Analysing the Enhancement of a Website Due to a Podcast 

Integrating a podcast into the Net Scores platform would significantly enhance audience engagement and long‑term brand development alongside the blog content. Hebbel‑Seeger and Horky (2026) demonstrates that podcasts can operate as strategic communication channels when they prioritise value‑led content rather than overt promotion. If we apply this to Net Scores, a podcast will allow us to enhance engagement and broaden our audience. 

The introduction of a podcast also supports the development of a brand community around Net Scores. Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) define a brand community as a non‑geographically bound social group structured around a shared interest in a brand. A Net Scores podcast would contribute to these points by providing regular episodes where listeners engage consistently, creating a sense of collective identity among tennis and business enthusiasts. 

From a psychological perspective, podcasts facilitate parasocial interaction, where listeners develop a perceived relationship with the host through repeated exposure to voice and conversational tone (Mayer et al., 2024). For Net Scores, this means a podcast can humanise the platform, positioning us as knowledgeable yet relatable voices in tennis business discourse, thereby strengthening audience loyalty beyond what text alone can achieve. 

Chung and Kim (2016) identify education, information, convenience, and habit as key motivations for podcast use among students. As Net Scores primarily targets sport business students and emerging professionals, a podcast allows audiences to further engage with our content. 

Ultimately, podcasts being accessible anytime, anywhere promotes an easy way for consumers to engage with their liked brands and topics. As a result, podcasts enable deeper consumer interactions and therefore links podcasts to improved consumer responses to advertisements, (Pražić, 2024). The increased levels of intimacy a podcast provides allows consumers to create a greater understanding for the brand. Being able to associate hosts, voices and opinions to a brand improves trust and makes listeners more receptive to brand messages therefore increasing brand retention, (Yaymond, Clerk and Smith, 2022). 

Reference List 

Chung, M.-Y. and Kim, H.-S., (2016) College Students’ Motivations for Using Podcasts. Journal of Media Literacy Education, [online] 73, pp.13–28. Available at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol7/iss3/2/. 

Hebbel-Seeger, A. and Horky, T., (2026) From Knowledge Exchange to Brand Engagement: The Strategic Use of Podcasts in Sports Management – A Case Study of the FISU World University Games Rhine-Ruhr 2025. [online] Exlibrisgroup.com. Available at: https://ljmu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_crossref_primary_10_30958_ajmmc_12_2_2&context=PC&vid=44JMU_INST:44JMU_VU1&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everything&query=any. 

Mayer, F., Auschel, E., Baumbach, M. and Schindler, K., (2024) Corporate Communication Through Podcasts: The Impact of Voice-Fit and Attention During Listening on Parasocial Interaction with the Host and Persuasive Effects. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, pp.1–28. 

Muñiz, A.M. and O’Guinn, T.C., (2001) Brand Community. Journal of Consumer Research, [online] 274, pp.412–432. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/319618?sid=primo. 

Pražić, I. (2024). The Influence of Podcast Engagement on Consumer Perception and Purchase Intention: Evidence from Croatia. [online] EMAN 2026. Available at: https://eman-conference.org/the-influence-of-podcast-engagement-on-consumer-perception-and-purchase-intention-evidence-from-croatia/ [Accessed 9 Apr. 2026]. 

Yaymond, E.M., Clerk, A.S. and Smith, M.M. (2022). Impact of Podcasts and Video Marketing Strategy on Growth of Businesses in the Private Sector: Perspective from the United States. Journal of Marketing and Communication, [online] 5(1), pp.39–50. doi:https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t4044.