Advice for Advertising on Podcasts
This week I was asked for advice about advertising for streaming media and podcasts as there seems to be little good advice available out there right now. Traditional approaches regarding copy, content and production that have proven successful for many years in commercial radio should not be forgotten when advertising on Podcasts.
Some thoughts and advice:
Be Clear - Send the right message and use a trained voice to deliver it effectively.
Brand the Audio - Just as Intel have an easily recognised theme tune so should your advert. Use a jingle or fun tune that embodies your podcast series, brand or style and stick to it. Think of it as a brand logo that you hear instead of see. The sooner a listener recognises you the more likely they are to retain your message.
Quality Production - Ensure your ads are top quality and sound professional. Get a good copy/script writer unless you have radio experience yourself. Successful audio commercials are an art and require good production skills and again use a trained voice artist to deliver the message effectively.
Make it a series - Like in radio and television, good podcasts have loyal audiences, so your message should be sustained. It is unlikely that listeners will act after the first exposure of your message, ensure you book a sustained campaign for at least 6 episodes and don’t run exactly the same message on each podcast, take advantage of the loyal and highly targeted audience, treat them with intelligence and respect and deliver them a new message in each episode you sponsor. Don’t get lazy, keep your ads fresh!
Choose the podcast shows carefully - You know your target audience, the number of podcasts are growing, but each has their own high value loyal audience. Don’t always be put off by the lack of statistics available. Right now Podcasting is still at an early stage there are no common standards. You can ask for:
- RSS sign ups figures - this can be monitored by savvy Podcasters who use services like Feedburner.com to monitor RSS activity or good hosting companies like Libsyn.com
- Downloads per episode statistics
- Exposure on web Directories & iTunes – you can find out the popularity of a podcast by checking out how many sites link to it – use the “links: <sitename>” function in google.
Make responding easy - Keep in mind that it is likely that the listener will not be near a computer, so make it easy for them to respond. Ensure that your message has a call to action, so that the listener can remember what to do when they are online, like: “get 20% discount before this Friday only – log onto our site xxxx and enter the code podcast to qualify for the discount”
Complement with an online presence – Don’t just sponsor the audio podcast – make sure that you also get links on the main podcast web site and that you are listed on the podcast show notes – listeners will refer back to the site looking for links they may want to refer back to.
Geo-targeting - Don’t forget that podcasts have global audiences. Don’t worry if you only want to only target certain countries, just look out for podcasters who are partnered with networks such as Podtrac and Kiptronic who have geo-targeting abilities, so you can make sure that your ads are only heard in your target territory. Also there are lots of great new gizmo’s emerging that allow podcasters to also do this themselves. Also consider what is and is not acceptable within the geography you are targeting. Different cultures are used to different approaches with ads – even between the US to the UK! For example, it is usual for US radio / podcast ads to be spoken by the presenter, where as this approach may be frowned up in the UK.
So whats the main benefit from advertising on Podcasts?
Well, for advertisers and marketeers, Podcasting offers extreme niche targeting – smaller, but very loyal audiences offer excellent value. Most podcasters are passionate about their subject and attract loyal listeners who share their passion. Podcast listeners as a whole are in a higher income bracket and are forward thinking people who are not afraid to try something new. Podcasts are often heard on Portable Devices such as iPods (although of course they are also listened to in a variety of other ways) this type of usage means that more of the listeners will pay more attention to your message.
In summary, Podcast advertising is an excellent way to reach core audiences who will often evangelise about what they have heard in a Podcast. It’s a very new medium, so, if you get moving, you will have the opportunity to be the only advertiser on the show of your choice….
Jump on this unique advertising opportunity, but if you are going to do it…. Don’t forget our tips!
