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Podcasts have become increasingly popular over the past few years as a powerful storytelling tool. Podcast audiences have burgeoned globally, and Australia is no exception.
As a result, this has made it a powerful medium for advertisers to expand their reach and gain a return on investment.
If you have not thought about allocating some of your marketing spend to podcast advertising, now is a good time to jump on the bandwagon. Studies have shown that 40 per cent of Australians aged 18 and over are tuning into podcasts every month.
Not only that, listeners say they are more aware of and retain information about brands they have heard on podcasts advertisements. This is because podcasters engender trust in their listeners as they deep dive into issues and topics that interest their audience and adopt storytelling techniques to deliver complex information in an easily digestible format.
This is the perfect opportunity for advertisers to collaborate with podcasters and connect with highly-engaged listeners to increase their reach.
Podcast advertising is a type of audio that places advertisements (typically 15-30 seconds long) within the podcast. The advertisement speaks directly to the target audience in a one-on-one setting. It can either be read by the hosts or be pre-recorded by someone else.
Podcast advertisements have the ability to reach a highly-engaged audience in a screenless environment, such as in a car or while they are cooking at home. Some listeners may devote their time exclusively to listening to the podcast.
Audio advertisements are usually placed in the beginning (pre-roll slot), middle (mid-roll slot), or end (post-roll slot) of the podcast.
You will be given the option of sponsoring entire episodes, which allows you to appear as a guest on the episode, design the agenda, and choose the questions to be asked during the episode.
Alternatively, you can purchase an advertisement spot in as many individual episodes as you wish.
High user loyalty rate: As a result of the high levels of trust from deeply engaged audiences, podcasters also enjoy loyalty from listeners. Research has shown that 92 per cent of users who reach the end of the second episode of a limited series/season will listen to the series in full. Moreover, 81 percent of listeners who listen to at least two episodes of an ongoing podcast series will become regular listeners.
The power of the spoken word: Podcasts are such an effective medium that advertisers achieve higher levels of brand recall from listeners. Indeed, research by Nielsen has shown that podcast advertisements drive an aided brand recall rate of 71 per cent, while half of all podcast listeners said they pay more attention to advertisements read by the hosts.
Native placement: Advertisers can tailor their advertisements to the podcast content to ensure that it fits seamlessly with the entire podcast. This ensures that the advertisement feels organic for the audience.
Momentum Media is a publisher of multiple business-to-business brands that target niche markets such as accountants, mortgage and finance brokers, financial advisers, lawyers, real estate agents, the defence, aviation, and space industries, as well as cyber security.
Podcast advertising allows our audiences to hear recommendations about products and services that are relevant to their industry and businesses.
This offers you the opportunity to target a demographic that best suits your brand and suite of products. You can tailor your advertisements and offer them products and services that they may need, and demonstrate how your offerings could fill a gap and enrich their businesses or industries.
There are some strategies you could employ to enhance your advertisements and reach your audiences effectively.
Run a series of ads within a podcast series: To build loyalty and connection with your audience, make sure you tell a story about your brand, product, or service offering over a series of advertisements within one or a series of podcast episodes. For example, you could use the same introduction in the first few seconds of each advertisement segment, and use the remaining time to talk about a different feature of the product or service that would benefit the listener and their business.
Make use of the host: Because hosts have earned their listeners’ trust and respect, it is a great idea to use their expertise and those who support them. Find out what they know about their audience and which episodes have performed well. Use this knowledge to create your messaging in your advertisement and work with the host to build a smooth segue. If your host is the voice of your advertisement, allow them to word your message to suit their tone and style. Trust their input and expertise.
Address your audience directly: Podcast advertisements present a great opportunity for you to address your audience directly and build some exclusivity (even if you are using the host). Mentioning them and offering an exclusive discount code can make them feel like your message was tailored just for them. This can boost audience engagement.
Use a unique code or landing page: Monitoring the results of your podcast campaign can be a little more challenging than other forms of digital advertising (such as a website) where you can monitor clicks. To overcome this, use easy-to-remember landing page URLs or a unique discount code to help track the source of your conversions.
Podcast advertising was a relatively new concept that has gained incredible momentum very quickly over the past couple of years. It not only offers you the chance to connect with audiences at a deeper level, you can do it at bargain rates. Make sure you get on it today to tell your story about your product or service and get in front of a highly-engaged group of listeners.
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