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Podcasts are among the fastest growing forms of popular media, and branded podcasts are no exception. Immersive and intimate, they are a rare opportunity for companies to connect with listeners without being too intrusive.
In branded podcasts, the brand stands out from the content around it, helping to get the message across better than global radio benchmarks, where mentions of the brand score an average 5% lower, according to a BBC study. Brand mentions in branded podcasts deliver, on average, 16% more engagement and 12% more memory encoding than adjacent content.
Therefore, branded podcasts are a proven and effective way to achieve higher brand awareness and successfully grow your audience.
But where should you start? What exactly is a branded podcast, what are the benefits, and where do you start with branding? This article will tell you what you need to know about branded podcasts.
What is a brand podcast?
In 2018, fast company he described branded podcasts as “the ads people really want to hear.”
As the name suggests, a brand podcast is, drum roll, the official podcast of a brand.
In other words, a business or company decided to launch their own podcast in which relevant industry topics and ideas are likely to be discussed and their own brand, products or services are mentioned from time to time.
Why start a brand podcast?
In the US, many families have incorporated podcasts into their daily routines, and use of the medium is set to grow in the coming years. Therefore, considering a branded podcast as part of your marketing strategy is a logical idea.
If you don’t, your competitors most likely will, and will likely drive more customers and conversions for your business.
75% of podcast listeners respond to sponsored messages they hear on a podcast, including brand messages, NPR reported. That’s significant because it shows that podcast promotions can sound natural and potential customers are willing to act on it.
How to bookmark a podcast
1. Define your goal or objective for your branded podcast
Business podcasts generally exist to create a positive impression of that business, which means subscriptions, downloads, or chart positions may not be as important as KPIs that consider brand awareness, engagement, and authority. .
You may want your podcast to function as a tool to gain vital feedback, or you could use it to become a thought leader in your industry, or perhaps secure a dream guest that will create value for your listeners.
2. Establish your ideal branded podcast audience
Like a client persona, an ideal listener is the person who represents your listeners, and should describe the person’s age, occupation, gender, location, job, and interests.
Suppose your overall goal is brand elevation, and your target audience is female CEOs between the ages of 35 and 45. In that case, you will create a branded podcast that is very focused on the interests of that specific audience.
3. Establish your brand
In other words, why are you here? Podcasters rely heavily on their audio, but first impressions matter when branding is the concern.
Consider non-audio elements: Strong, visually powerful podcast elements are vital to making your podcast stand out in the first place. That could include colorful fonts, quirky descriptions, and an inimitable tone of voice.
Use your brand guidelines to ensure you are using the brand correctly. If you’re a legal firm, you’ll probably want a professional and serious tone of voice, while a makeup brand will probably want something more personable and fun. Jingles can also help distinguish a podcast at the beginning and end of an episode.
Research your competitors’ covers and see which ones would appeal to you to listen. With over 700,000 podcasts available, it’s never been more important to stand out from the crowd, and a large part of that is due to unique and compelling branding.
The benefits of a branded podcast
The nature of podcasting is precisely what makes it so beneficial for a brand: The conversational and intimate way in which content is delivered helps create an optimal environment for engagement and brand awareness.
The BBC report referenced above found that there are many benefits of a branded podcast:
- They achieve a unique cut with ad avoiders. Users who tend to avoid ads were 22% more engaged with podcast brand mentions than with TV brand mentions.
- Your listeners are active. 94% of listeners consume podcasts while doing something else, be it driving, exercising or doing housework. Oddly enough, such activity makes listeners more receptive to brand messages. The other activity helps keep the brain engaged, improving its ability to absorb information at a “low-involvement processing” level, meaning the message is retained for much longer.
- They encourage positive association. Listeners create subconscious associations with brands based on the words they hear in their podcasts. For example, if the word “innovative” is used repeatedly, listeners are likely to refer to the sponsor as “innovative” as well, showing that they instinctively link the brand to the message.
- They offer additional airtime for brands. People consume podcasts during periods of time when they would not normally be available for traditional advertising. That’s an enviable business opportunity, as it adds a new target to the media mix.
To dig deeper into that last point: only 20% of audiences read a blog post in its entirety; and while videos around the 2-minute mark receive 70% engagement, that drops sharply at the 6-minute mark to 50% and below 50% after the 10-minute mark.
Although 70% is a good rate of consumption, the length of content that you can hold the user’s attention on is minimal. The average length of a podcast is 28.5 minutes; can hold a listener’s attention for 14x longer – an impressive length and engagement rate for any branded content.
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In an ever-crowded marketplace, brands must embrace innovations to stay ahead. Branded podcasts appear poised to ride their current wave of success into the future, along with video and other formats that flip traditional marketing on its head.
Branded podcasting is one of the best ways to build awareness, identify with your audience, establish loyalty, and target potential customers in a way that not only drives your products and services forward, but also helps them achieve their goals.
The most popular branded podcasts still stem from the heart of what makes a good podcast: great storytelling, engaging conversations, and valuable content that people want to hear.
More resources on brand podcasts
How to Build Your Podcast Brand: MarketingProfs Webinar
Why podcast? Because right now? How to harness the power of podcasts for your brand
Podcasting for B2B Marketing Thought Leaders
