Benefits of Marketing with Podcasts

October 21, 2022 (Updated: May 4, 2023)

Podcast concept marketing with podcasts. Female hands holding mobile phone and listening podcast

Good marketing and advertising have always used stories to connect with audiences. As marketing expert Seth Godin once said, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” And what better way to tell your brand’s story than by marketing with podcasts? With a podcast, you can share your brand’s mission and values, and you can educate customers while you entertain them.

But if you think you’re too late to the podcast game, think again. You’re actually right on time. Audiences are listening to podcasts now more than ever. Today, we’re covering the benefits of marketing with podcasts with topics like:

What Are the Benefits of Marketing with Podcasts?
Tips for Marketing with Podcasts
5 Podcasts to Inspire Your Content Marketing Strategy

What Are the Benefits of Marketing with Podcasts?

Photo via Unsplash by Austin Distel

Edison Research found that 38% of the U.S. population aged 12 or older listened to a podcast in the last month. This comes out to about 109 million people. So, we know that there are millions of people listening to millions of podcasts. But can companies benefit by marketing with podcasts? The answer is yes. Here are some of the benefits of marketing with podcasts:

Drive Discovery

Podcasts differ from other marketing tactics. They don’t interrupt your customers the way commercials do. Get this—listeners actually want to discover podcasts and listen to them. They search for keywords or topics to find podcasts they’re interested in. Other times, they might hear about a new podcast while listening to another podcast.

Sometimes it’s from good, old word of mouth. The point is, your podcast is sure to drive reach and increase the likelihood of more listeners discovering your content. And this discovery can lead to more audiences exploring your business’s content on its other platforms.

Deliver Value

People listen to podcasts to learn new things, have fun, and stay up-to-date on trends. Podcasts give your company a way to talk about relevant topics with your customers. For example, podcasts are excellent for offering listeners behind-the-scenes content and exclusive sneak peeks of your brand and products or services.

So use this material and provide your audience with the opportunity to learn more about your brand. Share special insights of your own, or host guest interviews audiences won’t hear elsewhere. The bottom line is that podcasts can offer more value to listeners beyond what your website and social content already do.

Reach a Niche Audience

If you do a quick search on Itunes or Spotify, you’ll find podcasts about a ton of different topics. Many are broad, but some are very niche and speak to a specific group of people. Podcasts allow you to have a laser focus on the target audience you’re trying to reach. Additionally, you can use your podcast content to narrow down the demographics of your ideal listener. Much like an audience profile for a blog strategy, creating an audience persona for who you feel your target listeners would be can help you nail down the content you create for them.

Stay Connected

What if we told you that your brand can tag along with your audience wherever it goes? Podcasts are super accessible because they can be played instantly on a smartphone. And millions of Americans own a smartphone, spending more time than ever using their devices.

So it’s safe to say that smartphone notifications can make it easy for your listeners to discover new episodes. This offers you another opportunity to boost engagement. Podcasts are especially useful in reaching customers who dislike traditional advertising. Podcasts give you valuable quality time with your audience.

Offer Diversity

Social media gives you an easy way to share company information. But you’re at the mercy of the latest algorithm update. Podcasts allow you to offer a more interesting content experience. You can switch up your content with narrative storytelling or guest interviews.

Unlike advertising or public relations, podcasts give brands complete control and creative freedom. You can communicate your message however and whenever you want. Plus, you can always find a podcast style to fit the messages your business wants to share.

Increase Accessibility and Convenience

Your audience may not have the time to read a long blog post or watch an entire video. Some may actually prefer to listen to content instead. In fact, about a third of people are auditory learners. Podcasts don’t force your listeners to stop what they are doing to tune into your content. They offer bite-sized content that listeners can enjoy even if they’re multitasking.

Almost all listeners enjoy podcasts while doing other things. A large percentage of podcast fans tune in while doing housework or chores. Plus, podcasts make it easy for your customers to connect with you on their own schedule.

Boost Engagement

If you make it easy for your audience to consume your content, they’re way more likely to return and consume even more. The flexibility of podcasts allows users to listen at different speeds and when they want. They can cherry-pick the exact episodes they want to hear. They can even binge episodes Netflix-style. This flexibility no doubt plays a role in the fact that a large number of people listen to entire podcast episodes. So making your content easy to digest is sure to boost audience engagement for your brand.

Humanize Your Brand

Another huge benefit of podcasts is they bring your brand voice to life. Audio provides customers with a completely different experience compared to reading an ad. One of the most important drivers of emotion is sound. We instinctively communicate through dialogue, so podcasts draw people in. Talking and listening to conversations come second nature to us. Podcasts allow you to speak to your customers directly in a more intimate way.

Nurture Customer Relationships

Over time, listeners recognize a podcast host’s tone, voice inflection, and personality. They often feel like they know the host personally. Conversation evokes a feeling of familiarity and closeness. And that’s the very best type of marketing—the type that doesn’t feel like marketing at all. Because of this, podcasts make a valuable content marketing strategy for nurturing customer relationships and building trust with new leads.

Build Loyalty and Community

Podcasts often attract loyal audiences. Listeners interact with the brand and enthusiastically share its content. It’s common for podcast listeners to tell their friends about podcasts they like. They become raving fans and champions for the brand. This loyalty can build a powerful sense of community around your brand.

Repurpose Your Content Easily

Podcasts are easy to repurpose into other types of content whether it be a blog, article, or white paper. You can also repurpose the content into video scripts, ad copy, or social media posts. In this way, podcasts can absolutely strengthen your content marketing arsenal. They also allow you to develop a more robust strategy that uses a larger range of content types for your business to reach its audience.

