A collection or series of digital audio recordings that are made available for downloading or listening to on the Internet is known as a podcast. Podcast episodes are individual audio files that are all played as a series. Podcasts are typically hosted by one or more people who conduct interviews, share stories, or deliver news.

Though podcasts have been available for more than a decade, they are now being adopted by an increasing number of listeners, and media budgets allocated to audio platforms have expanded like anything else. But why is this taking place so quickly today, and why has podcasting moved from a niche market to the mainstream?

How did it all start?

Let’s look at the larger picture to better comprehend how podcasts became the phenomenon that they are now.

So, Apple, iTunes, and the iPod are the reasons for the creation of podcasts. In 2005, Apple acquired podcasting for iTunes. Thus, as explained by Steve Jobs in 2005, a podcast is the union of an iPod and a broadcast. Although Steve Jobs referred to podcasts as “TiVO for radio,” this outrageous and archaic comparison will aid in placing the whole shift in perspective.

Prior to podcasting, there was radio, which featured advertisements, erratic material, and your favorite hosts scheduled to appear on particular days with particular shows. With podcasts, however, you could download radio shows and listen to them whenever you wanted on your computer or iPod.

To ensure that you never miss an episode, you could also subscribe to these programms. Additionally, just like the radio, podcasts are free.

With technology things started to change:

People could download podcasts directly from the internet to their smartphones, eliminating the need to transfer the audio files from a computer to their phone. That made it simpler to watch the shows. Only 11% of US citizens had listened to the podcast in 2009, but in 2014, a new podcast was launched that totally changed everything.

An episode of the television series “Serial.” Serial broke established podcast norms. This novel structure for a narrative mystery crime show attracted listeners since it told a single story over several episodes rather than just one. The number of downloads and streams on iTunes increased to 5 million in the quickest-ever time frame for a podcast.

The popularity of high-production value television programs like “Serial” peaked about the same time. Additionally, cars were becoming more networked, which provided a venue and a chance for commuters to listen. New direct consumers, or B2C customers, had money to spend on podcast advertisements. The interaction of all of these elements propelled the podcast industry to unprecedented heights.

So on Podcasts, shows were sponsored by companies and ad dialect would be something like the examples below:

“Listen to this new episode sponsored by Dell” or

“This week’s show is brought to you by Sleepys LLC”

“Turn your great idea into reality with Squarespace”

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Here are some surprising numbers to see how the podcast industry grew.

• In a market projected to be worth $479.1 million, the self-reported podcast advertising revenues by 22 reporting organizations in the United States for the entire year (“FY”) of 2018 were $344.7 million.
• Compared to 2017, when 19 companies generated money from podcast advertising in the US, the FY 2018 statistics are based on self-reported data from 22 companies.
• Compared to self-reported revenue of $257.4 million in FY 2017, self-reported revenue in 2018 climbed 34% year over year.
• From the entire market estimate of $313.9 million for FY 2017, the total market revenue estimate increased by 53% in 2018.
• From the entire market estimate of $479.1 million for FY 2018, it is predicted that total market revenue will increase by 42% in 2019.

When Hosts used to give promo code:

You may have heard that the hosts are reading advertisements and giving out a promo code. This is the primary way that shows generate revenue. These IDs assist the advertisers in tracking which program has generated sales for them. Additional revenue streams are used by shows. While others organize live events, some adapt their stories for television.

Audios could be recorded for a low price, especially when compared to movies, aside from the comparable costs. Therefore, there was a chance that it would be a successful venture. Without spending a lot of money up front, media firms and independent producers can experiment with podcasts and publish their work in the same places as major publications.

How has advertising in podcasts evolved?

Companies want more control and insight into how their advertisements perform in reality now that podcasts are so lucrative. As a result, the area is evolving, and podcast technology is improving. It’s possible that promotional codes are no longer necessary. The same as they do with internet banners, advertisers wanted a more sophisticated approach to track the advertising. The Interactive Advertising Bureau formed its rules in response to this. In December 2017, it created technical guidelines for measuring podcasts. The advertisers could then accurately estimate the number of people who heard their advertisement by knowing what constitutes a download or play.

