5 Steps to Make Your Podcast Ads Campaign a Success

Traditional advertising has been slowly dwindling and proving to be less effective over the past decade with the surge of social media, podcasting, and digital marketing. For example, doublethink cited the traditional banner advertisement typically has a click-through rate of 0.06% which isn’t impressive. The best-optimized banner ad can get one click per three hundred impressions, but this can also vary depending on the ad size and placement. We’re seeing more internet visitors pivot away from the standard banner ads due to “banner blindness” which is causing them to be less effective. 

With over half a million podcasts currently in rotation, we’ve seen marketers turn to podcast ads as a way to connect and reach new audiences all over the globe. So why is podcast advertising a more effective way for brands to gain attention? Podcast advertising offers several benefits such as:

 

• Finding (or creating) podcasts that appeal to your target audience.
• Having a deep understanding of the interests of listeners.
• Customizing the ad to suit a brand’s conversion goals.

 

Are you ready to start creating your podcast ad campaign? Follow these steps to take you from startup to success!

 

Understand Host-Read Advertisements

 

Before you can get your ad in front of millions of listeners, you have to get the details down for your ad. If you have an ideal podcast or podcast host you want to work with, you want to first use “host-read advertisements.” Podcasts primarily feature host-read advertisements to increase ad engagement. In a recent study, Nielsen cited “host-read ads outperform non-host-read ads when we look at inspiring listeners to seek more information about a product. Host-read ads also produce an average of 50% increase in purchase and recommendation intent among listeners when compared against non-host-read ads.”

 

Part of what makes a podcast successful is the voice or personality behind the brand, and letting the host read your advertisement will help it integrate seamlessly with the tone of the show and connect with listeners. You should always encourage the podcast to try your product in order for them to give an authentic reaction and review that people can genuinely connect with. It’s always identifiable to a listener when someone is reading a script and when they have actually tried the product. 

 

Distribute Your Campaign

 

Once you get done planning out the details of your podcast it’s time to distribute your campaign. Before you start searching for ways to promote your campaign, here is a list of podcast advertising networks to explore in 2021. When you have finally decided to invest in podcast advertising to grow your audience, you can use these networks to distribute your campaign:

 

Midroll

Midroll is the world’s largest online advertising company that matches podcasters with advertisers. They provide production, distribution, and monetization services for podcasts and have worked with world-class advertisers like Dunkin Donuts, HBO, FedEx, and more! Midroll hosts read live ads that endorse a particular brand or product and specializes in host-read podcast ads.

 

AdvertiseCast

AdvertiseCast directly targets marketers and assists with integrating ad buying with full-service agency capabilities to make podcast advertising simpler. They help to start and manage efficient advertising campaigns that provide both advertisers and podcasters with unparalleled returns. Their platform includes a “do-it-yourself marketplace” to help make advertising easy and pair you directly with a host of your choice.

 

Archer Avenue

Archer Avenue helps advertisers reach highly engaged and tech-savvy consumers through podcast advertising. They also help podcasters pitch their shows to great sponsors to find the best match and have amazing relationships with brands like MailChimp and DropBox. Working with a business like Archer Avenue can help deliver your message in a style that is a seamless part of the show.

 

PodcastOne

PodcastOne is an advertiser-supported, on-demand digital audio network that connects audiences with relevant and entertaining podcasts. This platform helps advertisers discover, connect, and collaborate with high-quality podcasts that have a targeted and engaged audience. They have more than 2.1 billion downloads each year and produce about 350 podcast episodes per week with popular hosts like Dr. Drew, Kelly Osbourne, and Steven Austin.

 

Get Guests to Help Promote Your Episodes

 

The benefit of having guests on a podcast is that you can leverage their status, profile, and network to promote your podcasts. If you have guests on your podcast, consider asking them to help promote the episode. This is an excellent way that you can both benefit from each other’s audiences which can result in greater exposure for both of your respective platforms. Always do your research for prospective guests and track their current social following across individual platforms, looking for opportunities to boost the episode. When you are planning the contract and details with the guest you can also identify opportunities for additional engagement by sharing your ad campaign details and have them cross-promote.

 

Get a Shout Out from Other Podcasters

 

Networking is the name of the game with any marketing tactic, and one of the most effective ways to draw attention to your podcast is to receive referrals from other podcasters. When developing working relationships with fellow podcasters it is best to pair up with people who have similar audience demographics to your own. It doesn’t have to be the same topic, but you want to find podcast shows that have some overlap so both of your respective audiences will be interested. Here are a few tactics you can use to help encourage other podcasters to promote you:

 

• Pay their fee for a mention or shout out during their show.
• Join a podcasting community where you can connect with fellow hosts.
• Create a mutual exchange such as promoting them on your own podcast or through your email list). 

 

Try to maintain ongoing relationships with these podcasters. If they become active, loyal supporters of your work, they’ll start plugging your podcast on their own, without you even having to ask.

 

Track Your Campaign’s Progress

 

ROI is always important to marketers and podcast advertising is no different. In order to justify spending money on podcast advertising, it’s important to track your campaign’s effectiveness. Depending on the platform or streaming service you work with, tracking metrics can look different for everyone. Here are a few of our tips for tracking progress and making podcast ad attribution simpler for your business.

 

Drive listeners to a dedicated landing page only referenced within podcast ads.

Creating a podcast landing page can help you build an email list, establish a home for your podcast, encourage engagement, and prompt users to take an action. Loganix cites a good example of this by stating “When it comes to podcast advertising, PPC is a huge bang for your buck method to drive big signups. Blasting cheap PPC ads on both search and social will bring in loads of traffic. This is best paired with a dedicated landing page for improved conversions”.

 

Distribute a podcast-specific discount code.

We’re seeing more brands turn towards using promo code campaigns in order to cut through the competition and build their ROI. Using single-use promo codes that can be shared on social media or live on your landing page are easy ways to track progress and monitor your metrics. If users use this special discount code to purchase your products, you’ll know that they came to your e-commerce website from the podcast.

 

Include a “How did you hear about us?” question in the user registration flow.

There are several avenues that you can explore to drive people towards your podcast but a good way of identifying which method works best is by creating an organic dialogue with your target audience. When you include this question in your website registration form, users can check off podcasts as an answer, helping you keep track of your traffic sources. Once you can identify how you people are discovering your campaign you’ll be able to decide which resources are best for your ROI.

 

With so many options, it’s easy to see why more and more brands are finding success with podcast ads. No matter your product or service, there are always options for advertising on various shows so start searching & find success!