One in four Americans now listen to podcasts. Are you reaching this captive audience?[/caption] The best way to make the most of your marketing dollars is to stay on the cutting edge of trends. By catching them on the rise, you can avoid and outsmart the competition–while keeping your costs down and engaging niche audiences. Ahead of the many end-of-year roundups we’re bound to see, the American Marketing Association has already assessed some of the emerging trends of 2017. The first booming marketing trend was podcasts. We’ve written about podcast advertising before, during one of the format’s hottest fads: the MailChimp ad, boosted to fame by its positioning on the series “Serial,” a true-crime podcast that was downloaded 68 million times in its first four months. That was well before the upswing in popularity for podcasts in general; but, as it follows, marketers were going to be right behind. The AMA observes that today, one in four Americans report listening to at least one podcast per month. In 2015, ad spend on podcasting was $69 million; as of 2017 it’s soared to $220 million. Get the Best Bang for Your Buck It might cost a little extra, but there are a few ways to ensure you’re making the most of your advertising dollars in the still-growing, still-developing world of podcast marketing. One is to invest in host-read ads, which are more naturally integrated into the shows. Listeners are used to the host’s voice, and it may subconsciously sound more like an endorsement from a trusted source–but beware, for that very reason, hosts are often selective about brands they’ll work with and scripts they’ll read. You might also want to spend a bit more for a mid-show ad. Data shows that they’re the most listened to, while pre- and post-show ads are easier to skip. Investigate Before You Invest Apple’s podcast app will soon be releasing analytics. For example, they’ll include more thorough breakdowns of when and how listeners consume podcasts, which will further inform marketers about the value and strategy of placing ads. Podcasters and marketers will be able to track how long someone waits to listen to a podcast once it’s downloaded and what parts of the podcast are actually listened to the most. So if a bunch of people tend to click away before the last third of the show, you’ll know not to run an ad during that portion–or at least not to pay as much for it. Then again, you could consider the fact that those who finish the show may be loyal fans, and there may be value in their focused attention. Podcast listeners tend to be both show- and genre-loyal. For example, people who loved “Serial” are likely loyal true crime fans, not necessarily loyal podcast listeners in general. So if your research pointed you toward a sports podcast to reach sports fans, it’s probably more important to reach the fewer listeners who make it all the way through than a wider swath of generic listeners who are tuning out sooner.]]>
Rising Advertising Trends, Part 1: Podcast Marketing