A commercial does not have to appear in the same program repeatedly because commercials are growing smarter and more dynamic as well. These can be replaced with different advertisements. Podcasters can eventually enhance their advertising options by promising timeliness. In an effort to increase the industry’s profitability, everything is formalized.

A few podcast players are experimenting with exclusive content as well, which is a significant departure from the open environment that podcasts have typically inhabited. The content of podcasts began to be distributed more like movies or TV shows, and they began to be tracked more like the rest of the web.

The Growth of the Podcast Industry:

So why do so many people have podcasts today? It’s because they’re easy to produce, have minimal stakes, and offer a good chance of making a lot of money. Lastly, people love their voice. Today both advertisers and media conglomerates are active in the podcast industry which is assumed to be growing in the coming years.

During the epidemic, consumption was particularly remarkable because 60% of podcast hearing occurred at home. According to Edison One and Triton Digital’s most recent Infinite Dial poll, 32% of Americans aged 12 and over in 2020 listen to at least one podcast each month, up from 29% in 2019. It is anticipated that podcast listening will continue to increase. It is predicted that 125 million people would be listening to podcasts monthly by 2022, up from an estimated 100 million listeners in 2020.

More advertising dollars are being spent as more people listen to podcasts. According to IAB PricewaterhouseCoopers’ estimates, podcast advertising spending was $800 million in 2020 and is expected to increase to $1.7 billion by 2024, or roughly 20% annually. Advertisers are adopting podcasts as a component of their media campaigns, according to a survey conducted by Westwood One and Advertiser Perceptions. In 2015, 10% of marketers said they will promote podcasts during the following six months; by 2020, that percentage had risen to 37%. Longer ad breaks result in more advertisements being noticed by podcast listeners.

Podcasts are growing for a variety of reasons, including highest audience growth, a younger listener demographic, and others. The average age of podcast listeners is 34, which is younger than the median ages of network television (57) and broadcast radio (47). The proportion of people between the ages of 12 and 34 who listen to podcasts on a monthly basis will increase from 27% in 2017 to 49% in 2020.

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Earlier most successful B2B and B2C podcasts and their growth:

Podcasts about B2B marketing and B2B SaaS customer success have gained a lot of traction, especially with startup and new business success managers. These podcasts assist in identifying solutions and workable methods to the most typical obstacles and as well as unusual problems faced by support teams throughout the world because the expertise and guidance is coming directly from professionals and senior influences of the industry.

Any B2B Saas podcast should focus on generating more traffic. B2B organizations utilize podcasts to increase their product’s discoverability, build brand reputation, and network with other brands and decision-makers in the sector.

They are useful in marketing because they spread knowledge about the company and its products, but they can also be quite effective in helping customers succeed. The expansion of both current and new customers is the emphasis of customer success. These podcasts cover topics including customer experience, product adoption, feedback loops, onboarding, and customer support teams.

1. The Customer Experience Podcast:

The podcast is about the customer journey from acquisition through advocacy, and the Customer Experience Podcast explores this challenge at various stages of growth. Each episode covers a variety of subjects, including the human touch, video email, video communication, B2B sales and marketing, personalization, automation, customer journey, lifecycle marketing, and sales process.

It seems to make sense that the concept of customer experience is currently very popular. In case you weren’t aware about customer experience (CX) then it is the interaction between a customer’s journey, brand touchpoints, and settings, as well as an organization.

If you still don’t understand it, just know that it’s all about giving the consumer the greatest experience possible, developing relationships, and exceeding expectations. This is what the Wikipedia editors call “gobbledegook.” Fortunately, this podcast doesn’t contain any jargon and is full of practical advice for anyone working in sales, marketing, or customer success, presented by outstanding practitioners, authors, and thought leaders. It is interesting, enlightening, and understandable enough to satisfy any Wikipedia editor.

