When you think of the word podcast, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? A couple of buddies sitting around a mic drinking beer and discussing this week in sports? A true crime narrated by a man or woman with a silky-smooth voice? Or how about the history of the great American icon Dolly Parton? If you can think about a topic, there is a good chance you will find a podcast about that subject, and advertisers know this. With such a diverse array of shows in this medium, this presents a unique opportunity for advertisers as there seems to be something for everybody.

When listening to the podcast of your choice, more likely than not there will be a sponsored break either at the beginning (pre-roll), middle (mid-roll) or at the end of the episode (post-roll). While some people may just skip over these advertisements the loyal listeners that engage with the hosts will stick around and listen to their beloved “friend” over the airwaves. Now, this may seem bizarre that people are sitting and willingly listening to an advertisement, but with podcasting, the hosts can interject their personality into the ads they are reading. The advertisement becomes an extension of the show if done well and can resonate well with the listeners of the podcast.

Now, why does this work? Well at first glance it may not seem like it will work as reach can vary depending on the podcast. But what you may not know is that the people that you do reach are going to be highly targeted to a certain demographic. This is a dream for advertisers as 67% of listeners can remember products from the podcast and 63% of listeners purchased after hearing an ad on their podcast. The beauty of it is that 78% of listeners approve of podcast advertising as they see these ads as a way for the show to keep going and as a way of supporting their favorite hosts.

Podcasting is also a rapidly growing medium and statistics show that more and more people in the US are listening to podcasts weekly. In 2019, 22% of people listen to a podcast every week, this is a huge jump from 2018 as only 17% of people reported to listen to a weekly podcast. Those who listen to podcasts are also loyal to the audio platform as listeners devote 28% of their audio listening to podcasts.

Advertising on a podcast may seem like a great way to acquire new customers but that doesn’t mean it is easy to create an effective campaign. To get the most out of your marketing budget consider these 5 tips:

1. Trust the hosts.

Let the host do what they want when reading your ad when the advertisement script is too restrictive it can kill the host’s personality and can pull trust away from your brand as the listeners now view your brand as something that oppresses their favorite show. Have fun with the ad read!

2. Find your fit.

With a medium as diverse as podcasting you need to research which shows your target demographic is listening to. Identify shows that align with your brand, products, and services. You wouldn’t want to run a sneaker ad during a baking podcast, but you would run that ad for a basketball podcast.

3. Timing the ad.

Try and get the mid-roll ad spot as that is when listeners are most engaged and are less likely to skip the ad.

4. Test the ad over time.

It is suggested that you run your ad over a few weeks as it will accurately show you how effective the campaign was. It is far more accurate to measure 5 weeks’ worth of ads rather than a single week.

5. Use promo codes and metric tools.

This is a way for you to measure how many of those listeners are engaging with the podcast which provides further insights into how effective the campaign is.

Interested in learning more about podcast marketing? Contact Anvil today!