If you didn't live under a rock this past year, it would have been impossible to miss the podcast's meteoric climb. In April, Edison Research announced that podcasts had finally arrived: more than half the country listened to one word, and nearly 62 million Americans listened to one every week. According to Edison, their appetite for podcasts is staggering, with weekly listeners consuming an average of seven podcasts.
Historically, podcast marketing has been the domain of direct-to-consumer brands, but not anymore. Now, even bigger, more established brands are rapidly moving into space. After all, podcast audiences are a marketer's dream: According to Edison Research, women aged 25-23 are truly a sweet spot for a podcasting audience and 44% of households earn over $ 75,000 a year. After all, they are a captive audience: say০% say that they do nothing more than listen to a podcast, end up (or almost end) almost every podcast they download.
As a marketing executive at iHeartMedia, an audio company and podcast publisher, I am often asked how smart brands need to navigate the podcast space. With podcasts active in virtually every section imaginable, deciding where to appear can be daunting, let alone how.
Identify the right voice for your message
I often remind clients that the same rules of the road that apply to other media apply to podcasting: just because it works on TV or on social media doesn't mean that it will work on a podcast, which boasts a rare mix of both asts and scale. Intimacy. In that case, this is a unique opportunity to nail your brand voice.
Unlike TV and digital, which rely on visuals to convey a message, podcasts usually stick to their hosts. Familiarizing yourself with a host's backstory and audience can help your brand decide if there is a biological way to weave your message into the show. For example, Rise and Grind, ZPRCritter's branded podcast is a serial entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor, Diamond John. Can his experience as a leader, founder and risk taker convey the message of your brand? How does his own experience dovetail with your pitch?
PROMOTED
I suggest marketers listen to podcasts, paying particular attention to the difference between host-read ads and dynamic in-ads, known as programmatic ads.
Podcasters enjoy tremendous credibility and authority with the audience - how can you sustain the audience's interest for one more hour? Thus podcasting is parallel radio. Our research shows that most audiences perceive a "deep connection" with the personal person they broadcast and are viewed on radio as twice as credible as social media.
I've found that so many podcast sponsors still love host-read ads - because the audience connects with the hosts and the products they pitch through the extension. On the other hand, dynamic serted ads provide more flexibility, frequency and scale.
Reach the audience biologically
The temptation may be to use internal experts in your podcasts. Reporting your own team members' use of them is the most favored advocate for your brand. Just be aware of the medium. It's important to be able to get the audience's attention.
Another temptation is to determine the branding and product placement by hammering on the audience's head, rather than exploring biological ways to weave your message into the narrative. Your producers can be especially helpful leaning on them for helpful guidance. They know what works and, more importantly, what doesn't.
Branded podcasts have proven to be an effective and nasty way for brands to reach new audiences (and deepen relationships with existing ones) while unpacking and tackling complex or nuanced issues. For example, Spit, my company's 23rd and branded podcast that explores the family history of celebrities through their DNA. But branded podcasts are also an effective tool to strengthen your brand messages: Outdoor gear retailer RII recently launched Camp Monsters, which tells the story of a family-friendly campfire of America's most dangerous monsters.
Marketers are seeing the results: According to Nielsen, brand recovery on podcasts is more than just another form of digital advertising. Audiences are often fully involved with podcasts, and this presents a truly compelling opportunity for your brand to integrate into podcast storytelling. Tell me: In what other medium can you do this?
0 Comments