Podcast As Marketing Tool: It Creates Value For Listeners Podcasts help to hypertarget audiences and give a good return on investment

In an age wherein a variety of marketing tools are available for experts, one tool is often underutilized—podcast. Podcasts are effective tools for marketing because they help brands to reach a niche targeted audience. According to research, podcasts help to hypertarget audiences and give a good return on investment. Podcasts also create value for listeners because they are often informative and educational.

According to Forbes, iTunes is a rank one website. Hence, any founder who is featured on a podcast with a description contributes to SEO ratings of the brand. Hence, podcasts can be an effective tool in boosting up page rankings. Listeners are increasing for podcast channels and 115 million people are expected to listen to podcasts per week.

There is also lower competition in the podcast space compared to other social media platforms. There are around 80 million Facebook business pages compared with only 70,000 podcasts. It is easier to find an untapped niche in podcasts and market to the audience. Podcasts also require less attention to listen to because they only need to be heard. Especially during the pandemic, people have been trying to reduce their screen time. Hence, listening to a podcast is a good break from screens.

There is real value in podcasts because it is not just a branding tool, it creates value for the audience. Listeners can feel connected, have a sense of belonging, learn more about their interests and be a part of the podcast community while engaging in discussion.

Podcasts are much more than just marketing

Podcasts are informational and have knowledge which is interesting to audiences. They are not merely a tool for marketing but also for increasing reach.

Harappa Education has a podcast titled Habits Matter where founder Shreyasi Singh hosted various people who give more insights about education, learning and personal growth. Because the podcast is not trying to target an audience to sell a product, it garners more attention. According to Singh, "The Habits Matter Podcast has been downloaded 10,000 times. It is an effective tool for marketing because it is not treated like one."

Jared Angaza, strategist at Space For Humanity, also highlights the ability of podcasts to play a role in educating people. "The Overview sessions podcast brings together scientists, artists, philanthropists, entertainers, astronauts and influencers to discuss the future of humanity in space." Since podcasts create a high interest niche, they are better marketing tools.

Podcasts are a great way to build a community

Most brands want to create content which contributes towards user-generated marketing. According to Angaza, "Podcasts create a very loyal audience which shares content with their friends. Podcasts are a good way to cultivate community via meaningful dialogue."

There are various podcasts which strike with a niche and are shared widely within that niche. The niche factor helps brands to target specific groups and tap customers.

YouTube and Instagram can't substitute podcasts

Choosing a platform to build a presence can be challenging for brands. Though most businesses are trying to amplify their presence on Instagram and Facebook, many are missing out on the niche that can be built on Spotify and iTunes.

In a viral Quora answer comparing the pros and cons of podcasts with YouTube, Jack Kasakowski, CEO at Creation Agency, said, "To showcase your expertise and own your niche, you need to provide a steady supply of high quality content. The best way to do that is to collaborate with others whose expertise complements yours. A podcast allows you to book these folks as guests and engage in conversations in which they share their knowledge while you also highlight yours."

Audiences listening to podcasts are more loyal and are 20 per cent more likely to connect with the brand on other social media. Hence podcasts can be an effective tool to channelize more traffic towards other social media channels that the brand has.

"Though marketing on YouTube and Instagram is an effective way to promote brands, they cannot cover complexities like podcasts. There are some people who may not prefer videos. There are some brands where the target audience is more available on podcast platforms than video platforms," says Angaza from Space for Humanity.

Podcasts can help B2B businesses more efficiently

In B2B businesses, it is difficult to create a marketing campaign which connects to the other business deeply. Often, personal stories and business stories do not captivate imaginations like they would for B2C marketing. Podcasts are an engaging way for B2B companies to share their stories. According to Sahil Khandwala, founder of The Indian Dream Podcast, featuring bootstrapped startups, "Entrepreneurs with B2B businesses have shared the podcast with their customers to connect with them at a deeper level. A large part of marketing is celebrating a story and even highlighting struggles. The Indian Dream Podcast has given various bootstrapped entrepreneurs to connect with more people and share their stories."

Hence, businesses which may not have the space or funds to create an effective marketing campaign can use podcasts as an effective tool.

Podcasts can be an effective tool to leverage your business. They can not only divert traffic to other social media channels but also garner more loyal audiences. Overall, podcasts are not just for marketing. They also help to educate and connect with customers at a deeper level while building a community. In an age where brands want to be present across social media platforms, podcasts are not something which should be missed out on.