with inspiring, informative, and uplifting stories.
For Season Five, we used The Growth Show’s platform to help businesses adapt to lockdowns and sudden loss of business. From the gym that shifted to virtual classes within hours of the shutdown to an indie movie theater that created virtual screening rooms, we shared stories of how business owners were adapting in order to be an inspiration and help others facing the same unmitigated circumstances find ways to pivot.
Then, for Season Six, we turned our focus to the intersection between social justice and business. As companies began to reevaluate their own policies and values, we interviewed experts on how companies can better support their employees, their diversity, belonging, and inclusion efforts, and make real lasting change for the better.
In order to achieve our objective of supporting business leaders through 2020, we had to create great content quickly. After the pandemic had crossed shores and cities everywhere went into lockdown, businesses found themselves without customers and without much support. So, we moved at a record-breaking pace and invested our energy in finding professionals around the globe that were willing to share how they were adapting their own businesses to protect their employees and keep their businesses afloat.
We moved at the same pace for Season 6. Amidst protests and reveals of racial injustice within organizations, there was an evident need for businesses to reevaluate their own policies, values, and company cultures. We wanted to help them do that in a timely manner and inspire long-lasting change. So, we asked leaders that doubled as changemakers to be a part of the show. From a leader that’s scaling his non-profit to end an unjust jailing system to a black man who disrupted the beer industry to make it more inclusive, we invited influential voices to the table and created an overall inspiring and uplifting season through a dark era in our nation’s history.
In order to deliver this impactful content, we launched seasons 5 and 6 of The Growth Show on social, leveraging HubSpot’s social channels, as well as the show’s Twitter following. From there, we worked with internal channel owners to announce new content through the blog, blog subscriber email newsletter, our customer newsletter, our partner newsletter, and internal communication channels. By building internal buzz around it and providing social copy and trackable links to employees, HubSpoters became ambassadors for the podcast, leading to audience growth.
Beyond organic downloads, we created an intensive Facebook ad campaign and participated in an invite-only Spotify ad test. This allowed us to learn the types of ads that were resonating with our target audience. From those learnings, we leaned into winning formats, and found success with our ad campaigns.
Our team also secured ad placements on Pocket Casts, Overcast, and Podcast Addict, which lead to an increase in new listeners.
Featured in AdWeek for podcasts that are helping businesses through the pandemic
Ranked in the Top Ten Marketing Podcasts on Apple Podcasts
We’ve created a community and solid fan base for the show. Leaders from small, medium, and corporate businesses are tuning in to be inspired and informed. One fan said:
Whether you’re well established as an entrepreneur, or just getting started carving out a profitable niche that’s ready to grow - this is a must-listen podcast for you! Meghan does an incredible job leading conversations that cover a huge breadth of topics related to the ins and outs of building a thriving business, and life you can be proud of - with leaders who’ve actually experienced success themselves. Highly recommend listening and subscribing!
