Earlier this month, we added an incredibly cool new data source to our earned media monitoring – podcasts! You can now monitor thousands of podcasts for mentions of your brand, products and competitors, right alongside the rest of your earned and social media monitoring.
We’re excited about this new addition because podcasts are one of the fastest growing media types around, and if you’re not paying attention to them, you’re missing out on an active and huge audience.
More than 32% of Americans listen to podcasts monthly, and 22% listen weekly (according to Edison Research). Globally, the numbers are even bigger – 36% of people have listened to a podcast in the last month. These numbers continue to grow year over year and show no signs of slowing down. Forbes reports that there are more than 800,000 active podcasts worldwide, and there are millions and millions of podcast episodes available.
This means a few things for PR professionals. First, your brand is probably being talked about in some of these podcast episodes. Are you aware of what’s going on in those conversations? Second, if you’re not thinking about how to use podcasts to amplify your own messages, it’s time to start.
As with any newer form of media – like social media a decade ago and blogs before that – you need to think about a few basic questions to get started.
- Should you appear on another podcast? How do you decide what podcasts are worth your effort?
- Do you want to start your own podcast? How would your podcast stand out from the 800,000 others?
- How should you monitor podcasts? What should you be listening for?
