Podcasting has always been considered a less conventional form of marketing. But, in recent years, it’s been developing across the world, with the US witnessing the largest increase in the number of podcast listeners in the past.
A recent study by Edison Research shows that about 42 million Americans use podcast weekly, with 58% of them spending up to five hours a week listening to podcasts. Another indicator that signals the resurgence of podcasting is that there is an increasing number of listeners for both men and women.
These figures shouldn’t come as a surprise as we live in a fast-paced world where people use every minute to multitask. It allows them to catch up on things they’re interested in while on the go.
Asian nations, on the other hand, while developing notably slower than the US, are catching up into proliferating the podcast scene. In Singapore, for instance, the media industry is leading the way in podcasting. Mediacorp has added podcast as part of its online platforms while rival SPH is also integrating the digital audio in its strategies to reach out to a wider audience.
It means it will only be a matter of time before more and more businesses conquer the next frontier: podcasts – and with the swelling number of podcast listeners, you’re sure to find an audience that’ll listen.
Is podcasting for you?
Podcasting was slow to catch on when it was introduced in 2000. It’s primarily because it required several steps to play them. It only gained traction when Apple introduced the podcasting feature with its iPod in 2005 and further in 2007 with the release of iPhone. Eight years after and there were more than 250,000 podcasts available in 100 languages and more than 8 million episodes released on iTunes.
Although podcasting in Asia is still in its infancy, there are far more reasons to tap into the digital audio scene. Here, we enumerate a few of the reasons why branded podcasts should be your next big thing in marketing.
Podcast is booming – Podcast listeners get through 90% of a podcast and often don’t skip commercials. In fact, studies show that they often take action on a sponsored message and it’s a good sign that people are listening and are likely to do so in the future.
The audience is listening – Podcasts are like ads that prospects actually listen to. When used to its maximum potential, podcasts can be your most educating, marketing tool where you can deliver actual value to the listener – a feat some marketers struggle to do.
Easy to consume – In contrast to text and video content, podcasting is more accessible and far more convenient to consume. It doesn’t shift time away from what a listener is doing to exclusively focus on your content.
Reaching a wider audience – When you publish your podcast on platforms such as Spotify, Google Podcast or iTunes, you share your content to tens of thousands of potential listeners for free. Such exposure helps you to further grow your audience.
Easy to create – Finally, not only is podcast a great alternative marketers who tend to shy away from the camera. It also eliminates the need to invest in expensive video equipment. All you need is just a mic and some hosting skills to get started.
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How to get started with podcasting?
As a brand, you must not only be aware of these statistics and benefits, you also need to leverage them in your own campaigns and eventually start creating a footprint in podcasting. Here, we share you three of the many ways you can start with podcast.
1. Publish your first episode
When you’re looking to get started with podcasting, launching your first episode is obviously one of the first things you have to do. An advantage to uploading your audio content on iTunes is that you’ll be featured in the New and Noteworthy section for eight weeks. It can be your best bet for organic discovery because it’s the first thing listeners see when signing into iTunes.
2. Guesting
Inviting guests to your podcast can do wonders in multiplying your audience volume. You attract both your community and your guest’s into your channel and pique their interests to what you’re saying. It works just the same when you’re invited to appear on someone else’s podcast, so you help yourselves build your brands as thought leaders, together.
3. Promotions
Lastly, though it may sound basic, it’s always worth to note to promote your channel every time you launch a new podcast. You can do so by writing a blog post that teases out future topics or guests or creating a hashtag for your podcast to keep your listeners posted. Every opportunity to announce your channel is a great way to attract a wider audience.
Although podcasting still has a long way to go into marketing, starting one can aid your overall marketing strategy. After all, like any other content marketing, hosting a podcast is bound to extend your audience reach while providing value to your community.
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