5 Legit Reasons You Should Seriously Consider Podcast Advertising

Ever considered podcast advertising? As a business owner, this is one marketing tool you shouldn’t overlook. These days, both small and big companies are tapping podcasters as a way of reaching their target clients.

According to a Business.com report, podcasts attract more than 62 million people each week. We also learn that 67% of listeners “enjoy hearing the ads, compared with just 6% for TV and radio audiences.”

Needless to say, advertising on the right podcasts can truly help promote your brand and expand your market. Besides, podcasts today cover a wide array of genres including business, comedy, entertainment, fashion, pop culture, sports, technology, and more.

When done right, it can really bring positive results to your marketing efforts.

The advantages of podcast advertising

In case you’ve never done it before, here are 5 reasons why you should start seeking out podcast advertisement opportunities.

Established podcasts have massive following

Most podcast programs that have been around for years have a huge number of followers. This gives you great exposure to a specific demographic, some of whom may have never heard about your product or service.

Marketing, as experts say, is a numbers game. For this reason, tapping a big fanbase can be a great idea. This is particularly true if the podcast genre or topic matches your target niche. You get to reach a whole new community of potential customers.   

Fans trust their favorite podcasters

That said, the relationship between podcasters and listeners is built on trust.

For example, Edison Research’s Super Listeners Study 2020 says:

• 45% of podcast listeners believe that their favorite podcast hosts are “actual users of the products/services” mentioned on their episodes
• 64% of listeners “appreciate podcast advertisers” for supporting their favorite podcasts

So, can you imagine the possible impact if a podcast host raves about your brand? The effects can be tremendous!

This could certainly be a winning formula for your marketing efforts. That's why you need to learn how to do it right.

For example, you’d want to contact a podcaster in advance and let them sample your product or service. That way, they’ll have a personal experience with your brand and they’ll be eager to share that with their listeners.

Your ad will sound more like a sincere testimonial instead of something they just had to get out of the way.    

People usually don’t skip podcast ads

As mentioned above, the majority of listeners enjoy listening to podcast ads. This is specifically true when it is host-read and is naturally integrated in the overall narrative. They’re not as annoying or as intrusive as, say, a YouTube ad.

First Site Guide’s Podcast Statistics 2022 likewise pointed out 79% of people listen to podcasts “while commuting.” Furthermore, others listen during their free time (58.9%) or while doing household chores (69.3%).

You can bet that most of these multi-taskers usually do not skip ads and just listen away. As a result, podcast advertising allows you to successfully get your brand into their subconscious. And since they trust their favorite hosts, it’s a lot more likely that they’ll give your product or service a try.

New listeners can easily search podcasts by topic

Another wonderful thing about podcast advertising is that your target audience will always find you. Aside from avid listeners, new listeners may stumble upon different podcasts just by searching genres or topics on their favorite podcast sources. Whether they’re using Audible, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher, you can be sure a relevant audience will hear your ads. Increased brand awareness is guaranteed.

The market isn’t as over-saturated as other media forms

Although the podcast ad industry is undoubtedly huge, it’s still presently considered to be a growing market. A WARC report said that in 2019, podcast advertising was “worth $855 million globally”. Experts also expected the figures to “rise to $1.6 billion by 2022,” according to Forbes.

Compared with the $130 billion digital advertising industry, the podcast ad market is still fairly small. As such, it is not as over-saturated as others.

Competition isn’t as tight so it’s possible to find cost-effective ad opportunities for your startup.

A Hubspot feature tells us:

“(Podcast) ads are sold on a cost per mille (CPM) or cost per acquisition (CPA) rate. CPM is the cost you'll pay per 1,000 impressions or downloads. CPA is the cost you'll pay to acquire a customer.”

Currently, costs for a 60-second ad start from as little as $25. Naturally, the more popular the podcast, the higher the cost.

On top of that, producing a podcast ad is obviously not as expensive as a video ad. Your podcast ads could either be pre-produced or host-read, depending on your preference and budget.

Conclusion

In many ways, podcast ads are a clever, innovative and affordable way of reaching your target market. You get to engage them anytime, anywhere. Plus you become part of an intimate community.

If you’re curious, you can also check out our past blog about how to start your own podcast and the advantages of doing so.

*Featured image source: Pixabay