5 Reasons Why Agencies Should Offer a Podcast Production Services
What’s in it for them?
The rise of podcasting has elevated the focus on the importance of building an audio brand. The rapid growth of listener consumption across multiple platforms takes podcasting as a marketing strategy from a “nice to have” strategy to a “need to have” part of an effective marketing strategy Branded Podcasts create an intimate, and immersive experience that optimizes the listener's full attention resulting in higher brand recall. The explosive podcast industry shows no sign of slowing down. Insider Intelligence reports listener count will be 464.7 million by 2023 and 504.9 million by 2024. In the United States, podcast listeners are set to reach 131.2 million next year.
Marketing Agencies will want to offer turnkey podcasting services in order to remain competitive. Agencies not tapping into this demand miss out not only on the revenue opportunities associated with the services but on the results a well executed branded podcast can deliver for their clients.
It’s time to get off the fence and begin the process of integrating podcasting production services into your current services. Below are five reasons to reinforce the benefits of growing your agency through production services.
1. Expand your client’s reach to a highly engaged audience
A primary reason audio is experiencing huge success is the unparalleled way it connects listeners through evoking emotions and uses a theater of the mind approach. Brands using podcasting to build strong relationships with their customers. It has been a proven way to motivate people into action.
One report from BBC found that consumers are actually more engaged during the branded parts of a podcast than they are during the rest of the content — with 12% higher memory encoding and a 16% increase in overall engagement.
This trend is not going backwards.. By end of 2025, podcast listeners in the US will hit 144 million, that’s almost a 13 million jump from 2023. Time spent on podcast consumption is increasing by 16.1%, to a little over 23 minutes per day. Ignoring the opportunity to tap into this market segment would be a loss for any business
2. Break out of the traditional advertising rut
The tolerance of consumers to advertising messages has waned due to oversaturation hence the use of ad blockers or the mindless, almost robotic reflex of clicking the Skip Ads button on Youtube. With branded podcasts, advertisements are received as more authentic and relevant to the listener in that specific moment. Nielsen Podcast Ad Effectiveness insights found that podcast ads drive an aided brand recall rate of 71%, while 56% of podcast listeners say they pay more attention to ads read by the host(s). As a result, consumers tend to be more accepting of it, rather than ignore it. They are also more likely to purchase a product they learned about from the host of the podcast.
On the numbers perspective, US podcast ad spending will see a 30.2% increase, forecasted to surpass $2 billion in 2023. Brands and businesses are realizing the potential of the platform in effectively running ads.
3. Provide additional value to clients
Advertiser Perceptions found, from conducting a survey, that 29% of ad agencies and 23% of marketers are currently engaged in branded podcasts. Another set of ad agencies (31%) and marketers (26%) are eyeing to create branded podcasts in the next six months.
Agencies have the opportunity to add more value to their clients by offering podcast production. As experts in the field, agencies should be quick in recommending the next steps their clients need to take to scale their efforts or their businesses in general—currently, that step is to get into podcasting.
4. Expand revenues and diversify client portfolio
Offering podcast production services brings in new clients for the agency, expanding and diversifying its portfolio. This also provides a means to expand steady streams of revenue with your existing client base. Your customers are spending dollars with your firm instead of taking those dollars to other outlets which is more convenient and oftentimes more cost effective for them.
5. Increase customer retention and satisfaction
Demand for branded podcasts is getting bigger as more and more businesses use it for marketing and advertising. Still from the same survey, results show that 38% of ad agencies have clients who delve into branded podcasts to advertise and market their businesses. Your customers are spending these allocated dollars with your firm instead of taking them to other outlets. Your retention numbers increase along with your customer satisfaction ratings.
