7 Reasons To Use Podcasts to Market Your Business

This blog was commissioned by and first appeared on Tuesday Media.

You must have overheard it. People talking in hushed, but excited, tones about S-Town, Serial, Dirty John or the latest podcast that they’ve discovered. One in ten adults in the UK now listen to podcasts every week – spending hours catching up with their favourite audio shows from across the world. And that number is growing.

A podcast is a series of digital audio files downloadable onto your phone, tablet or laptop. To put it another way, it’s a form of radio show which needs no radio station or radio set to listen. Anyone can record them and publish them. Listeners can search for a topic they want to hear more about, download a podcast on that topic and listen to it. Wherever they want. Whenever they want. For free.

Current research tells us that podcast listeners are young, affluent and keen to learn new things. Starbucks, eBay, Microsoft & NatWest are already doing it, but podcasting is still an underdeveloped marketing tool for businesses. So, here are seven reasons why your business needs to start podcasting.

1. Audio communication has stood the test of time

Buggles Video Killed the Radio Star

Reports of the death of the radio star have been greatly exaggerated over the years – Buggles, Video Killed The Radio Star, 1979

Since Guglielmo Marconi started testing the concept out at the turn of the 20th Century, radio has been written off many times. Lord Kelvin – he of the temperature scale – once said “Radio has no future”. In the 1970s, there was even a song about it. In fact, as radio futurologist, James Cridland notes, so many things have “killed the radio star” that you’d be forgiven for thinking audio would be dead and buried by now. Instead, BBC radio is approaching its centenary with nine in ten people in the UK listening to the radio every week. Meanwhile, Google and Amazon are making audio sexy again with smart speaker technology. Alexa won’t be able to read your blog or play your video but she will be able to play your podcast!

So why has audio survived? Well, it’s a simple, effective and convenient form of communication. What‘s more, done well, radio is your friend. Over the last two decades, I’ve seen firsthand how important radio presenters are to people – and how personally they take it when you make changes. A presenter is in a listener’s life day in, day out. Often they spend more with them than they do with their own friends and family. Podcasting offers that same bond but with more of a commitment. After all, podcast listeners have made an active choice to press play and listen to you. They’re interested in what you’ve got to say. They trust you. We know how effective this is for advertisers. US ad agency Midroll polled over 160,000 podcast listeners in 2015 and found that 60% had bought products they’d heard about on a podcast.

2. Podcast listeners are likely to be your dream customers

podcasts, podcast, audio, radio

6.1 million UK adults now listen to podcasts ©Radiocentre

6.1 million adults in the UK listen to podcasts every week. That’s one in ten people who are making an active decision to take control of what they listen to. These people tend to be in their twenties, thirties and forties. And in the US – where podcasts are much more of a part of daily life – Midroll found half the podcast audience are university educated. A fifth earn more than $100,000 a year. Podcast listeners, it seems, are young, well-educated and affluent. These are, for many businesses, dream customers.

3. People spend quality time with you

Your podcast listener is a rarer species of human than, say, your YouTube consumer, or your Facebook user. But no one can match them for their passion or their evangelism. If you’re a podcast listener, you spend most of your listening time listening to podcasts, rather than other forms of audio. And 85% listen to most, if not all, the episodes that they download. That’s extraordinary loyalty when you compare it to the average watch time for a YouTube video. It also adds up to lots of listening time. Think about the way you consume audio at the moment. When you’re driving, for example, or when you’re out for a run, or at home while you’re doing chores. Audio is helping to entertain your conscious while your subconscious cracks on the everyday tasks that take up hours of your day.

4. People want to learn something new every time they listen

For many, podcasts provide a welcome break from radio ads and hearing the same songs over and over again. Podcast listeners are active listeners. Research firm Edison discovered they listen to learn something new every time.

What’s more, the beauty of podcasting is that niche is king. If you create a podcast discussing different types of pens, you can and will find an audience for it. Saying that, it’s important to remember a podcast doesn’t work if you’re trying a hard sell. Instead, be generous with your knowledge in order to build an audience. You can create the desire around your product but encourage people to visit your website and convert sales there.

5. Be a thought leader in a small pool

eBay Open for Business presenter, John Henry at the Gimlet Creative Studios ©eBay

eBay Open for Business presenter, John Henry at the Gimlet Creative Studios ©eBay

Many people see video and think “Why bother with audio?” But there are a couple of ways in which podcasting has the edge. For starters, people spend more time with podcasts than with video, which gives you more time to engage potential customers. But also in a podcast world, you can become a big fish in what is still, relatively, a small pond. Although no one has definitive figures, there are around 200,000 active podcast series available today. Compare that with the 300 hours of videos uploaded on YouTube every minute and the 5 billion videos watched every day. Becoming a trusted voice in your field is far harder on YouTube than it is as a podcaster.

6. Great media training opportunity

Every business needs great communicators. Particularly when the going gets tough, people who look and feel comfortable in front of a microphone are worth their weight in gold. With a regular podcast, your team can get used to being on microphone in a live, studio environment. They can hone how to make your company’s key messages appeal to your audience. Podcasting is a great way to get some regular practice at those key media training skills.

7. You’ll be in good company

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and executive producer, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, talk about their Upstanders podcast and video series to Adriana Huffington ©Starbucks

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and executive producer, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, talk about their Upstanders podcast and video series to Adriana Huffington ©Starbucks

Up to now, podcasts have been the domain of media companies and individuals with a story to tell. But with the help of experienced audio production companies, more and more businesses are getting in on the act. There are three types of branded podcasts, as they‘re known. The first type shows off your area of expertise. So, for example, Tinder has its own dating show, and Mumsnet shares baby stories with new parents. The second type is where content aligns with your company’s values. Starbucks has a podcast highlighting ordinary people making a difference in their communities. Meanwhile, eBay provides inspiration for people starting their own businesses. The final type of branded podcast is perhaps the most philanthropic – where you lend your name and your money to the creativity of others. The best example of this is audio drama provider, The General Electric Theater – a throwback to the US company’s role as a TV drama sponsor in the 1950s.

This blog first was originally commissioned by Tuesday Media – a new, exciting communications agency that combines storytelling skills with digital expertise to create a full inbound marketing solution for your company. Bengo Media can help you start your podcasting journey by creating powerful audio content for your business. Get in touch to find out more.

Find out more about how our podcast agency can help you with podcast marketng & PR.