Handling Brand Mentions in Podcasts and Video
Podcasts and videos are one of the few places where people talk about businesses at length and in their own voice. A host might recommend your product for five minutes, a guest might tell a story about poor service, or a reviewer might hold your item up to the camera.
These mentions are harder to find than text, harder to correct once published, and they often come with show notes, descriptions and comment sections that matter as much as the audio. This guide explains how to find and check them, when to respond, and how to handle links, corrections and reuse.
How audio and video mentions differ from text
A mention in an article is a sentence you can read in seconds. A mention in a podcast is buried somewhere in an hour of conversation, spoken rather than written, and often surrounded by context that changes its meaning, such as a joke, a caveat or a correction a few minutes later.
Several practical differences follow:
- Finding them depends on transcripts. Monitoring works on text, so audio mentions are found through automatic transcripts, captions, show notes and video descriptions. If your name is misheard, the mention can be missed or misattributed.
- The words cannot easily be changed. Editing a published episode is awkward for a host and impossible for many. Corrections usually happen in show notes, descriptions, pinned comments or a later episode.
- There are several places to respond. The audio itself, the show notes, the video description, the comments and the host's social accounts each reach different people.
- Relationships matter more. Many podcasts and channels are run by one or two people. A friendly, personal approach works much better than anything that feels like a corporate process.
The fix, step by step
Step 1
Add spoken variants of your brand name
Automatic transcription turns speech into text, and unusual brand names are often transcribed wrongly. Say your name aloud and write down how a machine might spell it: split words, phonetic spellings, common mispronunciations and any abbreviation people use in conversation. A business called Quayside Kiln might appear as Key Side Kiln or Keyside. Add the most likely variants to your monitored terms, and exclude any that match common everyday phrases and would flood you with irrelevant results.
Step 2
Listen to the mention in context
Never act on the transcript snippet alone. Transcripts miss sarcasm, tone and who is speaking, and they sometimes attach your name to a sentence it did not belong to. Play at least a couple of minutes either side of the timestamp so you understand what was actually said, whether the host or a guest said it, and whether it was corrected or qualified later in the episode. A mention that reads as criticism may turn out to be affectionate teasing.
Step 3
Log the timestamp, reach and tone
Record the show or channel name, the episode or video title, the exact timestamp, who spoke, a short summary of what was said, and whether it was positive, neutral or negative. Add a rough sense of reach, such as how many views the video has or how active the podcast is, and whether the mention was sponsored. A precise timestamp saves time later when you contact the host or share the clip internally with colleagues.
Step 4
Respond where the audience is
For a video, the comment section is usually the most visible place to reply: thank the creator, answer a question raised, or add a brief factual note, disclosing that you represent the business. For a podcast, the host's social posts about the episode or the show's community page often work better, because most podcast apps have no comments. Keep replies short and friendly, and do not turn a creator's comment section into an advertising space.
Step 5
Ask for a show-note or description link
If the mention is positive or neutral and there is no link to you in the show notes or video description, a short, friendly email to the host can ask whether a link would help listeners. Quote the timestamp and what was said, and suggest one relevant page. Many hosts already list the businesses discussed in their notes and are happy to add one. Accept a no gracefully, and never offer payment for a link that looks editorial.
Step 6
Request corrections the practical way
If something said about your business is factually wrong, email the host privately with the correct information and evidence. Do not ask them to re-edit and republish the audio, which is often impractical. Instead suggest a short correction in the show notes or video description, a pinned comment, or a mention at the start of the next episode. Hosts are far more willing to make a small fix than a large one, and the correction still reaches interested listeners.
Step 7
Get permission before reusing clips
A glowing review on a podcast or video is tempting to reuse in your own adverts, website or social posts. The recording belongs to the creator, so ask before using any audio or video, and agree how it will be credited and where it will appear. Quoting a short line in writing with credit and a link is usually welcome, but still worth mentioning to the host. Using their words in paid advertising needs clear written permission.
Where to look beyond the audio
| Place | What you find there | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic transcripts | The spoken mention itself, with a rough timestamp. | Use it to find the moment, then listen to confirm. |
| Show notes | Links and names the host chose to list. | Ask for a link or a short correction here. |
| Video descriptions and chapters | Links, timestamps and product lists, often including affiliate links. | Check your details are right and the link works. |
| Video comments | Viewer reactions and questions about you. | Reply helpfully and openly as the business. |
| Host or creator social posts | Clips promoting the episode, and listener replies. | Thank them and share if the mention is positive. |
| Episode web pages | Full transcripts on some shows, which search engines can read. | Check how your name is spelled and linked. |
When a podcast or video criticises you
Criticism in audio or video can feel more personal than a written review because you hear the tone as well as the words. The approach still follows the same principles as any complaint, with a few differences.
