Top Podcast Statistics

Podcasts can also be a pretty niche tool if looked at from a marketing perspective. There are many content creators and brands that leverage podcasts for business. You can really build up a large following and that could help your brand. Alternatively, if you are an enthusiast, there are amazing podcasts to tune into. Anyways, whether you are a person who listens to or creates podcasts, here are some interesting podcast statistics that you should know in 2022.

Podcasts Are Available in Over 100 Languages 

There’s literally something for everyone. Even if you are in the US, if you want to tune into something in a foreign language, you can always listen to a podcast. A podcast in another language can be a great way to pick up new linguistic skills. Since all you really need to do in order to create and spread a podcast is to record and advertise it aptly, there are thousands of podcasts in different languages worldwide. 

78% of Americans are Aware of Podcasting

Compare this to back in 2006 when you had just 20% of the adult population in America aware of podcasting, and this number seems significant. The majority of the population today tunes in to something of their choice today.

Over 2 Million Podcasts Exist

There are more than 2 million active podcasts currently, according to these insights. If we went back by about 3 years, there was just a quarter of that figure. Today there are millions of episodes across a wide range of topics to choose from. 

Over 150 Million Americans Have Listened To A Podcast

This data says that around 163 million US citizens older than 12 have listened to a podcast. Compare that to 2006, when the number was just around 11 million.

Podcast Ad Revenue May Exceed 2 Billion in 2023

eMarketer estimates that US marketers may spend more than around $1.3 billion on podcast ads this year. This might exceed the 2 billion dollar mark after 2 years, touching 3 billion USD in 2025.

The US Accounts For The Highest Number of Podcast Listeners Worldwide

The US accounts for 47.9% of all podcast listeners, while the UK ranks way below 6.3% and Canada with around 5%. 

The Podcast Listener Base is Diversifying

If we look at gender and race specifically, data from Edison Research says that podcast listeners are growing diverse, demographically. In 2021, listeners were predominantly white males, but over the recent past, they include females and listeners from South American countries as well. 

Comedy Still Is Priority

This is funny because data from last year says that 22% of podcast listeners in the US prefer comedy as a genre. The news comes a close second, followed by true crime, sports, and health and fitness, amongst others. 

The Best Brand Awareness is by Pandora 

Infinite Dial’s data says that in terms of audio brand awareness, Pandora, a music and podcast delivery platform, leads. More than 80% of all respondents have heard of it. It edges out iHeartRadio, which has 73%, and Spotify, which has 72%. This data says that Spotify might become the best podcast platform in America in 2021.

The Average Listener Tunes In For More Than 6 Hours Weekly

The average listener spends a lot of time listening to podcasts, especially during commute hours. Downloaded to smartphones, podcasts can be heard through car speakers, earphones, or as people choose. 

Podcasts Influence Purchasing Decisions

This data says that around 60% of all podcast listeners have purchased something from a podcast ad, a healthy percentage, head and shoulders above other advertising mediums. 

More Listeners Are Going Mobile

This should come as no surprise. More and more smartphone users are going mobile, with around 78% tuning in from mobile devices in 2019, a jump from around 42% in 2013. 

More Listeners Spend More Time Listening

In 2019, podcast listeners spent a little more than 28% of their time listening to podcasts, leaving behind regular radio, at 24%, and streamed and owned music at 15% and 13% respectively. Podcasting is very engaging. 

61.1 million American Families are Fans of Podcasts

A lot of Americans tune into music podcasts, followed by television and movies, with around 60.5 million households watching or listening to such podcasts regularly. Other major podcast genres are technology, science, arts, politics, games, business, sports, and religion. 

74% of Podcast Users Listen To Learn Something New

Edison Research says around 74% of all listeners listen for educational purposes. Around 60% of US citizens use podcasts to keep abreast with the news, and 51% of listeners say they find podcasts relaxing. 

Podcasts Are 10% of All Content Millenials Listen To 

Millennials are very keen on podcasts because they fit into life’s daily schedule. You can listen to the latest episode regardless of time and space. Popular podcast platforms allow users to stream and download on demand.

Only Half of All Podcast Listeners Listen To Entire Episodes

According to data from Edison Research dated 2019, 52% of podcast consumers listen to the whole audio episode. Americans who use podcast platforms to download episodes are more likely to watch or listen to the entire broadcast, as they are attracted to this kind of broadcasting that gives them whatever information they want whenever they want it. Podcast users develop a kind of relationship with podcasters, interested in what the latter has to say.

Majority of Podcast Consumers Prefer to Tune In From Home

This is ironic because the entire point of a podcast is that you can listen anywhere, anytime. In reality, however, consumers prefer to listen to podcasts at home. Other popular locations amongst American listeners include the car or truck (64%), the gym (43%), work (37%). 

The Best Times To Release A Podcast

Data shows that Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are days consumers are most likely to download podcast episodes, with the number falling to its lowest during the weekends. 

Around 39% of Small and Medium Business Owners Are Podcast Users  

Around 65% of these owners listen to podcasts weekly, according to podcast listenership statistics from 2018. Around 70-72% of business owners with around 100-500 employees listen to podcasts.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, podcasts are all the rage, and their popularity shall only continue to grow. In no particular order, here are some amazing podcasts that you can tune into, from across various topics as listed by the New York Times. If you are a marketer and want to tap into the potential of podcast advertising, read our blog on how to do so. Our blog on the unique features of podcasting for marketing and brand building can help you use this tool to reach your audience in a big way. 

