The Rise of Podcasting as a Marketing Tool: How Businesses are Using Podcasts for Branding
Podcast marketing has become popular in recent years. There are over 400 million podcast listeners. With their large audience, it’s no wonder podcasts for businesses have also become an excellent tool for branding.
Learn the benefits of podcasting for small businesses and large ones, and how they use it for branding purposes.
What is podcast marketing?
Podcast marketing is a strategy that involves promoting products or services through audio content. It may involve the use of sponsored segments, host-read advertisements, or partnerships with podcast creators.
Podcasts are usually posted on podcasting platforms like Buzzsprout and Podbean. These tools then distribute the podcast content across other different channels, including podcasting directories such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
5 reasons to use a podcast as a marketing tool
Podcasts offer a multitude of benefits when it comes to connecting and captivating your desired audience. Here are five compelling arguments in favor of business branding with podcasts.
1. Growing popularity and reach
Looking back a decade, podcasts were less popular than they are now.
Back in 2006, only 11% of people in the US were into podcasts. Fast-forward to 2022, and an impressive 62% of individuals were familiar with podcasting.
This significant podcast listener growth has transformed it into a valuable asset for marketers seeking niche marketing strategies.
Furthermore, podcasts have a wide appeal, attracting people from different age groups. Younger listeners, in particular, are attracted to the convenience and personalized experience that podcast content offers. In fact, 50% of podcast listeners fall within the 12-34 age range. This makes them more open to marketing messages that are integrated into the show.
2. Brand storytelling and authenticity
Podcasts provide businesses with a powerful platform to communicate their stories compellingly and engagingly.
But why are podcasts effective for brand storytelling?
Unlike traditional formats, podcasts are not limited by time or space, allowing for more flexibility and creativity in online content creation. They may last from a few minutes to many hours, allowing companies to go deeper and connect with their ideal audience. Podcasts may also be accessible anytime, anywhere, making content consumption easy.
Moreover, podcasts facilitate authentic communication by allowing businesses to speak directly to their audience in a conversational tone. By featuring real voices, personal anecdotes, and genuine emotions, businesses can establish a human connection with their podcast listener base.
Finally, this channel is highly versatile and allows businesses to incorporate multimedia elements such as sound effects and music. This improves the brand storytelling experience and ensures engaging audiences with business podcasts is possible.
As part of your business branding, incorporate your unique voice and personality throughout each podcast episode. This will help to differentiate both your podcast and brand, and leave a lasting impression on your listeners.
That’s not to say you should rely only on podcasts to tell your brand stories. There are other types of content and channels you can complement with podcast marketing to disseminate your brand messaging to a wider audience. For instance, why not leverage the services of a good PR company? Whether it’s a manufacturing or a drink PR agency, it will know how exactly to pitch your brand stories to traditional news and digital media outlets for coverage. You can also partner with influencers who can promote your brand stories with authenticity on social media for the best results.
3. Niche marketing and targeted content
With podcasts, businesses can easily connect with target niche audiences that might be more difficult to reach through other means. There's a podcast for just about any topic you can think of, whether it's news, education, entertainment, or hobbies.
Because of this niche targeting, podcasts can easily enhance that feeling of connection and shared values among listeners, establishing the groundwork for a community around the brand. Additionally, they provide an opportunity for podcast hosts (and the brand) to establish themselves as experts or thought leaders in their specific fields.
But to create a successful podcast that caters effectively to niche audiences, businesses like yours still need to follow a strategic approach.
A definition of the target audience within the niche market is key. This involves understanding their demographics, interests, pain points, and preferences. You should then create a listener persona based on this information. The persona will help guide the content and tone of the podcast.
Once you’ve defined the target audience, determine a niche for the podcast that aligns with the interests and needs of that audience. Then conduct market research to identify popular topics, trends, or gaps within the niche.
Data analysis using generative AI may help you uncover podcast subject ideas that are likely to resonate with the intended listeners. With the right prompts, Writer can generate these suggestions based on specified audience criteria. This advanced level of automation can save you and podcasters time on research, allowing you to focus on producing quality content.
The more focused and valuable your content is, the more likely you are to attract and retain your niche audience. For the best branding results, make sure the content you create also reflects your brand values.
Have a look at Knapsack’s Friday Habit podcast, which is all about productivity tips and habits for small businesses. This podcast has done a great job attracting a dedicated group of listeners who are eager to learn and improve their productivity skills. The content it creates also aligns with the web design company’s emphasis on efficiency as a brand:
