Brands and listeners alike have realized that none of the other forms of media is as powerful and memorable as audio. It is a mobile-first and intimate medium that triggers immediate reactions and emotional reactions in addition to an established recall of relevant information.
While podcasts are growing in listenership and popularity are now reaching an ever-growing number of people worldwide. With personal and entertaining storytelling, people from all walks of life flock to podcasts via television, broadcast radio or social media. There’s even online content that has the attention of advertisers.
Indeed, companies are embracing audio advertisements as a method of tailoring messages to the needs of their market due to the rising popularity and reach that podcasts provide. Insider Intelligence estimated that by 2023, podcasts will make up $2.25 billion in advertising and will increase to $3.53 billion in 2026. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of creating and placing audio ads is an additional attraction to this platform. The audio advertising method is over 90% cheaper than the other media, bringing companies closer to their intended audience.
Contrary to popular opinion, it is true that the audience of podcasts is expanding rapidly. Sixty-two per cent of the U.S. population over the age of 12 (or 177 million) individuals have heard podcasts. In contrast, the 80 million members of that same age group are currently weekly listeners to podcasts. The percentage of Americans that listen to internet-based podcasts and audio has reached records in the Infinite Dial Edison’s 2023 report. A total of 183 million Americans have downloaded podcasts. They listen to an average of nine episodes of podcasts per week. This is up from the eighth in 2022.
It is why brands are making more investments in audio-based advertising. Ads on podcasts are expected to exceed $2 billion by 2023, and the top 10 podcast advertisers collectively spent almost $300 million on the channel in 2017, as per eMarketer.
The development of podcasts as channels is astounding. However, there are still a lot of myths and misconceptions to be spelt out for the medium to realize its potential fully. Check out these MythBusters, which will help you distinguish fact from fiction.
MYTH #1: People Listen to Podcasts to Learn New Things
- Although people tune into podcasts to stimulate curiosity, most listeners tune in for various reasons, as per the iHeartMedia Study of Podcast Listening 2022. The most popular reason people listen to podcasts is for entertainment, and the third is to listen to them to learn about something interesting. Gen Z listeners engage in podcasts for social interaction, while millennials enjoy podcasts to work. In this regard, iHeart Media was built with only audio marketing. More than 33 million people listen, generating an increase of 6x from September 2018 through January 2023. Listeners are using podcasts to listen for a myriad of reasons. It’s why it’s an ideal medium for marketing.
MYTH #2: Podcasts Are Not Growing Anymore
- The number of listeners is increasing to podcasts regularly, with double-digit increases throughout all demographics, as per the Infinite Dial Edison’s 2023 report that 42 per cent of Americans had listened to podcasts in the past month. It is a record-breaking level and an increase from 38% in 2022. The time it takes to listen to podcasts has increased from 26 minutes to 57 mins, as per eMarketer, because podcasts can eat up time on social media and can are more popular than Netflix can daily.
MYTH #3: There Are Tons of Casual Listeners in Podcasting
- Heavy Listeners have become the latest podcast majority, per a 2022 study report by Scarborough. Heavy Listeners and “Super Listeners” now make up about 24%, 22%, and 22%, respectively, of all podcast listeners. Podcasts have become an activity that is widely used, as more than one hundred million listeners to regular podcasts throughout the U.S. alone.
Myth #4: Advertiser Interest in Podcasting is Not Comparable to Consumers.
- The over-hyped interest of companies looking to boost the amount they spend on podcast ads might not be enough to meet the demands of the public. But that could be farther from the truth. As mentioned above, the number of audio listeners is growing by a third in the size of their audience, and marketers are recognizing the value of paying for audio-based advertising. The brands are discovering that audio creates a strong emotional response from consumers that is not like those of other forms of media. When companies are increasing their spending on audio advertisements, it is important to think about ways to use innovative testing best to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns. Testing with creativity can help brands determine the effectiveness or lack thereof of their advertisements, resulting in ads that appeal to the intended audience, and boost the number of customers who buy into them at an effective and less expensive cost.
MYTH #5: Podcasts Are Not Diverse
- In contrast, the diversity of audience segments is boosting the popularity of podcasts as they offer information targeted to particular demographics. Indeed, Spanish-language podcasts are among the most popular audio programming today, and other languages are following in their footsteps. When more podcasters tailor podcasts to specific generational preferences, they’ll tailor their content accordingly and integrate it more effectively. Furthermore, the range of content available on podcasts has grown exponentially in the past years, allowing a variety of viewers to enjoy programs relevant to their interests. Although podcasts were initially mediums for a specific public, they now have programs on almost any subject you can think of and are available and accessible to anyone.
MYTH #6: Podcast Ads Are a Risky Investment
- Advertising agencies use creativity tests to discover what’s good and wrong in their advertisements, which leads to more appealing content that resonates more with their target people and enables the brand to reach the most loyal customers quicker and at a cheaper price. In an increasingly competitive world, tests will become one of the most important factors that brands want to gain an edge in the market.
- Instead of making an uninformed guess, testing enables businesses to confirm that their ads have the required elements to reach their target audience. Measurement of ads using audio is gaining to a point where brands don’t just customize sound designs as well as audio logos and variations in voice to produce an ideal outcome for their audiences but also develop guidelines to increase the conversion rate and increase ROI. These benchmarks can help companies broaden their advertising to appeal to more pertinent viewers.
The podcast format has changed significantly in the past two or three decades, offering more than simply the truth about criminals. It’s a reflection of the events in our world right now. Following COVID, there’s been a greater focus on humour and mental health-related content as viewers look for humour and relief during difficult moments. The popularity of branded podcasts has also increased since they let advertisers develop long-form content to reach particular demographics in an even deeper and more entertaining way.
This has resulted in greater possibilities for advertisers since podcasts have become more interactive and quantifiable. Alongside this, the latest technology for the audience, including the use of transcription technology to target audiences in a contextual manner or dynamic content inserting and programmatic purchasing, provide new avenues for the creators of podcasts. That’s why we’re currently at the forefront of the “audio renaissance” for brands who want to connect deeper with their customers through a highly flexible and dynamic marketing strategy for podcasts.
Many myths surrounding the use of podcasts exist; the research shows that it is growing in acceptance by both brands and consumers alike. The future of audio is the future of effective advertising campaigns. When people can interact with brands using audio, this increases retention and engagement for the user while also giving companies greater “bang for their buck” when they spend money on advertising. The future is bright shortly for podcast marketing, and the increasing quality and efficiency of what is happening in the world of audio is only the start.