Why podcast advertising is perfect for small businesses
There are plenty of reasons why audio - most notably podcast advertising - is the perfect addition to any marketing strategy for advertisers (you can read a full breakdown of the benefits of podcast advertising here. But it’s understandable that if you’re a start up, a small business owner, or the marketing manager for a small business, you may be hesitant to change up your strategy. Often small businesses are looking for an effective, low-cost solution that makes the investment worth it. Also, depending on your business objectives, you more often than not want to build brand awareness amongst a local target audience, or a niche demographic. You may also be looking to expand into a new audience or acquire new customers to consider your product, and you’ve found a lot of success using search engine optimization (SEO), digital marketing or social media to do so.
It may be surprising that the goals outlined above are some of the main reasons why small businesses are actually shifting their budgets towards podcast advertising, in replacement of - or running in tandem with - some of the more traditional media channels.
Ease of Use
Historically, buying media has always involved a lot of back and forth, usually liaising with a representative from an agency or a salesperson, with negotiation and strategy heavily involved before booking a campaign. Using our self-serve platform, it’s easier than ever to buy podcast ads directly without a big budget or lengthy process, and see real results. It’s similar to setting up a digital marketing campaign, which small business owners often use, so you can get started with little prior know-how:
- Sign up for free.
After you fill out the account request form, you’ll receive an email with an invitation to join the platform.
- Upload your creative.
You then upload your audio ad, which can be up to 30 seconds.
- Set a budget.
You can get started with just $250, and we’ll make sure your campaign delivers in full to ensure you get the best return on your ad spend.
- Select your target audience.
Our network reaches millions of listeners around the world, across any and every listening app. Target your ideal customers based on who they are, where they live, what they listen to, and how they listen.
- Launch and measure your campaign.
Launch your campaign and measure its success with robust post-campaign analysis. Enable third-party tracking for attribution, brand lift, verification, and more.
Reach
A big concern of small businesses is achieving maximum reach for a minimum spend within their marketing strategy. At Acast we have over 88k exclusive podcasts and 430MM monthly listeners that you can only access through our buying platform Acast Marketplace. With such a wide network of podcasts to choose from when booking a campaign, you can extend your reach far quicker through booking across a range of podcasts rather than a big spend on a singular popular podcast. It’s important to note that reach is a more important driver for web conversions vs frequency, so by doing this you will increase your chance of getting podcast listeners to convert. Whether you choose to run your ad pre roll, mid roll or post roll (read our article on running your campaign here - add link), you’re sure to get your message heard by the people you want to.
Another thing to consider is that you will be able to reach audiences that you may not have previously reached before with traditional advertising, especially when it comes to a more focused, local targeting or thinking about the time of day that someone could be listening to a podcast. They may not be able to physically visit a store when they are targeted with a digital ad on their phone during different hours, but they can definitely search a URL or type your brand into the search engine, meaning they can take immediate action. In fact, according to Nielsen, in 2022 37% more podcast listeners have visited a website to purchase/order a product advertised in a podcast than in 2019, signifying that this kind of behavior is on the rise and will continue to be.
Audience
Podcasts have a highly engaged audience, with listeners often tuning in for entire episodes and subscribing to multiple shows. This level of engagement means that ads on podcasts are more likely to be heard and remembered by listeners (in fact, 77% of listeners say that ads on podcasts made them aware of a brand or product according to our own research). Additionally, podcasts often attract a targeted audience, making it easier for small businesses to reach the people who are most likely to be interested in their products or services.
When booking a podcast advertising campaign, you should be imagining all podcast listeners as potential customers. With that in mind, you should consider it the ultimate opportunity to speak to a coveted audience that is notoriously hard to reach: millennials and Gen Zs. Audio ads can be a great way to target this audience, as according to Media Radar in 2022 they have a projected $143 billion in spending power, and they are consistently getting distracted by digital ads or avoiding them completely by installing ad blockers.
Through our self serve platform, you will also be able to target granularly by postcode, city or country. This gives a lot more relevance to your messaging, which can be tailored to suit your audience and ensure they feel really spoken to.