The post 20 Podcast Statistics You Should Know in 2022 first appeared on Publir.

And, of course, customer reviews and testimonials are the perfect social proof that your products or services are the solution for others too!

Why Are Reviews Important?

• A good review can really help pique interest in your product or service as well as drive traffic to your website. On the other hand, a bad review at the wrong time can have terrible effects. 

• They’re great for SEO, especially if you’re a new local startup. Having good reviews on popular sites like Yelp and Google gets you to land higher on search engine results when people are looking for you or your product and service. 

• Consumers use reviews to do some self-guided research, relying heavily on the opinions and experiences of their peers while evaluating their options before making a purchase. 

• People trust one another more than they trust companies. In fact, 90% of all consumers actually read online reviews before purchasing anything. 

Ways to Ask Your Customers for Reviews

So how do you get reviews from customers without sounding annoying? Sometimes, consumers get inundated with surveys and get fed up. They don’t want to interact with a company and instead prefer a personal touch. Here are a few clever ways of getting reviews for your business. 

Be Proactive

Draft emails with good content and send them to your consumers, asking for feedback. Being proactive shows them that you’re interested in what they think and customers then feel valuable because they realize their opinion really matters. They tend to view this as a good initiative by the company to develop more products or to improve their services. If these customers are happy with your products and services, they will move from consumption to loyalty and eventually the advocacy stage. And if they’re not totally happy but they’re able to tell you how to improve (and you do!), they’re likely to stick around.

Be Specific About What You Want Them to Review 

Is there a new product you’ve launched? Or do you want consumer’s insights on your business as a whole? Either way, reviews, and feedback forms can help you get the information you need. You would want to know if your customer has purchased your product from an eCommerce website like Amazon. How was their shopping experience? If they’re shopping on your website, are they dissatisfied with something? This helps both when you’re an established company or a new company. 

Choose Your Channels Carefully

Now, this is the tricky part. There are multiple channels of communication and ways to ask for feedback and reviews, each of them having its pros and cons. 

1. Email – A classic method of getting reviews, this channel allows you to craft interesting and personalized messages. The downside to this is sometimes your content could be relegated to the spam folder and you may have to take special measures to avoid this.
   
   If they receive your email, you can offer customers the opportunity to be in a drawing for a prize if they return their feedback by a specific day. Free stuff tends to encourage people to respond. Emails are also of two types. There are after-sales emails that ask customers’ views about specific products, and there are check-in emails that ask them how they’re doing, before proceeding on to getting a review about either a specific product or anything else. Know which one you want to use and be careful you don’t overdo it by asking for too much feedback.

2. SMS Texts – This is a quick way to get reviews, however, your messages need to be short and you’ll need to include a link to a survey, rather than embed it directly into the text. This could annoy your customers, and they may not take your survey at all. However, giving customers a hint, like telling them to visit your website, where you have a nice landing page could be a way to get reviews.

3. Social Media – This is where it gets interesting. 78% of American consumers discovered a product on Facebook (source) and 73% of America’s population uses Facebook daily. Facebook is the leader in terms of reach and reviews left on Facebook make a huge difference for your brand. Encourage your happy customers to leave favorable reviews on your Facebook page and respond to them to increase engagement. 

4. Website – If you sell products on your website, customers could leave reviews on purchases. If you want to get their reviews in a special way, maybe you could create a landing page and create a notice board with pins? An interesting design would grab their attention, while the board with the pins would give them a store walk-in feel. 

Use Promotional Branded items

Using free merchandise can definitely help encourage people to give you feedback. Doing a giveaway of company-branded cups, stationery, or anything useful can be a great encouragement, especially for those who love your products. As an added bonus, they’ll see your logo, again and again, every time they use your giveaway 

Use a Blog

If your business doesn’t have a blog, creating one on your website is incredibly easy and a good way to engage with customers. Blogs give you more space than an email or social media post will, and you can tell your customers how helpful their reviews are to your business. You can even give them step-by-step directions and highlight important points for the skimmers. 

Target Satisfied Customers, but Address Bad Reviews Too

Ask for reviews and testimonials when the customer is happiest. Don’t ask customers who seem disgruntled with your product or services to leave public reviews, though it is beneficial to have conversations with them so you can correct any issues.

You may, from time to time, get negative comments and reviews from unhappy customers and it’s important that you don’t ignore these.  However, do not ignore the bad reviews because they’ll pile up and you’ll be under fire for negligence. Even individual tailored responses are given by companies like Amazon on their website, or social media pages can cause issues for you down the road. 

When you receive a poor review, don’t delete it or try to deny that something wasn’t satisfactory. Instead, address the issue head-on. The unhappy customer and prospective customers will appreciate the transparency and your willingness to correct the situation. Sometimes, asking the customers for feedback instead of reviews seems less intimidating, and they might be more comfortable sharing their opinions with you. 

Final Thoughts

To conclude, always be open in your communication and ask for the feedback you need. Engaging positively with customers to find out their experience, even if they have had a bad experience with a particular product or service, could raise your company’s impression in their eyes. Good brand stories can only take you so far, but if you don’t engage with your customers, there’s no point. Read this article about how online reviews matter to eCommerce, to get an idea of how important reviews truly are for your business. 

The post How to Ask Customers for Reviews first appeared on Publir.