The podcast industry is growing ever larger by the day. 51% (144 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast – up from 44% in 2018, with 24% of Americans listening to podcasts regularly. With faithful followings into the millions and even live shows, the most popular podcast channels can earn up to $30,000 per month. The arrival of smartphones in everyone’s pocket has created this surge in popularity. With ease of accessibility only rivalled by music on-the-go, an average of 80% of all listeners will stick any podcast episode through to the end. How many blog posts or articles can make that claim?
What’s the big deal?
This leads us to the goldmine that is – podcast advertising. Such a high average listen length is invaluable for advertisers, harking back to the heady days when TV advertising actually worked. Brands are starting to take notice of this mostly untapped potential, with podcast ad spending rising from $43 million in 2010 to a huge $395 million expected in 2020 (and that’s in the U.S alone). Most of us are familiar with the usual suspects, Leesa mattresses, Mvmnt watches, Fabletics and Squarespace just to name a few. Podcast advertising is working incredibly well for those that invest. The sock brand Bombas for example, have stated from a recent case study that up to 60 percent of new customers come from paid advertising, and podcasting is responsible for 15 percent to 40 percent of that. Given the relative affordable of audio advertising compared to TV or print, this is a big deal in every sense of the word.
So what does this mean for your brand and how can you make the most of it? Well, as we’re seeing throughout the world of all content, it’s about hyper-targeting. If you have a product you need to get in front thousands of successful business owners, then the Sharkprenuer podcast — hosted by Shark Tank’s Kevin Harrington — is the show for you. Research can pinpoint the podcasts that are just right for your message. Podcast creators also have invaluable tools to learn who their audiences are and their behaviours. This means that you can receive unprecedented insight to target your advertising.
But how to do it well?
From talking to experts at our recent podcast meet-up, we’ve summarised four top tips for successful podcast advertising:
- Make sure you fit. Don’t let audience sizes fool you. You have to be certain what you’re advertising is something that podcasts audience will be interested in.
- Decide what ad you’re going for. There are two types of advert. Baked in, where the host will read it during a set segment during the show and dynamically inserted; a more traditional radio style ad that will be played before or after the show. What you use will depend on the image your brand has and the message you want to get across.
- Set your budget. Like any paid advertising you want to make sure you spend enough to reach your target audience but not waste money with a catch-all approach.
- Don’t forget it. It’s not over once your ad is setup. Make sure you get as much info from your ad as possible. This can be through tracked links, promo codes and more.
Well, what are you waiting for? The world of podcast advertising is one of the most exciting and rapidly growing markets for brands with untapped potential. If you’d like to discuss how we can help you get started, then get in touch with our team of experts.
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