Podcasting: Don’t Fear Over-Saturation. This is Still One of the Best Ways to Grow Your Brand

By Parcon

Podcasts have grown to become one of the most powerful marketing and advertising streams, and sources of information. As the popularity of podcasts continues to grow, you might ask – “Should I jump on board?” Let us help you decide.

In the last decade, podcast listeners have doubled and today 57% of U.S. consumers listen to podcasts regularly. There is still significant untapped territory in this growing market. While there are 600 million blogs and 37 million YouTube channels on the web, there are only around 2 million podcasts. If you’re considering starting a podcast, now’s the time to seize the opportunity—before the competition increases.

Impressive Podcasting Stats

Podcasting gives you the ultimate engagement. Here are some podcasting stats from Nielson and Edison that show how powerful they’ve become.

32% of the population listen to podcasts at least every other month.
Weekly listeners spend an average of 6 hours and 47 minutes consuming podcasts each week.
Podcast listeners listen to an average of seven different shows.
80% of listeners listen to the entire podcast, or at least most of it. Compare this to YouTube, where the average person watches 50–60% of a video.
Half of all podcast listeners are in the 25-44 age demographic.
45% of listeners have a $250,000+ annual income.
60% of listeners agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products and services.
A podcast is perfect if you have a product or service of your own to sell. It also presents great advertising opportunities. In 2015, podcast ad revenue was around $70 million. Today, it is closer to $650 million.

A recent report from Deloitte predicts that the global podcasting market will increase by 30% to reach $1.1 billion.

Brand Advantages to Podcasting

Build brand awareness and establish yourself as an authority in your industry. By sharing your knowledge, insights and expertise through your podcast, you can attract new customers and grow your audience.

Connect with your audience on a deeper level by providing them with valuable content they can listen to on-the-go. This can help build stronger relationships with your audience and increase customer loyalty.

Reach new audiences who may not have discovered your business through other channels. By sharing your podcast on social media and other platforms, you can attract new listeners and potentially convert them into customers.

Showcase your personality and share your story with your audience. This can help build a more personal connection with your listeners and make your brand more relatable.

Repurpose existing content such as blog posts, webinars or interviews. By turning this content into podcast episodes, you can reach a wider audience and provide your listeners with additional value.

Increase engagement by allowing them to listen to your content while they go about their daily lives. This can help increase engagement and keep your audience coming back for more.

Overall, podcasts can be a highly effective way to promote your business and reach new audiences. By providing valuable content that your audience can listen to on-the-go, you can build stronger relationships with your customers, establish yourself as an authority in your industry and grow your business.

Should You Host Your Own or Be a Guest?

Deciding whether to start a podcast or be a guest on other podcasts depends on your goals and resources. The Parcon team is here to help you develop effective strategy and guide you through the process. Here are some factors to consider:

Starting Your Own Podcast

Pros: If you start a podcast, you have complete control over the content, format and scheduling. You can use the platform to build your brand, share your expertise and connect with your target audience. You can also monetize your podcast through sponsorships, merchandise or exclusive content.
Cons: Starting a podcast requires a significant investment of time, money and effort. You need to invest in equipment, software, hosting and promotion. You also need to develop a consistent content schedule, record and edit episodes, and handle administrative tasks such as booking guests and responding to feedback.

Being a Guest on a Podcasts

Pros: Being a guest on other podcasts allows you to reach a wider audience, build relationships with other podcasters and their listeners, and establish yourself as an authority in your field. You can also leverage other podcasters’ audiences to promote your own brand or content.

Cons: Being a guest on other podcasts requires you to research and pitch yourself to podcast hosts, prepare for interviews, and promote the episodes once they are released. You also have less control over the content, format, and scheduling of the podcast.

Ultimately, whether to start a podcast or be a guest on other podcasts depends on your goals, resources and preferences. You can also consider doing both – start your own podcast and be a guest on other podcasts to maximize your reach and impact.

Creating a Strategy for Your Podcast or Podcast Appearance

To identify which podcast you should create or be a guest on, consider the following to help build your strategy:

Your expertise: Take a look at other podcasts in your niche or industry. Find podcasts that are related to your area of expertise and get an idea of where you can provide value to the audience.
Podcast format: Listen to the podcasts that may be your future competition or that you are considering to be a guest on to understand their format. Also look for podcasts that have a format that fits your style of speaking and expertise, or that you can use as inspiration for your own.
Podcast audience: Consider the audience of the podcast. As a guest, look for podcasts whose audience aligns with your target audience. If you can provide value to the podcast’s audience, you are more likely to be invited as a guest. You can study these audiences to learn more about what they want to hear once you’re ready to start your own.
Podcast host: Research the podcast host and their background. If you’re interested in being a guest, look for podcasts hosted by someone who has a similar background or interests as you. You can also look for podcasts hosted by someone who you admire or respect. Otherwise, you can learn a lot from other podcast hosts and take some of those learnings to apply to your podcast.
Social media presence: Podcasts that have a strong social media presence are often the one with high streaming rates and audience reach. Look for these when you’d like to get the most reach as a guest, or when you’re narrowing down your list of competitors to review.

Pitch yourself (for guests): Once you have identified a podcast that you would like to be a guest on, pitch yourself to the podcast host. Be clear about what you can offer to the podcast and its audience, and provide any relevant information that might help convince the host to invite you as a guest.

How to Pitch Yourself for a Podcast

You’ve decided that you want to pitch a podcast. Fantastic! But what’s next? The Parcon team is here to guide you through the process. Our deep knowledge and experience in preparing effective pitches will make you and your ideas stand out.

We know that pitches should be professional, respectful and authentic. We will collaborate with you to demonstrate that you can provide value to the audience and are genuinely interested in being a guest.

The Parcon team will guide you through the following steps:

Research the podcast: Before reaching out to the podcast host, we will have listened to a few episodes and understand the podcast’s theme, audience and format. This will help us tailor your pitch and show that you are qualified and prepared.

Write a compelling pitch: When reaching out to the podcast host, we will write a clear and concise email that explains who you are, your expertise and why you would be a great fit for the podcast. We will highlight any relevant experience or credentials that make you stand out as a guest.

Provide value: We will focus on what you can offer to the podcast and its audience. We will highlight topics you can speak to, any unique perspectives or insights you have or any interesting stories you can share. Our goal is to show the podcast host that you have done your research and that you can provide value to their audience.

Follow up: We are committed to getting you a spot! We will handle all communications and follow up.

Ready to Get Started?

We are Parcon, a VCMO and fractional marketing team ready to help you navigate podcasting waters and grow your business. We provide strategic guidance, expertise, and resources to improve your marketing efforts. We will help you develop a comprehensive marketing strategy, execute effective marketing tactics and analyze data to optimize your campaigns and achieve your business goals.

We utilize our expertise and fanatical belief in strategy to drive business forward, create thought leaders, raise awareness, change perception and manage reputations across all communication platforms. It requires intimate industry knowledge and leveraging all opportunities to ensure all components are working together. We’d call it synergy, but then we’d have to put a dollar in the buzzword jar.