How to Leverage Podcaster Passion for Ads that Connect
Create the most authentic marketing campaign ever.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache on Unsplash
Is your marketing messaging making enough noise?
As consumers get more scrupulous about how they spend their money, products they hear about through people they trust will continue to play a key role in deciding which purchases are worthwhile.
But now they’re looking beyond friends and family. According to HubSpot, ‘30% of consumers say influencer recommendations are one of the most important factors in their purchasing decisions, compared to 27% for recommendations from friends or family.’
Whether you call them influencers or content creators, this word-of-mouth approach to get your customers talking (and buying) is paying off. In fact, the influencer marketing economy has grown from $1.7 billion to $13.8 billion in just 5 years (HubSpot).
A great way to build trust with discerning consumers? Aligning with high-quality creators who care deeply about their content and community. A study from MMI and Harris Poll found that 77% of content creators are passionate about the subject they specialize in.
And we can’t think of a more passionate creator than the podcaster.
Which brings us to this stat from The Creators survey from Sounds Profitable and Edison Research: 80% of the podcasters they surveyed have day jobs. That means podcasting is a passion project for a majority of creators today.
With that said, here are 3 ways advertisers can leverage that passion with podcast campaigns that are relevant, build trust, and get results.
Keep the podcaster’s audience in mind.
Targeting the top shows for reach, hand-picking niche shows, buying inventory across networks or genres, or a combination of all the above? There’s no exact science when it comes to picking podcasts — it all depends on your goal and budget. But there is one non-negotiable: have a reason for being in the content.
Content creators want advertisers to consider their audience. Luckily the podcast environment is contextual targeting at its best, and a show’s content can tell us a lot about who its listener is and what they care about.
Financial Feminist Tori Dunlap host read
Make authenticity a creative priority.
Host reads and host-read personal endorsements are the holy grail for advertisers. Not only do podcast listeners prefer to hear directly from the host, host-read messaging drives stronger aided and unaided recall.
But we also know that bespoke host reads aren’t in everyone’s budget. You can still use the environment to your advantage, regardless of the creative execution. Listeners are equally passionate about the content the host is creating — focus on creative that’s educational, engages them with a relevant story, or shares a relatable pain point.
Cass and Emma host read for Honeydew Me
Follow podcasting’s house rules.
Even though podcast listeners *get* podcast advertising, they are sensitive to the marketing messaging they’re exposed to on other channels. Podcasting is still relatively uncluttered and adhering to good best practices will help keep podcast advertising sustainable and podcast listening enjoyable.
That means buying from partners you trust, making quality ads a priority, and fighting ad fatigue with frequency capping and proper competitive separation. These are all great for podcasters who put their heart and souls into every episode they produce, but also great for making sure your investment is actually cutting through the clutter and getting heard.