As the airwaves are filling with more shows, many podcasters are shifting to a traditional in-studio setting to capture cleaner recordings for their content. This migration back to a professional recording atmosphere is upping the ante when it comes to quality. It’s also impacting listener expectations.

This growth and evolution in the podcasting world are naturally opening the doors to new improvements and innovations. From recording quality to distribution and monetization, here are some of the newest podcast technology tools that podcasters can use to help them make their shows the latest and greatest entertainment the audio world has to offer.

Leverage greater cloud-based recording quality.

Getting a good recording in a podcast is always tricky.

Artists already have to start by overcoming the acoustic challenges of their own recording spaces. This requires finding a suitable space, setting up sound barriers, and getting a good mic and the right recording equipment.

This solves the issue for local recordings. However, as soon as you have a guest on your show, it throws everything off. This is especially true if you’re recording remotely, with someone who isn’t on site. Then, you’re dependent on their own equipment and acoustic setting, which is often nothing to write home about.

That’s where SquadCast comes into the picture. The cloud recording studio (CRS) platform offers online services that enable podcasters to keep their recording in the cloud. Up to 10 people at a time can record a session together and create an end product with impeccable quality.

Along with the CRS’s own premier platform, this level of quality is made possible through its integration of the Dolby.io audio enhancement API. This industry-leading tool reduces noises, hissing, and popping. It also corrects volume levels and isolates voices to make them clearer.

Companies like these are leading the way when it comes to creating clean, professional recordings with user-friendly tools. This combination of ease and quality frees up artists to focus on the content creation process.

Podcast hosting sites are streamlining back-end production.

Hosting a podcast used to be a headache. Uploading files, filling out optimization info, and submitting your podcast to various directories took up loads of valuable time.

With so many individuals and businesses starting podcasts, it’s led to the development of a number of hosting sites that don’t just enable a podcast to go live. They streamline the process, too. For instance, BuzzSprout offers a number of features that can accelerate the production process.

The platform provides hosting and distribution services that make it easy to get a podcast listed on all of the major directories. They also offer up a large variety of analytics that can help users guide their efforts as they create content. Their automatic episode optimization also takes most of the legwork out of things like formatting audio files and publishing them at the right time.

Where BuzzSprout really takes things to the next level, though, is with its dynamic content option. This allows podcasters to add pre-roll and post-roll segments that can be added to other episodes. This eliminates the need for re-recording and enables artists to enhance already recorded content with ease.

Monetization is becoming simpler.

There are many ways to monetize a podcast. You can sell ad space, engage in affiliate marketing, and set up a Patreon page.

The problem is, much like the production process, each of these activities takes up lots of valuable time that could be spent creating more content.

Fortunately, there are podcast technology companies that are developing innovative solutions that speed up the monetization process. For instance, the hosting service Anchor has created its Spotify-powered “Ads by Anchor” option. This allows podcasters with a minimal baseline audience to promote the hosting service as a way to monetize their own podcast.

Anchor’s ads are just the tip of the iceberg, too. There are many other techy tools that are facilitating the easy insertion of ads into podcasting content. Throughout these efforts, the goal is to create easier ways to enable hosts to adopt a “set it and forget it” attitude when it comes to monetizing their work.

The future of podcasting is looking bright.

Podcasting is a vibrant content creation tool that is rapidly growing in popularity. As folks from all walks of life turn to this audio entertainment medium, tech companies are coming alongside them to help their efforts.

From better quality to cloud-based recording to simplified hosting and easy-as-pie monetization, podcast technology is quickly turning podcasting into a seamless experience that gives artists the ability to both create and financially benefit from their work with ease.

Q&A Section:

1. What are some key factors contributing to the growth of the podcasting industry?

The podcasting industry’s growth is attributed to factors like its accessibility, convenience, and flexibility for both creators and listeners. The ease of access to diverse content, advancements in technology, and the rising popularity of audio-based entertainment have all contributed to its expansion.

2. How are podcast technology companies addressing the challenge of remote recordings with guests?

Companies like SquadCast offer cloud recording studio platforms that enable podcasters to conduct remote recordings with multiple participants, ensuring high-quality recordings. Integration of tools like Dolby.io for audio enhancement minimizes background noise and improves overall recording quality.

3. What role do hosting sites like BuzzSprout play in simplifying podcast production?

Hosting sites like BuzzSprout streamline podcast production by providing hosting services, distribution across major directories, and analytics tools. They also offer features like automatic episode optimization and dynamic content options for easy enhancement and distribution of recorded content.

4. How are podcast technology companies simplifying monetization for podcasters?

Companies like Anchor have introduced innovative solutions like the “Ads by Anchor” option, allowing podcasters to monetize their content by promoting the hosting service. Other tools facilitate easy insertion of ads into podcast content, aiming to simplify the monetization process for creators.

