Podcasts: #CreatedWith For The Rest Of Us
There’s a very interesting report out today from the IAB and Edison Research on how 65% of listeners are likely to buy a product after hearing about it on a podcast.That’s an incredibly high number and it speaks to the close relationship podcasters have with their audiences. It doesn’t hurt that most of the promos are read by the podcasters themselves, many of whom, like the extremely popular Marc Maron. of WTF fame, actually claim to use the product themselves, whether it’s cooking service Blue Apron, website builder SquareSpace, or online mattress wunderkind Casper.Podcast listening is booming—the number of listeners grew 23% between 2015 and 2106, and 21% of all Americans ages 12 and up have listened to a podcast in the past month. Podcasts are at some level the radio equivalent of OTT, as a good part of their appeal is that users can listen to them when and where they want.That’s just one of the ways that podcasts reflect some of the key trends going on in the television industry. It’s further evidence that what we are witnessing is a profound shift in the way we create, consume and monetize media, and how the internet serves as the Great Democratizer, crashing down gates and allowing everyone to have a voice.Podcasts are, after all, the ultimate #CreatedWith content. The most popular podcasts are not from well-known celebrities, but rather from people like the aforementioned Marc Maron, a B-list comic whose career was saved by the amazing success of his podcast. (A podcast so successful he’s even had President Obama as a guest.)Podcasts can be about pretty much anything though—anyone with a passion or a hobby can start a podcast and the beauty is that unlike video Creators, podcast creators are often adults, which means their audiences are too. That’s a huge plus for advertisers who want to reach engaged Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, not just Millennials.Podcasting is easier than creating videos—there’s less equipment, less editing, less need to create a specific look. That allows a much broader pool of people to create podcasts, where they can focus on topics as niche as the history of the Byzantine Empire. They’re also longer— 30 minutes to an hour is the norm. That gives audiences far more time to become engaged and creates more opportunities for sponsors (don’t call them advertisers!) as well.The anytime/anywhere aspect of podcasts is huge too. Most adults commute, and even for those who take public transportation, watching video is just not an option. Podcasts, however, just requite a set of headphones, or a car stereo that lets you play from your phone. That accessibility gives podcasts a much broader potential audience than video, whose numbers are is still constrained by the somewhat limited number of places people can watch video during course of their day.Because podcasts have flown under the radar in relation to video, there’s still a purity to them, a sense that what you’re listening to is authentic and not driven by commercial concerns. There’s also a seriousness that’s notably missing from Creator video.Given the wide age range of podcasters and the wide range of topics they cover, it’s truly the most democratic of all the #CreatedWith mediums, something brands should consider when they’re looking to expand the types of audiences they reach with video-based #CreatedWith Content.
TV[R]EV is written, curated and incubated by the BRaVe Ventures team. Find TV[R]EV on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date on the TV[R]EVOLUTION.