The Power of Audio
Audio is becoming the must-have channel when it comes to media planning. According to research from Spotify, 60% of millennials in the UK believe audio is the most immersive form of media, with 73% of millennials in the US thinking the same.
You don’t need to work with the most popular podcast hosts to ensure that your message is going to resonate with listeners. In fact, smaller podcasts tend to have built an extremely loyal following given the fact that the content of the podcast may be niche - these are the listeners who dedicate 43 minutes on average to listen to podcast episodes weekly. From our own research, these listeners are open to hearing ads that they know have been selected as relevant to them. In fact, podcast listeners are very passionate about supporting their favorite hosts by allowing them to monetize their podcasts; 93% of listeners agree that podcasters should be able to make a living off their work.
Switch Up Your Channel Mix
Another benefit of podcast advertising for small businesses is that it can be cost-effective. Traditional forms of advertising, such as TV or print ads, can be expensive and may not provide the same level of targeting and engagement as podcast advertising. In fact, according to research by Magna Global, people are three times more receptive to ads in podcasts than TV commercials.
Often small businesses use digital advertising due to the easy nature of booking a campaign online with little external input. If you combine the two mediums (podcast advertising and digital), our research found that it improves campaign’s memorability and trustworthiness; in fact, trust levels increase from 45% to 63%.
If you were to compare the channels like for like, global data from GWI found that 36% of weekly podcast listeners buy brands they've seen advertised vs 27% of internet users, suggesting it might be worthwhile to test if podcast advertising is more effective for reaching customers at the end of the funnel.
In terms of production, podcast advertising doesn’t require the same level of production or equipment, as you only need a mic and a voiceover to get started. For tips on creating high quality audio ads, read this article here (insert article).
Podcast advertising also provides an opportunity for small businesses to build trust and credibility with their audience, as they can share their story and message in a more personal and authentic way, compared to other marketing channels.
Our self-serve platform is affordable, making it accessible for small businesses of all sizes. With transparent pricing and no hidden costs, small businesses can budget for their advertising efforts with ease.
Interested in seeing how this channel can work for you and your business? Click here to get started.
There are plenty of reasons why audio - most notably podcast advertising - is the perfect addition to any marketing strategy for advertisers (you can read a full breakdown of the benefits of podcast advertising here. But it’s understandable that if you’re a start up, a small business owner, or the marketing manager for a small business, you may be hesitant to change up your strategy. Often small businesses are looking for an effective, low-cost solution that makes the investment worth it. Also, depending on your business objectives, you more often than not want to build brand awareness amongst a local target audience, or a niche demographic. You may also be looking to expand into a new audience or acquire new customers to consider your product, and you’ve found a lot of success using search engine optimization (SEO), digital marketing or social media to do so.
It may be surprising that the goals outlined above are some of the main reasons why small businesses are actually shifting their budgets towards podcast advertising, in replacement of - or running in tandem with - some of the more traditional media channels.
Ease of Use
Historically, buying media has always involved a lot of back and forth, usually liaising with a representative from an agency or a salesperson, with negotiation and strategy heavily involved before booking a campaign. Using our self-serve platform, it’s easier than ever to buy podcast ads directly without a big budget or lengthy process, and see real results. It’s similar to setting up a digital marketing campaign, which small business owners often use, so you can get started with little prior know-how:
- Sign up for free.
After you fill out the account request form, you’ll receive an email with an invitation to join the platform.
- Upload your creative.
You then upload your audio ad, which can be up to 30 seconds.
- Set a budget.
You can get started with just $250, and we’ll make sure your campaign delivers in full to ensure you get the best return on your ad spend.
- Select your target audience.
Our network reaches millions of listeners around the world, across any and every listening app. Target your ideal customers based on who they are, where they live, what they listen to, and how they listen.
- Launch and measure your campaign.
Launch your campaign and measure its success with robust post-campaign analysis. Enable third-party tracking for attribution, brand lift, verification, and more.
