The focus of last week’s Infinite Dial webcast on Facebook Live was strategies for podcasters to grab a larger share of the voice audience. But that begs the question, if podcasters gain audience, who loses? Edison Research Senior VP Tom Webster shared videos of podcasters to get some ideas.
Excerpts from the video included: “I definitely listen to music less. There are so many podcasts out there, it’s hard to find time to hear all of them.” “I seldom listen to music on the radio any more, it’s just the same songs over and over again. And then all the stations go to commercials at the same time.” “I used to be a Howard Stern fanatic, but I got overwhelmed with keeping track of the show. So I stopped that, and brought in the podcasts.”
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But it’s not just music radio that’s taking a hit, for many of these same podcast listeners, the words talk radio have a fairly negative connotation. “It got so I hated talk radio. It seems like the ratio of talk to commercials is 50–50.” “I think podcasts take risks and explore subjects that might not be appropriate to broadcast live. Podcasts just seem more in-depth and personal.” “The humor seems a bit younger on podcasts, and more in line with my own.”
Webster noted that these are some clear indications that one of the primary places where podcasting will claim its share is from AM/FM radio. He also compared how these people talk about radio versus how they talk about podcasts. “They’re a great way to expand the minutes of your day. You can learn something new. They’ve definitely influenced the way I think and relate to my friends.” “I love to listen to podcasts, particularly the ones that are industry related, they allow me to self-educate about my business.” “Podcasts are very entertaining. You can learn something new every day while you’re driving to work.”
Webster concluded by noting that none of the individuals on the videos talked about RSS feeds, downloads or what devices they listened on. Rather, they talked about how they discovered their favorite podcasts, they talked about content, connection, community and learning something new every day. He noted that as podcast creators think about how to promote their products, they might do well to consider how their listeners talk about podcasts.
