Celebrating International Podcast Day: 4 Brands Killing it with Influencer Marketing in Audio

You listen on your morning commute. If you live in L.A., it’s likely that everyone you know has one. We’re talking podcasts on International Podcast Day.

The podcast industry is expected to be valued at 1 billion dollars by 2021, which represents an increase of 53 percent in just one year. Here’s why influencer marketing is growing rapidly on podcasts. 

Requiring little to no capital to start, podcasts are democratized and decentralized, meaning the barrier to entry is very low. Sound familiar? When Instagram was invented there was a similar motif surrounding the social app: one characterized by decentralization; nearly anyone could become an influencer with the right content. But as Instagram has grown to be valued at 100 billion dollars, it has also been inundated with negative headlines regarding its impact on mental health to its users and influencer fraud, to name a couple. 

Sam Shetabi, content manager at Acast UK, suggests “This is why users are increasingly consuming podcasts, as well as, being more open to influencer podcasts in particular. Alongside their intimate nature, they align with a new desire for longer and more conversational content over snappy and bitesize videos. Unlike a sponsored post on Instagram, for example, which can easily get lost amid a sea of similar content – advertising in podcasts is almost impossible to miss, with listeners less likely to skip than they are to scroll past on Instagram.”

What’s especially important to highlight is that the brands and the creators can have a mutually-beneficial relationship, wherein the brands carefully choose a creator whose audience matches up with theirs and the podcast hosts can actually help create the voice of the brand. As Michael Broukhim, co-founder of FabFitFun, said about having Guiliana Rancic as their first influencer, “A lot of the brand DNA that she imparted into FabFitFun helped us find a voice, helped us find an initial audience.” 

Creators benefit when listeners use the products they endorse, creating a high trust environment and loyal listeners. Whereas on Instagram, influencers’ connection with their audience is somewhat surficial and static. After all, the followers only see edited pictures and carefully-curated copy. Arguably, podcast creators are able to establish a deeper connection with their listeners because it’s an ongoing conversation in which listeners really get to hear a (somewhat) unedited version of the personalities of the host. 

Mark DiCristina, Director of Marketing at MailChimp corroborates: “People tend to have warmer feelings about advertisers on podcasts than other media, and they tend to remember us a lot more than on other media. There is an intimacy to having a nonthreatening voice piped directly into listeners’ ears.”
Podcast and influencer marketing is so effective that 69% agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products or services. With all said and done, let’s take a look at some brands killing it with influencer marketing in podcasts.

HelloFresh

If you listen to podcasts, it’s likely that you’ve heard a HelloFresh ad. Targeting many working mom-type demographic, the meal-delivery service kit company advertises on podcasts like My Favorite Murder, Unladylike, & Love Letters.

SquareSpace

With topics ranging from politics with NPR, sports with Pardon My Take, and music with Dissect — SquareSpace can advertise on a wide range of podcasts because their product is broad and universally accepted. 

FabFitFun

Between Pinterest and podcasts you’ve likely heard of FabFitFun. The subscription-based box is a podcast-host favorite, giving them fresh material to talk about as the boxes are seasonal with different products in each one. 

Casper

Mattresses are one of those products where word-of-mouth really goes far. When buying a mattress online, you can rely on reviews, but you are never able to actually try out the product until its delivered. Podcasts like Stuff You Should Know, Why You Won’t Date Me, and, Righteous & Ratchet provide personal testimonials and stories about Casper mattresses making it easier for listeners to imagine the comfort and trust the product from people they trust.

Want to create your perfect influencer marketing campaign? Reach out!