Justin Taylor

Understanding the Importance of Podcast Listener Trends

Podcasts are more popular than ever, but getting heard in this saturated market is tough. There are reportedly more than two million podcasts worldwide! Establishing and growing an audience requires more than just good content.

You also have to understand listener trends. Podcast data analytics lets you identify trends within your audience and the broader market. But why does that data matter?

Strategizing Podcast Content

The most obvious reason to pay attention to trends is to mold your content. The goal is to get as many listeners as possible, so you need to stay updated on what's hot. Otherwise, you'll get left in the dust!

For example, true crime podcasts gained significant popularity in the last couple of years. As a result, many podcasters started to implement similar forms of storytelling to captivate audiences.

Planning the Logistics

Podcast data analytics are helpful for more than the content itself. Trends in how people enjoy podcasts come into play, too.

Let's look at platform data as an example. You can look at current trends to see that around 10 percent of listeners access podcasts through intelligent speakers. That information tells you to optimize titles for voice assistants and vocal searches.

Another example is looking at where listeners enjoy your podcast. Around 20 percent of listeners put podcasts on in their vehicles while driving. The average commute time is about 30 minutes, giving you a suitable length to aim for when creating your content.

Those are just a couple of ways that trends can impact how you produce your show. There are many more data points to take into account.

Marketing and Monetization

The ultimate goal for podcasters is to monetize their content and have multiple income streams coming in. Once again, listener trends come in handy.

You can look at who's listening and see that about half of all listeners have a full-time job. Around 17 percent have a household income above $100K. That data is perfect for strategizing monetization efforts, attracting sponsors, and more.

Harnessing the Power of Data

Podcasts are full of potential. But you'll quickly find that most successful podcasts use more than just gut feeling to guide how they produce content. Looking at the data can help you strategize every facet of your show, making it as appealing to your target audience as possible.

Author Resource:-

I'm Justin Taylor, podcast marketing consultant, providing info about monetizing a podcast, analytics, promotion ideas and advertising for SME's. You can find my thoughts at podcast guides blog.