More Than a Podcast Studio: How Conversations Create Business Opportunities
From manufacturing and engineering to education and professional services, Bigtank Video Productions is showing how a good conversation can become a valuable business opportunity.
A good business conversation can achieve far more than a carefully rehearsed sales pitch. It gives people a chance to share their experiences, demonstrate their expertise and, perhaps most importantly, get to know one another.
That’s the thinking behind Bigtank Video Productions‘ podcast studio in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, which has become a meeting place for business owners, industry leaders, educators and professionals from across the North West.
But while the studio has all the equipment needed to produce professional video podcasts, Bigtank believes its real value goes well beyond the recording itself.
Different industries, shared conversations
Since opening the studio, Bigtank has welcomed a wide variety of guests, covering everything from business growth and leadership to recruitment, education, technology and workplace culture.
Through its own Q&A podcast series, hosted by Rob Hallam, Bigtank has brought together people with different experiences and perspectives.
Guests have included Tim Webber MBE, founder of Barnfield Construction, reflecting on 50 years of building a successful Lancashire business, and Sally Blades, HR Director at manufacturing company VEKA, discussing the importance of investing in people and developing a positive workplace culture.
Leaders from professional services firms including Forbes Solicitors and Harrison Drury have also joined the conversations, sharing their experiences of leadership, business development and the challenges facing organisations today.
Education has become another important part of the studio’s work.
Educational publisher Twinkl has used the facilities to record episodes of its Leading With… podcast, bringing together education professionals to discuss the issues facing schools and their leaders. Bigtank has also welcomed Neil Burrows from Burnley College for a conversation about empowering young people through education.
It’s this variety of people and industries that makes the studio such an interesting place to work.
Opportunities for manufacturing, engineering and aerospace
For businesses operating in technical sectors, podcasts offer a particularly interesting opportunity.
Lancashire has a strong manufacturing, engineering and aerospace community, full of businesses developing innovative products, solving complex problems and employing highly skilled people.
Yet communicating that expertise to customers, prospective employees and the wider business community isn’t always straightforward.
Bigtank already works across these sectors, producing video content for organisations including the North West Aerospace Alliance, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the Northern Engineering and Robotics Innovation Centre (NERIC).
A podcast offers another way to bring those industries to life.
Imagine an engineering company inviting a customer into the studio to discuss a project they’ve delivered together. Or an aerospace manufacturer sitting down with a supplier to talk about innovation, collaboration and the future of the industry.
These conversations help explain what businesses do, but they also introduce the people behind the expertise.
The same principle applies to education, where conversations with employers, industry specialists and education leaders can help connect the classroom with the workplace.
A sales channel without the sales pitch
One of the most interesting opportunities for businesses is how podcasting can support sales and relationship-building.
Inviting a customer, supplier, industry contact or potential business partner to take part in a conversation creates an opportunity to spend time together, share ideas and develop a better understanding of each other’s organisations.
It’s networking, but with a purpose and something useful to show for it afterwards.
And the value doesn’t end when the cameras stop recording.
A single conversation can become a complete video podcast, a series of shorter clips for LinkedIn, content for a company’s website, YouTube videos and material that sales teams can share with prospective customers.
Rather than continually finding new things to say, businesses can create content from the knowledge, experience and relationships they already have.
For organisations with long sales cycles or highly specialised services, that content can help potential customers understand their expertise and build confidence before an initial meeting.
More than microphones and cameras
Of course, not everyone is comfortable being filmed, particularly when discussing their business or specialist subject.
That’s where Bigtank’s production experience comes in. The Ramsbottom studio combines professional cameras, lighting and sound with a relaxed, conversational approach designed to help guests feel comfortable and speak naturally.
The aim isn’t to produce a perfectly rehearsed corporate presentation. It’s to capture an engaging conversation that people genuinely want to watch.
For Bigtank, the studio represents an extension of what the company has always done: helping organisations communicate more effectively.
Whether it’s an aerospace business sharing industry insight, a manufacturer introducing its people, a college discussing education or two business leaders simply exchanging ideas, the opportunities go far beyond producing another podcast.
Sometimes, the most valuable outcome isn’t the finished video.
It’s the conversation that made it possible.
Find out more about Bigtank’s podcast studio in Lancashire or explore the company’s Q&A podcast series.
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