A podcast is the radio of the modern era—a sleek way to speak directly to your target market, expand your leads, and position you alongside experts in your industry
According to the latest Nielsen Report, US consumers of 18 and older spend close to 12 hours each day engaging with podcasts, which is up nearly one-and-a-half hours from a year ago.
Also, the number of heavy podcast listeners— those listening every day —grew by more than 3.6 million. The U.S. podcast audience could double by 2023 as per Nielson.
The number of podcast listeners is growing exponentially. And this reiterates the importance of optimising this media and making it an integral part of your content marketing strategy.
No matter what business you are in —the fight to stand out always remains and podcast helps you achieve just that. Providing a perfect mix of education and entertainment, podcasts are a compelling, engaging, and useful medium for businesses and listeners alike.
Here are five reasons why podcasts should be an essential part of your content strategy:
Low competition means more opportunity
Online marketing channels are highly competitive—and it is not easy to stand out. The challenge all marketers face is to find a platform that gives them maximum returns with minimum cost.
This confirms that it is the right time to start one of your own or reach out to popular podcasts in your niche for an interview or a talk.
Convenient to consume
A podcast is an ultimate multi-tasking content format making it easy to consume. According to Edison Research, 59 per cent of Americans do chores while listening to podcasts, making it an efficient way to educate oneself while doing mundane tasks like cleaning, grocery shopping, etcetera.
Unlike written and video content such as blogs, webinars, e-magazines, YouTube, etcetera, which requires a consumer to devote a specific time regularly to entertain and educate—all that a podcast listener has to do is plugin and play.
That allows people to consume the content as per their convenience. Therefore, we can see the massive jump in the number of listeners monthly.
As per Nielsen, nearly 70 per cent of podcast listeners agreed that the podcast ad they experienced increased their awareness of new products/services. Showcasing that consumers are engaged listeners, and they do get influenced by what they’re hearing.
The storytelling and conversational format of podcasts tend to gravitate the listeners more—that’s the reason ‘host-read ads’ are more popular as it adds personal touch and credibility.
Also, people go to podcasts because they are interested in a particular topic that allows brands to reach an extremely attentive audience while leveraging trust and loyalty.
Establish yourself as a thought leader
Listeners get to hear personal stories, strategies, experiences straight from an expert’s mouth, which brings any subject to life—which gives podcast an edge over other forms of media.
Strengthens your relationship with customers
Online media platforms like blogs, newsletters, Facebook, etc. have allowed businesses to establish a more direct relationship with their customers.
Still, nothing can beat podcasts as it helps you connect with your audiences at a more personal level. Hearing your voice, your expressions, and listening to ‘live’ you make a whole lot of difference. They can put a name and voice to you and build a healthier and more personalised relationship.
From giving interviews, or having a chat with successful personalities from your industry or participating in an exclusive Q&A episode to dive into customer questions, podcasts opens a lot of doors and helps you create a long-form dialogue between you and your customers.
It is time to swoop in and become a winner in your industry by making podcasts an essential part of your content strategy. The best way to start would be to tune in to the podcasts specific to your industry, schedule a few talks on existing shows.
Once you get a taste of this medium, chances of you walking away from a platform that allows you to connect with your audience in an uninterrupted and unfiltered way are zero.
Source: e27
