We could have talked about a time or two that podcasts are a good way for B2B entrepreneurs to launch content material. However since my first B2B podcasting publish (approach again within the earlier than instances of 2018, how naive we had been), the panorama has modified considerably.
A part of the shift is because of the pandemic and the distant/hybrid work increase that adopted. Individuals who used to spend hours listening to podcasts on their commute instantly discovered that the bed room to house workplace commute required much less leisure.
However the different half is solely pure maturation and evolution over time. Podcasts have gotten much more plentiful, their creators extra various, and the promoting extra related.
Listed below are the key developments that B2B podcasters ought to concentrate on for 2022 and past.
Listener Demographics and Habits Are Altering
First, the excellent news: The recognition of podcasts nonetheless reveals no indicators of waning. In reality, there’s a big block of latest listeners which were at it for lower than a yr! Individuals are nonetheless discovering and falling in love with the medium.
Based on SCM Media’s 2022 Podcast Report, these listeners have some vital distinguishing elements, in comparison with the outdated guard. First, they’re youthful: Over 66% are below 35 years outdated. Second, they’re break up 50/50 gender-wise (the survey assumed a binary), versus the outdated guard’s 70/30 male break up.
Podcasts are additionally diversifying, and audiences are as effectively. Black and Latine listener swimming pools are rising quick. These teams are drawn by topical pursuits, but additionally by creators who share their life experiences. For instance, over half of Black listeners say it’s vital their content material be offered by a Black creator.
These listeners are placing in fewer hours every week — 4.4 versus 7.1 — however they’re additionally listening to extra episodes of various podcasts. Whereas the outdated guard used to hear to each episode of their favourite podcasts, the brand new of us usually tend to podcast hop based mostly on topical curiosity. That is doubtless as a result of…
Podcasts Are Getting Simpler to Discover & Search by Subject
For anybody who has ever hosted a podcast, let’s hear an ideal huge, “FINALLY!” As main gamers like Apple, Spotify, Google and YouTube lean into podcasting, we’re beginning to see higher search engines like google and yahoo and smarter suggestions. Like all machine studying implementations, these algorithms will proceed to enhance over time.
In his podcast predictions for 2022, iHeartMedia’s CEO Conal Byrne explores the implications:
Podcasting will profit from the engineers of those platforms [Google, Youtube and Facebook] aiming their best-in-class search and discovery instruments on the podcasting medium. Lengthy-tail reveals can be found. Evergreen episodes can be highlighted every time related. Maybe greater than something, newsworthy podcast content material will start to floor extra usually in search outcomes and proposals on the platforms all of us use on a regular basis to remain on top of things.
This growth has two main implications for B2B podcasters: First, podcast search engine marketing can be essential to seize “podcast hopper” consideration. Which means each episode ought to have related key phrases within the title and outline for optimum findability.
Second, your podcast archive could also be extra invaluable than you assume. If podcast platforms can be recommending your older episodes, it’s value ensuring every episode is optimized for search and sounds its greatest.
There Are Thrilling New Methods to Monetize & Repurpose Podcasts
Who says podcasts should be a value middle on your model? It’s getting extra easy to serve related promoting to your podcast viewers—including income whereas your model nonetheless will get the increase from the podcast content material.
New podcast listeners are 19% extra open to promoting than the outdated guard. So long as advertisements are related, they are saying, it’s okay to interrupt the content material with promoting. That is partly because of the emergence of DAI (dynamic advert insertion) expertise, which makes it simple to custom-fit related, well timed advertisements into current content material.
Livestreaming is one other option to monetize an already in style podcast. Consider it as internet hosting a webinar, however with extra viewers participation and fewer slideshows. Some stay podcast occasions (albeit for the most well-liked leisure podcasts) can promote tickets for upwards of $50 a session. At the moment, solely 10% of podcasters make the most of livestreams, so it’s a great way on your model to make a splash.
Analysis reveals that listeners are hungry for podcast content material outdoors of the podcast platform, too. Instruments like Wavve, which helps create video from snippets of audio, have seen an explosion in reputation, with Wavve itself seeing 7000% development since 2019.
Quick clips of your podcast on social media are a good way to reveal your podcast to a brand new viewers, and to provide your current subscribers one thing to snack on between episodes.
Creating and Modifying Is Simpler than Ever
The previous couple of years has seen the rise of all-in-one podcasting platforms. In contrast to companies that merely host your content material and syndicate it, these new instruments characteristic audio and video calling capabilities, recording choices, and even enhancing instruments proper in your browser.
Instruments like Riverside.fm and Zencastr make it simple to seize high-quality audio and get it prepared for publication.
One new participant that’s already getting a ton of consideration is Descript, an all-in-one that generates transcripts mechanically and allows you to edit audio by enhancing the textual content.
There’s Nonetheless Loads of Room for Progress
There are at the moment over 2 million podcasts on the earth proper now. However there’s all the time room for extra. Even with the present surge in new listeners, there’s nonetheless 50% of the grownup U.S. inhabitants which have by no means listened to a podcast. They’re simply ready for the fitting sound or video clip to talk on to their needs and wishes.
If you happen to’ve been serious about launching a podcast on your model, now is a good time to start out. And we may help! To get began, learn how we helped SAP launch a podcast that smashed benchmarks with each episode.
