Digital Marketing Insights

Loaded with useful information and packed with entertainment, podcasts are a hugely engaging way for businesses to connect with their audience.

A lot of businesses don’t truly appreciate the real potential behind podcasts. This is a shame as there are a lot of reasons why they can be a great addition in to your content marketing strategy.

In this article, we will give our top ten reasons why you should consider starting a podcast:

1. Low Competition

The online world can be highly competitive. The best digital marketing companies get success for their clients when they find a content type with high engagement and low competition, which is exactly what we find in the podcast arena.

There are over eighty million Facebook business pages, but only seven hundred thousand podcasts and that number shrinks when you niche by topic. Chances are there may only be a small number of podcasts relevant to your business niche. This means that it is much easier to get your podcast traction and increase listener numbers.

2. Engaging & Convenient

Compared to a blog post or video, a podcast is much more convenient for your audience. They simply press play and listen, which makes it the perfect content type for multi-tasking.

Your audience can absorb your content without having to shift time away from what they’re doing, which means they can listen while exercising or driving to work. It doesn’t take them away from their day-to-day activities, but will enrich them.

3. Mobile-Friendly Content

One of the reasons that a podcast is so convenient is because it is so mobile-friendly. It is so easy to tune in to a favourite podcast via your smartphone when commuting.

Because so many people are now using smartphones, choosing a mobile-friendly content type is an important part of any marketing strategy.

4. Popularity

Every day, the number of people that listen to podcasts is growing. In 2018, there were 48 million people tuning in, but this is expected to grow by 115 million by next year. This is an important sign to content creators that the time to create a podcast is now.

“The sooner that you get started with your podcast the better, as more and more creators are entering the market every year,” suggests Susie Stoker, a marketing blogger at UKWritings and Simple Grad. “Getting into the podcast market now will help you to get ahead of the curve and to establish your audience before the stronger competition moves in.”

5. Loyalty

Building your podcast audience before your competition is vital, since listeners are incredibly loyal to their favourite podcasters. Relationships are built for a lifetime and listeners want to tune in to listen to new episodes.

The loyalty established through podcasts expands across to other marketing channels. One study revealed that podcast listeners were up to 20% more likely to connect with a brand on other social media channels. The audiences tend to move onto other channels once the episode is over to continue to conversation and interact with others in your community.

The loyalty is built because audio content tends to be more personal. People hear your authenticity and your personality shines through when they hear your voice and the emotions behind them. This makes it a lot easier for them to trust you.

6. Interactive Content

Engagement is higher for podcasts than other channels, and this interaction is one of the reasons that loyalty is fostered.

Podcast hosts can develop audience polls, answer questions and take phone calls in, almost like a traditional radio call in. This all builds a connection with the listeners and helps pull them into the content, solidifying the connection. There aren’t many content types that offer brand-customer interaction to that extent.

If you can connect with other experts and interview them on your podcast, this helps build your professional network, establishes credibility for your audience and expands your reach.

7. Scalable Costs

Compared to other content types, podcasts can be scalable cost-wise. The cost to create the podcast really depends upon the quality of what you are creating.

You can start your podcast with a cheap microphone bought online, but the quality of your audio may not equal podcasts that have been established for a long time.

As your audience increases, you may way to increase your podcast budget to purchase higher quality equipment, but this is controllable. You can scale up the quality of your podcast to meet the demands of your listeners.

8. Branding You as a Thought Leader

Besides the idea of offering your listeners value, another strong reason to create content is to build your reputation as a thought leader and establish credibility in your industry.

“Podcasts have a big impact in growing your reputation as an expert as audiences get to listen to the content straight from your heart,” says Adrian Williams, a tech writer at Assignment Services and Australianreviewer. “If your message is passionate and it is clear that you are fully invested in your message, then your emotions should come across clearly on the podcast.”

9. Disposable Income

According to a 2016 survey of podcast consumers, the average listener brings in a salary $10,000 higher than the average United States consumer, and up to 15% of listeners bring in over $150,000.

The implication from this is that podcast fans are more likely to have disposable income, which they might be willing to spend on products and services with their favourite brands.

Surveys have also indicated that podcast listeners are more likely to have a college education, which means that they are more open to taking in new information, learning complex concepts and making buying decisions.

10. Consistency

You may currently schedule your blog posts and other content pieces, but it is unlikely that your other audiences will take as much notice as your podcast listeners.

If your podcast is published on the same day each week, your listeners will become accustomed to the schedule and will expect and look forward to each new episode.

This helps to create a buzz for your podcast and also helps your business brand to stay at the forefront of your audience’s mind for the whole week.