- Separate the host from the guest. A guest's story about poor service is not necessarily the host's view. Contact the host about facts, but deal with the guest's experience as a customer complaint.
- Check whether the complaint is fair. Find the order or booking if you can. If you got it wrong, say so.
- Offer a right of reply only if it suits the show. Some hosts welcome a follow-up conversation; many do not. Offering is fine, insisting is not.
- Respond in the comments where there are comments. One calm, disclosed reply under a video is visible to every later viewer.
- Keep legal threats out of it. A strongly worded letter to a small creator often becomes content itself.
The wider approach to complaints is in responding to negative mentions.
Sponsored and gifted mentions
Some mentions you find will be ones your business arranged, through sponsorship, a paid read or a gifted product. These carry obligations of their own.
Under the UK advertising rules in the CAP Code, which the Advertising Standards Authority enforces, marketing content has to be obviously identifiable as advertising. If you pay a creator or give them something and have a say over what they say, the content should be clearly labelled, for example with “ad” in the video or at the start of the read. Both the business and the creator can be held responsible if it is not.
- Agree the disclosure wording in writing before the episode or video is made.
- Check the published result, including the description and any cut-down clips on social media.
- Keep sponsored mentions separate in your records, so your monitoring figures reflect organic conversation.
This is a summary, not legal advice. The ASA publishes guidance for influencer marketing that is worth reading before any paid arrangement.
Turning mentions into relationships
A podcast or channel that mentions you unprompted is showing you where your customers listen and watch. Rather than treating each mention as a one-off, consider what else might make sense:
- A thank-you with no strings. A short message saying you enjoyed the episode builds goodwill for the next time you come up.
- Expert contributions. If the host covers topics you know well, offering a knowledgeable guest can be welcome, provided it is genuinely useful rather than a sales pitch.
- Accurate information on hand. A simple press page with correct names, spellings, photos and facts helps hosts get details right.
For shows that talk about your competitors but not you, fixing coverage gaps covers how to approach them, and reclaiming unlinked mentions covers link requests in more detail.
1. How do I find out if a podcast has mentioned my business?
Most monitoring of audio relies on text: automatic transcripts, captions, show notes and video descriptions. If your business name appears in any of those, it can be found. Mentions are easily missed when a name is unusual or misheard, so add likely spoken variants and phonetic spellings to the terms you monitor. Searching podcast apps and YouTube directly for your name, and asking customers where they heard about you, fills some of the remaining gaps.
2. Can I ask a podcast to remove or edit what they said about us?
You can ask, but editing and republishing audio is often impractical for hosts, and many will decline. A request for a correction is much more likely to succeed if it is small: a note in the show notes or video description, a pinned comment, or a brief mention in the next episode. Contact the host privately, explain the factual error calmly and provide evidence. Opinions, even harsh ones, are not errors and are unlikely to be changed.
3. Should I reply in the comments on a YouTube video about my product?
Often, yes, particularly if viewers are asking questions or a factual detail is wrong. Reply from an account that clearly represents the business, keep it short and helpful, and avoid anything that reads as an advert. Thanking the creator for a positive review is also fine. Do not reply to every comment or argue with critics, as that can make the creator and their audience feel you are taking over their space.
4. Can I use a clip of a podcast praising us in our adverts?
Only with permission. The recording belongs to the creator, so ask before using any audio or video clip, and agree how it will be credited and where it will appear. Using someone's words or voice in paid advertising without consent can cause legal problems and will damage the relationship. Quoting a short line in text with credit and a link is lower risk, but it is still courteous to let the host know beforehand.
5. Do podcast mentions help SEO?
Indirectly, in several ways. A link in the show notes or on the episode page works like any other link. Transcripts published on the web can be read by search engines and AI assistants, so accurate mentions help describe your business correctly. And listeners who hear about you often search for your name, which leads them to your site. Google has not said it counts spoken mentions as a ranking factor, so treat any direct effect cautiously.
6. Do we have to label it if we gave a YouTuber a free product?
It depends on the arrangement. Under UK advertising rules enforced by the ASA, if you paid the creator or gave them something and had some control over what they said, the content counts as advertising and must be clearly labelled, for example with ad. If you sent a product with no conditions at all, it may not be an advert, but the creator may still need to disclose the gift under consumer protection law. Check the ASA's influencer guidance; this is not legal advice.
The Brand Mention Monitor tracks mentions of your brand across podcasts and video as well as news, blogs, forums and social, including unlinked ones, with sentiment scoring, so spoken mentions are not missed.
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