The growth of podcasts in recent years has been nothing short of explosive. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular with listeners and occupying more real estate in people’s daily consumption of media.
With the increase in listenership comes an increase in competition. More brands are trying to get noticed on podcasts through smart product plugins. Simply put, if podcasts aren’t part of your current media strategy, you’re missing out.
Here are our top four tips to create a successful podcast advertising campaign to enhance brand awareness:
1. Pick the right podcast
The key advantage of podcast advertising is it can be tailored to specific ears. It gives you an option to place your ads on a podcast related to the type of people who are most likely to buy your product or use your service. Listeners are more likely to respond to ads they feel have relevance to them. By creating meaningful content and targeting users in their media consumption cycle, you can effectively create more brand awareness.
Example: for a recent ad campaign to promote convertible toppings for Haartz, Franco specifically targeted podcasts that focused on vintage cars, convertibles and general car maintenance.
2. Narrow down your audience
The next step in determining the right strategy is determining: who is your audience? Other than picking the right podcast, it is also important to pay attention to the demographics of the podcast audience. Evaluate your ad’s tone, content and script to ensure it’s appealing and interesting to the target audience. By tailoring your ads to a specific demographic, you’re setting your brand up for success and stronger conversions.
Consider, for example, the automotive podcast mentioned above. Ideally the podcast would appeal to car owners who either own a convertible or a vintage car. In that case, you might tailor your content to working professionals who are slightly older in age and who listen to content that is categorized for travel or other common interests among car enthusiasts.
3. Keep it catchy
Podcast listeners will appreciate ads that create an entertaining or informative atmosphere for them. When your ads serve the same purpose, they fit more effectively into the podcast’s existing structure and increase listener appreciation. Try to match the tone of your ad to the tone of the podcast for maximum effect.
In a Q4 2020 campaign for our client The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division, our ads were focused on asking users to volunteer for the nonprofit’s annual Red Kettle campaign. Since the ads ran during the holiday season, the background music reflected the celebratory sentiments. Additionally, the ad was recorded in both male and female voices to appeal to any audience, depending on the platform’s demographic.
4. Analyze and optimize
Spend time measuring results from your existing podcast ads. Find ways to further optimize and improve, while staying within the budget. Determine the overall effectiveness over time by measuring the right KPIs. Based on your findings, make alterations to the ad/script copy and audience targeting to further optimize your efforts.
The key results to measure should be based on the podcast ad’s objective. For example:
- If the objective is to direct listeners to a particular website landing page, then you should analyze user traffic from when the ad started running.
- If the objective is to drive purchases of a product or service using a promo code, make sure the code is unique for each podcast ad so you can effectively measure the ROI on that specific ad.
There are many ways to approach podcast advertising. You can approach a particular podcast directly to coordinate ad placements with the host or work via third-party applications like AudioGo or Division-D, depending on the budget. Applications like Spotify are testing out new features for podcast advertising to create an enhanced user experience.
As integrated communicators, we are constantly aiming to experiment with the power of new platforms and advertising technologies. If your company is looking to explore the world of audio advertising on a podcast or another digital platform, contact us to learn more about our experience and process.
Neekita Singla is a Senior Digital Account Executive at Franco. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