The growth of the platform: The podcast’s best communicator, Ethan Beute, has made all of the themes extremely engaging. The podcast is in line with the brand and offers listeners a distinctive experience because a variety of guests are brought in to keep the conversation fresh throughout. This can benefit B2B marketers in a variety of ways. It provides the most thorough solutions regarding B2B marketing and how to entice clients so their experience will be valuable. As a result of listening to these podcasts, many people have found success in their endeavors. Additionally, many listeners have praised the speaker, Ethan Beute, calling him one of the most influential speakers.

2. Mindful Business:

A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with such a clear objective, Mindful Businesses’ principal goal is to disseminate accurate knowledge regarding sustainable business models and technological advancements. The weekly podcast of Mindful Businesses, which is hosted by Vidhya Iyer, features companies that practice mindfulness and the environment.

It brings inventors, corporate executives, and thought leaders who share their journeys and tales through this audio medium. They motivate and instruct other business owners about environmentally friendly innovations as well as consumers.

Growth Of the platform: global platform The goal of mindful businesses is to hear and learn from a variety of voices and perspectives. 34% of tourists speak no English, and 57% of them are women or ethnic minorities. They intended to take advantage of every chance to build a sustainable future house. Vidhya Iyer, the podcast’s host, met with architects, geothermal installers, suppliers, builders, and city officials in order to think about the podcast listeners who are in the same situation  and want to create a sustainable home.

They realized that after three years of podcasting about sustainability, they still do not know how to make the home net zero or carbon positive. The Governor’s Green New Deal intensifies New York’s efforts with a goal to reach 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, making this issue urgent in states like New York, which state in their 2019–2023 Sustainability Plan: As a result, any new homes constructed in the state of New York after 2030 would have to use green energy. Therefore, the “Our Sustainable Home” audio series walks listeners through each step in the process of creating a sustainable home.

3. Mind The Gap Podcast:

Mind The Gap is designed to be the go-to resource for listeners for all of their business learning, covering topics such as growth and marketing as well as customer experience.

They speak to experts and hustlers in the fields of growth, marketing, and customer experience in order to detect gaps in these areas and offer advice on how to fill them. You can get all of the podcast’s episodes here or through the podcast app of your choice, such as Spotify, Itunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Overcast.

The show’s subscribers have early access to new episodes as well as certain insider information on the subjects they cover that isn’t available to the general public.

Growth Of the platform: The percentage of Americans that listen to podcasts is merely 26%, per Pacific Content. For information and inspiration, 74% of the populace still turns to blogs, videos, conferences, and publications. The number of regular listeners is increasing as a result of podcasts competing directly with blog searches, the high usability and depth of audio content, and Google’s new search strategy following the launch of its own podcast app. There has never been a better opportunity to join the movement and broaden the common denominator.

4. FlipMyFunnel Podcast:

To be really honest, you should check out #FlipMyFunnel even if you have no interest in account-based marketing, B2B marketing, sales, or entrepreneurship at all. and instead of podcasts, you typically listen to whale sounds.

Each episode of Sangram Vajre is a breath of fresh air thanks to his excitement, humor, and real interest in the subject. He consistently has more interesting, engaging, and genuine talks with thought leaders than other hosts while still managing to cram a ton of information into a 30-minute period.

You never have to wait long to acquire fresh marketing insights to test out with your team because there are new episodes released every day, which is even more astonishing for a podcast of this caliber.

He wrote multiple books on the topic since at the time, all he could think about was coordinating sales and marketing. Sangram saw that great firms aren’t only about sales and marketing, but rather about all the many members of the go-to-market team as his knowledge of what makes organizations great developed. What has changed over the last 10 to 15 years is the emphasis placed on the entire go-to-market team.

Growth of the platform: When Flip My Funnel was founded in 2015, the primary objective was to contribute to the development of the Account Based Marketing category at a time when the word was still in its infancy. Even the definition of ABM wasn’t clear, and there were many misunderstandings and preconceptions about it.

Sangram sought to take the lead in establishing a community of believers in this novel approach to marketing and sales after seeing that there was no location for individuals to consume data about ABM.At this point, more than five years later, and with a community of over 100,000 listeners to the Flip My Funnel podcast, Sangram has succeeded in fostering knowledge acquisition and professional development in the new field.

