5 Ways to Increase Your Podcast Listeners With Social Media
Get your podcast heard with these simple social media strategies.
Podcasts have become an unexpectedly popular form of media in the last 3 years. 44 percent of Adults in America listen to a podcast at least once a month. This study growth surely presents both content creators and marketers with enormous growth potential.
About 49% of podcast listening is done at home and 22% in the car. Podcast listeners are typically Loyal, Affluent and highly educated. 44% of podcast listeners are women and 56% men. 50 % of all U.S homes are Podcast fans according to Nielsen. 64% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting” – up from 60% in 2017 (Infinite Dial 18). 36% of podcast listeners are non-white – vs 30% in 2010 (Nielsen, Aug 2017). So, as you can see, there is tremendous potential to reach a defined target audience.
Creative types can find ways to provide more value to their listeners while realizing revenue via marketing partnerships.
Like in any other media play, the more listeners engaged with your content, the more likely you are to build a profitable enterprise around your content.
The popularity of the various social media platforms out there present untold opportunities for podcast creators to find new audiences.
Here are 5 ways to grow your podcast listener base via social media.
1. Automated Content sharing
Sharing your podcasts on as many social platforms as possible will increase your chances of attracting new listeners. It is however, very difficult to do so, with so many social media platforms out there. Use tools like Onlywaire and Outpost to automate the entire process. You can set up your various social media accounts and just have the systems share your content for you.
2. Guest hosts
This is a really cool way to offer your listeners variety and also grow your audience with minimal effort. This is very similar to the guest DJ concept. Invite other social media influencers to host a segment on your platform. This will help bring fans of the guest DJ to your platform. Try to arrange several recurring guest spots a month.
3. Newsjack when you can
Newsjacking is the art and science of injecting your ideas into a breaking news story and generating tons of media coverage and social media engagement. Take advantage of this as much as possible. For example, during this past U.S election, anything Donald Trump got media attention. Even two sistas in God knows where in North Carolina got national media attention. Make some of your Podcasts about the hottest news stories of the day and share via social media with the appropriate hashtags.
4. Use Video
Take advantage of the hundreds of millions of potential listeners on Youtube. Create video versions of your podcasts and host them on your Youtube channel. Be sure to link back to your podcasts.
5. Use stunning images
Believe it or not, human beings are very visual creatures. We rely heavily on our sense of sight to translate the world around us. Most people like, and are attracted to beautiful things. Tap into this by displaying great photos alongside your posts on social media.
Podcast Listener Statistics
Demographics
64% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting” – up from 60% in 2017 (Infinite Dial 18)
50% of all US homes are podcast fans (Nielsen, Aug 2017)
44% (124 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast – up from 40% in 2017 (Infinite Dial 18)
26% (73 million) listen to podcasts at least every month – up from 24% in 2017 (Infinite Dial 18)
17% (48 million) listen to podcasts weekly – up from 15% in 2017
16 million people in the US are “avid podcast fans” (Nielsen Q1 2018)
56% of podcast listeners are Male
45% of monthly podcast listeners have household income over $75K – vs 35% for the total population
27% of US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree – vs 19% for US pop
36% of podcast listeners are non-white – vs 30% in 2010 (Nielsen, Aug 2017)
Social, Tech & Behavior
Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel (94% are active on at least one – vs 81% for the entire population)
Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media
Podcast listeners are more likely to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime (meaning they are less likely to be exposed to TV advertising)
Podcast listeners are more likely to own a smart speaker (Amazon Alexa or Google Home)
51% of bottled water households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)
57% of baby food households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)
53% of beer households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)
56% of juice households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)
54% of milk households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)
54% of cereal households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)
69% agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products or services