Asking someone if they have Spotify/Apple music might come off as a silly, rhetorical question, particularly these days. However,not everyone has these streaming apps for the same reasons. Some use it to create playlists, some use it to listen to other peoples’ playlists, and some listen to podcasts. Now, some people listen to podcasts for their entertainment, while others listen to podcasts to actually gain more knowledge.
A podcast is an episodic series of spoken word, digital audio files that a user can download to a personal device for easy listening.
Nice, are there any statistics?
Well, certainly. And here they are:
Businesses spent 497$ million on podcast advertising in 2018
Brands that advertise their products and services on business products enjoy a 14% rise in purchase intent
54% of podcast consumers say they think about buying advertised products
55% of the US population has listened to a podcast- up from 51% in 2019
Pardon My Take(a podcast) earns an estimated of 50,000$ each episode(washington post)
There are a couple of advantages of podcasts’ particularly for businesses, here they are:
It’s simple- producing a podcast is relatively easy. All you need is a computer and a high quality microphone. Reaching customers this way is more affordable than traditional advertising because you can do it on your own.
Increases audience connection- Hearing the voice of the presenter gives the audience a stronger connection, than simply reaching information on a web page. If you podcast regularly, listeners become familiar with your voice and presentation style. A podcast is a more personal way to reach out.
Authoritative presence- A podcast provides a format to share your expertise in a certain industry. Audio files allow you to inject your enthusiasm and speaking skills to add an air of authority to the information often lacking in the real world. Regular podcasts with accurate information or ideas help you establish you and your company as an authority in business.
Increases brand awareness- the consistency of regular podcasts helps you develop your company’s brand to make it a household name. This enables you to integrate information about your products and services as they relate to information in the podcast. For example, if you’re a financial planner doing a podcast about savings, work in the information about your services in that area.
This sounds great, yet there are also some disadvantages. First off, podcasts take A LOT of time. You have to decide what they’re going to be about, plan them, and edit them, which could take days, depending on the length of your broadcast. They could take even longer if you’re interviewing somebody else. Second of all, not everyone likes podcasts. If that’s your main marketing tool, you might lose a large portion of the people you’re trying to reach.
Podcasts are new, and with Covid-19 taking the world by storm, they might stay for a little longer. Those who want to stay relevant should certainly consider podcasts as one of their marketing tools.