Why Branded Podcasts Need To Be a Part of Your Marketing Strategy
According to PodcastIndex.org, there are currently over 4.5 million podcasts worldwide, with over 300,000 podcast episodes released in the past thirty days as of publication. And the medium is only expanding with the addition of video podcasts to audio formats, these shows capture more audiences every day.
Compared to 2014, where only 12% of Americans listened to podcasts monthly, Pew Research says as of 2023, 70% of Americans listened to online audio in the last week, and 75% of Americans listened online in the last month.
And those ears have opened their wallets accordingly, with revenues up 72% for podcast ads in 2022 compared to digital advertising revenue up 35%. As the podcast and digital audio audiences expand, a branded podcast connects your knowledge and industry expertise with your ideal customer for maximum brand engagement.
The Unmatched Convenience of Podcasts
Digital advertising uses interstitial ads that break the flow of an article or show. Branded podcasts, focused on your offerings and expertise, grow your audience and their knowledge while organically promoting your brand. Podcast listeners don’t lose focus on your message and can even build listening into other parts of their busy lives.
In 2025, 73% of U.S. consumers have listened to podcasts or watched video podcasts, and 59% of listeners report multitasking while listening. Rather than asking listeners to devote time in their schedule to reading another email or article, podcasts provide a convenient way to spread your message.
Podcasts:
- Allow multitasking: Hands-free content enables listeners to fit podcasts into busy schedules. Commuting, housework, cooking, exercising and other physical activities can free the mind to engage with the audio format.
- Are accessible anywhere: Listeners can download podcasts to their devices anywhere they have internet or mobile phone service, making them accessible for the majority of your audience. And when subscribed, many podcast applications will make the latest episodes ready for consumption upon release, consistently updating the playlist.
- Enable passive listening: Whether updating spreadsheets at the office or grocery shopping, podcasts give the listener entertainment and knowledge, and they improve the experience of mostly-mindless tasks at the same time.
No other medium allows such convenient content consumption, making it many listeners’ go-to choice for staying informed on the go.
Stand Out From the Crowd With a Branded Podcast
Social media has the reach most brands look for, but how do you stand out as a brand in short-form mediums built for short attention spans? A branded podcast has the space and depth to develop your brand’s identity and showcase the expertise that sets your company apart.
Showcase Your Brand Story
Your brand deserves more than a caption.
Does anyone read an Instagram description over four lines? Can you distill your brand story into an X post? (If so, please teach me how!)
Your brand thrives in the space beyond catchphrases and taglines, and developing that story into podcast content makes it accessible for your audiences, who will find it as engaging as you do.
Demonstrate Industry Expertise
White papers have their place—podcasts make your insights personal.
Why should your customers trust you? Usually, we answer this question with years of experience or case studies and dusty white papers that no one reads.
A branded podcast allows you to bring industry expertise to life. Have the hosts discuss innovative solutions to common industry problems. These sorts of conversations help the listeners increase their knowledge while strengthening your brand.
Foster Valuable Partnerships
Great content starts with great conversations.
A single speaker is a lecture, but two experts in a room (physical or virtual!) is a conversation. By bringing in customers, partners, vendors or subject matter experts to talk on your podcast, you build partnerships in the industry that elude most companies. These conversations help both parties: you get expert content for your podcast, and they get free advertising for their own brand.
Ready to create a unique brand identity? Explore our content creation services.
Podcasts Drive Higher Conversion Rates
Everyone says that to convert higher, you need to niche down, and a branded podcast is the epitome of niche. What’s more focused content than talking about your industry and expertise every single week (or month)? A good branded podcast content calendar will bring customers to you, and they have questions you can answer.
Superior Conversion vs. Other Channels
A 2020 study found that podcasts provide a 34% lift in conversions, numbers that far exceed traditional advertising formats like digital display ads (1.1%), print ads (2.4%) and TV ads (3.1%). That’s a competitive advantage that can’t be ignored—because it results in an increase in revenue.
Drive Qualified Leads
A helpful, industry-specific and consistent podcast will increase qualified leads in your funnel. According to a 2023 survey from Pew Research, 28% of respondents say they’ve made a purchase based on listening to a podcast.
Podcast subscribers hear your knowledge and trust your vision, and your brand becomes part of their weekly educational routine. That brand awareness will pay off in your funnel, as engaged listeners seek out your website, newsletter and other content sources or reach out directly to sales.
Measurable ROI of Podcasts
Podcast ads and calls to action need to have a memorable URL for the audience to continue their digital journey. Many advertisers track their podcast return on investment (ROI) by setting up individual landing pages for the podcasts they advertise on or use offer codes at checkout to track online purchases from podcast leads. These tools quickly track traffic sources more reliably than TV or radio, and the bump in volume is often worth the 10-20% discount coupon.
