Why Podcast Marketing is a Must for Your Business
While the old days of traditional print advertising are long gone, the massive impact of technology has given birth to a digital market that is bigger and cut-throat than ever before. While ways like TV and web advertising can still reach consumers, the key to success is to diversify into new channels to reach the maximum possible customer base and increase your organization's market share. One such medium, podcasting, offers a relatively new ad format that businesses and consumers alike have embraced.
Although podcasts are still newer than other types of media, entrepreneurs and marketing executives should not be too quick to dismiss them from their advertising efforts. Data shows that podcasts have exploded in popularity over the past decade, with recent figures from March 2021 indicating that about 80 million Americans ?? the equivalent of 28% of the adult U.S. population ?? have weekly podcast listeners, up from just 19 million in 2013. This apparent upward trend shows no signs of slowing down, especially due to the amount of content constantly being produced on the podcasting platform. Here are six reasons why businesses need to take advantage of podcast marketing:
1. Less competitive, better ROI
Since the podcasting medium is still relatively young — if not in its infancy, at least in its teens — there is far less competition than the more well-established advertising route, with only 32% of brands and agencies capitalizing on the medium. However, it may not last long. PwC's U.S. According to the Podcast Advertising Revenue Study, advertisers are expected to spend up to 1 billion USD on podcast ads in 2021, with an annual growth rate of 14.7%. This recent surge in podcast advertising has been attributed to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic in the industry's documented resilience and its flexible and easily digestible format of content compared to other forms of media.
Nevertheless, podcast advertising remains affordable, with a recent study showing that the average ROI for a podcast ad is $ 2.42 USD. Another report found that podcast advertising was the best option for high conversion rates, with digital displays up 1.1%, prints up 2.4%, and TVs up 34% compared to 3.1%. The top 5% of podcasts are downloaded over 10,000 times per episode, the most successful episode being downloaded 50,000 times in just 30 days, which means that podcast ads can reach a huge number of subscribers in a very short time.
2. Targeted access to a specific audience
One of the most important factors in successful advertising is getting the right audience. Generally speaking, the more specialized a product is, the more visitors it will have. One of the fantastic aspects of podcast marketing is that it is incredibly wide and can easily be used to appeal to a very specific population segment. Based on the sheer number of podcasts available, with over 2 million shows and over 48 million unique episodes, a complete host of podcasts designed to appeal to your ideal audience probably already exists. And if there isn't — perhaps your brand should create one to cover this apparent gap in the market.
Podcasting allows advertisers to reach a specific audience who all share the same interests, passions, or desire to learn more about a particular topic. Analyzes show that podcast listeners tend to be educated and high-income millennials or Gen Zers, thus representing a highly sought-after and highly profitable sales goal. Also, podcast audiences are becoming increasingly diverse, with 57%, 16%, 13% and 4% of monthly podcast listeners being white, Latino, African American and Asian, respectively.
3. Immunity to avoid advertising
Marketing executives often see the growing trend of ad avoidance as inevitable, with young consumers becoming increasingly annoyed or sensitive to conventional advertising strategies. In the digital landscape, the widespread availability of ad blockers has made it easier for consumers to completely ignore or remove ads. But in addition to certain ad-blocking software or browser extension tools, web users are increasingly showing signs of "banner blindness" so that individuals - intentionally or subconsciously - ignore online advertising information to protect information from overload. In 2013, Infolinks reported that 86% of consumers suffered from banner blindness, with only 14% able to recall the last display ad they saw.
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However, podcasts seem to be resistant to the phenomenon of ad avoidance. According to recent data, 78% of podcast listeners approve of sponsorship and 67% can accurately recall the products and brands mentioned in the podcast ad. However, the most effective podcast ads are created for the interest of viewers, for example through sponsored content or custom segments, and are tailored to the show in terms of both tone and content. While it is still possible for users to quickly-forward podcast ads, many listeners tune in because of their fixed emotional or intellectual investment in the show or its host.
4. High audience engagement
For listeners, podcasts are a great way to capture content due to their low-effort accessibility and multi-tasking flexibility. This mobile-friendly 'to-go' form of media can be enjoyed anywhere and anytime, whenever traveling in the morning, at work or at home or before going to bed. However, compared to other types of content, the task of finding and tuning a specific podcast is very deliberate. Research shows that podcast consumers listen to an average of seven podcast shows per week, 80% of which listen to all or most episodes. Furthermore, it was reported that 71% of respondents showed much higher concentration while listening to podcasts than on TV shows (56%) or posting on social media (50%).
One of the reasons podcasts are nurtured by such dedicated and dedicated listeners is because they are very interactive. Audiences form strong relationships with podcast hosts who encourage this sense of community in a variety of ways, such as hanging out, listening polls, answering questions, or taking calls. This close relationship results in a significant level of audience participation. In addition, effective podcast ads are often combined with the show itself. In particular, mid-roll host endorsements allow a natural way to promote a product or brand to a captive audience when the audience is already engrossed, so the ad comes as an honest recommendation from a trusted expert or friend, rather than nude. Possession
5. Brand-building and storytelling ability
Podcasting is a storytelling medium that relies exclusively on a single sensitive dimension audio. This means that in order to be successful, a podcast host must be able to capture the attention of the audience for the duration of the entire episode without going back to charismatic, entertaining, and glamorous visuals. So, if you are looking for another way to run the same tedious campaign from the path of other ads, then podcast advertising is not the right channel for you. The last thing podcast users want to hear is a non-traditional cookie-cutter ad… and if you give it to them, they will not respond as you would expect.
Advertising content must be unique, organic, and tailored to the podcast in question. While this requires greater effort in terms of creativity and originality, this investment in domestic advertising can pay off big. Data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Podcast Playbook indicates that 61% of Podcast listeners actually bought a product or service that they learned through the Podcast episode, while about 71% visited the advertiser's website. In addition to direct sales efforts or conversions, podcasts represent an ideal opportunity to create brand awareness or increase audiences in creative, inspirational, or humorous ways, as exemplified by podcasts such as McDonald's The Sauce, Open for Business by eBay, or Hackable. ? By McAfee.
6. Opportunity for cross-promotion
Intelligent marketing executives understand that no single marketing avenue should operate in a vacuum. The same is true of podcast advertising — this medium will be most effective if used in conjunction with other promotional channels. In fact, podcasts are ideally suited for cross-promotion activities involving other forms of social media, such as YouTube, TickTock, Facebook and Instagram. Recent research shows that podcast users are much more involved with social media than the average person, with 94% of the entire population active on at least one social network. In addition, podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media, and more likely to subscribe to on-demand video-streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime.
While podcast advertising should not be the only marketing channel of a brand, the opportunities offered by this medium are undeniable. Podcasting has opened a direct line for companies to traditionally impress highly-informed, affluent and employed consumers in hard-to-reach times. Moreover, thanks to the current lack of competitors compared to other channels, the less chaotic environment but ensures that your company's message will be different. Finally, emphasizing a useful and organic marketing approach helps to encourage creativity, reduce ad avoidance, and build a more trusting and dynamic relationship between advertisers and customers. Together, these elements create an attractive environment for both brand-building and sales-driven efforts.