Why add a podcast to your campaign?

If you're paying for social ads, for radio or TV or print ads, for billboards: why on earth would you bother adding podcasts to your already full campaign?

Well, there are a lot of good reasons, mainly based on the intimacy of podcasts, and the opportunity you as a brand have to share your story, and let an audience know about your values.

Also, in this screen tired world, podcasts are a way for you to connect with people while they're driving, cooking, at the gym, gardening...

But don't take my word for it, let's see how podcasts play out in some figures:

People listen to them - in fact 40% of Australians listen to a podcast regularly.

And they don't mind a few ads, a Guardian study released earlier this year found that podcast advertising commands the highest levels of attention of any media channel. The study found 65% of listeners paid attention to podcast adverts - more than adverts on TV at 39% and adverts on the radio at 38%.

And that means people who don't normally like ads will respond to podcasts. A BBC study found that ad avoiders are 22% more likely to engage with a product via a podcast than any other medium.

And interestingly, podcast listeners agree they prefer audio ads, in fact 90% of them said that they thought podcast ads are effective (in a 2020 Discover Pods survey) and more than half of them said they actually purchased something based on a podcast ad.

And who is listening? Well, that's broadening out. While 31% of 35-55 year olds are listening, we are seeing the younger market grow each year - 28% of 12-34 year olds are listening to podcasts each week. This is likely to increase as Spotify and YouTube get bigger and bigger in the podcast world.

So yes, podcasts can add something unique to your marketing campaign, if you do them well. But for them to work you need to tell a story, not sell your product.

You also need to find some shared values you want to let your market know about, be honest, be relatable, be human (that's why podcasts work).

And finally, make good audio, don't just tack your podcast onto the back of your other work. Make your podcast something you're proud to share, and that audiences want to hear.

Then podcasts will help you connect with an audience and share who you are in a way nothing else can.