5. What are some challenges emerging with the growth of podcasting and its technology?

Emerging challenges include intellectual property and copyright concerns, ensuring proper podcast preservation, enhancing discoverability in a crowded marketplace, and the need for continuous evolution of podcast standards to meet changing industry needs.

6. How are advanced editing tools transforming the podcast creation process?

Advanced editing tools empower creators to produce professional-quality content by offering features like noise reduction, audio enhancement, and seamless editing capabilities. These tools enhance the overall listening experience for audiences.

7. What are the key components of effective podcast monetization strategies?

Podcast monetization strategies include advertising, sponsorships, crowdfunding, and premium subscriptions. These strategies provide creators with various avenues to generate revenue from their podcasts, allowing for a diversified approach to financial sustainability.

8. How is podcast technology shaping the future of audio content creation?

Emerging podcast technology is revolutionizing audio content creation by enhancing production, distribution, analytics, and monetization. These advancements empower creators to produce high-quality content, reach wider audiences, and explore innovative ways to engage listeners.

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Spending on U.S. podcast advertising alone is expected to surpass $2 billion in 2023, accounting for nearly a third of digital audio services advertising spending. Whatsmore, audio advertising has a tangible impact that shouldn’t be overlooked by brands, with research consistently showing that audio is a powerful complement to other marketing channels including display, video, and social.

Brands seeking assurance that their audio and podcast advertising dollars are being optimally spent would benefit from creative testing data. This details pre-market and in-market success metrics. Brands can then use this actionable data to optimize their audio creative and ensure that what they are putting in the market will provide the performance, return, and competitive differentiation that they are seeking as part of their unique KPIs.

One of the most insightful elements of creative testing is the audio score. An audio score means a numerical representation of an audio asset’s overall resonance.

What Creative Testing Can Provide

With a mix of AI/machine learning (ML) and human-validated panel measurement, third-party measurement providers can determine the impact of an ad. This is as it relates to emotional resonance, memorability, purchase intent, and engagement and assigns a numerical score to it.

When aggregating scores that comprise each separate category, an overall resonance score generates. This can be benchmarked in relation to the performance by vertical or industry at large. Further, creative testing can be customized to audiences of a brand’s choosing, from the general population to specific segments, depending on the reach of a podcast, stream, or broadcast.

Additionally, second-by-second human response data can be layered in. This provides a brand with specific and actionable insights. These insights relate to the unique script points within an ad that elicits the greatest response from an audience. The combination of the audio score and second-by-second engagement data enables a brand to optimize every possible creative element of its audio asset. This allows users to gain full confidence in the medium. Other advertising mediums rarely achieve this.

Testing Helps Brands Connect with their Audiences

In addition to creative content, brands should also be looking at other factors in their audio ads, such as length. Ads of 60 seconds or more are the most common, constituting just over half of podcast ads. Creative testing has shown that 30-second ads garner the best results, particularly for established brands. Marketers can utilize creative testing. This determines if an ad is taking too long to introduce an audio logo, brand name, or special offer. For example, recent studies have determined that it’s best to state a brand name early and often in podcast ads. This allows for the highest efficacy and intent.

Another measure worth paying attention to is the effectiveness of audio logos. This is an area where creative testing can reveal both surprising and insightful results. For example, Tostito’s audio logo—being that of a drumstick, a jar of salsa being opened, and a crunch of a chip as opposed to a jingle or slogan—lasts only 1.5 seconds, yet it has proven incredibly effective. Additionally, Liberty Mutual’s “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty” audio logo lacks a melody but rates at the top.

Testing also serves to alert brands when their campaigns aren’t working. At a recent audio summit, Cassandra LaPrairie, performance marketing lead for Wise, cited a study conducted by their team that reported less than 30% of listeners converted due to the wrong target audience. “I’m making peace with that as a marketer,” she said. “Had we not done that brand-lift study, we might not have figured that out.”

Creative testing can serve as a powerful brand tool for identifying the do’s and don’ts of audio ads, leading to increasingly optimized ads that resonate meaningfully with the target audience, allowing brands to attract loyal customers more efficiently, and for lower costs.

Future Audio Performance: Built on Testing

Moving forward, brands need to regularly test their audio creative through third-party partners. An increasing number of respective, global brands are paving the way. This demonstrates the indispensable value of dedicating spend to testing audio creativity. Brands will not only need testing to remain competitive. But they also need the best use of their marketing dollars as companies tighten their budgets. Especially this is the case in light of a looming recession. Rather than taking an educated guess, testing provides the competitive edge brands need. They also ensure that their ad spend has a greater chance of producing the ROI they desire.

