How B2B Companies Are Using Podcasts to Drive Pipeline

If you think podcasts are just for true crime junkies and casual listeners on their commute, think again.

CMOs, CROs, Customer Success, and other B2B enterprise leaders are quietly tapping into the podcast world… not just for brand awareness, but to drive pipeline, deepen customer relationships, and influence key prospects.

And here’s the kicker: most B2B brands still don’t realize how effective this medium can be.

So let’s dig into the podcast opportunity, break down the main ways B2B brands are showing up, and walk through a smarter way to get in—without having to build an audience from scratch.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

- The three most common approaches to podcast marketing: CPM ads, creating your own show, and partnering strategically with one that’s already working

- How each one compares in terms of cost, time-to-value, content rights, and how well it supports pipeline and brand goals

- Where companies tend to slip up when going the DIY route (and how to avoid the usual slow death of a company-branded show)

- Why more teams are leaning into a proven model that supports brand building, ABM, and content creation across functions, without the heavy lift of starting from zero

By the end, you’ll know which podcast strategy actually makes sense for your team right now, based on your goals, your bandwidth, and how fast you want to start seeing results.

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Why B2B Leaders Are Turning to Podcasts

More than ever, podcasts are shaping how decision-makers perceive and choose the companies they work with.

But here’s what’s even more powerful: brand association.

When your brand appears on or partners with a podcast featuring the best minds in the industry, you’re no longer just a vendor, you’re seen as a peer. Think of it as the Michelin Star effect. When your brand shows up alongside respected thought leaders on a trusted podcast, you’re not just sharing space, you’re sharing credibility. Just like a restaurant featured in the Michelin Guide earns trust by association, your company gains authority by being shown alongside the best of the best.

It’s a faster, more powerful way to build belief than saying “we’re great” yourself… because your audience sees you as a peer, not just another voice.

Even more, podcasts aren’t just audio & video content—they’re the engine of a flywheel strategy, if done correctly.

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A single episode can fuel demand generation campaigns, ABM/ABX touchpoints, brand awareness on LinkedIn and YouTube, sales enablement assets, authentic customer success stories and onboarding content, among many other goals.

What starts as a conversation becomes a strategic relationship and content asset that powers every function in your marketing and revenue teams.

That’s why leading B2B companies are no longer asking “Should podcasting be in our marketing mix?” but instead, “How do we make podcasting work effectively for our business?”

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The Three Ways to Play

Before we dive in, here’s a quick look at the three main ways B2B companies are showing up in the podcast space:

• CPM Ads – Renting ad space on existing podcasts to get broad exposure and impressions.
  
  
• Branded Podcasts – Building your own show from the ground up with full creative control.
  
  
• Strategic Podcast Partnerships – Collaborating with established podcasts where you can shape content, be directly connected with your ICP, and repurpose episode content into high-value assets.
  
  

Each path has its strengths (and trade-offs). Let’s break them down so you can decide what makes the most sense for your team.

Option 1: CPM-Based Podcast Ads

This is the most traditional entry point into podcast marketing. Brands pay to place audio ads into an existing podcast, with the ads showing up in pre-roll (before the episode), mid-roll (during), or post-roll (after). The pricing is based off what’s called a “CPM” (cost per thousand impressions). For business-focused shows, CPMs typically range between $25–$100, depending on show popularity, targeting, and host-read vs. scripted delivery.

Pros:

• Ease of execution: Media buyers can purchase at scale through podcast ad networks or directly with publishers.
• Fast exposure: Get your message in front of an engaged, loyal audience with minimal lift.
• Prestige placement: Ads can run on top shows that already have built-in trust with an audience.
• Easy to slot into a broader media mix: If you already buy across display, social, and digital audio, podcast ads are easy to integrate into a multi-channel brand campaign with shared messaging.

Cons:

• Limited brand control: You’re renting space in someone else’s content, with no influence on tone, context, or surrounding discussion.
  
• Blink and you’ll miss it. These ads rotate out once they hit their target impressions. They don’t stay with the episode, so there’s no long-term visibility or content value.
  
• Hard to track real impact: Most podcasts don’t give you first-party listener data, so you’re largely in the dark about who actually heard your ad and whether it made a difference. You can use UTM links or custom promo codes, but those only capture a small slice—usually the most motivated listeners. For B2B teams used to detailed attribution and funnel tracking, this lack of visibility can make it tough to justify spend or prove ROI.
  
