Lapse Productions has produced video for Toronto businesses since 2014, and for the past several years we have also produced and hosted our own podcast on the business of video production. This guide comes from running a show, not researching one: the planning, the equipment on our desks, the recording workflow, and the promotion tactics that actually moved the numbers.
The Short Answer
- Plan first: define the audience, pick a format (interview, panel, or solo), and set a cadence you can hold.
- Start with a quality USB microphone, an arm, and headphones. Add cameras when you are ready for video.
- Record remotely with a platform like Riverside, which doubles as your backup and editor.
- Host on a platform like RSS.com and distribute to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music.
- Promote with short clips: that is where most new listeners find shows in 2026.
Why Should Your Business Start a Podcast?
A podcast is one of the few content formats that compounds. Each episode builds authority, feeds your social channels with clips, and gives search engines more to index, all while your audience listens on a commute or at the gym where no other format reaches them. Here is what the medium delivers when it is done consistently.
| Benefit | What it does for your business |
|---|---|
| Brand awareness | Reaches audiences far beyond your local market |
| Authority building | Positions your team as industry leaders through expert insight |
| SEO advantages | Earns backlinks and organic traffic through show pages and transcripts |
| High engagement | The intimacy of audio builds deeper audience connection than a feed post |
| Cost effectiveness | After the initial equipment spend, the main ongoing cost is time |
| Content repurposing | One episode becomes clips, blog posts, quotes, and social content |
| Networking | Guest invitations open doors to partnerships and referrals |
| Direct interaction | Listener questions and feedback reveal what your market actually wants |
| Long-form depth | Comprehensive discussions that short formats cannot hold |
| Audience convenience | Consumed while commuting, working out, or doing chores |
We have experienced every row of that table firsthand. Guest conversations have turned into international connections, episode highlights feed our social channels, and the show reaches people we would never have met through client work alone.
How Do You Plan a Business Podcast?
Define your target audience
Knowing your audience is the cornerstone of a successful podcast. Identify the demographics and pain points of your target listeners before you record anything, because every later decision, from format to episode length, flows from who is on the other end.
Choose a format
Interviews bring in expert opinions and give every guest a reason to share the episode. Panel discussions suit deep dives with multiple viewpoints. Solo episodes establish your own authority on a subject. Most business podcasts land on interviews with occasional solo episodes, which is also the easiest format to book and produce consistently.
Set an editorial calendar
Consistency is what separates shows that grow from shows that fade. Plan topics ahead, coordinate guest bookings, and align releases with the rest of your marketing. A cadence you can actually hold beats an ambitious one you abandon by episode eight.
What Equipment Do You Need to Start a Podcast?
Microphone
Audio quality is the one thing listeners will not forgive. A quality USB microphone like the Shure MV7 line paired with an Elgato mic arm covers a business podcast without a sound engineer in the room.
Headphones
You need headphones to monitor your own audio and hear your guest cleanly. Closed-back headphones or earbuds both work. This one is personal preference.
Cameras
This is the biggest budget decision, and only if you are recording video. The options run from a webcam, to a phone with a camera mount, to a mirrorless or cinema camera connected through a capture device. At Lapse Productions we had two Canon C200 cinema cameras gathering dust between client shoots, so we connected them to our laptops through capture devices and used them as webcams. Use what you have before you buy.
How Do You Record and Edit a Podcast?
Prepare an outline for every episode so the conversation has a spine, then record in a quiet, soft-furnished room. For remote recording, a platform like Riverside captures each participant locally in full quality. We record our camera feeds directly and run Riverside as the backup, which has saved episodes when a card filled mid-recording. In post, cut the mistakes, level the audio, and add your intro and outro. Riverside now includes editing and AI clip tools in the platform, and dedicated tools like AutoPod speed up multicam editing considerably.
How Do You Publish and Promote a Podcast?
Hosting and directories
A hosting platform stores your episodes and distributes them everywhere from one upload. We use RSS.com. From there, submit the show to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. Google Podcasts no longer exists: Google shut it down in 2024 and moved podcast listening into YouTube Music, which makes a YouTube presence more valuable than ever. If you record video, publish full episodes to YouTube as well, since it now functions as the largest podcast discovery engine.
Promotion
Short clips are the growth engine. Cut the strongest moments from each episode for LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, and post them on a schedule. Bring on guests whose audiences match yours, since every guest is a distribution channel. And treat the show notes like a web page: keyword-rich titles and descriptions, transcripts for accessibility and indexing, and a page per episode on your site that can earn backlinks.
Want to Skip the Setup
Lapse Productions plans, shoots, and edits podcasts for businesses as part of our full range of video services. We run our own show, so we have already made the mistakes you are trying to avoid. Tell us what you want yours to do and we will spec the rest.
Get a Free QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of starting a business podcast?
A business podcast builds brand awareness and authority, earns backlinks and organic traffic, reaches audiences during commutes and workouts, and produces raw material for clips, blog posts, and social content. It is also one of the most cost-effective content formats: after the initial equipment investment, the main ongoing cost is time.
How much does it cost to start a business podcast?
A quality audio setup starts at a few hundred dollars per host for a microphone, arm, and headphones. Video podcasts cost more once cameras, capture devices, lighting, and editing time enter the budget. Most businesses start lean, prove the show works, and upgrade from there.
Should my business podcast be video or audio only?
Record video if you can. Video podcasts unlock YouTube as a discovery channel and give you clips for LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, which is where most new listeners now find shows. Audio only remains a fine starting point for lean teams, and you can add cameras later.
How often should you publish podcast episodes?
Consistency matters more than frequency. Weekly or biweekly are the most common schedules for business podcasts because they keep the show visible without overwhelming production. Pick a cadence you can hold for six months, then adjust based on what your audience responds to.
About the Author
Dario Nouri is a Producer and Co-Founder of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company creating corporate video, photography, and drone content since 2014. He also hosts Creatives Grab Coffee, a podcast on the business of video production.