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Pitfalls of Not Embracing the Medium

The pitfalls of not embracing this powerful medium are significant for brands that must build stronger, stickier connections to their most coveted consumer demographics. If brands delay their audio marketing plans, they will miss out on opportunities to associate with popular content that engages their key audiences on a regular basis. Plus, they will fail to nurture passionate communities while dramatically improving the cost efficiencies and overall reach of their marketing and media spending.  

Consider some recently released statistics on podcast listeners. A large majority of individuals in the U.S. (79%) said they were familiar with podcasting, according to Edison Research’s 2022 Infinite Dial survey of more than 1,500 U.S. consumers. That was up from 78% from the previous year and 60% from 2017.

More than half of the respondents (62%) said they had listened to a podcast, and the average number of podcast shows consumers had listened to in the previous week was 8, up from 5.1 podcasts per week in 2021. The report demonstrates that podcasting had grown significantly, particularly with weekly listeners. Moreover, the demographics of podcast listeners continue to diversify.

Benefits

There are several strategic benefits to moving toward audio and podcast advertising. For one, audio and podcasts can unlock new audience segments to expand a brand’s reach. For another, leveraging audio and podcasts supports the long-term omnichannel strategies of brands as digital and display advertising continues to evolve. Audio is simply another leg to that strategy, as consumers expand their media consumption habits to screenless, always-on mediums.

In addition, podcasting has a much more intimate relationship with its listeners, which brings in an element of trust. For example, a beloved podcast host can have a big impact and influence on consumers. And this is an opportunity for brands to leverage that.

Creative Approaches

A key to success with audio and podcast ads is determining which creative approaches will yield the best results. Oftentimes, this depends on several key factors. This includes the brand’s market share and penetration, the amount of ad budget at its disposal, the industry, audience, style of podcast, and more.

Sometimes even the most tried and true ads can fail when the ad creative is actually in-market. That’s why pre-market testing to a specific audience, in the right environment and channel, is critical.

Audience Diversity

Sticking to one product within a single ad is important. However, different audiences respond to different messages. Using a variety of ad creative with slight differences in tone and messaging can work together to provide optimal results as an aggregate performance.

Because of the more intimate experience of audio and specifically podcasting, sincerity and trust tend to perform well, specifically with host-read ads. Consumers can tell when an ad is scripted and not spoken from a genuine endorsement. If it’s going to be highly scripted and read by a host, you might be better off going with voiceover talent for an ad.

Brands also need to consider the most effective ways to reach multi-cultural audiences with audio and podcast ads. SXM Media and Studio Resonate released a study supported by Veritonic data around the power of black voices. The research showed that Black listeners found Black voices to be the most resonant. While white voices seemed indifferent to any race. This is despite the fact that the majority of voice representation in audio to date has been white.

Research and Testing

It’s important to understand what resonates with the audience you are reaching. The best way to do that is through research and testing. 

Brands need to know what messages are resonating with their core audience before going live—or at least shortly into going live. Many marketers make the mistake of repurposing the same creative from radio or other channels on podcasts. Yet, this does not always stick. And most often, they either learn this too late (when the campaign is over). Or not at all.

By executing a quick creative measurement study against their target audience (or to mirror their target audience prior to the campaign) through Veritonic, marketers will be able to see a wealth of performance data. This includes second-by-second engagement by script point. This enables them to understand exactly what is resonating (or not!) with their audience. And how that ties to expected performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) such as recall, memorability, and intent.  This also provides an opportunity to adjust the creative early on if needed, inform distribution levers for impressions, and even project performance of the campaign.

Best Practices for Measuring Audio & Podcast Ads

Effective marketing is more than just driving a conversion. Building brand equity is just as important for potential future consumers as it is for today’s consumers. Brand lift is a phenomenal way to measure that, empowering advertisers to understand how their campaigns are having an impact throughout the entire funnel – top to bottom – looking at metrics such as brand awareness, consideration, and intent.

Attribution

We know all advertisers (and specifically podcast advertisers) need to know the immediate impact of their campaigns. This is where attribution comes in. Attribution solutions allow you to measure bottom-of-the-funnel activity including impressions, site visits, cart activity, incremental lift, conversions, and more.  

Creativity

It’s important to remember that campaign performance is not just tied to where the ads are placed. The creative, and most importantly the competitive activity around your campaign, can impact the overall performance significantly.

If your largest competitor has a major campaign live around yours and your results come back flat, that can actually be considered a positive. You protected your brand from being negatively impacted by your competitor. On the other hand, it can be helpful for managing expectations of future campaigns, if all of your competitors were silent during your campaign and you saw strong results.

