Today in the Business of Podcasting
2023 Podcast Trends Report from Megaphone and Spotify
The 2023 Podcast Trends Report is built from internal Spotify podcast listening data, Google Trends weekly trending search results, and social media data sourced from Tubular Labs. Combined with the recently-released Fan Study, the new Spotify report shows distinct peaks and valleys for listening. In the Fan Study, thereās clear peaks for new podcasts launching in January, March, and July (pro tip: the least-busy time to debut on Spotify appears to be April). In the Trends Report, itās clear pre-empting the yearsā cultural touchstones on a podcast leads to more foot traffic. For instance: when Beyonceās Renaissance tour was announced in February, podcasts about Beyonce spiked to 1025% month-over-month traffic in streams. This was followed by a 433% spike in May when the European leg of the tour started and a 323% spike when the Beyonce wave reached landfall in Philadelphia on July 12th. [Source]
Less Is More: Reduce Audio Ad Copy Word Count And Improve Effectiveness, According To Colourtextās Jason Brownlee by Pierre Bouvard
A new study in UK audio advertising, conducted by distributor Audiotrack and media analysis firm Colourtext, examined over 10,000 audio campaigns that aired from 2019 to 2021. Their biggest finding is that word density appears to have a significant impact on the effectiveness of audio ads. On average, audio ads in the UK settle around 169 words per minute. When measured by Creative Standout (a score achieved when surveyed consumers say an ad āstands outā and rate it at least an 8 out of 10), the study found eliminating 10 words of ad copy increased the adās score by 1%. Cutting ten words also led to a 0.25% increase of web traffic.Ā [Source]
You Can Now Easily Save Songs to Spotify From TikTok With a Simple Tap
Spotify has launched a new integration with short form social video platform TikTok, allowing TikTok users to add songs to their Spotify library. A core feature of TikTok since its rebrand from lip-synching app Musical.ly has been its ability to choose and overdub a sound, usually a short clip of a music track, while recording. Before, TikTok users would have to manually search a song on Spotify. Now the āTikTok bumpā from a song becoming a viral TikTok sound can happen even more organically. While TikTok hasnāt fully rolled out their podcasting tools, this connection on music to Spotify makes it a no-brainer for podcasters when TikTok podcasting formally arrives, especially if a similar connection is made for clips of podcast audio. [Source]
How Agencies are Adapting to Marketersā Increased Focus on the Creator Economy by Aleda Stam and Brian Bonilla
Agencies tell AdAge demand is rising for more influencer-based social media campaigns. Requests for proposals for social-only campaigns, traditionally only seen from smaller, younger brands are now coming in from legacy brands. Names like Ford Motor Company, Tinder, and TGI Fridays have appointed social agencies of record. Wieden+Kennedyās Bodega agency even helped McDonaldās capitalize on the sudden emergence of the Grimace Shake trend on TikTok earlier this year. Influencer marketing is growing at a fast clip, and thatās great use for podcasting. [Source]