• Low recall unless there’s repetition and longevity: Like most upper-funnel tactics, frequency matters. A one-off ad read is unlikely to drive significant results.
  
• Broad, not always targeted: Great for broad reach, but may not hit your ICP if the show’s audience isn’t highly aligned.

So, who is this good for?

Brand marketers looking for scale and brand reach, who have a lower priced product or offering. If your goal is awareness, credibility through association with major shows, and driving impressions across multiple touchpoints, CPM-based podcast ads can make sense, especially as a complement to your broader media mix.

It’s less about pipeline and relationships, and more about air cover. Think of it like sponsoring a segment on CNBC or NPR… you're getting share of voice, not guaranteed action.

Option 2: Creating Your Own Branded Podcast

For B2B brands seeking total control over messaging, tone, and guest selection, building your own podcast can be a compelling play. You own the narrative and the content. But it’s also a long-term commitment, more akin to launching a new product than running an ad campaign.

There are two typical paths when exploring a branded podcast:

1. Partnering with a Production Agency

Many B2B companies turn to external production teams to handle audio quality, editing, episode planning, and publishing.

Estimated investment: $5K–$50K/month depending on quality, frequency, and post-production deliverables (e.g., guest booking, show notes, video snippets, social clips).

2. Building In-House

This is a great option for company's who have all the internal resources to make this happen.

- Team will need to include roles like: Producer, Writer/Editor, Audio Engineer, Video Editors, Social Media/Graphic Designer, Podcast-specific Growth Marketer, Host, Marketing. Estimated costs of salaries + equipment can range between $400K/year - $800K/year. 

- Planning, recording, editing, and promoting an episode can take 10–15+ hours per week for interview podcasts, and 50+ hours/week for more advanced narrative podcasts.

- Ramp-up time for internal alignment and execution: 2–3 months minimum, not including audience growth.

Pros:

• Full editorial control: Choose guests, shape discussions, align with your brand voice.
  
• Custom content asset: You fully own the intellectual property, which can be turned into a library of evergreen content across platforms.
  
• Thought leadership: Positions your executives and brand as experts in your category.
  
  

Cons:

• Slow Ramp to Relevance: Launching a new show means starting from zero… no audience, no trust, no momentum. Even with solid content, it can take 6 to 12 months before you see meaningful traction unless you already have a large, engaged following.
  
• Getting the right guests is harder than it sounds. High-value guests (especially your ICP) are more hesitant to appear on a podcast they’ve never heard of, especially if it’s clearly branded and comes off as a corporate PR channel.
• Distribution is challenging. Publishing episodes is just step one. You’ll need a full strategy to promote them across paid, earned, and owned channels, week after week. Otherwise, your content goes unseen and unheard.
  
• The resource load is real. Planning, hosting, editing, reviews, approvals, design, promotion… it all adds up. Many teams underestimate the time and coordination it takes to do this well. That’s why so many branded shows fade out after a few episodes. The internal lift is often bigger than expected.
  
  

Common Pitfalls (and Painful Lessons Learned):

Branded podcasts can be a powerful strategic tool, if they're executed well. Here's a radar of common pitfalls that trip up even experienced marketing teams, especially when internal ownership, alignment, or execution breaks down.

Example of Doing It Right:

Drift’s “Seeking Wisdom” podcast is a well-executed B2B show that helped the company punch above its weight in the early days of category creation. Rather than a dry, product-heavy podcast, Drift used “Seeking Wisdom” to showcase the philosophies of its founders (like learning, leadership, and personal growth), while subtly introducing listeners to Drift’s point of view on marketing and sales. The show helped build trust with B2B buyers, attracted top talent, and created a loyal audience—many of whom became customers.

The key? It didn’t sound like a corporate show. It sounded like real people thinking out loud, with production and promotion woven into Drift’s broader content strategy (including blog tie-ins, book recommendations, and internal onboarding materials). It became a culture signal—internally and externally—because it aligned deeply with what the brand stood for.

And that’s the hard part, not letting corporate creep kill the show. 

