Why small businesses should take note of the boom in podcast advertising
With tens of millions of listeners tuning into thousands of podcast shows regularly, it’s only natural that this format is attracting the attention of marketers and ad buyers.
“Listeners with any niche hobby or learning interest can find something to enjoy, and this is excellent news for advertisers because it translates to a higher engagement rate! More loyalty between the listener and the podcast host, and a less intrusive way to get a brand’s message across,” MediaRadar says.
Who were the top podcast advertisers in 2021?
MediaRadar created a report that found that technology, media, and finance companies were the biggest podcast advertisers and accounted for approximately 46 cents of every dollar spent on podcast ads.
“Once a small business becomes a podcast advertiser, they tend to stay in the format – 79 percent of podcast advertisers from 2020 continued buying in the format in 2021,” the report says.
Where are advertisers placing ads in podcasts?
Podcast advertising is still a relatively new frontier in marketing. Typically, advertisers pay content creators for ad placements on one of the following sections of an episode:
- Pre-roll – The first thing listeners hear when they press play
- Mid-roll – An ad placed at or near the halfway point of an experience
- Post-roll – An ad placed at the end after the main show has concluded
Advertisers continue to test and learn which section is most effective and the length of an ad. The report shows advertisers had a stronger preference for having their brand mentioned in the middle of an episode during 2021.
Why should small businesses take note?
The growth in podcast advertising should pause how small business owners allocate their marketing budgets and whether streamed audio provides a new avenue to target buyers effectively.
Podcast advertising delivers strong performance because of the following factors:
- Scale – Brands are more confident of reaching target audiences at scale, given that niche podcasts tend to attract specific audiences or demographics that businesses wish to target.
- Trust – Podcast audiences generally trust the hosts they listen to. According to Edison Research’s Super Listeners 2020 study, 45 percent of podcast listeners have bought products and services mentioned on shows
- Recall – The same study indicates that nearly 50 percent of listeners pay more attention to podcast ads than ads on other forms of media and that consumers were more likely to remember brand mentions or messages from a podcast than other mediums.
How to get started in podcast advertising
#1 – Know your audience
Understand the demographics or specific clientele targeted and identify podcasts that align best with their interests.
#2 – Define your objectives
Brand awareness or sales? It’s essential to define your objective for podcast advertising campaigns.
#3 – Test and then optimize.
Test different messaging, calls-to-action, ad formats, and placements and then optimize using the best-performing combinations by audience segment.
Conclusion
Podcasts are booming, and small businesses should consider leveraging advertising opportunities in this format to generate results for themselves.
The value of podcasts is that they make it easy to reach relevant audiences. For example, a comic store with an eCommerce business would likely be a logical match for a podcast that discusses comic books.
Importantly, research suggests podcasts ads can be very influential. Regular podcast listeners are more likely to buy or remember the products, brands, and services mentioned by the host of a show they enjoy than other mediums.
About the author : Darlene
Darlene Gagnon is an award-winning entrepreneur recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners and is an Enterprising Women Inspirational Entrepreneur. She served on the board of directors for Entrepreneurs’ Organization and has mentored entrepreneurs and start-ups for over a decade. Her two companies, WeKinnect Global Branding Agency and Kinetic Promotional Product Services, have been recognized as “Best Places to Work” and “Largest Agency” by American City Business Journal. Both companies serve the US, Canadian, European, and Australian markets. Both companies are located in The Woodlands, Texas, with teams in Canada, the Philippians, and India. Her digital marketing and advertising agency services in English-speaking countries around the world.
