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RALEIGH – Jason Gillikin is enthusiastic about helping small businesses. And he believes podcasts are a great way to do that.
“[It’s a] content piece that is just so flexible in terms of being able to utilize podcasts for social media posts, for videos, for newsletters, for blog posts, and everything else,” Gillikin told me over Zoom. “We see the demand rising and the Triangle is a perfect place for all that.”
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That demand, driven in part by continued entrepreneurial growth in NC, is being met by the opening of Earfluence’s third studio location in as many years. Audiences can tune into a livestream today at 3 p.m. to kick off the opening of the latest studio, this one at the Industrious Coworking space in the Wells Fargo Capitol Center.
As with their other studio locations in Raleigh Founded – Warehouse and Durham’s American Underground, the new Industrious studio will be available to use for free to members of the community. Melissa Bessler, Regional Director for Industrious, is excited to be able to offer the new studio to members.
“Industrious is looking to be the best business partner to our members that we can,” said Bessler via email. “We know that work has changed and evolved. Almost every business has a digital aspect to it these days and we are finding that more individuals are looking for spaces they can record audio. That could be for a podcast, digital ads, vlogs, etc. We are excited to be able to offer this amenity to our members.”
Tim and Kelley DuBois record their new real estate podcast in the Industrious studio.
Podcast popularity continues to grow
Podcasting is a big business. Roughly half of all Americans have listened to a podcast in the last year, according to a recent Pew Research Survey, a number that has consistently trended upward since 2014. While those under 30 are more likely to tune in, 20% of those surveyed say they listen to podcasts at least a few times a week.
According to Gillikin, the CEO and Executive Podcast producer at Earfluence, this is a trend that businesses should be leaning into, and not just for generating content. Gillikin makes the case for podcasting as a new form of networking.
“Like it’s so easy to say, ‘Hey, do you wanna come on my podcast?’ versus ‘Can I show you a demo of my product? It’s so easy to create partnerships that way, and have real conversations.”
Earfluence’s Jason Gillikin talks about rise of podcasts, impact on Triangle startup community
Listen in for Studio Launch
Last year’s studio opening at American Underground was kickstarted by 8 hours of live-streamed content. Gillikin said he’s giving his team a break this year, and will instead run 8 back-to-back interviews with a small business theme. Four of the 15-minute sessions will feature members of the Industrious community. Four other interviews will feature supporters of the entrepreneur community including Tim McLoughlin of Cofounders Capital, Marques Ogden, former NFL player and keynote speaker, Mikaya Thurmond speaking about PR for startups, and Bessler of Industrious.
Those interested can find the live stream link via LinkedIn or YouTube tomorrow afternoon. The interviews will run from 3 until 5 pm.
“Just go for it”
The Industrious expansion is a big move for Earfluence as the company has more than 160 locations globally and more than 25 in the southeast. Gillikin hopes that future expansion will start to move beyond the Triangle region.
In the meantime, he’s staying busy with local projects, including the Triangle Content Creators, who meet monthly at Raleigh Founded – Gateway. The group supports anyone interested in improving or starting a podcast, YouTube channel, or TikTok. Gillikin believes there are many other potential podcasters out there and is working to encourage the first step.
“I call people ‘podcurious’, that are always thinking of doing a podcast but never act,” Gillikin told me. “We’ve got shirts that say just press record. And that’s a good reminder to just go for it and fail fast and figure out what you have.”
