The Rising Trend of Podcasting and What That Means for You, as a Brand
Long gone are the days of the radio show, podcasts are in- Spotify recently became the #1 podcast streaming platform in the United States with 28.8 million monthly listeners (Forbes, 2021), Amazon is creating their own audio content app (The Verge, 2021), and Google is looking to expand their podcast efforts at Youtube by bringing on a Podcast Lead (The Verge, 2021).
With the ever growing popularity of video content on social media, podcasts allow for entertainment and information to be playing in the background of our lives, a great way to consume media of all kinds (current events, comedy, business news, etc.) for anyone on the go. The podcasting space is also a unique place for marketers, as podcasts offer new ways for advertisements to be dispersed, new advertising avenues for previously-quelled products, and more loyal audiences which create greater trust in podcast hosts, making your marketing more effective.
CEO of Zvook (the world’s first self-serve podcast advertising platform, making it easy for brands to start podcast ad campaigns with a few clicks) Anna Ratala, had this to say about the great podcast boom:
“A record number of businesses are experimenting with podcast advertising. The podcast advertising market has grown by 40% in 2021 – and the overall podcast advertising spend has doubled in the past three years. Out of Zvook’s clients this year, 75% were new to podcast advertising. Podcasts are becoming a mainstream channel for brands to reach their potential customers”
Facts & Figures
The popularity of podcasting can be seen in the numbers- according to a report by Edison Research, in 2021, 78% of the US adult population are podcast listeners, with an estimated ~120 million US listeners in 2021. This number is estimated to rise to ~160 million yearly users by 2023, after increases of about 20 million per year.
The Podcast Advertising Industry, in turn, is booming. A report by Insider Intelligence backs up this claim, with the data stating that podcast ad spending in the US is projected to increase by 38.7% YoY in 2021. US podcast ad spending saw a total of $701.0 million in 2019, and will have nearly doubled, to a staggering $1.33 billion in 2021.
Podcast Advertising Tactics
To dive deeper into the podcast advertising trends of 2021 that are likely to stick in the new year, we asked Anna about some tactics that she recommends brands try out:
“Move away from ‘campaign-based’ advertising approach to around-the-year thinking. In podcast advertising, we at Zvook call this approach “always be on air”. The campaign-based approach means that you run a campaign for 2 months, pause, and run a new campaign a few months later, when you launch a new product. This is a very sales-driven approach. But today’s consumers don’t want to be hard sold. They are no longer buying when you want them to buy – they are buying when they choose to buy, meaning you need to be available for them at all times, in their preferred channel.
Instead of promotional campaigns with quick discounts, today’s consumers are looking for stories, authenticity and engagement. They choose brands that are in it for the long run and are not just after quick sales. The ‘always be on air’ approach in podcast advertising means that, instead of a campaign, you work with podcasts year-round. You start with a test budget, watch which shows perform best, double down on those, drop the ones that underperform and add more shows that are similar to the top performers.
Traditionally, this has meant a lot of work for the brands. Now, Zvook’s platform helps brands run ‘always be on air’ podcast advertising with just a few clicks. It optimizes for the given budget and discovers new shows that are similar to the ones that do well. Spanning across all networks and indie podcasts, the platform takes out all the work from scaling host-read podcast advertising.”
Why Advertise via Podcasts?
Hosts as trustworthy information sources
Podcasts are an excellent channel for advertising your product or business. Due to the recurring nature of podcast episodes and the “community feel” often curated amongst the fan base of a podcast podcasts are able to drum up a loyal, dedicated audience that listens to and trusts the speaker- an attitude of: “If I’m tuning in weekly to listen to this person speak, I’m getting to know them, and I trust their opinions.” (An Edison Research study in 2019 found that 54% of listeners are either “somewhat” or “much more” likely to consider buying from a podcast sponsor.)
What kinds of ad spots are there?
Podcast ads can be pre-recorded by you and added into the episode during post-production, pre-recorded by the host and baked into the content as a reference point, or to double down on authenticity, be organically read by the host during the episode, giving the host the ability to add their own flair to the advertisement.
