Run a business in Northamptonshire? Want to tell people about what you do? A podcast could be just the place to get your message out.

Why?

Podcasts are highly targeted. Our one is specifically for fans of Northampton Town. It’s pretty niche.

A podcast’s core audience will subscribe to the show so that they never miss an episode and will often listen to every word spoken by the host.

Compare that to when you pick up a magazine. Do you read every single word on every page or do you skim over anything that looks like an advert? How often do you read the 4 or 5 pages filled with ads towards the back of a magazine? If you’re like us then you’ll completely ignore them and go straight to the last page of the magazine for the final word piece.

This skimming and skipping happens far less with audio.

A podcast’s core audience feels like they know the host. And not just by name, they will know them well. They like the host too or they wouldn’t be repeat listeners. And finally, they trust the host.

It’s that trust which means that when a podcast’s host recommends a product or service, the audience is far more likely to engage with that product themselves.

Do download numbers matter?

In a word, no.

If you’ve experienced TV, newspaper and radio advertising before you’ll probably be used to hearing about audience figures in the ens or hundreds of thousands. Maybe even millions.

Don’t let the lower numbers involved in podcast audiences fool you though. It’s not download numbers which count, it’s engagement.

A podcast about fishing has a core audience of 200 listeners. The host spends a minute or so talking about a particular type of bait. How many of those 200 listeners will be interested in that type of bait and therefore pay money to buy some?

Spotify state that an incredible 81% of listeners have taken action after hearing audio ads during a podcast.

Apply that percentage to the audience of the fishing podcast and you get 162 listeners who will, at the very least find out more about the bait.