Should I Advertise on Podcasts?

I’m a huge podcast fan – they’ve made my hour-long commute each morning not only bearable, but enjoyable. Whether I’m in the mood to be informed or entertained, there is a podcast for everything and I’ve become a loyal subscriber to a handful of shows (shout out to ‘Four Finger Discount’ the podcast that reviews episodes of America’s greatest export: The Simpsons).

I’ve also found podcast adverts to feel less intrusive than on other mediums. I don’t have cable, if I’m streaming something on my laptop I’ll mute the ads, and I use an ad blocker online. Occasionally I’ll skip adverts on a podcast, depending on how many ads there are in a row, and if I can be bothered to take my phone out of my pocket!

Regardless of how many ads I skip, I can reel of a list of companies who I know advertise on podcasts, the key being that they advertise on multiple shows and run long campaigns. Many companies are reluctant to advertise on podcasts because it’s still a relatively new medium, and there is a distinct lack of metrics available. Currently, the only audience data is number of subscribers to a podcast, and number of downloads of an episode.

This may be about to change. Last week, the American Public Media show Marketplace reported that Apple would soon make more metrics available, including when people listen, where they listen, when they bail out during an episode, and if they listen to ads. This data would not only be useful for advertisers, but for the podcasts themselves.

In our office, there are three of us who regularly listen to podcasts. Ashley is away right now, so I sat down with Nick to have a quick chat about these new metrics and what it might mean for the future of podcasts:

Do you listen to podcasts, or have you advertised on any? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @greg_borko.

 Greg Bortkiewicz is a Senior Account Executive and Digital Specialist at Landis Communications, the San Francisco affiliate of PRGN.