Podcast Platforms that Help in the podcasting promo and podcasting hosting domain

You may be wondering now which is the best podcast hosting site and where should you host your podcast? There are some great options to host your podcast and you must understand that these options are important to consider because it is not one size fits all. You should weigh the pros and cons to find the best podcast hosting domain.

1. Captivate:

Captivate is a hosting platform that concentrates on helping the audience to grow. The tagline of the platform is ‘the only growth oriented’ podcast host and for this they have a feature on the platform. The platform also helps to create the podcast and then upload your first episode. So, when you are at the initial stage of creating and uploading your first episode then things can be ultra simple.

Once you are fine with the podcasting stride then you can dabble with other options like Capitivate’s growth and monetization tools like they have a ‘one-click Sponsor’ kit and great calls to action in the podcast players and to link you can use the Single promotional link and link anywhere. The platform will also help you to connect and grow the email list so staying in touch with your audience will be easier.

With Captivate, you can receive a podcast website for your program that is modern, expert-looking, and packed with features. Three completely responsive themes are available for you to select from, and you may completely customize each one. You can add email options team biographies, pin episodes or trailers to the page, rearrange the blocks and episodes, add email optins (and lead magnets! ), and provide a fantastic search function for simple binge-listening. As an alternative, you may use their Captivate Sync plugin to connect your podcast to your already-existing WordPress website.

From your Captivate account, you may launch an infinite number of podcasts and invite team members to each one. In terms of sharing, they provide you a one-page solution for attracting listeners to your podcast.

So, see the following features to understand what the platform can do for you:

• You may operate as many shows as you’d like using a single account and a single monthly charge
• Run private podcasts across all price tiers
• Call to action in the podcast player
• Unlimited team members allow you to spread the workload of operating your show among everyone
• Transcription capability
• numerous choices for listening and subscribing. Links with attributes and a single promotional link
• Tools for building your email list and connecting your website with WordPress plugins
• Manage a podcast network from within your primary account.
• Ad placement and audio mastering
• Your episode files will not be modified in any way
• You can choose the episodes for shared playlists using the Collections function

You can get a 7 day trial around the Captivate dashboard and it starts at $19 per month to $99 per month depending on the downloads you want each month.

2. Alitu

If you want the lowest amount of subscriptions, logins and tools for streaming your workflow then Alitu is the best site. You may record, produce, and broadcast your program with this podcast creator tool. Additionally, new features are continuously being introduced.

You can record directly into Alitu regardless of whether you operate a solo show, a podcast with a co-host, or conduct remote interviews. It’s simpler to edit than to use a typical social networking tool, and production (noise reduction, leveling, etc.) happens automatically. You simply click “Publish” after you are finished with your episode.

It is easy to navigate through your social media app and production and if you want you can make use of the remote recording software that will merge automatically with the double enders and give them the usual post production TLC.

Alitu is equipped with everything you require, but it also integrates effectively with other services. You may still publish from within the Alitu interface if you still choose to utilize one of the other podcast hosting services offered here because it will connect to the majority of them automatically. You might also simply download your finished episode and manually upload it somewhere else.

If you are a busy person and are not tech savvy then Alitu is the great choice for you. It is also cost effective.

• You only need one login and one membership price to execute your podcast
• Recording calls for distant conversations
• Solo recording
• Free music library for podcasts
• Podcast transcripts produced automatically
• A quick and simple way to fix errors is through podcast editing
• To add the music, transitions, and other portions, use the episode builder.
• Combine double-ender recordings made with different call recording programs.
• Alitu automatically corrects volume levels, cleans up audio, and optimizes sound during post-production.

For a set fee of $38 per month with Alitu, you have access to each of its services. Two months are free if you make a yearly payment.

3. Castos

Castos is the media host responsible for the WordPress plugin called Seriously Simple Podcasting, which you can use to connect Castos hosting to your own WordPress website. The WordPress plugin is simple to install, and once it is set up, your website will allow you to upload and publish podcast episodes. Logging into your hosting is not necessary.

