How to Leverage Podcast Advertising to Drive Business Growth

Editor's Note: As well as being a principal in the marketing consultancy, Griffin + Skeggs Collaborative, Greenbook author Susan Griffin co-produces her own podcast, Story Conversations, about narrative, stories, and storytelling. One of my favorite episodes features Mark Earls, a frequent IIEX speaker. Have a listen here.

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When adding to your marketing toolkit, don’t overlook the power of audio branding through podcast advertising. Why? Attention science gives us some clues. 

Whether it be for activation or brand building, in a crowded market we all look for ways to grow our business that use the full power of our senses, including audio. Where radio used to dominate in delivery of audio branding, a somewhat surprising vehicle for advertising has come into its own in the past few years:  The Podcast. 

Depending on which resource you trust, it is estimated that there are over 4.25 million podcasts registered globally today, around 1 in 4 internet users listen to podcasts, and according to Statista, 70 million people in the US alone listened to podcasts in 2023. So, this medium has traction. 

This includes all podcasts that appeal to consumers and the general populace, covering topics as diverse as comedy, true crime, politics, religion and pop culture. Only a few reach the meteoric listenership or “Share of Ear” that attracts millions of subscribers and listeners. For B2B services, the audiences are much more niche and targeted, but that, it turns out, is not a bad thing. 

For those of you trying to grow a market research services business, who have taken the plunge to produce and publish your own podcasts, you know that it takes an inordinate amount of time, commitment, creativity and consistency to successfully develop, build and hold on to an audience. 

In our industry, there are certainly more than a few agencies who have attempted to bridge that mythic gap between thought leadership and commercialization. But those that devolve into self-promotion rarely stay afloat or deliver ROI for what I call the Triple “E” factor: Editorially Excellent Effort.

Research suppliers who want to grow their businesses but recognize they have neither the time nor the skills to create a winning podcast program, have probably done the calculation for effort to impact. It takes almost as much effort to maintain a podcast programming schedule, market your episodes and gain traction with listeners as it does to market your core business. Once you are in the podcast pool, you simply must keep swimming and score wins!

What many research providers and suppliers don’t see is the power of audio advertising inside of a successful, synergistic podcast series, that attracts the kind of listeners you want to reach. Creating an advertising message that can be reinforced episode by episode in a popular podcast tailored to your target market, takes much less Triple “E”, than producing the podcast series yourself. And the investment can be quite cost effective.

Do Podcast Ads Really Outperform Other Advertising Vehicles, and If So, Why? 

I have been following the phenomena of podcast advertising for a while now as this media investment choice is enjoying a significant growth trajectory in consumer advertising (albeit tiny in comparison to other choices for spending media dollars like CTV or retail media.)

But to really understand why this medium works (and has the potential to be a powerful tool for B2B services providers like market research firms and suppliers) I looked to voices smarter than mine to put this in the context of “Attention Science.”

In this Article in Forbes from March of this year, Contributor Curt Steinhorst describes why podcast advertising outperform other advertising vehicles in five reasons. Read the article for sure, but I will summarize the points as follows: 

1. Hyper targeted Audience Reach. Steinshorst suggests that if you find a podcast in which to advertise whose content consistently resonates with the audience that you are trying to reach, you can hit that magic bullet of receptivity with listeners for whom your message aligns with their interests and identities. 
2. The Power of the Host.  It is easy to see the logic of interesting, charismatic hosts commanding our attention (I hesitate to use the terms “influencers”) because we all connect with hosts we like and find credible.  We hear them speak, they are more human and relatable. There are strong stats that suggest that podcast listeners who do find the hosts compelling, pay more attention, typically listen through entire ads and are inclined to act.   
3. Enhanced Engagement through Storytelling. This one is close to my heart. Steinhorst describes storytelling as “activating the brain’s regions responsible for complex information processing”. This tends to get us to pay attention and keeps us engaged, not just in the narrative of the podcasts but in the advertising the story  surrounds as well. 
4. Minimal Distraction. I don’t know about you, but I listen to podcasts and live streams that I download and save for later, when I am out for a walk, in the car or doing household chores. Steinhorst contrasts this with visual media that, while we are forced to focus on reading it, that effort is subject to constant distractions and content is often not fully read, absorbed or remembered.  Those of you who specialize in behavioral science understand the concept of “cognitive load”. I interpret what the author is saying here is that if we are listening intentionally to a podcast while performing some very low cognitive load activity - like strolling outside or folding the laundry - we actually process messages (including the ads) more impactfully.
5. High Action-Taking Propensity. This one surprised me, but in a good way. It seems that Podcast advertising with engaged audiences has a high potential to actually result in activation. Perhaps these positive rates of conversion are driven in part because if we trust the hosts, we are paying more attention and are therefore more inclined to take action. Whether pre-recorded by your marketing team or provided as text to be read by the podcast hosts or producers, especially when a trackable engagement code is included, these podcast audio ads seem to be highly effective as brand builders AND activation tools. So, it has to makes sense to at least try them as part of your marketing formula.

Is There Podcast Advertising Opportunity for You?

For market research agencies, ResTech companies and suppliers to the research industry, you could not have a more targeted audience than those who engage with Greenbook. Greenbook has invested over years in a robust podcast programming schedule featuring stakeholders from every corner of the MRX universe, including buyers and sellers. The weekly online conversation between Lenny Murphy and Karen Lynch on LinkedIn Live, called “the Exchange” is available on YouTube as a podcast for on-demand listening.

Along with other content and event sponsorship packages, Greenbook offers multiple opportunities to cost effectively dip your toe in the podcast audio branding and advertising pool, without committing to being a full-fledged podcast producer yourself. 

There is a principle in marketing that I am sure all of you know: A customer doesn’t buy your product until they have been exposed to it at least 7 times. The number may be allegorical, but the lesson is clear.  Successful marketing campaigns will include many different vehicles for conveying your message to the right audience you wish to convert. And the evidence would suggest that podcast advertising should be one of those vehicles. 

If podcast advertising is something you want to add to your toolkit, Greenbook is standing by to help. Contact our team at sales@greenbook.org.