Podcasts are digital files reaching the audience via the internet, and they can be consumed in audio or video format. This type of content has become an extremely important topic in the last few years. Whether a source of information or source of fun, podcasts are becoming more and more popular, constantly recruiting new listeners, and the number of digital creators who want to try this media has been constantly increasing. Overall, podcasts have become a great place for advertising products and a powerful marketing tool.
Due to the fact you can deal with podcasting and other activities at the same time (while we are multitasking), podcasts are expanding fast on the global level. They fill our time in a quality way; open new questions; provide information about the topics we’re interested in, and offer possibilities of consuming the desired content whenever and wherever it suits us.
History
The first podcast, Daily Source Code was recorded in 2004. Afterward, fast technology development and infrastructure happened, which enabled the expansion. The same year, the first hosting platform, Libsin, was launched, and one year later, Apple added a catalog into its iTune platform. It is interesting that the Oxford American Dictionary announced the word ‘podcast’ as the word of the year. In 2014. Apple had more than a billion podcast subscribers.
Types of podcasts
We can split podcasts in two ways, based on the format or topics.
The most popular format is the one that reminds of a classic radio or TV interview, with a conversation between a host and a guest (usually an expert from a certain niche). There are podcasts where two or more hosts cover different topics in each episode, and this type is similar to a standard radio show. There are also podcasts where one host brings monologues each week from a niche he/she is specialized in.
Besides the above-mentioned podcasts, there are types of podcasts that are literally telling a story. Whether they are audio shows imagined as radio drama or crime-documentary stories searching for solutions in each episode.
Based on the topic they cover, there are design podcasts, entrepreneurship podcasts, marketing, medicine, etc. Each corresponds to a narrow specialized niche and attracts a narrow audience interested in a specific niche. Thanks to this division, brands can easily target and find their target audience.
Podcast and marketing
Audience is no longer thrilled with ads, whether they appear on TV, billboards, or the internet. On the other hand, podcasts get more and more credibility. Brands have a great opportunity to borrow a bit of that credibility the authors gained from their target audience and market their products and messages in a relevant manner.
Podcasts offer an incredible way of targeting clear and specific target audiences, so it is up to brands to find the ones that are a perfect match for them. As previously mentioned, different niche podcasts make the targeting easy.
The most common cooperation between podcasts and brands is certainly presenting products and when the author mentions it in the podcast. It doesn’t have to be the only way. A brand can start a certain topic, sponsor the episode or series of episodes, where the author will go through relevant topics related to the brand itself.
Besides the sponsorship, many brands and media houses are starting their own podcast. This way they create their own credibility, present themselves as experts in certain fields and create a perception within the audience of a relevant, modern brand.
Authors become influencers
The audience picks favorite podcasts, and this way they choose the podcasts’ authors, follow their work and give them their trust. This way, not only the popularity of a podcast increases but also the social media network of their authors, so they become influencers. This opens new possibilities for sponsorship-based cooperation to become influencer-based.
A podcast is a medium that will surely continue to grow and become inevitable in each marketing strategy. We can expect more companies to try and then rule this new ground.
