How to target the top B2B podcasters

Summary

MarTech Podcast: "How to Target the Top B2B Podcasters"

Date: March 6, 2026
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Nick Zeckic, Chief Fire Starter at Smoke Signals AI

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into how brands—especially those in the B2B sector—can strategically identify, target, and engage with top B2B podcasters, leveraging AI and digital signals for demand generation. Benjamin Shapiro hosts Nick Zeckic, who shares actionable insights drawn from his AI-first approach and his experience helping companies generate real buying signals instead of just vanity metrics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Redesigning Demand Generation in the Age of AI

• New Metrics: Nick emphasizes moving beyond vanity metrics and focusing on tracking pipeline-generation signals that matter for real business outcomes.
• AI and Audience Discovery: The discussion touches on how AI technologies, including language models and bots, are reshaping discovery—both for content and for customer research.
• Customer Experience for AI: There's growing importance in ensuring brands are discoverable and engaging not just for humans but also for AI systems that now influence what information gets surfaced online.

Targeting B2B Podcasters: Signals and Strategies

[03:00] - Benjamin asks Nick a tactical question:

“If you were targeting B2B podcasters, what signals would you use to find them?”
Nick’s Approach:

• Look for White Space: Identify organizations active in “field” (branding, in-person events) that haven’t yet started podcasts.
• Leadership Visibility on LinkedIn:
  • CEOs and C-suite executives should be active, have large followings, and demonstrate high engagement.
  • This demonstrates a brand-focused and outward-facing culture, making them ripe podcast prospects.
• Revenue Fit: Companies should have the resources to invest in quality podcasting.
• Actionability:
  • Find brands that are ready but haven’t yet launched a podcast—Nick uses Chili Piper as an example of a missed opportunity.
  • "If they haven’t, oh my God, what an awesome opportunity… to give them a roadmap for the first 10 episodes." (Nick Zeckic, 03:38)
• Business Development Mindset:
  • Nick’s hypothetical CRO playbook: identify and proactively approach these companies, armed with a strategy for immediate execution.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Nick Zeckic [03:10]:

  “Finding the white space for organizations that are otherwise investing in field, which means they care about brand, their CEO and C suite are active on LinkedIn, large followings, actively posting, good engagement with their posts. Those things would tell me that they're in the right spot.”

• Nick Zeckic [03:48]:

  “If they haven't [started a podcast], oh my God, what an awesome opportunity, you know, to go in and broker that conversation for them and to give them a roadmap for the first, you know, 10 episodes or whatever it is. I just think that I would chase after that if I were your CRO. That's what I would bill tomorrow and run after that really hard.”

• Benjamin Shapiro [04:08]:

  “Sometimes you meet someone, you see them across the room, and you're like, that's my person. I cannot tell you how much I agree with your philosophy, appreciate your approach, and just think that you're a sage smart marketer that understands how these systems are built for the modern time.”

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Timestamps & Segment Highlights

• [01:15] - Introduction of guest Nick Zeckic & overview of his company, Smoke Signals AI.
• [03:00] - Core topic: how to identify and target B2B podcasters effectively.
• [03:10–03:50] - Nick outlines specific signals and a real-life business development scenario.
• [04:08] - Host resonance and wrap-up of the philosophical approach.
• [04:53] - Final thanks and closing remarks from Nick.
• [05:41] - How to contact Nick and follow further content.

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Memorable Takeaways

• Human = AI Customers: Marketers must optimize not just for humans but for AI systems making increasingly automated decisions on content surfacing and credibility.
• LinkedIn as a Goldmine: Executive visibility and engagement are key markers for vibrancy and readiness to invest in new content channels like podcasting.
• Action Trumps Analysis: Recognizing opportunity (the “white space”) and acting on it, with a clear plan, distinguishes leading demand-gen pros.
• Quote from the Host:

  “…just think that you're a sage smart marketer that understands how these systems are built for the modern time.” (Benjamin Shapiro, 04:08)

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For Further Engagement

• Nick Zeckic:
  Find his LinkedIn and company profile via the episode show notes at martechpod.com
• Smoke Signals AI:
  Specializes in capturing, activating, and measuring buying signals in B2B.

