Heavy Podcast Listeners Prove Active in W-O-M

August 13, 2021

EngagementLabs W O M Activity by Media Engagement Aug2021Podcasts are growing in popularity, with more than half of the US population saying they’ve listened to a podcast. The medium is popular among advertisers, as well, offering excellent brand safety and the ability to reach desired and diverse audiences. One of the main benefits of podcast advertising is high engagement and influence, with data from Engagement Labs revealing that heavy podcast listeners are the most active in word-of-mouth (WOM) engagement.

Earlier reports from Engagement Labs found that two-thirds of word-of-mouth about brands takes place offline. Heavy podcast listeners – those who listen to one or more hours of podcasts per day – appear to be contributors to this. These podcast listeners engage in an average of 102 offline conversations about brands or services per week. This makes them 34% more active in WOM than the general public, which engages in an average of 76 offline conversations about brands per week.

Even compared to heavy users of other media such as social media (99 conversations per week), radio (99), DVR/On-Demand/Streaming (88) and live TV (67), heavy podcast listeners dominate in WOM.

Podcast Listeners Are “Everyday Influencers”

While Retail, Personal Finance, Credit Cards, Fashion and Meal Delivery Services see the highest conversion rates among podcast advertisers, when it comes to WOM, different industries are seeing the results. Heavy podcast listeners outperform the general public in 15 categories of conversation related to brands, products and services including Food and Dining (10.6 conversations per week), Media and Entertainment (10.2), Retail and Apparel (8.0), Technology (7.9) and Sports and Recreation (7.8). The gap between podcast listeners and the general population is especially wide when it comes to conversations about Children’s Products, Beauty and Personal Care, Technology, Sports and Recreation, and Retail.

Friends and family remain the most trusted source of brand information, and all this WOM from heavy podcast listeners appears to be working for advertisers. Heavy podcast listeners are 54% more likely to be influential than the general public.

As what Engagement Labs labels “everyday influencers,” heavy podcast listeners over-index as influencers in several categories including Telecom (208), Wine and Spirits (178), Beauty and Personal Care (169), Financial Services (165) and Travel Services (164).

Read the full report here.

About the Data: Findings are from a period of analysis between November 2, 2020 and July 1, 2021.

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