11th May 2020

Podcasts have fast become a popular source of entertainment, information, and education for people around the world, and their popularity continues to grow.

According to Ofcom, 7.1 million people in the UK now listen to podcasts each week – an increase of 24% over the past year. In the USA, Edison Research found that 90 million Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month. In 2018, there were over 525,000 active podcast shows with over 18.5 million episodes available to listen to. Jump to two years later and we now have over one million shows to choose from, with over 29 million episodes available in over 100 languages.

“Podcasts are transforming the ways people listen to audio content, just as on-demand video is changing how people watch television.”

Ian Macrae, Director of Market Intelligence, Ofcom

With such unwavering popularity, what are the potential benefits of podcasts to B2B organisations?

Engagement

52% of podcast subscribers listen to entire episodes [Edison Research], with listeners spending an average of 6 hours and 37 minutes listening to podcasts every week [Backyard Media]. Marketers could only dream of these kinds of engagement rates in the past!

Advertisers are also taking note, with the Interactive Advertising Bureau estimating that advertising spend on podcasts will reach $1billion this year.

Convenience

65% of podcast consumers are most likely to listen on a mobile device [Edison Research] – allowing them to dive into topics whenever and wherever they like, often in smaller bite-sized chunks that are perfect for busy routines. Podcasts give us the freedom to do other things whilst enjoying our chosen shows – be that walking the dog, cooking dinner, commuting, or winding down before bed.

Brand building

According to Forbes, 39% of small and medium-sized business owners are podcast users, with 72% of business owners who have 100-500 employees also listening to podcasts. You have an opportunity to reach your target audience, demonstrate authority on your topic of choice, and build strong brand awareness with consistency across your audio content. When done right, your podcast can become a regular source of content that customers and prospects seek out themselves.

Simple to do

Podcasts can be easy and cost-effective to produce, and are often a more affordable way to reach your customers compared to other advertising methods. They are a great channel to include in your overall content strategy. All you need is a good microphone, editing software, and hosting. Depending on your time and budgets, you can even outsource everything from booking guests, editing, publishing, transcription, and promotion.

To get the maximum value from podcasts, you need to carefully plan your content and know how you are going to effectively drive listeners to it. It’s worth the extra effort at the beginning, as this will help you produce a consistent, high-quality show that will grow your voice and better engage with your listeners.

What are you waiting for? Start sharing your brand voice with the world!

Silver works with many of its clients to integrate podcasts into their offering and drive engagement. If you’d like to learn more about how podcasts can drive engagement, talk to us.