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Summary in a Sentence

In a concise, actionable discussion, Nick Zeckic and host Benjamin Shapiro reveal how to spot and approach prime B2B podcast prospects in the age of AI—focusing on leadership visibility, brand engagement, and the strategic “white space” that signals real opportunity.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

From advertising to software as a service

[Sponsor Voice / Scrunch Representative]

to data across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising. Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours.

[Sponsor Voice / Scrunch Representative]

We're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Podcast Announcer]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that used technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I'm Benjamin Shapiro and joining me today is Nick Zeckic, the chief fire starter at Smoke Signals AI, an AI first HubSpot agency that helps B2B companies generate, capture and activate buying signals to measure pipeline, not vanity metrics. And today Nick is going to share his process for redesigning demand generation from the ground up for the age of AI.

[Sponsor Voice / Scrunch Representative]

Time for a short break to hear from our sponsor, Scrunch. When was the last time you actually visited a website to research something? For me, AI does all that work now. So if AI is doing the discovery research and deciding who or what is your brand's website really for the rise of AI bots, becoming as important as new visitors is a massive change in user behavior. And that's what Scrunch is taking head on. Scrunch is the AI customer experience platform that helps marketing teams understand how AI agents experience their site. They tell you how your brand shows up in LLM results, where it doesn't, and what's preventing your content from being retrieved, trusted or recommended. It's not just visibility. Scrunch shows you the content gaps, citation gaps, and how to fix the technical blockers that matter so your brand is found and chosen in AI answers. Face it, your most important site visitor isn't human anymore. It's the AI deciding what gets surfaced. And for Martech podcast listeners, Scrunch is providing a free website diagnostic that uncovers how AI sees your site, where you have content gaps and where you're showing up versus your competition. To see how LLMs evaluate your site, go to scrunch.com martech that's scrunch S C-R-U-N-C-H.com martech.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Okay, last question. Selfish question alert. If you were targeting B2B podcasters, what signals would you use to find them?

[Nick Zeckic]

Yeah, so the one that I mentioned before, I actually think is great. I think finding the white space for, for organizations that are otherwise investing in field, which means they care about brand, their CEO and C Suite are active on LinkedIn, large followings, actively posting, good engagement with their posts. Those things would tell me that they're in the right spot. And obviously, if they fit the revenue profile, that they could actually afford to invest in a good podcast like the ones that you guys make possible. I mean, those things, I would, I would go after that all day long. Like, I, I, I know that Chili Piper fits into that. And I can't believe they haven't thought about a podcast yet. And if they haven't, oh, my God, what an awesome opportunity, you know, to go in and broker that conversation for them and to give them a roadmap for the first, you know, 10 episodes or whatever it is. I just think that I would chase after that if I were your CRO. That's what I would bill tomorrow and run after that really hard.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

All right, for any other podcast producers that are looking for B2B podcasters in the marketing and technology space, that question was for you, Nick. Like I said in the intro, sometimes you meet someone, you see him across the room, and you're like, that's my person. I cannot tell you how much I agree with your philosophy, appreciate your approach, and just think that you're a sage smart marketer that understands how these systems are built for the modern time. Right now, it's a problem we're trying to solve. I hope everybody that was listening enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. Thanks for coming on and being my guest.

[Nick Zeckic]

Thanks a ton, man. This is a lot of fun. Thank you.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

All right, that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Nick Zeckitz, the chief firestarter at Smoke Signals, for joining us.

[Sponsor Voice / Scrunch Representative]

And a special thanks to Scrunch for sponsoring this interview. Scrunch is the AI customer experience platform that helps marketing teams understand how AI agents experience their site. They tell you how your brand shows up in LLM results, where it doesn't, and what's preventing your content from being retrieved, trusted, or recommended. And for Martech podcast listeners, Scrunch is providing a free website diagnostic that uncovers how AI sees your site, where you have content gaps, and how you're showing up versus your competition. To see how LLMs evaluate your site, go to scrunch.com that's Scrunch S C R U N C H if you'd

[Benjamin Shapiro]

like to contact Nick, you could find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com or you can visit his company's website. It's SmokeSignals AI and if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or subscribe on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed every week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening to the MarTech podcast, and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.