Many marketing teams view the funnel as beginning with direct engagement and the nature of podcasts are not seen as part of that genre. Most marketing teams work on getting customers to engage through paths that can allow them to collect data and guide the customer into the funnel, whether it be through social media posts, business website interaction, or email. Podcasts are often absent this element, as their engagement opportunities are more limited, they have less of an interactive quality, and they are often done through third parties that cannot provide relevant data. Though podcasts are becoming more popular, and their interactive qualities are improving and are beginning to cast a wider net of engagement, many marketing teams have been slow to catch on, as they are still focused on pathways they feel provide a more seamless route to the sales funnel.
Making and promoting a successful podcast requires a lot of time and effort. It can take months, or even years, to build up an audience. And there’s no guarantee that your show will be successful, no matter how good it is. Even the most popular podcasts only have a few hundred thousand listeners which is a tiny fraction of the population. So if your goal is to reach as many people as possible with your marketing message, podcasting might not be the best use of your time.
There are a number of reasons why marketing teams may not consider podcasting to be part of the funnel. One reason is that podcasts are typically un scripted and spontaneous, which can make it difficult to control the message. In addition, podcast listeners tend to be highly engaged and focused, making it difficult to break through the clutter and capture their attention with a CTA. Chances are, podcasts aren't going to relay your message effectively and even if they do, people probably won't follow the CTA. However, the devil's advocate is that podcasts are great for brand awareness, so it depends on what your marketing team's goal happens to be.
Trying to track podcast success feels like going back in a time machine... and there isn't a lot of confidence in the metrics being tracked. Which is the opposite of where marketing teams want to be in this decade. When Google and Facebook Ads tout having amazing metrics, real-time ROI monitoring, and automated bidding, podcasts have download counts and not much else. If your job was on the line, would you want to have an abundance of metrics and transparency of where your money went? Or would you take a chance on podcasts and hope they work (even with nearly impossible attribution)? I think that most marketers are scared of taking a chance!
One reason why marketing teams do not consider podcasting to be part of the funnel is that it is a relatively new medium. In the past, marketers have primarily relied on television, print, and radio to reach potential customers. While podcasts are growing in popularity, they are still far less widespread than more traditional forms of media. As a result, many marketing teams are not yet familiar with the potential of podcasting and do not know how to integrate it into their overall strategy. In addition, podcasts are often shorter than other forms of media, which can make it difficult to deliver a consistent message or call to action. For these reasons, marketing teams may be hesitant to include podcasting in their plans.
Limited and specific audience. Podcasts have the ability to directly engage a specific audience, but often that audience may be too niche to make marketing on a podcast have an impact. The best marketing is able to target the best audience for the brand while introducing it to new consumers. The specific audience for a podcast could be so specific as to either already be an active consumer or not be the right audience for it at all. Podcasting may be too specific to make marketing appealing.
I have a couple of concerns with the simplicity of marketing funnels and the cure that far too many marketers believe they are. To begin, I believe the metaphor of a funnel is incorrect. When broken down, the function of a marketing funnel has little relation to what we use actual funnels for in the real world. When I use a funnel in my kitchen, for example, to pour olive oil from a large glass bottle into a little squeeze bottle I keep by my stove, the funnel's role is to protect the oil from spilling all over my countertop during the transfer. Marketing funnels do not operate in this manner. They're leaking, with not just some but most individuals never making it through the top funnel. It's unrealistic to expect every awareness exposure to result in a conversion. This never happens, and no marketer believes it does.
Though Podcasting is growing by leaps and bounds, marketers shy away from the medium because it's still in the nascent stage to drive conversions. Although marketers already have a lot of platforms to look into, podcasts can be an added burden without straightforward returns. However, Podcasting can act as an engagement and brand recognition tool for new customers. But, the possibility of driving bottom-of-the-funnel conversions with podcasts is still remote for most brands.
It's challenging to attract people to your site and raise awareness of your brand with podcasts unless people are already aware that your business has a website, knowing full well that the goal of marketing is to create leads by providing top ranking content. Podcasts do not show up in the early search engine results pages, unlike textual material, which is immediately accessible and something you can rank for on a search engine. It's also simple to employ written material to develop a brand image, thus search engines are needed to sort them. Therefore, developing a brand with a solid SEO strategy via podcasts would take time and that is counter productive. I'm just saying podcasts are limited in capacity to generate leads.
