The unexpected medium that delivers lasting relationships
When it comes to building lasting connections with consumers, there are few tactics as effective as a focus on brand affinity.
While you may be unfamiliar with the term, you can trust us when we say that it’s ubiquitous in effective marketing — and that branded podcasts are an ironclad medium for building these kinds of relationships.
Sound complex? No worries. We’ll walk you through it.
What is brand affinity?
Brand affinity is about forging a connection with consumers that’s more powerful, meaningful, and effective than a simple formula of supply and demand. It refers to a feeling in the hearts and minds of consumers that they share common values and priorities with your brand.
It is a connection based in emotion and designed to foster a sense of loyalty and camaraderie that will ensure consumers — even better, the right consumers — stick by your side long term.
Why branded podcasts?
In order to build brand affinity, you have to tell meaningful stories that drive home the values, mission, and purpose of your brand. How are you going to do that, you might ask? Say hello to the branded podcast.
If you’re truly committed to building enduring relationships, it’s time to reach beyond run-of-the-mill marketing and repetitive ads. Instead, value-driven businesses should be investing in the creation and distribution of long-form, binge-worthy content — content capable of sending more nuanced messages about your brand.
With a branded podcast, you have the time, attention, and bandwidth to dive deep into subjects that matter to you and your audience. With high-value content and carefully selected guests and subject matter, you send indirect — yet totally clear — messages about your brand’s true identity and deeper purpose.
When you have this kind of time with your target audience, you have the opportunity to build genuine connections in a way 30-second commercials and transit system posters simply can’t.
While we’re talking time, let’s take a look at some stats.
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The average podcast listener enjoys 80% of any given episode
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Branded podcasts normally land somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes per episode
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JAR reaches listen-through rates as high as 95% on our tailor-made podcasts
Doing the math, that’s some serious one-on-one time with your target audience. What other marketing method offers an opportunity like that?
Listening time aside, a branded podcast is personal, human, informative and valuable in ways unmatched by any type of ad. Sounds pretty great, right? Assuming you’re on board, let’s take a look at our proven steps for building a successful branded podcast.
Essential steps
For those looking to capture the magic of podcasts — and reap the benefits of a loyal audience that has unshakable affinity for their brand — our general approach follows.
Step 1: Find Your Niche
Before you start production, you’ll have to sort out the appropriate niche for your brand. This is all about identifying and filling a need for your audience — just like you do with the product or service your company offers.
To get your gears turning, here are two solid examples of niche finding from industry leading brands:
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Out Travel the System by Expedia: This is a podcast designed to give viewers a peek behind the curtain of the travel industry that tactfully leverages the massive network of experts affiliated with the Expedia brand.
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Good Money by Vancity: By exploring practical answers to common questions about personal finance, this podcast — debuted mid-pandemic — was designed to empower its listeners in unprecedented times.
Step 2: Create Binge Worthy Content
If you’d like to capture your listener’s attention beyond the first episode, you’ll need to create content that’s not only tailored to their needs, but absolutely value packed.
In order to do this, you’ll need exceptional guests, appropriate subjects, and out-of-this-world production that will keep your audience coming back for more.
Sound overwhelming? We get it. Good news — that’s exactly what we’re here for.
Step 3: Execute Your Marketing Plan
In order to reach the appropriate audience, you’ll need a marketing plan tailored specifically to this medium. Podcasts are a unique marketing tool and, as such, need a unique approach to marketing and distribution.
While this is something we recommend that JAR handles for you, here’s a basic breakdown of our approach:
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We promote where your audience is already online
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We share teasers of enticing and value-packed content
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We always encourage your audience to subscribe
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We use your owned channels to spread the word and share related content
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We cross-promote with related podcasts
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We prioritize steady contact with your audience
Want to hear more? If you’d like to dive deeper into podcast marketing, you’ll want to check out our ultimate guide.
Step 4: Measure what matters
To determine the success of your branded podcast, we prioritize not the size of your audience, but the level of attention we earn with them. This means that, while your total number of downloads is important, we’re more focused on the listen-through rate you achieve with each episode.
This is a marketing strategy focused on the quality — not the quantity — of your relationships.
Ready to build brand affinity with a custom-made podcast? You can reach out to JAR anytime for a quote, or to get those burning questions you might have answered.
