The Next Big Thing!
In the marketing world, there always seem to be a new medium that advertisers get excited about, especially in the content heavy world that we live in today. A few years ago, every brand and their mom was trying to figure out how they can leverage influencer content to promote their product, message and service. This year, there's a new big kid on the block... podcasts.
Podcast have officially hit the mainstream and caught the eyes of advertisers. The podcast advertising landscape is still fairly new and doesn't have a lot of the tools and systems in place as other more established mediums, so brand marketers are scrambling to figure out how they can make best use of this space. In this blog, Hollywood Branded provides strategies to effectively engage in podcast advertising.
Podcasting Goes Mainstream
Rewind to the year 2006… only 22% of the population listened to podcasts. Fast forward to 2018… that figure rose to 64% of the population, thereby highlighting the massive increase in popularity surrounding podcasts over the last decade. In fact, as of 2018, there are roughly 73 million podcast listeners for the 650,000+ podcasts out there, and is expected to grow to 132 million by 2022. Podcast growth isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
And you, as a brand marketer, should know exactly what happens once content has a massive influx in eyeballs that are paying attention to it. If you aren’t catching my drift, I’ll just go ahead and tell you… ADVERTISING. Brands are now looking to podcasts as an excellent medium to promote their product, message or service. Advertising revenue generated from podcast is expected to reach $1B by 2020. That’s Billion with a B! Who knew that podcasts would become such big business? Well, we did and that’s why we’ve believed in podcasts since the beginning.
What Makes Podcast So Great for Advertisers
Aside from the fact that podcasts are just simply awesome and one can be found for pretty much any interest out there, here are a few bullet points that explain why podcasts are so great for advertisers:
-
The medium is inherently intimate, and easily creates a one-sided feeling of closeness between listener and host.
-
On average, according to Midroll’s data, podcast listeners are making it through about 90 percent of a given episode, and relatively few are skipping through ads.
-
Podcast ads are native and integrated seamlessly into the show.
-
Listeners trust their favorite hosts.
-
Listeners buy product from podcast ads.
Things To Keep in Mind When Advertising on Podcasts
Due to the fact that marketing via podcasts is still kind of like the Wild Wild West, having a guide to help make sure that you’re paying attention to the right things is always helpful for launching and running a successful podcast advertising campaign. Below are few things to keep in mind when considering advertising on a podcast:
-
Create a campaign plan. Like any other advertising campaign, having a firm understanding of your target market, budget and goals are imperative to a successful podcast campaign.
-
Know how to measure your results. How can you track the success of your campaign if you don’t have anything to track? Before you launch a podcast advertising campaign, make sure that you hone in on what metrics you’re going to track to understand whether or not your efforts were successful. There a few different metrics that you can track. Some of these include but are not limited to: promo codes, vanity URLs, checkout surveys and of course sales.
-
Understand the difference in ad formats
a) Endorsed: For podcasts that have a great hosts, endorsed ads are perfect for brands. Endorsed ads utilize the hosts’ power and recognition to put together a testimonial about your product, message or service. In an endorsed ad, the host is basically vouching for your company.
b) Non endorsed: A non-endorsed ad is a bit different than an endorsed ad. In a non-endorsed ad, the host simply reads off a few key points about your company, instead of full on vouching for it.
c) Baked in: Your advertisement lives in the content of the show forever.
-
Be simple. Stick with one main product, message or service. Don’t try to over promote. This will only complicate your ad and make it less successful.
-
Use an agency. Sometimes using an agency is the best way to achieve the results that you’re looking for. Agencies are experts in this field and can ensure that your podcast advertising campaign is successful. Good agencies, like Hollywood Branded, also know how to negotiate rates and get you the best bang for your buck.
Podcast Advertising Is The Future... And It's NOW!
Podcasts are an excellent medium for advertisers. Sure, the space is a little fragmented right now and doesn’t have all of the tool and practices in place like other more established mediums, but it’s only a matter of time before podcast are a must-have channel for brand marketers.
It’s better to start learning and testing the space sooner than later. Eventually, the space will become saturated so get started now! If you are looking for help, please feel free to reach out to our agency. We have put together excellent podcast advertising campaigns in the past and would love to help your company launch your own. Interested in learning more about utilizing podcasts? Check out some other blog posts we've written on the subject...
- 4 Ways Brands Use Podcast Advertising To Drive Sales
- Leveraging Podcast Advertising As Branded Content
- Creating Your Podcast And Mistakes To Avoid
Want to learn more about marketing best practices through our very own podcast? Our CEO, Stacy Jones offers successful tips and strategies from years of experience in addition to interviewing other industry marketing experts. Check it out today and give it a listen!
