How Are Podcasts Used as a Marketing Tool?

One of the biggest challenges of B2B marketing is reaching the right audience, with the right content, at the right time. Organizations of all sizes, across a wide range of industries, are always looking for new ways to attract and engage prospective (and current) customers. So they publish blog posts and ebooks, develop their social media presence, and relentlessly experiment with new strategies. 

One largely-untapped avenue for these companies to consider is podcasting. 

If you happen to be one of the increasingly-few people who aren’t very familiar with podcasting, you likely don’t realize how versatile it is as a medium. In this blog, we’re going to explore why podcasts are a great marketing tool. More specifically, we’ll discuss:

• • Why people listen to podcasts
  • How to find a podcast marketing platform
  • How to use podcasts as a marketing tool 
  • How to measure the success of your podcast

Why Do People Listen to Podcasts?

According to Edison Research, a whopping 74% of people identify wanting to learn something new as their main reason for listening to podcasts. The next most popular reasons include entertainment, relaxation, and inspiration. 

Of course, podcasting isn’t the only medium for delivering informative, entertaining content. As far as their reasons for enjoying podcasts in particular go, the same study found that one of the biggest benefits of podcasting is portability. They like being able to do something else while they’re listening — whether that’s doing housework, driving, or even working out.

This presents a unique opportunity for marketers to create engaging content that showcases their brand, gets people talking, and attracts potential customers. 

What Are the Benefits of Podcasting for Business?

There are countless benefits of podcast marketing, including — among other things — the ability to:

• • Increase brand awareness with content that showcases who you are and what you do.
  • Build effective relationships with listeners through content that resonates with them.
  • Engage prospective customers and increase the likelihood of conversion.
  • Establish authority by providing high-quality information, perspectives, or even thought leadership.

How Can You Develop an Effective Podcast Marketing Strategy?

At a high level, there are 5 main steps to developing an effective marketing strategy that includes podcasting:

1. Deciding what kind of podcast you want to create. For example, what topics will the podcast address? How many episodes will you create? Who will be the host, and will there be guests? A podcast can be literally whatever you want it to be — as long as your audience can connect with it.
2. Planning and recording the episodes. For best results, use the highest quality equipment you have access to, and consider incorporating video.
3. Getting your podcast syndicated, so it can be included in major podcast directories like Apple and Spotify.
4. Promoting your podcast. The best social media to promote your podcast is whatever  platforms your target audience is using.
5. Tracking the results. With a podcast marketing platform like Casted, you can easily monitor the metrics and analytics that are the most important to you. Based on the insights you gain, you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

How Effective Is Podcast Marketing, and How Do You Measure Success?

Podcasting reaches a large audience and showcases your brand, making it an extremely effective medium for attracting and engaging potential customers. As with any marketing strategy, you’ll want to know whether what you’re doing is working. Otherwise, you might not be getting much ROI from it. With a platform like Casted, podcast analytics are right at your fingertips. 

For example, you can track general audience metrics such as:

• • How many listeners are subscribing to your podcast.
  • How many times your episodes have been downloaded.
  • How much time (in total) listeners have spent on your podcast.

From there, you can get more specific with account- and demographics-based metrics like:

• • How many unique (non-duplicate) listeners are tuning in.
  • How many brand new listeners are tuning in for the first time.
  • How many listeners are returning after listening to one or more episodes previously.
  • How many “likes” your podcast episodes receive.
  • How much time listeners spend, on average, with your podcast.
  • How many times listeners share your podcasts on social media platforms.

These merely represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the actionable insights and analytics the Casted platform makes available. You can learn much more about all of these, and more, in our guide.

Casted: The World’s Best Podcast Marketing Platform for B2B Marketers

Casted’s amplified marketing platform empowers B2B marketers with the tools and insights they need to forge real connections with their audience. We have plenty of resources to help illustrate how Casted can benefit your business. To get started, you can read customer stories, learn more about amplified marketing, or reach out to schedule a demo to see the platform in action.