In the marketing industry, there is a general lack of knowledge about podcasts as a marketing medium. Despite multiple studies on the subject, podcast marketing has yet to gain widespread exposure. Without extensive usage, marketers do not know what podcasts can or cannot do. The existence of other mediums such as social media that are more powerful also makes it easier to ignore podcasts. Marketers are also hesitant since they worry about the effort of creating them. Creating a podcast is not enough, as you also have to market it via other mediums.
One reason a marketing team might not consider podcasting part of the funnel is the gravity of it. By definition, all funnels have a single entry point: the top. Trying to market a podcast at any level other than the top can be difficult without a lack of context or continuous social media support. The progression of any kind of marketing tactic is top-down, so there is not an easy ‘boost’ if things slow down in the middle.
Let’s consider the word 'funnel'. It is supposed to collect whatever idea you have and put it to the bottom. Simple and direct but in marketing, especially when using podcast system, it is not so easy. You have to first of all create podcast of course, like other contents. Afterwards, you market the podcast but it does not now stop there, you have to follow up and make sure that the audience did not just get the podcast but also listened to it. This is different from writing contents which they can just scan quickly and move on, getting the message from it.
Podcasts are typically function to grow awareness and credibility for the brand. They don't typically have clear CTAs that would enable you to track them as a step in the funnel and optimize conversions from them. Instead, they are one of many tactics that a brand may use to put its name out there, so that a user will continue to visit that brand for insights, or going directly to the site or searching for them by name.
The number one element in a marketing funnel is awareness. People still think the only way to build awareness for a brand is through traditional marketing. Maybe they consider social media, but they still aren’t thinking broadly enough in the digital space. Why is cable news on the decline? Because people are turning to podcasting for their news. Why is Hollywood not making big-budget comedies any longer? Possibly because more people are turning to comedians with podcasts for their comedy content. More and more marketing teams need to think harder about podcasting when it comes to creating awareness for their brand. That’s where the people are.
The most significant reason marketing teams don’t consider podcasting part of the funnel is when you need short-term results and desire for sales and new clients in the next quarter. Branded podcasting is the worst tool to use when you need to boost short-term business results. You need to sell to people to drive sales or customer growth, so you will need to discuss your services and products in the podcast. Hence, it implies you’re making the whole show an elongated direct-response ad. In case your objective is to build a long-term relationship with potential customers, a podcast can only come in handy in that situation.
Digital marketing strategies typically involve catching people's attention as quickly as possible. Since podcasts involve in-depth discussions, this communication differs significantly from the quicker, catchier content and copywriting that digital marketing typically entails. This is not to say that a company could not also have a podcast, but the podcast does not need to be a primary step in the standard marketing funnel to attract customers.
While I'm not in agreement with the sentiment that podcasts aren't part of the funnel, many marketers take the stance because it's way more difficult to track than something like SEO, social media marketing, or paid ads. You mention your website on the show, people type it into the browser, and your analytics picks it up as direct traffic. OF course, you can put an offer that requires people to go to a specific URL but a lot of brands are: 1. Reluctant to give blanket discounts 2. Don't have the energy to make a unique offer for every single show Because of these factors, and many personal ones, teams consider podcasting a brand-building exercise instead of one that leads to direct revenue. This is wrong of course, many people have seen massive results from podcasting, but that's the beauty of marketing. You can be wrong about many things but still succeed.
Most types of content, such as videos and blog posts, demand your complete attention. However, with podcasts, you can listen to an episode from anywhere — work, home, the gym, you name it. Smartphones, as the most popular podcast consumption device, enable this on-the-go listening. With global mobile consumption at an all-time high, mobile-friendly content experiences are becoming increasingly important, and podcasts are already leading the charge in this regard. The sheer freedom that podcast listeners have to consume content wherever and whenever they want is unparalleled in today's market. People can multitask while listening to a podcast, which boosts engagement. Your audience is happy to commit to an episode because they know they can do the dishes or ride the subway at the same time.
Marketing teams don't consider podcasting part of the funnel because they think it's too hard to measure. One problem with measuring podcasting is that it's not always clear how many people listen to a particular episode. Even if you know how many people are listening, it's not always apparent whether those listeners will take an action later. Also, when the c-suite team asks how podcasts are helping to drive new customers and revenue for the company, it’s not as cut-and-dry to measure as if you were to invest in advertising, therefore, marketers typically stay away from starting a podcast.
Marketing teams usually market to sell products rather than create brand awareness. A podcast usually works well when someone is trying to create brand awareness rather than market the products. It is also crucial to know that visual marketing has a much better chance for someone to engage in the use of podcasts. For these reasons, most marketers do not consider podcasts in their marketing strategies.