TikTok for the past few years has not only been one of the fastest growing social media platforms, reaching 1.2 billion active monthly users in Q4 of 2021, but also a place for new and emerging trends. Anything from books, to makeup and even music have been shaped through finding success on the platform. With a large user base excited to find new content based on their interests this creates an opportunity for podcasts to reach new users.
Podcasts have been limited in the ways they can go about attracting new people to listen to their content. As shown by a survey conducted by The Podcast Host back in 2020, 40% of respondents search using an app’s directory to find a new podcast, followed by 18.3% that ask someone for a suggestion. The issue with these methods of finding podcasts are:
- Users must actively be searching for new podcasts.
- The time commitment it takes for users to listen and decide if they enjoy a new podcast.
- The difficulty for new podcasts to get off the ground and find traction by appearing in searches or being recommended through word of mouth.
TikTok is the ideal solution to fix the problems with how consumers traditionally have found podcasts. For example, as opposed to putting forth the effort and searching out podcasts, TikTok can deliver that content right to users as they browse the app. TikTok’s algorithms deliver content to users based on their interest in various topics. Making use of TikTok’s short form nature, podcasts can deliver highlights and teasers of a full show making it easily digestible and appealing to new users.
Even though TikTok solves problems faced by podcast advertisers it is still a very underutilized platform. Data compiled by Rephonic of more than 1.2 million podcasts shows that TikTok has the least number of podcast social accounts amongst the 5 measured platforms. However, between those same 5 platforms TikTok has nearly double the number of average followers/subscribers than any other social platform. This reflects a potential higher level of reach and impact on the platform with each post compared to others.
Other companies have also taken notice of the success of this content on TikTok. Spotify, one of the biggest podcast listening platforms, has recently been testing a TikTok like feed for discovering new podcasts. The technology was initially developed by a podcast discovery platform called Podz that was acquired by Spotify in 2021. The vertically scrolling feed uses machine learning and features short audio clips highlighting portions of an episode then gives users the option to play the entire show if they so choose.
For any podcasters that are nervous about stepping out from behind a mic and in front of a camera to be on TikTok, don’t be! Authenticity is one of the keys to success on TikTok. Videos don’t need to be overly produced or rehearsed to find traction on the platform. Content such as episode highlights, behind the scenes, or even how you go about podcasting are great to feature on the platform and start generating a following.
For more information about getting started on TikTok be sure to download our TikTok marketing cheat sheet. This cheat sheet goes further in depth on best practices and how to get started on the platform.