Year after year, podcasts continue to gain in popularity and listenership. From an advertiser's perspective, podcasts offer access to an attractive demographic. Engaged podcast listeners represent potential customers who often live well down the sales funnel. However, podcasting's general lack of cost-per-click analytics makes it difficult for advertisers to get the same data available on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. That said, a little common sense goes a long way in maximizing the impact of your podcast advertising dollars.
Before we jump into the details, two key points -
Your podcast advertising strategy (just like your social media strategy) needs to be customized. No two products are the same. Selling a spool of tippet is not the same as selling a custom bamboo rod.
You need to know your customer. No one should know your customer better than you. If you don't, it will be very difficult for you and your podcasting partner to find the common ground between your typical customer and the podcast's listeners.
FIRST PRINCIPLES - FIT AND TRUST
Successful podcast advertising (any advertising really) revolves around trust and fit. As an advertiser, you are banking on the podcast's listeners and community being your kind of people.
With that in mind,
Check out a few episodes. Does the content complement your brand? Do you think your potential customers will engage with the content? I know brands that have spent significant sums advertising on content that was clearly off-brand. They didn't listen to a single episode beforehand. A completely unforced, and expensive, error.
Check out the website and social media. Just like the content itself, does the podcast's website and social media complement your brand? How does the podcast use social media? Does it continually hack its listeners attention or does it strive for substantive engagement? As digital noise continues to increase, consumers are reacting increasingly negatively to attention-hacking tactics. They crave meaningful connection.
SMOKE AND FIRE OR SMOKE AND MIRRORS
Once you have vetted a potential podcast's trust and fit, it is time to kick the tires on its listener community. After all, access to the listener community is the entire reason behind your ad spend.
Ask the podcast producer how they built their audience. Is it organic or did they buy listeners and social media followers? Big numbers look sexy, but, if purchased listeners and followers don't engage with the content and community (they generally don't btw), what are you paying for?
It is worth a word or two on growing audiences and followers with giveaways. We have all seen them - tag a few friends on social, bark at the moon and rub your tummy three times for a chance to win a prize. What's really being accomplished here? Isn't it more likely that these folks will simply tune out until the next giveaway as opposed to hanging around to engage with the content? And, do you really want to spend money to advertise to folks who are primarily on the lookout for free stuff?
Don't get me wrong, giveaways are not per se bad. You just need to be very thoughtful about what they accomplish. Giving away a fly line may make perfect sense - the lifetime value of a few new customers pays for the promotion. On the other hand, giving away a destination trip is a heavier lift. How many trip winners ever return or bring along a friend because they were going to go on the trip whether they won or not? Remember you want to advertise to engaged listeners not folks trolling for freebies on the internet.
Check out the podcast's other sponsors and advertisers. Are the other sponsors and advertisers a good fit with your brand? At a minimum, you don't want one of them to be a competitor. The world is a small place. You certainly don't want any of their baggage to become your baggage.
Ask how engaged other sponsors are with the podcast. Some podcasts have sponsors who pay little or nothing for their sponsorships (Some sponsors don't even know they are sponsors.). There is nothing wrong with being flexible with up and coming brands. Engaging in this practice to create an inflated presence though is a little closer to the line. Before you write a check, make sure you are in good company.
FINALLY, MAKE SURE YOU ARE HEARD
When selling advertising, many podcast hosts focus on downloads. Unfortunately, downloads are downloads not listens. They are largely a vanity metric. Do you really care if your ad makes it to someone's smartphone but is never heard?
Fortunately, podcast hosts have the tools (They are free and included on all major platforms.) to help you get a feel for just how many people may actually hear your ad. Just ask them (Hint: You may have to ask more than once).
Some helpful questions:
How many monthly listeners does your podcast have? Pretty self-explanatory.
Where are most of your listeners located? This is particularly important when, for example, you are a brick and mortar store or promoting a physical event. You don't want to advertise to listeners who don't live within a reasonable distance of your store or event.
How long do your listeners typically listen to an episode? There is no substitute for high quality, engaging content. If most listeners bail a quarter of the way into an episode, it gives you a pretty good idea of how engaged the audience is. The last thing you want to do is purchase a mid-roll ad and find out that 80% of the audience stopped listening before your ad was ever read.
CONCLUSION
Podcast advertising offers brands a cost-effective opportunity to connect with customers who are engaged and well down the sales funnel. With a practical, common sense approach, advertisers can maximize the impact of their ad spend while avoiding common pitfalls.
Marvin Cash is the host and producer of The Articulate Fly. He also offers consulting services to influencers, manufacturers, guides, shops and other fly fishing industry professionals. He is always up to to discuss podcasting, podcast advertising or fly fishing, just reach out.
