Are your clients considering making the podcast plunge? Who can blame them? Consumers are excited about accessing on-​demand audio content. How much should your clients spend to reach their desired target audience? And what type of ads should they buy? Check out the recent research on this topic to position yourself as an expert on helping your clients build eye-​popping podcast ad results.

Eye-​popping Podcast Ad Results

Podsights analysts, in their Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report, reviewed over 3,500 2021 campaigns and $300 million in ad spend to understand trends in the podcast advertising sector. On average, a brand can expect a 1.42% conversion rate. Analysts also found brands can improve conversion rates by running ad campaigns on more than one network. “Diversifying podcast buys may expand audience,” they suggest.

What level of spending generates a worthwhile return? An InsideRadio report on the Podsights data indicates the typical advertiser should invest $55,000 on podcast campaigns. That level of spending can generate real leads and revenue for your clients. Keep in mind that Fortune 500 brands have big budgets at play. Those organizations spend an average of $238,000 a year on podcast spots.

Ad Frequency and Positioning Matters

And what about the pesky question of how often to run campaigns? We all know consumers tire of hearing the same promotion again and again. Beyond that, it’s expensive to pay for impressions. The Podsights analysis finds marketers have better outcomes when they appear in front of consumers between two to three times with a specific promotion.

As with video advertising, brands have the option of placing their messages before the programming begins, in a mid-​roll position or after the content ends. Some marketers will put their messages in two spots during one broadcast to reach a broader audience. Brands that pay for the mid-​roll position score the best conversation rate (0.98%). The typical pre-​roll position delivers a 0.88% conversion and in post-​roll positioning, brands can expect about 0.70% conversation rates.

Researchers also detected a conversion rate difference when it came to whether a client purchased an embedded ad versus paying for a dynamically inserted ad. Embedded ads, typically featuring the voice of the podcast talent, resulted in an average 0.96% conversion rate. The rates were noticeably higher for automotive, restaurant, travel, and CPG spots. The dynamically inserted ads, with an average conversion rate of 0.91%, were most successful for gambling, professional services and fashion advertisers.

In studying the effectiveness of podcast campaigns, analysts measured impressions, visitors to a brands’ website and conversion rates. If your client can generate between 400,000 and 800,000 impressions, they’ll see about 3,316 website visitors and a 1.24% conversion rate.

Leads and Purchase Conversions

What ultimately matters to your clients is purchase conversion. In this survey, the number of people who purchased divided by the number of people reached equals the conversion rate. In Q4 2021, brands experienced a .039% conversion rate. Brands promoting travel (.07%), beverage (.06%) and fashion (.06%) reported the best purchase conversion rates.

Brands can also count consumers who sign up on their websites with email information as leads driven by their podcast ad investment when attribution is clear. In Q4 2021, 13.6% of site visitors from podcast ads became leads which brands could then purchase with email and other campaigns. The industries that did particularly well on this front included CPG (28%), retail (23.4%) and B2B (18%).

Consumers are increasingly tuning in to comedy and documentary podcasts. To learn how many of these people respond to advertising they hear on these productions, check out the AudienceSCAN profiles, available at AdMall by SalesFuel. After presenting the data to your clients, pitch them on a campaign that will lead to eye-​popping podcast ad results.

Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA production from Pexels