Podcasts are more popular than ever. We all have something to say or something to sell. While this is just another channel. It is a channel that holds its audience attention, and reinforces your business goals. So why are so many people turning to podcasts to et the word out? Because content can be delivered in a unique way and with expertise.
The power of podcasts
Podcasts can perform so many functions:
- They can educate.
- They can entertain.
- They can inform.
- They can inspire.
- They provide authority.
- They can provide a humorous personal side of your business.
At the end of the day, you can make a connection with your audience. You are able to talk directly to your audience and provide the voice that migt no come out in a blog.
Podcast Listening Grew 23% Between 2015 and 2016 and monthly podcast listenership has increased 75% since 2013.
Podcasts are also portable. In this world of accessibility, we all have multiple devices to listen to podcasts. Where we want and when we want. All this sounds great but who is really listening?
To provide some context for what 21% of the entire country represents, 13% of the US listens to Spotify monthly, and 21% of the country uses Twitter. The same number of folks listen to podcast and use Twitter.
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All this sounds great but in order to grow more listeners, the age barrier needs to be broken. Those 55+ age bracket are pretty flat with listening. If this changed the podcast would go through the roof.
Even mainstream media is investing in podcasting:
- The New York Times, which in March 2016 announced the creation of a podcast team focusing on news and opinion programming;
- Public radio broadcaster WNYC, which announced in October 2015 its plan to raise $15 million in funds for a new podcast division (for more on the role of podcasts within the public radio world, see the public broadcasting fact sheet);
- The Wall Street Journal, which introduced WSJ Podcasts in December 2o15;
- And on the local front, the Des Moines Register, which turned to long-form narrative podcasts in order to explore one story in depth.
Startups and newer media organizations investing in podcasting included:
- Slate, which launched the podcasting platform Panoply in February 2015 in partnership with several other media organizations, including The New York Times, WBUR and The Huffington Post;
- Buzzfeed, which launched its first two podcasts in March 2015 – and launched The Tell Show and No One Knows Anything in 2016;
- Radiotopia, which received a grant from the Knight Foundation for $1 million to fund new stories and support a pilot fund;
- Gimlet – a podcast network that launched in 2014 – attracted $6 million in new funding in December 2015 to fuel expansion. Plans for the funds included new studios, an increase from four to 12 podcasts and a tripling of staff over the next couple of years;
- Goat Rodeo – a podcast network focusing on local issues around the Washington, D.C., area – launched in October 2015.
So, what are we all listening to in the podcast world?
Here are the top 5 podcasts when writing this article 1/13/17.
1. Pod Save America is here
A no-bullshit conversation about politics.
This is a political podcast for people not yet ready to give up or go insane hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor.
3 TED Radio Hour is here
Networks surround and sustain us, in nature, in our bodies, in relationships, in the digital world. This hour, TED speakers explore how we rely on networks and how we have the power to shape them.
4 This American Life is here
Most weeks This American Life is the most popular podcast in the country, with around 2.5 million people downloading each episode.
5 Hidden Brain is here
The Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain’s host Shankar Vedantam reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, the biases that shape our choices, and the triggers that direct the course of our relationships.