Build Deeper Connections with Your Audience
Every marketer dreams of a thriving, engaged owned audience—and podcasts can deliver that. When listeners like and trust your podcast hosts, that trust naturally extends to your brand and other owned channels like social media and newsletters.
- The power of voice: A podcast brings your brand to life with real people, recognizable language, and consistent expertise. Over time, listeners begin to associate their learning and growth with your host’s voice and style.
- Build trust through audio: Listeners count on podcast hosts to deliver useful, thoughtful content, and that consistency builds credibility. As hosts show up each week, so does your brand’s value in the minds of your audience.
- Foster community from conversation: Engaged listeners often become active participants across channels. When podcast hosts invite feedback or interaction, they spark communities that grow into loyal fans and powerful advocates.
The Power of Voice
A podcast will bring your branding documents to life, with identifiable people, topics, ways of speaking, and knowledge brought to the audience every episode. As the audience comes to recognize the voice and style of the host, they associate their increased knowledge with that host.
Building Trust Through Audio
Customers buy from brands they trust. The increased knowledge and association of expertise that listeners have builds trust in the product. They trust the host to show up in their podcast feed every week with valuable insight and industry expertise, and when the host delivers on that, your brand equity increases.
Fostering Dedicated Communities
Brands that build podcasts often find themselves branching out into other community-based channels because their audience demands it. Social media, premium and subscriber-only content, and comment threads go from engagement deserts to thriving communities, especially when hosts ask questions of or solicit responses from the audience. These communities of superfans turn around and become the very best of marketing tools: word-of-mouth influencers.
Maximize Your Content With Podcast Repurposing
Instead of monthly or quarterly (or, heavens no—weekly?) brainstorming sessions to decide what content to build and promote, a branded podcast can be the tent pole marketing tool that drives marketing across the brand.
From Audio to Multiple Formats
Many podcasts repurpose snippets, quotes, and even video from the podcast recording to share across their marketing channels. Transcripts can become blog posts, and ideas that didn’t get ample time for exploration in the episode can become other articles. Rather than building a different content calendar for every single channel, the podcast can set the direction.
Efficient Content Strategy
Content repurposing makes for one heck of a streamlined content strategy when centered around a podcast. The podcast producers and hosts build a schedule in advance, sourcing interviews and guests or providing a research timeline for writers. Once set, the marketers can build out episode-specific marketing that drives traffic to the podcast or to the website.
Save Time and Resources
Once the entire marketing team begins moving confidently in the direction of an episode schedule, repurposing the messaging and information that the episodes provide, they save resources spent in idea creation and individual scheduling.
Humanize Your Brand Through Podcasting
When competing against influencers, news cycles and a million other distractions, audiences connect best with brands that present a defined voice and cohesive experience. Like Progressive’s Flo or Allstate’s Mayhem, audiences connect with and remember when a human face (or voice) represents the brand.
Giving Your Brand a Voice
Going back to those branding documents, a podcast host can embody the voice of your brand. Are you helpful and humorous or serious and knowledgeable? Do you welcome listener questions, or do you prefer to have expert interviews do the talking? Your podcast literally gives voice to brand values and style.
Showcasing the People Behind the Brand
A branded podcast makes a fantastic recruiting tool, as well. When you can bring on engaging subject matter experts from across the company to chat with your hosts or provide insight into little-understood parts of the industry, you show that your company is more than just its products. Customers often identify with these segments, perhaps even applying to open positions when available, because they want to be a part of the team.
Building Authentic Relationships
We all want customers who are engaged, as they purchase more, share your brand with others, and provide valuable feedback to the marketing team. And engaged audiences come through authentic relationships—the kind that a branded podcast can build. When you choose to move beyond corporate messaging with honest conversations, audiences will respond.
Why Pay Attention to Podcasts
If you’re doing things right, someone is talking about your brand. If that’s in a podcast, it may reach more ears than you know. And those ears trust what the podcast hosts say about your brand. You want to know if those hosts represent your brand well, so you can promote or respond accordingly.
Alternatively, monitoring podcast mentions of industry terms can alert your team to emerging trends and news that your team should cover, either on your podcast or other channels.
Marketers who analyze mentions across social media platforms and within podcasts have data that helps them make better content decisions by identifying partnership opportunities, gathering valuable feedback, and staying ahead of industry trends.
How ICUC Can Help With Branded Podcasts
ICUC helps brands moderate their podcast presence, which otherwise would be an overwhelming job for any marketer. Our brand monitoring services ensure you maintain a positive presence across podcast platforms, including reviews, ratings, and mentions, by alerting you to potentially harmful mentions.
ICUC’s community management services can also engage with your listeners wherever they discuss your brand online, transforming casual listeners into loyal advocates.
Whether you need mention management or full community engagement, ICUC provides 24/7 global coverage and expertise in brand reputation management across all digital channels, giving you peace of mind and time to listen to your own favorite podcasts.
