the future of branded content is podcasting · podcast marketing @ hubspot unafraid to look silly...
TRANSCRIPT
THE FUTURE OF BRANDED CONTENT IS PODCASTING
S A M
B A L T E R
#INBOUND19
Hi I’m Sam
Host of Weird Work
Podcast Marketing @ HubSpot
Unafraid to look silly
@sbbalter | @weird_work
Host of Weird Work
“Wait, you can make a living doing
that!?”
Weird Work is a podcast that celebrates the
folks who've broken out of the traditional 9 to 5
to pursue their passion, no matter how weird it
might sound
HubSpot’s Podcast Network
5 Shows
144 Countries
2.7 Million Downloads
Agenda
1. The podcast landscape
2. Creating a podcast
3. Growing your podcast audience
4. Why podcast works for brands
What’s the hype
around podcasting?
“In the world of
podcasting the
flywheel is spinning”
Li Jin, Andreessen Horowitz
The Podcasting Flywheel
New Listeners
More Ad Dollars More Content
New Tech
Listeners
JAN FEB MAR APRIL MAY JUNE
Spotify Acquires Gimlet +
Anchor + Paracast
Pandora adds
podcasts
Apple releases
desktop podcast
app
Luminary “Netflix for
Podcast” released
Google includes
podcast in search
Spotify brings
podcast to app
Podcast Announcements 2019
“Our team’s mission is to help double the
amount of podcast listening in the
world over the next couple years.“Zack Reneau-Wedeen
Google Podcast
5 Types of Podcast Publishers
Publisher Profile Examples
Media Companies iHeart Media, The New York Times,
NPR, Slate
Podcast Production Companies Wondery, Gimlet, Cadence13,
WaitWhat
Large Indies Joe Rogan, Tim Ferris, Sam Harris
Non-Media Business & Non-Profit HBR, HubSpot, Duolingo
Hobbyist Creator Many small creators
Audie
nce S
ize
*Andreessen Horowitz
Podcast Listeners
Who are they?
Commuters
Millennials
People
that stare
into space
Podcast Audience
124 million
73 million
48 million
Listened 1+ Times
Listen Monthly
Listen Weekly
*United States data only
The Average Podcast Listener
The average
podcast listener
is 18-34 years
old
Millennial
30% have a
graduate or
advanced
degree
Well Educated
Weekly podcast
listeners spent
a mean of 5+
hours listening
Big Listeners
How people consume audio is changing
Times are Changing
2008
94% of homes
had a radio
2018
50% of homes
had a radio
Podcast ListenerBroadcasts -> On-Demand -> Streaming
Podcast ListenerBroadcasts -> On-Demand -> Streaming
“Today, I might do the
blog. But I would be
tempted to do a podcast.”
Brian Halligan, HubSpotOn Y-Combinator podcast May 8, 2019
Summary Podcast Audience & Opportunity
1) Large, growing, and valuable audience
2) How we consume audio content is changing
3) Brands must create content where consumers are
Creating a
Branded Podcast
How to stand out
Podcasts are like beers…..
Podcast Content
There are over 700,000 podcasts
In 2018 there were 575 new podcast
started every single day
Is growing exponentially
How to develop a podcast
Show
Season
Episode
Promotion
Developing a Show is Scary
Lots of Questions
Why will people
listen to my
podcast?
Where should I
host my podcasts?
Should it be
funny?
When will I find the
time?
Release all the
episodes at once?Who will host?
What mic should I
buy?
What makes your
story unique?
Why should your
listener care?
Finding a Format
How to frame your show
7 Types of Podcast Formats
Podcast Format Example
One-on-one interview Fresh Air, Tim Ferriss, Joe Rogan
Solo commentary Lore
Panel (guest interview or discussion) Pod Save America
Nonfiction narrative storytelling The Dream, The Dropout
Fictional story-telling Welcome to Nightvale
Hybrid WTF with Marc Maron
Repurposed Content Gary V. Audience Experience
7 Types of Podcast Formats
Podcast Format Example
One-on-one interview Fresh Air, Tim Ferriss, Joe Rogan
Solo commentary Lore
Panel (guest interview or discussion) Pod Save America
Nonfiction narrative storytelling The Dream, The Dropout
Fictional story-telling Welcome to Nightvale
Hybrid WTF with Marc Maron
Repurposed Content Gary V. Audience Experience
Ongoing
A relentless pursuit of more
content
Seasonal
Time to plan
Consider an ongoing show if….
● No shortage of content or guests to interview
● Production capacity for a consistent schedule
● Budget to market and develop the show
● Commitment to maintaining quality
Consider an seasonal show if….
● A limited amount of content around a specific topic
● Production time and capacity is limited
● Testing out podcasting for your brand
● Topic is evergreen
“Podcasts need to
motivate you to
think differently”
Laura WalkerFormer President of WNYC Studios
Time to hit record?
