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A New Tool to Make Money with Podcasts

August 13, 2019

Like many aspects of our industry, the popularity of podcasts has exploded. However, for many, it has been difficult for radio groups to effectively monetize this new audio outlet. One element is a fair and agreed upon currency. Do downloads convert to listeners, and when someone starts a podcast, how long do they listen?

Another issue has been who is listening. What do they consume based on a specific podcast or podcast genre? This second question is being answered by Nielsen and Scarborough.

In many local markets, Scarborough is already quantifying how many people have watched, listened, or downloaded a podcast in the past 30 days. Not only can you quantify the number, but a user can also profile their socioeconomic characteristics and product consumption habits.

That can be effective, but it still treats all podcast users the same. Those who listen to news podcasts might have very different buying habits than those who listen to entertainment podcasts.

This week, Nielsen will release its first Podcast Listener Buying Power study. Based on their national Scarborough database, this study will re-interview those who have told Scarborough that they utilize podcasts. While the new Apple 18 category genres will be highlighted, certain subscribers can also get proprietary data on their specific podcasts. They will be able to compare this data to 2,000 retail and purchase categories. Also, the user will be able to examine how their genre’s users profile with hundreds of individual advertisers (ex., McDonald’s).

Updated twice a year, this report can help users understand and document the purchasing habits of those people who have accessed that style of podcast. For years, radio stations used national format data to talk about what type of people listen to their type of station. Now sales people can use this data to talk about what type of people listen to their type of podcast. What do they buy and what is their lifestyle?

It is a real way to differentiate your product in a very crowded universe.

While the industry needs to embrace a fair currency, Research Director, Inc. has always been a proponent of using qualitative research to make sure that your advertising outlet is appropriate to that specific advertiser.

If you need more information, reach out to us at info@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

-Charlie Sislen, Partner

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