Podcast advertising can be an ingenious way to get the word out about a brand or business. It’s an engaging and effective advertising method, especially when podcasting remains such a massive industry, with around 3 million podcasts available, coming from all over the world and touching on various topics, interests, niches, and demographics.
Unlike radio, television, and online ads, users are more likely to stay engaged with a podcast advertisement, since many podcasts demand that the listener stays actively listening and attentive.
In short, podcasts are a goldmine for advertisers. However, as with any ad campaign, a brand shouldn’t blindly toss its sponsorship copy out to whatever podcast agrees to it. The true secret to an effective podcast advertisement is choosing the right one to place it on.
Here, we’ll take a deeper look at how brands can find the right podcast to advertise on.
Know Your Demographic
As with any advertising campaign, knowing the target audience is critical to success. When a brand looks into podcast advertising, they’re usually aware of who their ideal demographic is. Using previous insights into customer personas, focus group testing, or market research will help narrow down the series that will be the home of the brand’s next podcast advertisement.
With the customer persona in mind, do a little research into what sort of podcast that person might listen to. One clever tip for this is to find podcast networks that host a variety of different programs and reach out to them to ask for demographic information.
You could also go about this by using a broad niche and narrowing it down. For example, if a brand that sells custom furniture wants to place a podcast advertisement, they might first search for home and garden podcasts. Then, they’ll narrow it down to one about interior design.
It’s not advised to just choose whatever podcast is popular at the moment. While netting a pre-roll ad on the biggest podcast on Spotify will return a lot of listeners, it doesn’t guarantee that these listeners are the right audience to actually drive conversion.
Conduct User Research
One of the most underutilized resources in podcast advertising is the power of current and previous customers. As stated, the current market for podcasting is massive. Without immense luck, a brand is not likely to stumble on the perfect podcast advertisement partner – user research will help marketing teams land on the right place to advertise.
If a business has a solid social media presence, they already have a foot in the door with this research. Brands can set up a survey with Google Forms or Survey Monkey to ask about their audience’s listening habits. If a business doesn’t have a strong enough following online to garner significant results, Survey Monkey and SoGoSurvey can also recruit participants within a particular demographic.
In short, this will give a business an idea of what their current audience is listening to. With enough research, a list of potential podcasts can be drummed up, allowing for further research and outreach.
Use Podcast Search Engines
Websites like Listen Notes and similar platforms allow users to browse through an extensive library of nearly every active podcast available, including in curated lists made by listeners. Even platforms like Spotify will allow the user to type in a broad search term, and it will relay back podcast episodes that use that term or tag.
Or Regular Search Engines
While “Google It” tends to be reasonably bare-bones or even unhelpful advice, there is a little bit of truth in the idea that a lot of research starts with a Google search query. “Health and fitness podcasts” will yield millions of results, as will many other queries that might help narrow the search. Reading reviews and using them as a jumping-off point can help decide if a podcast resonates with a specific audience or demographic. After all, SEO for podcasts is definitely a thing, meaning the ones at the top of results are likely ones with enough of an audience to be helpful.
Listen To Podcasts (As An Advertiser)
While it seems obvious, this is a step that some might overlook. While listening to a few podcast episodes might be time-consuming, this is a critical step in the podcast advertising journey. Find some busy work to do and queue up a few episodes of a podcast that has been singled out as a good candidate. When listening to a podcast like an advertiser, keep a few points in mind:
- What sort of ads are they already running? How often do they run them?
- Do they accept user-submitted content (like stories, pleas for advice, or questions?) If so, what sort of people seem to be submitting that content? Do they fit in the target demographic?
- How are the ads presented? Some podcasters will record copy that puts a spin on the ad they’re meant to read, rather than reciting flat copy. Which would work best for your brand’s podcast advertisement?
- How do they promote their own podcast?
- Does the podcast and its host(s) align with the brand’s views? Do they use talking points and language that the brand would not object to being associated with their imaging?
- Who is the host? What kinds of guests do they have on, if applicable? Do you trust them to handle your podcast advertisement?
Partner With A Creative Media Agency
While in-house research can be necessary for finding the right podcast to advertise on, it may be challenging and frustrating for first-timers. A creative media agency will have the expertise and outreach resources to help find the perfect podcast advertising spot that works with your brand or business.
BloomAds is a fully integrated media agency specializing in building cross-channel media plans – including podcast advertisements. With years of experience and measurable results, we’ll take the guesswork out of hunting down the best podcasts, and even help build the ad that’s placed on it.
Contact BloomAds today to get the leg up your brand needs in podcast advertising.