Ever been to a dinner party where everyone’s talking (we humans like to be heard) and no one is listening? It often seems that way online too.
But hold on a minute, - amongst all the messaging, online chat, tweets, posts, likes and the rest there has been an exponential growth in podcasts. That’s someone talking and millions actually listening.
In April 2018, FastCompany reported 525,000 shows with 18.5 million episodes. By January 2021, Podcast Insights set that number at 1,750,000 podcast shows and more than 43 million episodes.
And according to research, individual podcast listeners spend an average of six hours and 39 minutes listening per week. That’s 60% more than in 2017.
It may be lockdown boredom, it may be screen fatigue, it may be that we all somewhere deep down have a primal desire to gather around a hearth and be told a story in the oral tradition. For B2B marketers, the ‘why’ doesn’t matter.
The question is; does podcasting makes sense for your brand?
The short answer is yes, it’s worth it. It is a channel that provides an opportunity for much deeper connection with your customers and contacts. In a 30-minute podcast, there is a chance to expand on a subject way beyond what can be achieved in a short blog, LinkedIn post or tweet. You really can ‘stand out’ from your competitors if you get it right.
But, there are some buts!
It needs to be regular. It needs to be well targeted. Expectations about listener numbers need to be realistic and the quality needs to be excellent, both content and production quality. As audiences grow, so too do listener expectations.
So if podcasts are not on your ‘to do’ list, maybe they should be? Give it some thought. Take a listen to what’s out there. Get a feel of what works well and what doesn’t and have a think about what you could bring to the party (the one where people are listening)!
Meanwhile, we recently conducted our own DMA survey with top professionals in marketing to find out their thoughts – download our interactive infographic to see the results.
If you’d like some specific advice and practical support please contact the DMA team.