Tools for private or “subscription” podcasts and premium material are yet another area of expertise for Castos. This may be used to run a private or members-only show directly from your WordPress website and also connects with the Castos Dashboard.

With their transcription service, Castos has a useful resource. This makes your podcast more user-friendly and provides a written version of each episode for viewers to review or skim.

You may even upgrade your hosting with Castos’ editing and production services for podcasts. Castos makes no changes to the metadata or bitrates associated with your files.

• Utilize the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin to integrate WordPress.
• No download limit, unlimited podcast creation.
• There are built in episode transcriptions
• The choice to produce personal podcasts.
• You may choose to hire Castos Productions to handle your editing.

Castos offers podcasting starting at $19 per month. There are two more expensive categories, which cost $49 and $99 respectively. As per the pricing, one enables you to host video podcasts, while the intermediate one allows you to repost your show.

4. RSS.com

RSS.com is the way to go if you’re serious about expanding your podcast audience. For more well-known podcasts, this service’s limitless storage and bandwidth are ideal.

To help you manage your podcast and interact with your audience, RSS.com also provides a wide range of options, including episode scheduling and social media integration.

The simplicity with which their technology enables podcasters to launch seems to be a selling point for RSS.com customers; in fact, the majority of users can be up and running in under five minutes. Look no further than RSS.com if you desire limitless storage, robust analytics, and a podcasting website to support your recording. These characteristics guarantee that your podcast platform can accommodate any business expansion you encounter as you scale.

Podcasts can use the many relationships RSS.com has to focus on growing their audience and locate the ideal sponsor in addition to a quick and simple setup. With limitless downloads and recordable episodes, RSS.com enables users to easily scale the growth of their podcast, even when starting with only a few episodes and expanding to hundreds or thousands of regular listeners.

You can tune in and tweak your podcast for optimum impact with the help of detailed data and analytics. Such information enables you to modify and concentrate on relevant content for your audience, which is the key to taking your podcasting to the next level.

• A polished podcast website will lend credibility to your content, and episode transcription can make it simpler for listeners to follow along.
• It is simple to export your current podcast to RSS.com if you are already using another platform provider and start using their service right away.
• The major podcast directories, such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, are distributed automatically and with guidance.
• A contribute button on your free public podcast website is one of the monetization alternatives, along with sponsorship opportunities through Podcorn.
• When using RSS.com, you may monetise your podcast in a variety of ways, including by turning on a contribution button.
• Create customized embed players that are appropriate for various platforms so you can highlight your podcast in interesting ways.

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Podcasting in Future:

The way podcasting has grown in all these years is simply incredible and it seems that podcasting has a great future. Approximately 120 million Americans regularly listen to podcasts. That’s not all, either. This number is predicted to increase to 140 million in 2022 and 164 million in 2023.

A certain method to reach your target audience, increase brand awareness, and pique interest in your goods and services is to engage in producing content for the platform. This is especially true given the consistent expansion of podcast listeners in the nation over the past ten years.

Although the future of podcasting is promising, we must also acknowledge that the market is highly competitive. There have been 2,000,000,000,000 podcast episodes available by the middle of 2021. You shouldn’t be deterred from starting a podcast for your company, despite this. The number of Americans who listened to their preferred podcast for only one month is projected to be 193 million. Furthermore, the typical adult listener spends 1 hour and 34 minutes each day listening to podcasts.

The evidence is unambiguous: people are becoming more and more interested in learning new things through listening to audio content, which is accessible everywhere and at any time. Additionally, the more approachable your brand messaging is, the more probable it is that you will get the attention of your audience.

Final words:

Podcasts are a quick and easy method to engage your audience and develop an authoritative presence, especially when you take the time to discuss subjects that your listeners will find interesting and educational. Additionally, anyone can produce a podcast almost anywhere. Producing a podcast may undoubtedly benefit businesses, thus it is obvious that it can also promote your brand.

Podcasts are proven to be a crucial marketing strategy for companies trying to adapt and provide excellent content to their audience at the popular virtual hangouts for consumers. The sooner you incorporate podcasting into your marketing strategy, the better, as podcast listening will continue to soar.