Four Ways Audio Ads Help Businesses Find Their Exact Customer Through Digital Marketing Strategy
Everyone has at least one podcast they can’t live without. Case in point: we have quite a few employees here at iFocus who watch episodes of “The Office” over and over, so it’s only natural they’d tune in to “Office Ladies,” a podcast that deep-dives into each episode and gives a behind-the-scenes look at one of America’s greatest workplace sit-coms.
That’s the beauty of podcasts. No matter what the subject is – whether that be comedy, true crime, or politics – there’s a podcast out there for everyone. They’re the perfect way to get through a long work commute in the car or kill a few hours during a layover at the airport.
So, what’s that translate to in hard numbers?
Exactly how big is the podcast audience like these days?
And is there a digital marketing strategy involving podcasts that will work for your business?
Podcasts are Popular!
According to Podcast Insights’ most recent report from December 2021, 155 million people in the U.S. listen to podcasts.
Apple podcasts feature more than half a million active podcasts in 100+ different languages. The podcast landscape is massive, which has made it the new frontier for advertisers and marketers looking to promote products and elevate their brand awareness.
Podcast advertising can be advantageous for your business. Here’s why.
#1 – Podcasts Put Your Product or Brand in the Perfect Place
Marketing and advertising tend to work better when they’re framed properly. Your product or brand is likely designed to appeal to a certain demographic of person with certain interests. Well, guess what? So are podcasts!
The trick is finding the podcast that most appropriately aligns with your company or product. For example, if you run a business that sells trading cards and sports memorabilia, it only makes sense that you’d advertise on a sports-related podcast. Being able to find your audience based on their interests is why podcast advertising is so effective.
#2 – Straight from the Host’s Mouth to Your Audience
As a business owner, we all dream of being able to hire a celebrity spokesperson to talk up our products. One of the biggest advantages of podcast advertising is that fantasy can become a reality.
Because the majority of podcasts thrive on ad revenue, all it takes is a little frontend investment and some catchy scriptwriting to get the ball rolling.
Think of it like the traditional radio ad, but instead of the local DJ reading about your product, it will be the show’s podcast host. This tends to go over incredibly well with listeners since they’re already invested in the show and see the host as a reliable source.
An Interactive Advertising Bureau study found that listeners prefer ads read by the show’s host, compared to pre-produced ads. From a listener’s perspective, it’s about as close to a direct endorsement as it gets.
#3 – Tracking Your Marketing Conversions Using Discount Codes
Podcasts go out to millions and millions of listeners, but how do you distinguish the customers that found you through the podcast compared to every other method? The answer, of course, is discount codes.
If you’ve listened to a podcast ad recently, then you know most of them end with a call to action to visit a website and use a specific code to unlock a discount. This allows businesses to calculate their return on ad spend and conversion ratio.
If you think podcast ads are nothing more than shouting into the echo chamber – think again. This form of marketing provides valuable insights and trackable metrics.
#4 – People Prefer Podcast Ads…the Digital Marketing Numbers Support It
Naturally, you’re probably wondering how podcast advertising compares to other forms of digital marketing. After all, you want to spend your ad dollars on the method that gives you the most conversions, right?
Fortunately, this is yet another area in which podcast advertising really flexes its muscles. According to Nielsen, 78 percent of podcast listeners say they don’t mind hearing podcast ads, while a whopping 62 percent reported they would consider buying a product after hearing a podcast ad.
Again, much of that has to do with the framing of it. When an ad is placed on the right podcast with the right audience and delivered by a host the audience is invested in, ads tend to do quite well.
Ready to Connect with Your Audience? iFocus Can Help You Find Them
If you’re looking to branch out from social media ads or paid search ads, podcast ads are a refined approach that helps businesses better connect with the right audiences. Podcasts ads drive revenue, promote brand awareness, and increase website traffic. All it takes is the right script and the right placement.
This is exactly where iFocus Marketing, a digital marketing agency in Kansas City, can help out, regardless of where you’re located. Not only can we develop a script that’s on-brand and alluring to listeners, but we can find several placements in the infinite sea of podcasts that are within your budget.
Oh, and we’re also HUGE fans of data over here, so you can be sure that we’ll be going over return on ad spend and conversion rates during and after your campaign concludes. That’s the part we love most.
Ready to get started? So are we!
Using our contact form, provide us a few pieces of information about your business. One of our whip-smart business development team members will get in touch to discuss your goals and show you the power of digital marketing and podcast advertising.
Brandon Tietz is a senior digital copywriter at iFocus Marketing with close to a decade of marketing experience. He has written for clients in retail, real estate, automotive, education, manufacturing, healthcare, consumer goods, and several other spaces. In addition to copywriting, he has authored books, published short stories, written for several online and print publications, and was named “Best Local Writer” by The Pitch for his debut novel. He’s currently living the dream in the ‘burbs with his wonderful wife and their two dogs, Dr. Croutons and Professor Pickles.