Reach
A big concern of small businesses is achieving maximum reach for a minimum spend within their marketing strategy. At Acast we have over 88k exclusive podcasts and 430MM monthly listeners that you can only access through our buying platform Acast Marketplace. With such a wide network of podcasts to choose from when booking a campaign, you can extend your reach far quicker through booking across a range of podcasts rather than a big spend on a singular popular podcast. It’s important to note that reach is a more important driver for web conversions vs frequency, so by doing this you will increase your chance of getting podcast listeners to convert. Whether you choose to run your ad pre roll, mid roll or post roll (read our article on running your campaign here - add link), you’re sure to get your message heard by the people you want to.
Another thing to consider is that you will be able to reach audiences that you may not have previously reached before with traditional advertising, especially when it comes to a more focused, local targeting or thinking about the time of day that someone could be listening to a podcast. They may not be able to physically visit a store when they are targeted with a digital ad on their phone during different hours, but they can definitely search a URL or type your brand into the search engine, meaning they can take immediate action. In fact, according to Nielsen, in 2022 37% more podcast listeners have visited a website to purchase/order a product advertised in a podcast than in 2019, signifying that this kind of behavior is on the rise and will continue to be.
Audience
Podcasts have a highly engaged audience, with listeners often tuning in for entire episodes and subscribing to multiple shows. This level of engagement means that ads on podcasts are more likely to be heard and remembered by listeners (in fact, 77% of listeners say that ads on podcasts made them aware of a brand or product according to our own research). Additionally, podcasts often attract a targeted audience, making it easier for small businesses to reach the people who are most likely to be interested in their products or services.
When booking a podcast advertising campaign, you should be imagining all podcast listeners as potential customers. With that in mind, you should consider it the ultimate opportunity to speak to a coveted audience that is notoriously hard to reach: millennials and Gen Zs. Audio ads can be a great way to target this audience, as according to Media Radar in 2022 they have a projected $143 billion in spending power, and they are consistently getting distracted by digital ads or avoiding them completely by installing ad blockers.
Through our self serve platform, you will also be able to target granularly by postcode, city or country. This gives a lot more relevance to your messaging, which can be tailored to suit your audience and ensure they feel really spoken to.
The Power of Audio
Audio is becoming the must-have channel when it comes to media planning. According to research from Spotify, 60% of millennials in the UK believe audio is the most immersive form of media, with 73% of millennials in the US thinking the same.
You don’t need to work with the most popular podcast hosts to ensure that your message is going to resonate with listeners. In fact, smaller podcasts tend to have built an extremely loyal following given the fact that the content of the podcast may be niche - these are the listeners who dedicate 43 minutes on average to listen to podcast episodes weekly. From our own research, these listeners are open to hearing ads that they know have been selected as relevant to them. In fact, podcast listeners are very passionate about supporting their favorite hosts by allowing them to monetize their podcasts; 93% of listeners agree that podcasters should be able to make a living off their work.
Switch Up Your Channel Mix
Another benefit of podcast advertising for small businesses is that it can be cost-effective. Traditional forms of advertising, such as TV or print ads, can be expensive and may not provide the same level of targeting and engagement as podcast advertising. In fact, according to research by Magna Global, people are three times more receptive to ads in podcasts than TV commercials.
Often small businesses use digital advertising due to the easy nature of booking a campaign online with little external input. If you combine the two mediums (podcast advertising and digital), our research found that it improves campaign’s memorability and trustworthiness; in fact, trust levels increase from 45% to 63%.
If you were to compare the channels like for like, global data from GWI found that 36% of weekly podcast listeners buy brands they've seen advertised vs 27% of internet users, suggesting it might be worthwhile to test if podcast advertising is more effective for reaching customers at the end of the funnel.
In terms of production, podcast advertising doesn’t require the same level of production or equipment, as you only need a mic and a voiceover to get started. For tips on creating high quality audio ads, read this article here (insert article).
Podcast advertising also provides an opportunity for small businesses to build trust and credibility with their audience, as they can share their story and message in a more personal and authentic way, compared to other marketing channels.
Our self-serve platform is affordable, making it accessible for small businesses of all sizes. With transparent pricing and no hidden costs, small businesses can budget for their advertising efforts with ease.
Interested in seeing how this channel can work for you and your business? Click here to get started.
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