Podcast Audience Increases

More users are downloading podcasts now than six months ago, but does the increase point to a new online marketing must?

by Kristina Knight

Wikipedia defines a podcast as “a multimedia file distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers”.

According to Pew Research, about 12% of Internet users have downloaded a Podcast so they can listen to or view it later. That is up from 7% in February. However, only about 1% of users say they download on a regular day. What does that mean?

Podcasts, while growing in popularity, still aren’t the best place to put time-sensitive online ads. They are, however, a place to build an audience and perhaps create a loyal following.

The new breed of Internet users, especially social networkers, don’t rely on advertisements to make their purchasing decisions. Instead, they prefer peer-to-peer recommendations, branded micro-sites or community forums to make those decisions. By taking advantage of original content like podcasts or blogs that allow users to post their feelings or experiences, marketers can grow their loyal base following. This is turn could grow the revenue stream.

Podcast Alley, a podcast directory website, lists more than 26,000 podcasts in their directory. The content ranges from politics to consumer issues.