Work in Podcast Marketing & Distribution | Kristen Hayford | Superfeed

Creating great content is only half the job. How do people actually find it? How does an audience become a community? And what really happens behind the scenes of podcasts, social media, and digital marketing? Kristen Hayford works in digital media, marketing, audience development, and podcasting — helping creators get their ideas in front of the people who will care about them. She is Director of Marketing and Partnerships at The Other Westcoast Productions and the founder of Superfeed, a new distribution service designed to help people discover and share podcasts. In this episode of Careers IRL, Kristen takes us behind the curtain of a career most of us interact with every single day without realizing how much work happens behind the scenes. We talk about what a digital marketer actually does, why posting content is only the beginning, how creators build trust and community, and why understanding the person on the other side of the screen matters. Kristen explains that exceptional marketing requires creativity, curiosity, and especially empathy — because one-size-fits-all communication rarely works. Kristen also shares her own unconventional career path, what she learned from working in different industries and places, and why teenagers don't have to have their entire future figured out. Her advice? Get curious. Talk to people doing work you find interesting. Explore something before deciding whether it belongs in your future. Then we dig into Superfeed, the project Kristen began after realizing traditional podcast-marketing tactics weren't working the way they once had. Her solution grew from a simple question: could podcasts help one another get discovered instead of every creator fighting for attention alone? GUEST INFORMATION Name: Kristen Hayford Title: Director, Marketing and Partnerships Company: The Other Westcoast Productions Career / Industry: Digital Media, Marketing, Audience Development & Podcasting WHAT SHE REALLY DOES Kristen helps creators and organizations figure out how to reach the people who will care about their work. That can include audience development, publicity, sponsorships, paid media, podcast marketing, and experimenting with new ways for people to discover content. She also founded Superfeed, a project that allows podcast content to be curated and shared across feeds while listeners still connect back to the original source. 🔎 WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER What working in digital media and marketing actually looks like Why creating content and getting people to discover it are two different jobs How audiences become communities — and why trust matters Why creativity, empathy, and curiosity make better marketers How networking can happen through ordinary conversations, not just formal events Why Kristen believes teenagers should explore careers by talking directly to people doing interesting work Kristen’s career advice includes a particularly simple idea: curiosity doesn't require expertise. If something interests you, explore it. You may discover a direction worth pursuing — or learn that it isn't for you, which is useful too. 🧠 SKILLS IN THIS EPISODE Communication — Kristen calls communication one skill every teenager should learn. Curiosity — Exploring an interest can help you discover both what you do and don't want to pursue. Empathy — Strong marketers learn to see a message from the audience's point of view. Creativity — Successful digital marketing often requires going beyond formulas and experimenting with new approaches. Networking — Kristen favors organic conversations and relationships rather than approaching every connection wanting something. Critical Thinking — Data can inform decisions, but Kristen cautions against allowing it to dictate everything. 📖 BUY THE BOOKS BooksThatBuildSkills.org/Shop ❤️ SUPPORT LITERACY PROGRAMS BooksThatBuildSkills.org/Donate 🔎 TAKE A LOOK AT OUR GUEST Website: https://www.superfeed.fm LinkedIn:   / kristen-hayford-8056112b   Company LinkedIn:   / the-other-west-coast-productions   Instagram:   / other__westcoast   📚 THE CHARMS BOOK SERIES The Charms Book Series is the story side of Books That Build Skills. The podcast shows kids real people using real skills. The books let them practice those same skills through story — problem-solving, leadership, STEM thinking, and smart decision-making. 💻 WHAT IS CAREERS IRL PODCAST? Short Episodes. Real People. Real Careers. Real Skills. Zero Boring Adult Talk. 🗳 JOIN US… SUBSCRIBE! If this channel consistently shows up with conversations you'd actually want in your feed — subscribe. If not? A like on the episode you enjoyed is perfect.