Let’s talk about the listener demographics
Advertising via podcasts is also a smart way to tap into certain audiences by appealing to what they look for in marketing and to tap into audiences that may not spend too much time scrolling socials. A study from The Infinite Dial reported that 29% of monthly US podcast listeners are between 35 and 54 years old (older Millennials and Gen X), and 21% are aged over 55 (Baby Boomers). Attitudes towards social media and marketing of these generations (mainly Gen X and Baby Boomers) show an emphasis on trustworthiness, reliability, and authenticity. The “audio” aspect of reading an ad aloud as opposed to static advertisements across social media harkens back to traditional television and radio advertisements, which also appeal to Baby Boomers.
The other 50% of podcast listeners are ages 12-34, aka Gen Z and Millenials (Infinite Dial study). These generations value community, relatability, and humor, and podcast advertising can easily reflect this. By consistently placing ads into the podcasts these audiences regularly listen to, you have the opportunity to become a staple product/brand on these podcasts, one that is recognizable to listeners after they’ve listened to a few episodes. This creates a community feeling, and establishes your product or brand as an inside reference that regular listeners will come to recognize and be more inclined to try. Podcast advertising also gives you the opportunity to inject some comedy or relatable sentiments into your ads- live-reads of your advertisements by podcast hosts can liven up your marketing, and having the host talk about their personal experience with your product or brand can help your audience see themselves reflected as a consumer (which is the authenticity that gen z and millennial consumers are attracted to).
Contextual Targeting
“This’s one’s becoming the real talk of the town! Traditional programmatic ad insertion has been playing on the advantages of readily available demographics data to serve the ad to a person in the right age bracket and geographical location. Today’s consumers, however, are more concerned with data privacy leading to less available and less accurate data. And how much does someone’s age or location tell about them anyway? The content your customer listens to tells way more. Targeting your message to specific, pre-selected shows based on alignment with the content, rather than just demographics, ensures that you don’t miss out on potential target audience and helps reinforce the message. Zvook’s platform helps brands find the most relevant shows that their customers are listening to based on the content and brand alignment.” - Anna Ratala
Podcast Advertising Skirts Regulations
Podcast Marketing can be an exceptionally exciting opportunity for those who sell products whose ads are typically rejected by social media or search advertisement regulations because podcast marketing has fewer restrictions. For example, Facebook’s advertising policies clearly outline that prohibited content includes strict guidelines and forbid most advertising for industries such as adult toys, cannabis/THC, CBD, alcohol and more, which are all massive industries in the 2020s.
Podcast Marketing opens up a whole new avenue for companies like these. Speaking to The Morning Brew, VP of Marketing of Caliper CBD Missy Bradley said: “Being a CBD business, the marketing strategy is trying to figure out where we can spend money on the platforms that will allow us,” and “Podcasts were initially a trial for us, then we realized that we could scale. We haven’t found that in any other media outlet,”. The article notes as well that Caliper spends a whopping 70% of their marketing budget on podcast advertising, which speaks to its relevance.
Here’s what Anna Ratala had to say about podcasts bridging the advertising gap for adult products:
“The main benefit of podcast advertising is that it’s making up where social media leaves them hanging - they can actually advertise. For example, platforms like Facebook & Instagram are blocking and censoring sexual wellness accounts that they lump under ”adult content” just because they talk about sex.
However, tons of podcasters create content that align with brands related to products that are traditionally seen as ”taboo” like cannabis, alcohol, sex toys etc. And they are looking to work with brands that they can bring to their listeners!
At Zvook we can directly find podcasts that are not just aligned but have indicated a desire to work with brands like CBD, sexual wellness products etc.”
Basically…
Podcast marketing is the new frontier of advertising - the stats and data surely isn’t lying! By offering a relatable and trustworthy way to advertise, podcasts add heart and soul to any product or brand, reaching the ears of demographics that are more likely to buy products that are being marketed to them this way.
Interested in podcast advertising? Talk to an advertising professional to come up with a strategy, or look into companies like Zvook that find the most relevant podcasts that your clients listen to, optimize the campaign for your budget, and confirm all at once.