Saket Panicker
Wondering about the Content Marketing Trends in 2021?
If you are already aware of the content marketing that happened all these years and if we look back in 2012, content marketing was all about generating leads, conversions, curating content (text-based mostly in form blogs), relaying messages through advertising, and what not!
Indeed, all those tactics are enormously used even today, but with the growing landscape of the digital marketing and medium, the content demand has grown all over since then.
With the availability of marketing platforms, the audio-based content is gaining high popularity as social platforms are turning more innovative. In fact, many digital entrepreneurs have chosen podcasting as a career. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic took the entire world on a roller-coaster ride most artists have turned to podcasting in the feat of creating something unique and bringing out more value to the netizen. It might be hard to believe, but learning how to start a podcast is actually quite simple.
In 2020, the podcasting market revenue was estimated at $11.46 Billion according to Grand View Research Inc. The industry growth is widening with the market entrants putting a great emphasis on inbound marketing and trying to incorporate a better in-house marketing strategy. For example, many brands prefer designing a podcast with influencers to create a brand voice and awareness.
You don’t have to worry if you’re a newbie or techie to create a podcast. With a level of clarity and excitement to interact with your listeners, you could see yourself turning pro with podcasting. In this post, we’ll glance at a few things to see what drives the industry and future scenarios, and what opportunities you can truly explore:
Podcast as a commercial aspect:
Podcast adoption has relatively grown high during the pandemic, reasons we know! Apart, we also know various artists have tuned into podcasting as more listeners are preferring podcasts over radio. With the exponential rise in content creation, the podcasting market witnessed a heavy surge in podcast listening and ad spending. According to the statistics on Forbes.com around 1,750,000 podcasts were aired with more than 40 million episodes in February 2021.
Simultaneously, the podcast ad spend has grown enormously at $1.65 billion since 2019 and is likely to double by 2024. Therefore, it is evident that the marketers are willing to stretch upon marketing budgets for advertising on podcasts.
As the new saying goes, “hearing is believing”, there are huge chances for audiobooks and podcast market to witness a huge commercial growth. During the course of pandemic, newer technologies such as audio-video learning, e-readers and other audio formats were adopted by parents in order to empower better learning techniques in children.
Podcast from a consumer perspective:
From a consumer perspective, they are likely to get attracted to something new. All they are looking is for;
- If it solves their problem
- If it is worth their time
- Gives a good user experience
Consumers have their own flavors when it comes to podcasting. They want to connect with the content being served. As stated above, with the most listeners tuning into podcasts over radio, there are more chances for you to gain a strong foothold in terms of audience engagement, viewership, and retention. The more the engagement, higher are the chances for impactful conversions.
So, simply put if you got a huge fan base for your podcast it will grow more; that means listeners love your content and will come with an appetite for more. On contrary, these things will crumble down easily if your fan base feels cheated and goes empty handed.
In order to create an impactful conversion, let your listeners takeaway some value. For instance, if you design a podcast series with a bottom line of promoting and selling the products, there will be lesser audience. But, if you do the same by offering values to the listeners and letting them interact with you, the listeners will eagerly look for broadening their experience.
Podcast and Monetization:
All said and done about podcasting, its features and impact, let’s jot down the monetary part as well. It is true that podcasts barely meet the financial goals and is a huge risk to the marketers if it doesn’t churn out as expected. Podcasts are a form of content marketing since 2004. But it’s only from 2015, podcasts have started gaining independent popularity, until then it was a less explored territory.
The major source of revenue streams for podcasts are merchandise, content marketing, brand contracts, advertising and sponsorships, and listener donations. Out of these, advertising and sponsorships are the primary source for the influx of revenue. Having said this, it is more likely that podcasters will get more serious about their compensation and presumably hone up their revenue streams. In addition, the production cost of podcast costs goes relatively lower than an audiobook. In terms of technicality, there are plenty of platforms now available for users wherein they just have to get started with their storyline with bare minimum spending on recording equipment.
The digital media industry is growing by leap and bounds and podcasters are leaving no stone unturned in terms of producing better content. Grand View Research identifies that the podcast companies are adopting merger initiatives with independent publishers expansion objectives. In June 2020, Pandora Media Inc., collaborated with FOX News Network LLC with an intention to provide news content produced by FOX News Radio Newscast. In same year, Brazilian journalist Renata Lo Prete presented O Assunto, a Brazilian current events podcast that was the most downloaded podcast in Latin America between September 2020 and November 2020.
Conclusion- Patience is a Virtue:
Going solo or partnering for a podcast production is totally based on certain calculations. Apparently, decide your niche to start with podcasting and believe your research. This will help you gain insights upon the liking of listeners, their choice, and the way of interaction that might accordingly help you design your next episodes. Most important is to remain patient while interacting with the listeners and let them do the exploration part. Once they’ve found what they’re looking for, they’ll show remain hooked up for a longer time.
