Podcasts have been around for quite a long time now, but they are rarely talked about by most marketers. While everyone knows they exist, most people don’t realize just how popular they are and how they can help you to build a loyal audience that can lead to a big boost in sales. Many people have even been able to build entire businesses around podcasts with advertisers paying them thousands of dollars per episode.
According to a recent report from comScore, podcasts actually lead to the highest increase in perception of all the forms of advertising used on mobile devices.
You may be surprised to hear that two-thirds of podcast listeners also report that they conduct research for purchases specifically because of a product they heard about on a podcast. This makes it quite clear that those who are listening to podcasts take what the podcaster is saying to heart, and then take action.
To make it even better, podcasts continue to get more and more popular over time. The recently released study found that one-third of current podcast subscribers say they plan on increasing the amount of time they spend listening to podcasts in the next six months.
Andrew Lipsman, VP of marketing and insights at comScore, reported, “It’s clear that we’re in the midst of a new podcasting boom, spurred in large part by improved accessibility via mobile and a tidal wave of rich and compelling content.”
If you think that the audience size of podcasts is going to be limiting, you’re wrong there. Currently about one in three men 18-34 listen to podcasts. About 1 in 5 Americans age 18-49 report that they listen to podcasts at least once per month. With these numbers continuing to grow, this is a huge opportunity for brands and marketers to capitalize on.
To make it even more attractive, podcast listeners tend to have a higher level of education and a household income of over $100k per year. Obviously this makes the demographic quite attractive to brands and marketers.