This is where our next option shines… 

Option 3: Partnering on an Established Podcast with Strategic Influence

Rather than renting brief ad spots or starting from zero with a new branded podcast, many B2B teams are choosing a third path: partnering with an established podcast or podcast network that already has a trusted audience and proven traction. It’s a way to plug directly into a high-quality platform while shaping content that aligns with your goals, without the long ramp-up or heavy internal lift.

But the real differentiator? You don’t just partner on episodes. You strategically influence them.

Pros:

• High-impact without high lift. You’re stepping into a platform with an existing audience and infrastructure, bypassing the long ramp-up of building your own show.
• Targeted guest alignment. You have a say in who gets featured. That means spotlighting industry leaders, potential buyers, and strategic partners, turning each episode into a relationship-building moment, not just content.
• Content you can actually use. You get full rights to repurpose the content—turning one interview into assets for LinkedIn, email, ads, webinars, and internal sales enablement. It’s a content engine that feeds multiple teams.
• Trusted distribution, already in motion. Instead of fighting for attention, your brand is featured on a podcast people already listen to—and trust. You’re showing up in a context that adds credibility, not noise.
• An always-on ABM & content engine. This isn’t a one-off campaign. The podcast becomes a steady drumbeat of high-quality, high-context content. And because you help shape the guest list, every episode has potential ABM value—either in who’s featured, or who you’re targeting with it afterward.
• Brand trust by association (a.k.a. “The Michelin Star Effect”). Your brand appears alongside top operators, respected founders, and industry leaders. That proximity elevates your positioning—without needing to build the credibility yourself. It’s not just reach; it’s reputation by association.
• Sales team enablement with real conversations. Your reps get content that’s actually usable in outreach. “Hey, we just featured your peer on our show…” is a powerful opener. You’re equipping the team with credibility-building touchpoints that feel natural, not salesy.

Cons:

• Less brand control than owning your own show. You’re influencing the content, not producing it. While there’s strategic input, final creative decisions may still rest with the podcast owner.
• ‍Not always a full funnel solution. This approach is strong on relationship-building, brand elevation, and mid-funnel content—but it may need to be paired with other channels for lead capture or nurture.
• ‍Requires tight internal alignment to activate fully. To get the most value, a few teams (marketing, content, sales, etc.) need to actively leverage the content and relationships—without that alignment, you’ll leave value on the table.
• ‍Availability and fit matter. Not every show or audience is the right fit for your brand or goals. Finding the right match (tone, audience, credibility) is key and can be difficult.

Why This Model Works Well for B2B and SaaS Companies

Unlike traditional sponsorships or DIY podcasts, this approach blends brand elevation, relationship marketing, and content strategy in a single motion.

CMOs value it for building brand association with industry leaders—positioning your company alongside respected voices (the Michelin Star effect). It’s not just reach—it’s reputation by proximity.

CROs love the warm introductions to ideal prospects and strategic partners that naturally arise from guest co-creation.

Customer Success teams use it to celebrate client champions, reduce churn by making customers part of the story, and as an account expansion play.

This is more than a podcast marketing strategy—it's a high-leverage platform for ABM, demand gen, content marketing, and CX.

By partnering with a platform that’s already earned industry credibility, you fast-track results while avoiding the long ramp-up, the production headache, and the trust gap.

This is the podcast version of product-market fit. You're plugging into something that’s already working.

Final Take: Podcasting Is No Longer Just a B2C Play

For B2B companies, podcasting is no longer a niche experiment or a vanity project... it’s becoming a core part of how smart teams build trust, create meaningful content, and open real doors with the people who matter most.

But like any channel, how you show up matters.

Each model serves a different purpose. The key is knowing what you’re really trying to achieve.

If you want broad awareness, CPM may be enough.

If you want deep brand authority and have internal capacity, a branded show can work over time.

And if you want speed, control, content, credibility, and connection—all at once—the strategic partnership model might be the highest-leverage move you make this year.

In a world where attention is scarce and trust is earned slowly, podcasting offers something rare: a chance to be part of the conversations your buyers actually want to hear.

And the brands that figure out how to do that first? They’re going to win.

What's Your Podcast Strategy?

Curious if this could fit into your marketing/sales/brand strategy?

At RELVNT, we've cracked the code on podcast partnerships (option 3!). RELVNT has been running this model since 2017, driving millions in revenue for companies like Salesforce, NYSE, Splunk, Zayo, BrightSpot, and more.

Book a strategy call with our team here to see if this strategy could work for you.

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