Podcasts are widely used in education and business. For students, podcasts supported by audio transcription services, provide access to educational content anywhere and at any time. Podcasts have become an integral part of digital marketing campaigns as they allow businesses to publicize new products, company information and general information about the industry. Recent reports indicate that the podcast industry is set to expand significantly in 2023 and beyond.
6 Top Podcast Trends
- Significant market expansion: According to a May 2022 the Verge report, podcasting will become a $4 B industry in two years. This sixth annual IAB U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue study that the IAB prepared for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), the podcast advertising market exceeded $1B in 2021. Two key takeaways of the study:
- There was a 72% year-to-year (YoY) increase in revenues to $1.4B. Revenues are expected to surpass $2B in 2022 and almost triple by 2024 to over $4B.
- Revenues are growing faster than the total internet advertising revenue market – up 72% YoY vs. 35%.
- Increased efforts to stay competitive: Podcast platforms are facing increasing competition. The platforms offer a space to store and distribute your podcast’s audio content. Podcast Insights lists the popular podcast hosting companies as of August 2022 as Buzzsprout, bCast, Podbean, Transistor, Castos, RSS.com, Resonate, Captivate. To get a competitive edge, these platforms are continuously introducing new features that make it easier for institutions and businesses to share content effectively across various platforms. For instance, Buzzsprout says that it added 13 updates in the past 12 months. One of the latest updates is adding YouTube-style podcast monetization. Approved ads will be included in your episode with attractively designed transitions. Another update is built-in transcription integration. bCast also comes with an auto transcription feature that converts your audio content into text.
- Using data to improve the user experience: Firms are using survey data, testing and analytics to improve the podcast experience by creating quality content that resonates with their target audience. Collecting real data is helping podcasters to understand listener preferences and create and engaging content for their show. They are evaluating listener reviews on social media and podcast directories to learn about the impact of their content. Publishing podcast that caters to their audience’ specific needs has become the key to enhancing engagement with the content.
- Ideal option for driving change: Podcasts are emerging as a great option for fueling conversation on important subjects, communicating a message, and driving change (bcast.fm). According to Statista, the top 5 podcast topics in 2021 included comedy, news, true crime, sport, and health/fitness. Other trending topics include discussions on racial isolation, the racial equity gap, cultural differences in the workplace, neurodiversity, women in technology, and gender bias. By raising awareness about important these topics, podcasting is set to drive change.
- Optimizing for voice search: Voice search technology or virtual assistants like Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Assistant allow users can search the internet handsfree. Voice search is now a popular podcast trend. With over 50% of people using voice search to find topics, businesses need to optimize their podcast transcription for voice search. Experts predict that questions based on intent will become more common and long-tail keywords and long content will be needed in FAQ-material (bcast.fm).
- Ads increasing: As podcasts grow in popularity, it is becoming an ideal platform for advertisements. Forbes notes that both large advertisers and media conglomerates are investing more in the podcast industry, and this trend is expected to grow in the years ahead. Companies that have invested in podcast advertising and publishing platforms include Spotify, Amazon, and SiriusXM. Success with using podcasts for branding depends on aligning content correctly and building brand affinity through implied endorsement coming from the podcast hosts.
Podcast listening will continue to grow. According a recent Infinite Dial survey from Edison One and Triton Digital, in 2020, 37% of Americans (age 12+) listened to at least one podcast each month, up from 32% in 2019. Forbes references Dennis Camlek, a marketing executive, who launched his first podcast platform on 2021 as saying, “This space has exploded. All of the major audio platforms have made podcasts a clear priority. Listeners are raising their hands to follow a particular show. With such a passionate and captive audience, delivered at scale, why wouldn’t marketers align their messages with these followers?”
Role of Transcription Services
Podcast transcription services can make your content accessible to a wider audience and boost your SEO campaign. Transcription also allows you to repurpose your content, get cited in a blog, tweet, or article, make your episodes more shareable, and earn money.
