Another format that is here to stay is the podcast. Increasingly embraced by celebrities and professional media, this on-demand content alternative is making the leap to anonymous individuals and also to large brands and agencies seeking to generate engagement in a natural, non-invasive and highly qualitative way.
According to a study conducted by the specialised platform Discovery Pods, 82.4% of podcast fans listen more than seven hours a week and 59% say they spend more time listening to podcasts than on social media.
A podcast can accompany the user on a journey, whether to work or across the world, while working or doing some kind of work, or simply in their free time. And this is also useful for brands, especially because it is content that is sought after and consumed with a very high degree of interest, something that is in short supply in the age of the attention economy and dual screens.
Whether creating a podcast as branded content or simply advertising on one, companies can benefit from this growing trend. What's more, 55.6% of respondents say they have purchased a product after hearing about it on a podcast. They can be accessed from multiple platforms, notably Spotify and Audible (Amazon), with paid, freemium or free formats. All of them offer content of all types and topics, creating the possibility of reaching more general or specific targets.
As part of the constant change, trends and formats are merging. Livestreaming and podcasting have found their place on platforms such as Twitter, but also in a network dedicated exclusively to audio: Clubhouse. Born in the middle of the pandemic, it has quickly found its place among the most popular social networks. Its audience enjoys a place where they can discuss, listen and be heard, and where they have the freedom to create content at any time and on any subject.
If we talk about its meteoric rise, reflected in large numbers, we can appreciate how attractive it is to many people and why it is of great interest to brands. At the beginning of this year, the platform already had 6 million registered users. In addition, users spent between 11 and 22 hours a week on average on Clubhouse, a very relevant figure if we take into account that in Spain 23.6 hours of TV are currently consumed per week.
All these platforms are also including possibilities for live shopping or social commerce, which offers the possibility of making a purchase directly from the digital content, facilitating the process for consumers and favouring higher conversions for companies.
In short, this context leads us to revisit two key pillars of the evolution of marketing as we understand it: Advocacy Marketing and Branded Content. We are facing a consumer who is more informed than ever and who demands increasingly more organic and real content, in which they feel represented. They demand more conscious, sustainable and inclusive actions, as evidenced by 64% of consumers who would reward companies that engage in some form of activism and 77% of GenZs who stress the importance of access to real people and real content.
For this reason, today more than ever, the figure of the brand ambassador is essential for companies to find their niche in these new trends in communication, content and platforms, managing to humanise themselves and get closer to their different audiences: consumers, opinion leaders, employees or partners. Only in this way will they be able to achieve genuine interest, creating their own content that generates engagement and real growth. Undoubtedly, something that provides much more value than any traditional advertisement.
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