Get Started Quickly

There’s very little technology needed to start a podcast. Sure, you need a microphone, recording software, and an editing program. More importantly, you need to develop a strategy. This includes brainstorming ideas for topics, picking a structure, and finding a host. There are very few rules to hosting a podcast.

You can decide how long you want each episode to be and what kind of segments each episode will have. You can choose a frequency that’s doable for your team and decide what angle you want to take on different trends. Podcasts can be easily recorded in different locations at different times. You can batch production all at once or spread it out over time.

Generate More Sales

Many brands avoid doing any direct selling in their podcasts. Some barely mention their brand name. Still, every podcast episode acts as another marketing touchpoint. There are so many pings competing for your customer’s attention. Nowadays consumers need to hear a message 25 to 30 times before they take action. This means that every touchpoint counts even more.

The episodic nature of podcasts also makes them great tools to nudge your listeners along during their buyer journey. The conversational nature of podcasts helps increase brand awareness and consideration. And podcasts can even help you motivate a customer’s purchase intent.

Tips for Marketing with Podcasts

As you design and plan your podcast, consider the following tips for organizing your content:

Find Potential Podcast Topics

Start with your target audience to find potential topics for your podcast. This means finding out what issues or trends your audience cares about most. You might also talk to your customer service department to find out what kind of feedback customers have for your brand. Aside from customer feedback, you can also find topic ideas from past content metrics.

Look at what your audience engages with most across your company blog and social channels. If your brand sends a newsletter regularly, these can make excellent podcast topics. But it’s crucial to stay within your business and content niche so you deliver only relevant content in your podcast.

Create a Production Calendar

Create a realistic podcast production plan so that you can release episodes consistently. People want to know what to expect. Identify your resources and decide who will own the podcast responsibilities. In the beginning, overestimate the time it will take to make each episode, and as you find your flow, adjust the length of your episodes accordingly.

It’s also important to keep each episode a similar length, with no more than a five-minute difference if there is one. Your production calendar should also house a content planner for your podcasts so your team can flesh out the structure of the talking points you plan to include.

Develop a Promotion Strategy

Consider how you’ll promote your podcast. Make a list of your current assets including your social media content, mailing lists, and ad buys. Think about including cross-promotional opportunities with brands that also serve your customers. Plus, leveraging guests is another excellent way to structure a promotional strategy. Think about it. Interviewing experts can offer a rich experience for your listeners. Engaging interactions with guests can also inspire your audience to share your podcasts with their networks, further expanding your reach.

Create Detailed Notes

By creating detailed notes for each podcast episode, your team will be better able to cover each topic without missing key information. This is where you can include links and details about the resources mentioned within the episode. Include social media links and a call to action that invites your listeners to subscribe. Don’t forget to ask your listeners to enable notifications. When they do, they’ll be able to find out about new episodes as soon as you air them.

Measure Success

No matter what, it’s important to track the success of your podcast. Review the number of downloads, subscribers, or views. Look for correlations in website conversions and compare this to your podcast data. You can also plug in specific calls to action during the show. For example, ask for feedback via a dedicated podcast email or by hosting a survey. You can share input from listeners in future episodes. This will likely encourage more feedback and interaction from your audience.

5 Podcasts to Inspire Your Content Marketing Strategy

If you’re thinking about joining the podcast world, you’ll be in great company. Check out these winning brands that are finding success in marketing with podcasts:

1. CopyPress Podcast

At CopyPress, we use podcasts as part of our content strategy. The Content Marketing Podcast dives into content marketing, growing a business, and building awareness. Join our founder and CEO, Dave Snyder, and discover insights, memorable moments, and industry updates for improving, scaling, and promoting your content. Plus, it’s fun to listen to. So sit back, and grab some inspiration here.

2. MarTech Podcast

The MarTech Podcast is part of the HubSpot Community and is hosted and produced by Benjamin Shapiro. Episodes span every topic from branding and digital marketing trends to big data and B2B strategies. If you’re looking for some inspiration, the MarTech podcast series is sure to have it. Tons of guest appearances and deep dives into the industry with leading experts make this one a can’t-miss.

3. Actionable Marketing Podcast

The Actionable Marketing Podcast delivers insights from the pros on all things content marketing. This podcast inspires with its weekly dives into marketing topics with interviews and actionable advice. With 99 episodes and more coming, you’re sure to find inspiration for marketing with podcasts.

4. Social Media Marketing Podcast

The Social Media Marketing podcast should be on your list if you’re building and managing a social media strategy. Michael Stelzner from Social Media Examiner hosts and jumps into the nitty gritty on all the social media topics. This makes the Social Media Marketing podcast a must-have for getting ideas for what to do with your podcast. Plus, you’re bound to pick up new tactics to use in your social media strategies.

5. Amazon Podcast

Amazon’s This Is Small Business podcast features small business owners telling their entrepreneurial stories and lessons learned. The first season has included episodes about scaling your side gig, recruiting talent, and standing out from competitors. So if you’re looking for business inspiration for your podcast, this is one for your list.

CopyPress Knows Content Strategy

Are you wondering how you can leverage content marketing in all its forms for your business? At CopyPress, we help businesses and brands analyze their opportunities, produce quality content for audiences, and support the creation and promotion processes from start to finish. Get in touch with the team and tell us about your business goals. We’ll help you dial in a content plan that aligns with these goals to get the results you want.

Lauren Oliver

Digital Marketing Manager at CopyPress