If you own a business, you know a strong digital marketing strategy is crucial. Content marketing drives sales, helps you rank higher in searches, and builds awareness of your company and brand. Many companies overlook a valuable part of content marketing: podcasts.
Podcasts are growing in popularity. In a 2019 survey, an estimated 90 million people listened to at least one podcast in the last month.[1] The growth of podcasting gives businesses a valuable opportunity to reach potential customers.
Advantages of Podcasting
The benefits of incorporating podcasting into your content marketing include:
1) Build Brand Loyalty and Trust
Podcasts reach a wide audience, and listening to a presenter’s voice gives your audience a strong, personal connection to you. If you podcast regularly, your listeners become familiar with the presenter’s voice and style. Over time, listeners even come to feel as if they know the presenter. The personal connection builds your listeners’ trust in your brand. Podcasting establishes your business as an authority in your field.
2) Attract High-Quality Leads
In today’s world, every brand is in constant competition for audience attention. Podcast listeners are highly engaged. According to Podcast Insights:[2]
• 51% of the U.S. population listens to podcasts.
• Podcast listeners listen to an average of seven shows per week.
• The yearly household income is over $75K for 45% of monthly podcast listeners.
• 94% of podcast listeners are active on at least one social media platform.
• Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies on social media.
When you build a following of loyal listeners, they will think of your company when they need your services. When they call, they’re ready to engage, and they’re highly likely to convert from listeners to paying customers.
3) Podcast Ads Are Highly Effective
Most podcast listeners are closely engaged with the advertisements they hear during an episode. Part of the reason is they don’t have a quick way to switch to another broadcast, as they would on TV or the radio. Even scrolling past the ad requires effort. Such a high level of engagement translates to sales. In an internal survey of 300,000 podcast listeners conducted by Midroll Media, 63% of podcast listeners purchased a product promoted by a podcast host during a show.[3]
4) Podcasts Are Cost-Effective
Unlike other methods of digital marketing, podcasts are easy and inexpensive to create. You only need a microphone and recording software. Many recording tools are available to download for free. If time is a concern, you can outsource the production of your podcast.
5) Detailed Analytics
The success of any digital marketing plan depends on the numbers. One of the benefits of podcasting is the wealth of data available to you. No matter what podcasting platform you choose, you’ll be able to track several key components to evaluate your return on investment, including:[4]
• Number of downloads/listens for each podcast episode
• Average listening time for each episode
• Number of podcast subscribers
• Which episodes are top performers
• The devices and platforms your listeners use to access your podcast
• The country and region where your listeners are located
The available data will be invaluable to your podcasting strategy. For instance, if you know the average listening time for your show is 40 minutes, you can adjust your episode length accordingly. Once you know your listeners’ favorite topics, you can plan additional episodes on those topics–and create other content on those topics too. The possibilities for a savvy content marketer are almost endless.
The above are just some of the reasons your business should incorporate podcasting into its content marketing strategy. A podcast gives you a chance to connect with listeners far and wide. Give your audience a reason to listen, and they’ll keep coming back–and they’ll soon go from listeners to customers. Contact New Leonard Media to learn more about producing your podcast today!
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Sources Cited:
[1] edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Infinite-Dial-2019-PDF-1.pdf
[2] podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/
[3] fastcompany.com/3035954/the-surprisingly-profitable-rise-of-podcast-networks
[4] resonaterecordings.com/2018/11/branded-podcasts/
