Are Podcasts Effective For Advertising?

Do you listen to Podcasts? Chances are you do!

As of fall 2019, 51 percent of the US population (144 million) had listened to a podcast, with 21% listening on a weekly basis, Insider Intelligence estimates that by 2022, podcast listeners will account for 20.3 percent of all internet users, translating to 424.2 million listeners worldwide. That is a seriously large audience. Here’s some more key statistics compiled by our friends over at DealerMarketing:

• Podcast listeners listen to an average of seven different shows per week (up from five in 2017).
• 80% listen to all or most of each episode (fewer ads and lower tune-out).
• The most popular age group for podcasts listeners is 25-44, which makes up 49% of total listeners. 56% of podcast listeners are male.
• 45% of monthly podcast listeners have a household income over $75K vs. 35% for the total population.
• 27% of US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree vs. 19% for US pop music.
• Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel (94% are active on at least one vs. 81% for the entire population.)
• Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media.
• Podcast listeners are more likely to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime (meaning they are less likely to be exposed to TV advertising.)
• 69% agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products or services.

So, now that we’re all caught up and familiar with how large PodCasts have gotten, you’re probably wondering how this pertains to dealers, and how can it be used to generate more business? Don’t worry, we’re here to answer those questions!

Podcast, Defined.

Podcasts in a nutshell are typically long form conversations that cover specific topics. Some can be educational, like Vox’s new podcast Unexplainable, which deep dives into unexplained phenomena and tries to get the listeners to wrap their heads around it (albeit, unsuccessfully for the most part). I’m sure you’ve probably heard of Joe Rogan (the king of the podcast realm), he tends to invite people from all walks of life to sit down and cover topics they’re associated with, whether it be Neil Degrasse Tyson on science, or Dave Chappel on comedy. Some Podcasts incorporate video and audio, while others are just strictly audio. Pretty easy to understand right? Great! Let’s move on!

Podcast Ads?

If you haven’t listened to one or are unaware, most podcasts run advertisements (they need to generate revenue somehow). They can range from 15-60 second slots that play before, during, or after. With how large the audience is for Podcasts, they’re extremely effective in generating brand and product awareness. Here’s some stats from the awesome team over at Ranieri And Co about the effectiveness of different types of ads run on podcasts:

“Podcast ads are the most recalled type of ad – with 86% of respondents saying they remember seeing or hearing an ad (Super Listeners 2021 report). Host-read podcast ads achieve 72% brand recall, compared with 62% for non-host-read ads. Additionally, host-read ads on podcasts produce an average of 50% increase in purchase and recommendation intent among listeners when compared against non-host-read ads.(Neilson)”

Those are some seriously good numbers. Starting to see the benefits of Podcast ads? Us too!

What Podcasts are right for my business?

There’s over 1 million podcasts and growing, so sorting through them and trying to find the most effective one to advertise can be daunting. First, you should look at, or create your buyer persona. Who are you trying to reach? Are they likely to listen to Podcasts? What are their Interests? What's the most effective content to put in front of them? These are all questions you should be asking before you decide to pull the trigger. Knowing your audience is absolutely crucial to your success. Once you figure those questions out, do research and see what your buyer persona is likely to be watching/listening to. Once that’s figured out, do some research on the podcast(s) you want to advertise with and see how you can tailor your content to it to be the most engaging for your audience. 

Need some Podcast recommendations, or have some questions on how we can help you achieve your goals? Reach out to us below! Also make sure to subscribe to our newsletter here!