According to Statista, the number of podcast listeners increased by 84% between 2019 and 2024. Podcast listening has been trending up for over a decade and shows no signs of slowing down.
When used as part of a marketing strategy, a podcast—particularly a branded podcast—offers several benefits that are easy to overlook.
- Have you considered launching a podcast but are unsure if it would work for your business? Branded podcasts offer growth potential that other avenues can’t match.
- Have you published a book that needs more exposure? Branded podcasts can be used to explore book chapters or invite guests to your show with a similar perspective.
- Are you looking for a better way to engage your audience? Branded podcasts can be used to start a conversation with potential customers.
Below are the top 5 benefits of branded podcasts and why you should start one today.
Industry content is saturated across all platforms and marketing channels. Just take a look at any social media feed.—everyone knows something about something. With so many people giving snippet opinions, a more thoughtful approach to sharing insight is needed.
Savvy individuals and companies recognize the transformative power of audio productions and are tapping into this potentially lucrative market.
What is a branded podcast?
A branded podcast, unlike a traditional one, is focused on building brand awareness. The ultimate goal of a branded podcast is to give a brand stictoitiveness so that it is no longer seen as just an entity that sells products and services but something more personal that resonates with listeners’ hearts and minds.
Buyers are smart. They don’t want to be sold to like they have a bottom-line sticker on their forehead. They want to know that they matter to the brands they support. A branded podcast allows companies to add substance to their brand’s narrative through engaging content that pulls potential and current buyers in at the ground level.
Traditional advertising can feel sterile and impersonal. It offers a snapshot message, and then it’s gone. For the impulse buyer, traditional advertising can be a good strategy, but for other buyer types, a more thoughtful, long-term approach can reap the most rewards.
A branded podcast offers an ongoing conversation that pulls listeners into the company’s ethos. This is where the “magic” happens. Unlike the intrusiveness of traditional advertising that pops up unexpectedly and interrupts your favorite TV show, blog article, or social media feed, branded podcasts offer engagement on the listener’s time—when they say they are ready to hear what a company (or it’s representative) has to say.
What are the benefits of branded podcasts?
1. Connect with a niche audience
Just as there are different flavors of music and listeners with unique preferences, the same is true for podcasts. Podcast topics are unlimited, and the audiences they attract continue to grow. The podcast market’s innate flexibility offers brands a unique opportunity to meet their audience where they are and discuss the topics that matter to them most.
Savvy marketers use podcasts to drill down their message to provide solutions to the specific problems niche audience members are facing or to answer questions they may have. This ingratiates brands to listeners and potential buyers.
2. Humanize your brand
Buyers want to know that there are real, living, breathing human beings behind the companies they support.
It’s not enough to have a great About page with your mission statement and all the things that make you great. Buyers want to see your words in action. What’s important to you? What topics are relevant to your brand and your ideal customer? What unique perspective or experience do you have that separates you from the competition?
What better way than to start a public conversation about the things that matter the most to your company? Humanizing a brand begins with vulnerability and the courage to give “legs” to your ideas.
3. Offer value
Some of the best-branded podcasts don’t overtly advertise their products and services; however, they always offer value. Gone are the days of dangling just enough carrots in front of a potential buyer to get them to bite. Information is everywhere and easily accessible, so if you don’t offer value, someone else will.
A branded podcast offers a channel for companies to share their expertise freely, while creating a tribe of followers in the process who will happily buy what you have to offer because you’ve shown them that helping them matters. This is reciprocity marketing at its best—the idea that when you give something of value (e.g., information), you will get something of value in return (e.g., purchase, email, referral, etc.).
4. Establish thought leadership
Everyone has a perspective, but industry experience trumps opinions and shallow information every time.
Branded podcasts provide a platform for establishing your expertise in the market. It gives brands a unique opportunity to showcase their in-depth knowledge and strengths while building trust with their listeners in the process.
For example, if you were interested in learning more about mental health in the workplace and had a choice between listening to two doctors’ podcasts. One used each podcast to share data from case studies over the last decade, while the other spent the podcast talking about the latest partnership with a new supplement brand and how the first 50 listeners could get 15% off with the code BRAINFOOD. Who would you take more seriously and be more and come back to learn from week after week?
Branded podcasts, done right, offer unique industry perspectives and knowledge that solidify an individual or company’s positioning in the industry.
5. Spark new business growth
Branded podcasts offer an opportunity to build trust. When listeners trust a brand, they are more apt to buy the products and services offered. Quality podcast shows can also open the door to high-quality sponsors that align with your brand and the audience you serve.
Branded podcast examples
Here’s a list of branded content to inspire you to create your own.
- The Goal Digger by Jenna Kutcher
- LipStories by Sephora
- The Shopify Podcasts
- New Heights by Jason and Travis Kelce
Takeaways
Branded podcasts offer an opportunity for companies to create a dialogue with current customers and connect with potential buyers for future sales. High-quality, branded podcasts build brand awareness, authority, and credibility. When done right, they go beyond what an advertisement offers by giving listeners insight into the company and its beliefs and build trust in the process.
Ready to explore the potential of a branded podcast for your brand? Learn more.
Want to learn how to use a podcast in conjunction with your book launch? Learn more.