Listen Up: The Podcast Advertising Stats Your Business Should Know

Podcasts are very quickly becoming a mainstay form of entertainment, with major hosting platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Amazon Music proliferating a whopping 5 million of them globally.

That makes for over 70 million episodes between them (according to DemandSage) – meaning your morning, evening and mooch-time commutes are certainly booked up for the foreseeable.

In addition to causing a ‘boom’ in certain crazes – I raise you ‘true crime’ – podcasts can now be leveraged as one of the hottest marketing tools around. 

Now an essential addition to any strategy, they are essentially marketing channels with a direct link to the listener.

And if you’re a brand hoping to connect with your target audience on a deeper level, then podcast ads and content seem to be the way to go. 

So, Why Is This?

In this blog, we’ll look at some of the most compelling podcast marketing statistics, which will shed light on the effectiveness of this medium for brands.

From rapid podcast growth to future trends, the team here at Embryo is here to explore this new era of media, the latest podcast marketing stats – and its significance in our industry.

But first, a word from our sponsor…

Want to hear more of our expert insights? Why not tune into Embryo’s very own podcast, Never Mind The Keywords?

With keen guests and even sharper updates about the wonderful world of digital, you can listen to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, we’re biased but we think its one of the best marketing podcasts around.

We’ve got guests, insights, and a range of hosts bringing you plenty of updates and conversations about the digital world, as well as business in Manchester more broadly too.

Never Mind The Keywords Episode 1: Ross Green on Marketing, Leadership, and Jason Mraz

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The Explosive Growth of Podcasts

Despite being ‘invented’ in 2004, the podcast industry steadily puttered along for ten years, with a steady increase year-on-year.

But in 2014, the genre boomed thanks to the introduction of more narrative formats.

This paved the way for popular podcast genres such as true crime and current events, with listeners regularly tuning in and creating a reliable customer base for podcast ad revenue.

From here, growing interest fed into increasing podcast production values, leading to a sharp spike in consumers, creators, and even dedicated content marketers. 

Podcast Statistics at a Glance:

• Last year, podcasts of all genres gathered 424.2 million listeners worldwide. (Source: Statista)
• The trend continued, with monthly podcast listeners growing by 6.1% to 125 million listeners in 2022. (eMarketer)
• Now we’re halfway into 2023; the number of podcast listeners has reached 464.7 million – and is set to continue growing. (Bloggingwizard).
• Unsurprisingly, mobile phones account for 73% of podcast listening hours! The second most-used device is laptops (11%) with tablets (7%) in the third spot. (Hubspot)
• This makes sense, as although 49% of podcast listeners tune in from home, 22% listen in the car – aux cord, anyone? (Podcast Insights)

What Are the Most Popular Listener Demographics?

• 53% of podcast listeners are men, making a fairly even audience split. (Edison Research)
• 41% of millennials listen to podcasts weekly. (Jam Street Media)
• A 2022 Statista study on podcast consumption revealed that millennials had the highest rate of listenership – with 59% of millennials reporting listening to a podcast within the month of December.
• Gen Z also showed a strong interest, with 63% listening to podcasts in October.
• Pew Research Center reported that adults aged 18–29 and 30-49 listen to podcasts more frequently than older age groups.
• However, both age brackets listen to podcasts several times a week.

So, What Does This Mean to Content Marketers?

You’ve got a captive audience, baby.

According to Edison Research, 54% of podcast consumers say that they are more likely to consider the brands they hear advertised on podcasts, with the digital audio market becoming one of the best places to leverage thought leadership and recommendations. 

More than 80% of podcast listeners say that they pay attention to the ads they hear in podcasts (midroll) – and 63% of those surveyed said they ignored TV ads completely.

Also, podcast ads convert quite well. Despite the difficulty of clicking through or completing actions based on podcasting ads, people still make purchases based on the ads they hear.

According to Midroll, 60% of listeners have bought a product that they heard about when listening to a podcast – making it quite a neat advertising platform.

What Should I Pick as My Podcasting Platform?

Utilising popular platforms like Apple Podcasts, which is the most downloaded and used for global listeners) is a solid idea. According to Buzzsprout:

• Apple Podcasts comes in first with a market share of 41.3% and 57,784,043 podcast downloads.
• Spotify comes in second with 30.2% of podcast users and 42,216,588 downloads – but proves especially popular with younger listeners. 

The top two are followed by Google Podcasts at 16% – with smaller league platforms such as CastBox and Pocket Casts being the least used apps, with 5% and 6% of listeners, respectively.

The Future Is Bright – And Full of Video Podcasting

With so much growth, it can be tricky to think “Where’s next for podcasting”? 

Turns out: video. 

According to Riverside.fm’s Annual Report, 85.4% of companies are now actively recording video for their podcasts, especially as 44% of these podcasts feature interview-style content.

Short video clips for TikTok and full-length episodes on YouTube are the most common ways to use visuals. And since Spotify made video functionality available worldwide last year, it has also seen an increase in its so-called ‘vodcast’ category.

Turns out, the future will be televised. Or listened to. Or both.

How to Tap into the Podcasting Industry

Want to get a slice of the podcast market? Of course you do. 

To finish, here’s a handy checklist on how you can use some of the most effective marketing tools around – while representing your brand and business in the best light. 

1. Understand – And Interest – Your Audience: Tailor your podcast content to resonate with their needs, ensuring higher engagement and loyalty.
2. Consistency and Quality are Key: Maintain a regular publishing schedule to keep your audience engaged while delivering high-quality content that adds value to your listeners’ lives!
3. Promote Your Podcast: All promotion is good promotion, so use various marketing channels to get the word out there! That means regularly publishing on social media platforms, email newsletters – or even collaborating with other podcasters or influencers to expand your reach and attract new listeners, too.
   
4. SEO Optimisation: Apply SEO strategies to make your podcast discoverable. That means applying SEO strategy to episode titles, and descriptions, and using relevant keywords to improve your podcast’s visibility on search engines and podcast directories!
   
5. Measure and Analyse: Use podcast analytics tools to track your performance and understand listener behaviour. This data can provide incredibly valuable insights that can help you to refine, plan and finesse your content and marketing strategies.
6. Experiment and Innovate: Always stay open to trying new formats, topics, and promotional tactics! Innovating your approach can help keep your podcast fresh and attract a wider audience – and stop things from feeling stale.
   

For more information on how we can help you leverage the power of podcasting, feel free to get in touch with our expert team by phone at 0161 327 2635 or email [email protected].

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