Not yet!
Somebody does something
Because _______
but ______.
Focus Sentence A character in
motion. Doing
something.
Motivation for doing
that thing.
A challenge to
overcome.
Source: Jessica Abel, Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio
Source: Alli Torban, Podcast Movement, How I Cut My Production Time in Half
Parts of a Successful Podcast
Summary: Creating a Podcast
1. Create shows where you have a unique angle.
2. Develop content that inspires listeners to think different.
3. Decide if the show is seasonal vs. ongoing.
4. Make sure each episode has a clear focus.
5. Create content that educates, entertains, and inspires.
Congrats you
made a podcast!
Now get some listeners
Waiting on listeners to roll in….
Making a podcast is just the beginning
Your potential ideal listener may not even
know that podcasting exists.
“Wait, what’s a podcast?”
Source: Rebel Based Media, Discoverability
Your potential ideal listener may love podcast
but never heard of you
“I Love podcasts, but who are you?”
Source: Rebel Based Media, Discoverability
You aren’t creating content that matters enough to your
ideal listener for them to tell anyone else about it
“I don’t want to share your podcasts”
Source: Rebel Based Media, Discoverability
Know Your Listener
Text here
Who do they admire?
What are other shows they listen to?
When do they listen to podcasts?
Where do they typically listen?
Why are they interested in your show?
How will they find your show?
Where do people listen?
A new time of day to consume content.
Pre-release Release Week Ongoing
Tease
Week of the episode FutureDays
RecycleHEAVY promotion
Repeat per episode
Podcast Episode Marketing Cycle
Source: Rebel Based Media, Discoverability
Make it Easy to Subscribe
Use smart links to make listening later easier
Marketing Tactics for Podcasting
Host on all listening
platforms
SEO
Website with pages
for each episode &
transcript.
Detailed episode
description + title
Audiograms +
Quote cards
SOCIAL
Engage with
audience
Facebook +
Overcast ads
Leverage guest
audience
CROSS-PROMO
Cross-promote on
other shows
Syndicate content to
other mediums
Marketing Your Podcast
1. Leverage your company’s and guests audience
2. Promote heavily on social
3. Use smart links to drive people directly to podcast apps.
4. Reach out to email newsletter to get featured
5. Highly targeted Facebook + Instagram ads
Why branded
podcasts work
Relationship = Time * Attention
Podcasts are Long-Form
Source: Dan Misener, Pacific Content, How Long is The Average Podcast Episode
56
30
5
Median Episode Length: Business: 20 | Society & Culture: 38 | Top 400: 53
Amount of Podcast Listened To
Audio > Video
Audio is unmatched in engagement over time
A PodcastA Blog
Calls-to-action can be
scattered throughout a blog
post.
Creates space for a CTA Creates space for a Ad
Podcast have an opportunity to
insert 1-3 ad read.
AD AD ADSHOWSHOW
Pre-Roll
15-30 seconds
Mid-Roll
~1 minute
Post-Roll
15-30 seconds
Overview Podcast Ads
Podcast Ad Effectiveness
Brand Recall
Better than display
ads including scroll,
static, and pop-up
4.4X
Completion Rate
The majority of
listeners consume
the majority of a
podcast episode
85%
Purchase Impact
Made a purchase
after hearing
podcast ads
63%
Source: Adweek Podcast Ad Effectiveness , Marketing Deep Dive, Is Podcast Advertising Effective, Pacific Content, The Metric All
Podcasters Should be Talking About
“Consumers spend roughly the same amount of time
on video as they do on audio.
Video is about a trillion dollar market. And the music
and radio industry is worth around a hundred billion
dollars. I always come back to the same question:
Are our eyes really worth 10 times more than our
ears? I firmly believe this is not the case.”
Daniel EkCEO, Spotify
Summary: Advantages of Audio for Brands
1. Podcasts are traditionally long-form content.
2. Audio beats almost all forms of media in terms of
time and engagement.
3. Blogs create space for CTA’s and podcast
create space for ads.
4. Podcast ads are effective
4 Final Thoughts
Podcast Listenership Is Growing Globally
Audio content consumption is growing in every region of the
world.
Podcasts Reach Audiences at New Times
Since most listening occurs during commutes or working at
home podcasts do not cannibalize existing content
Audio Is the Next Arbitrage in Content
Traditional marketing channels such as organic search and
demand generation content are maturing.
Podcast will be the next gap.
The Time is Now
Apple, Google, and Spotify are investing in podcasts.
Competition is only going to grow as others recognize the
opportunity.
Happy Podcasting!
Get a copy of this presentation at
bitly.com/inboundpodcasting
Find me @sbbalter or [email protected]