in recent years, both in terms of the number of listeners as well as the number of podcasts.
There are actually more than 850,000 podcasts out there, with over 30 million different
episodes for us to listen to.
And you can find a podcast on almost any topic, from true crime to Baby Yoda or you can even
listen to people having conversations about their favorite things... there’s something
for everyone… and according to an extensive report from Edison on podcast consumers, the
top 3 topics that listeners want to hear about are: music, news & information, and entertainment.
Other topics like ‘technology’, ‘self-improvement’ and ‘business’ also generate considerable
interest.
Now, with over 850,000 podcasts to listen to, the next thing you’re probably wondering
is: who’s listening?
Well, based on Edison’s research, over 51% of all Americans, ages 12 and up, have ever listened
to a podcast.
That’s about 144 million listeners, which is 20 million more than the previous year.
And in terms of podcast consumers who listen on a more regular basis, 32% tune in every
month.
That’s, about, 90 million listeners — or, roughly, 1 out of every 3 people in the US.
This is an increase from last year, which saw, about, 26% of listeners tune in monthly.
And devoted listeners (or people who tune in every week), make up 22% of the population
in the US.
This is the equivalent of, roughly, 62 million listeners — or, nearly 1 out of every 4
people.
Again, this is an increase from last year, which saw, about, 17% of listeners tuning
in weekly.
And today’s weekly listeners tend to listen to, about, 7 different podcasts throughout the week.
So, with there being so many podcasts out there, and so many listeners, it’s only
natural for brands and businesses to approach podcasts as a promising marketing tool.
And beyond just sponsoring a podcast or purchasing air time for advertising, a number of brands
have also taken to producing their own podcasts, like Trader Joe’s and their podcast “Inside
Trader Joe’s”, along with Google’s “This Week in Google” and Samsung’s “What’s
Next?”.
Podcasts have become pretty ubiquitous.
And whether you’re a podcaster, or a company that wants to reach a wider audience by looking
for some good podcasts to advertise on, the next thing that you need to consider is how
these audiences are listening.
And this also answers the question: why are podcasts so popular?
Well, podcasts have become so popular because of the convenience they offer.
Actually, the number one reason why people listen to podcasts is because they can do
other things while listening... like grab onto a steering wheel and watch out for traffic,
since both your hands and your eyes are free.
And this is how a lot of people listen to podcasts: by multi-tasking… while they do
housework, drive, or walk their dogs... however, there’s also a considerable amount of listeners
who prefer to sit and not do anything else while they listen, but the sheer flexibility of
being able to get up and start doing anything at any given moment is pretty appealing.
Now, aside from how people listen to podcasts, or what they do while they listen, the fourth
thing that you want to consider is how much of a podcast gets heard on average?
Well, out of those 90 million people who listen on a monthly basis, 52% will actually listen to an
entire podcast from start to finish.
41% will listen to more than half of a podcast, and only 7% will listen to less than half
of a podcast… these are really impressive figures, especially considering that the average
podcast is about 41 minutes long.
And, now, the 5th thing you need to consider about podcasts is, that, no matter if you’re
a podcast creator or part of a brand that’s interested in podcasts as a marketing tool,
you need to measure performance, since what you don’t measure cannot be improved.
And we need to consider this from 2 different perspectives: so, if you represent a brand that’s interested
in finding podcasts for advertising or sponsorships (and, of course, to make sure that nobody’s
trashing your product or service to all their listeners), you’re going to want to monitor
podcasts for any mentions of your brand.
This has multiple benefits, since it not only helps you keep an eye on and protect your
brand reputation in the audio space, it also helps you identify potential podcasters to
work with for advertising or to sponsor.
Brand24 is a media monitoring tool that monitors podcasts and the Internet, so you kill 2 birds
with one stone.
Now, if you’re a podcaster, you’re going to be a little more interested in how your
podcast itself is performing.
Podcast analytics tools like Chartable and Backtracks can help you analyze your listeners
and your rankings, and also let you see if downloads of your podcast were actually played.
And monitoring brand mentions isn’t just restricted to brands who want to work with
podcasters, it’s also really helpful to monitor mentions of your podcast itself across the
Internet.
This can show you what kind of comments people are making about your podcast, what they like
(or dislike) about it, and where these conversations are taking place.
It’s also a great way to find opportunities to thank and engage with your fans…
Alright, thanks for watching guys!
If you have any questions or Comments about podcasts or how to monitor them, just let
me know in the Comments section below.
And if you found this episode helpful, feel free to Like, Share, and Subscribe to our
channel on YouTube where you can find more videos like this.
Thanks again for watching, I hope you learned something new, and I’ll see you next time,
bye!