How Robinhood Created a Podcast with 10 Million Downloads

‍Key Takeaways

Robinhood has two different versions of their podcasts: Snacks Daily and Snacks Minute. Snacks Daily is a 15-minute podcast while Snacks Minute shares top business news in under 3 minutes. 

Robinhood implements the following podcast best practices:

• Descriptive podcast titles: use relevant keywords such as brand names to grab the attention of your audience. Titles should be creative and compelling. 
• Repurpose podcast content: When repurposing podcast content, make sure it is customized to each platform. On Instagram, Robinhood takes snippets of their podcast and transforms them into audiograms. 
• Put a face to the brand: To make your podcast more approachable and to help listeners connect with your brand, allow the audience to get to know the host of your podcast. 
• Consistent posting schedule: On average, Robinhood publishes 20 podcast episodes per month which is one new episode every workday. Having a consistent posting schedule helps build a loyal following as your audience know when to expect new episodes.
• Keep users engaged: Robinhood keeps users engaged throughout the entire episode by asking a fun fact question and revealing the answer only at the end. 
• Podcast trailer: The podcast trailer allows the brand to help listeners understand what the podcast is about and acts as a teaser to the podcast series. ‍
• Shoutout to listeners: In every description of a podcast episode, Robinhood includes a link to a shoutout request form as well as a Snack Fact submission form allowing listeners to get involved in the podcast.

Robinhood launched two podcasts: Snacks Daily and Snacks Minute which are audio versions of the Robinhood Snacks newsletter. Similar to the newsletter, there is a new podcast episode every day and each episode covers the top stories featured in the Robinhood Snacks newsletter. In 2020, Snacks Daily passed 10 million downloads and was listened by more than 165K people every weekday. 

Podcast Best Practices:

#1. Digestible Financial News

15 Minutes vs. 3 Minutes. The Snacks Daily podcast picks their top 3 business stories and breaks them down in just 15 minutes. The hosts of the podcast, Jack and Nick, explain each news story in a fun and entertaining way, making it easy to understand for the everyday person. For those who are stressed for time, Robinhood Snacks launched Snacks Minute which covers top business news in just 3 minutes. Both podcasts are jargon-free and aim to be quick and efficient making financial news easily accessible.

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#2. Descriptive Podcast Titles

Use Relevant Keywords. Robinhood mentions brand names in their podcast title and sums up each story in 5 words or less to give listeners a quick preview of each podcast. Include relevant keywords in not only the podcast title but the description as well to grab the attention of your audience.

Fun, Creative & Compelling Titles. Robinhood’s podcast titles are eye-catching and creative using emojis and humour. Each podcast title starts off with a compelling title (i.e: Bezos is gone, No more candy eCigs, etc.) before listing out all the brands that are mentioned in each episode.

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#3. Repurpose Podcast Content

Podcast Audiograms. Robinhood takes snippets of their podcast and transforms them into podcast audiograms which are short video files that are accompanied by images. Typically audiograms include captions to allow the listener to follow along more easily. Podcast audiograms are a great way to repurpose podcast audio content and turn it into engaging social media assets.

Platform-Specific Content. When repurposing content, make sure it is customized to each platform. For example, since YouTube is a video platform rather than an audio platform, each episode features the hosts themselves instead of just their voice.

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#4. Images & Graphs

Incorporate Visual Elements. On YouTube, each podcast episode features visual elements to help tell the story such as text, images, and graphs. Repurposing podcast episodes on YouTube give brands an opportunity to be creative with the way they showcase each episode. Animated graphs are a great way to visualize data to your audience.

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#5. Put a Face to the Brand

Jack Kramer & Nick Martell. The hosts of the podcast are Jack and Nick who originally founded “Market Snacks” which was acquired by Robinhood and then renamed “Robinhood Snacks”. Both Jack and Nick host every episode of the podcast and are featured in YouTube videos. At the beginning of each episode, both hosts introduce themselves which helps listeners connect with the podcast rather than simply listening to a brand.

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#6. Consistent Cadence

Create a Consistent Posting Schedule. On average, Robinhood publishes 20 podcast episodes per month which is about one new episode every workday (Monday to Friday except holidays). Having a consistent posting schedule helps your audience know when to tune, which in turn helps brands gain a loyal following of listeners.

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#7. Keep Users Engaged

Snack Fact of The Day. Even though the podcast is only 15 minutes long, Robinhood keeps users engaged until the end of the episode by revealing the answer to a fun fact question at the end of the episode. On the August 3rd podcast episode, the hosts asked the listeners “what is the only country in the world that does not have red, white, or blue in the flag?” The answer was revealed during the last minute of the podcast. “Snack Fact of the Day” is also featured in every email newsletter.

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#8. Catchy Tunes

Intro Song. Robinhood’s podcast has its own custom intro rap song which is played at the beginning and end of every podcast episode. The song not only showcases the brand’s personality with its catchy tune and casual tone of voice, the lyrics speak to how each episode does not reflect the views of the company and how it is strictly not investment advice.

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#9. Podcast Trailer

Introduce Your Podcast. In the “About” section of Snacks Minute, there is a trailer of the podcast where hosts Jack and Nick describe how Snacks Minute is different from Snacks Daily. Podcast trailers help listeners get a better understanding of what your podcast is about and is a great opportunity to sell your podcast to your audience. The trailer also includes the full 25-second rap song for the podcast.

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#10. Shoutout to Listeners

Make Listeners Feel Acknowledged. In every description of a podcast episode, Robinhood includes a link to a shoutout request form as well as a Snack Fact submission form. Shoutouts allow brands to connect with their listeners as they deliver personalized messages to listeners celebrating special events.