Resonance

Last, if your creative is not resonating with your audience, that’s likely a driver of less than favorable performance as well. Everyone wants to see positive performance. But, there might be larger contextual elements in play to consider before jumping to any conclusions.

How can brands and agencies make sure that they are measuring the right things correctly? It’s a good idea to start simple. Know what your KPI is before starting. Then test against that before you go to market.

Also, it’s important to avoid common mistakes such as treating audio and podcast ad measurement like other media. It’s unique and should not be treated as an afterthought. In addition, don’t just look at any one metric. Build context to understand what else could be impacting performance, such as competitors and creativity. And don’t hold back on budgets for testing.

By taking these steps, companies can leverage audio and podcast advertising to deliver powerful brand lift and big returns.

The post Why Audio and Podcast Advertising Delivers Powerful Brand Lift & ROI – And the Pitfalls of Not Embracing This Medium Now appeared first on DMNews.

According to a recent survey, more than half of adults in the United States have listened to a podcast at some point.

Starting a podcast is fairly simple and inexpensive. However, it also opens up a completely new channel for reaching your target audience. In addition, it helps in personalizing your brand and expanding your company’s reach.

Listed below are some reasons why you should think about starting a podcast.

Podcasts help you develop a more intimate relationship with your clients.

Connecting with your customers through various means is vital.

You might use things such as your blog, email marketing, website messaging, and social media content. They are all important parts of doing business today. However, none of these solutions uses the essential aspect provided by this format: the human voice.

The human voice and the emotions it transmits are highly sensitive to the human brain. Therefore, speaking directly into the ears of your consumers is one of the most powerful and personal ways to interact with them. In contrast to a webcast or presentation, a podcast is more relaxed and uncensored in nature.

Even if it follows a general script or blueprint, a podcast provides the listener with a far more authentic sense of the personality and individuality of your business. In addition, it has the potential to foster a more personal relationship with customers.

The number of people who listen continues to grow.

Over the past decade, according to a recent study, the number of people who listen to podcasts has more than doubled from one million to two million.

According to the latest statistics, 44 percent of Americans (about 124 million people) have listened to a podcast, 26 percent (73 million people) listen to them on a monthly basis, and 17 percent (48 million people) listen to one every week.

Listeners are also increasing their frequency of listening. According to a recent study, podcast listeners consume an average of seven each week, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

People that listen are highly interested in what they’re hearing.

The majority of podcast enthusiasts are not casual listeners.

Of those who begin an episode, 80 percent finish it or at least the majority of it. The majority of business podcasts last between 15 minutes to an hour. Therefore, podcast listeners are likely to spend far more time listening to your voice than they would spend reading your words on a blog.

A recent study found that the majority of online readers only scroll through roughly 60% of online content before losing interest. Similarly, one commonly quoted number suggests that 55% of readers spend 15 seconds or less on an article.

Podcasts are a good way to reach folks who are constantly on the go.

Mobile devices account for more than half of all internet access. In addition, podcasts are perfectly suited for consumption while on the road.

On the other hand, unlike blogs and videos, podcasts allow you to listen to them while keeping your eyes on something else. This is why so many people listen to them while driving, performing household tasks, cooking, or exercising.

According to a recent study, sixty-nine percent of those who listen to podcasts prefer to do so on their smartphones or tablets. In addition, 22 percent listen to podcasts most often in the car. These numbers are also increasing.

Podcasting increases website traffic and helps you rank higher in search results.

The use of podcasts has a lot of advantages for your website.

They boost the amount of traffic that comes to your website. In addition, they increase the amount of time that people spend on your website and the number of backlinks that point to your website. Similarly, all of these are ranking considerations taken into account by Google.

Add a transcript, show notes, or other related information to your website when you record a new episode. These then are indexed by search engines after the program is published.

Podcasting helps you reach new audiences.

Using a podcast provides you with the opportunity to engage more deeply with existing customers.

In addition, it helps you turn them into enthusiastic brand advocates. However, it also provides you with the opportunity to reach new potential customers who may not be familiar with your company. They are simply interested in the specific topic.

As a bonus, host your podcast on a platform such as Buzzsprout or Blubrry. You then are able to publish it to iTunes for free. This also functions as a search engine. It allows anyone searching for podcasts on your chosen topic to find your show. They are able to do so even if they’re unfamiliar with your brand.

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Global CEO Karthik Krishnan keeps a facsimile of the original 1868 Britannica (three volumes only) on his desk. When Kim Davis sat down to record this podcast, Krishnan explained that the first sentence of the preface guides Britannica’s mission today: “Utility ought to be the principal intention of every publication.” One of the absolute pioneers of digital transformation, beginning in the 1980s, Britannica now offers knowledge as a utility on a stunning range of platforms and channels. Listen and learn.

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