By Mike Mahony
Your brand needs a podcast. Why? With the meteoric rise of smart speakers, not having an audio strategy is no longer possible. Even JP Morgan Chase has hired an agency to handle voice strategy. It is unavoidable at this point.
While there are several parts to a voice strategy, a podcast needs to be one of them. Google recently announced a podcast-specific strategy aimed at doubling the number of global listeners.
Podcast Popularity is Exploding
Here in the United States, 40% of the public have listened to a podcast. 67 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly. This is an increase of 14% in just one year.
Additionally, podcasts are becoming very popular in the UK as well. One-in-ten adults in the UK now listen to a podcast every week.
People are talking about Dirty John, Atlanta Monster, Swipe Left Swipe Left (a hilarious new show about online dating gone rogue).
Podcasting is a powerful, intimate medium that taps into the human instinct for sharing stories.
Listener numbers are growing, and so is the appetite for compelling, on-demand audio content.
If you’re trying to win over your organization, point out that podcasting is more popular than Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift combined.
What’s that you say?
Consider this: in April 2017, investigative journalism podcast S-Town saw more than 10 million downloads within four days of release, smashing all kinds of records.
In comparison, Ed Sheeran had 2017’s fastest selling album in the U.K. And while he sold a respectable 672,000 copies, Taylor Swift’s album sold 1.2 million copies. Do the math.
Podcast Listeners Make Great Customers
Research has shown that half of the United States podcast listeners are college educated. One-fifth earn more than $100,000 a year.
It appears podcast listeners are young, well-educated, and affluent.
In short, these are dream customers for many businesses.
Podcast Listeners and Quality Time With Your Brand
Podcast listeners are very loyal.
51% …read more
Source:: Medium
