Podcasts are seemingly everywhere these days. The variety of subjects and styles is quite endless. What has been a rather new innovation is that small business owners have begun to venture into podcasting as a way to attract new customers and to boost brand awareness. While many are content to advertise on certain popular podcasts, others have begun to branch out and create their own and are building a listener base that could spell future success and growth. Some recent data and research published by Firstsiteguide, will allow the newcomer to see exactly where the state of podcasting is and how a small business might find its own successful niche. The following is taken directly from that recently published data:
- Edison Research has concluded that there are around 104 million podcast listeners in the US. Their podcast study also shows that 212 million Americans have heard about podcasts, while 155 million of them listened to a podcast at least once in their lifetime.
- According to Statista, there are 86 million podcast listeners in the US, while eMarketer’s findings show 78.9 million consumers. The true number is probably somewhere in the middle. However, what’s certain is that these numbers will grow in the future.
- Edison Research has concluded that there are around 104 million podcast listeners in the US. Their podcast study also shows that 212 million Americans have heard about podcasts, while 155 million of them listened to a podcast at least once in their lifetime.On the other hand, Discoverpods has discovered that 80% of consumers find podcasts through cross-promotion. The second most popular way is through recommendations from other people (72%) and social media (56%).
- Even though people find podcasts in different ways, 72.8% of them agree that finding new shows is the biggest challenge. The two other biggest issues, according to listeners, are lack of awareness (49%) and low-quality content (32.9%).
- Quality content is essential to 97.7% of podcasters, 96.5% of them cherish engaging listeners, and 89.7% of them know that publishing content regularly is important.
- Based on the age of podcast listeners in the US, 48% of them are 12-34, 32% are 35-54 years old, and 20% are over 55 years old. When it comes to genders, listeners are evenly distributed in the US. 51% of them are male, and 49% are female. The ethnicity of podcast listeners statistics in the US is 63% white, 11% African-American, 11% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and 10% other.
- 27% of monthly listeners have some college education, 25% of them have a 4-year college, and 20% of them have a high school diploma or lower education.
- The biggest motivation for listening to podcasts is learning. The highest number of listeners agree that they listen to podcasts to learn something new (74%). The same survey by Slideshare shows that 71% of users say podcasts are entertaining, 60% like them because they can get updated on topics that matter to them, 51% find them relaxing, 47% look for inspiration in podcasts, and 37% like podcasts because they help them forget about everyday problems.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
