How to find and attract your target demographic.
When it comes to advertising…well, pretty much anything these days, it’s clear that social media is an absolute must — and your branded podcast is no exception.
That said, you’ll want to be just as strategic in the promotion of your podcast as you are in the development of your series, and everything else your team does to foster growth.
While trial and error and A/B testing are both real and effective aspects of the marketing process, the savvy brand builder doesn’t just throw assets at a wall and see what sticks.
While most shows choose to advertise on various platforms, you can boost your chances of success by building a strategy tailored to your ideal audience.
In order to master your approach, you’ll want to understand which platforms are most frequented by the folks your brand plans to attract.
Sure, common sense tells us your happy retirement series will probably do well on Facebook, and that a Crypto deep dive might perform better in the Reddit-verse.
We can also assume that boomers are going to favor Facebook over TikTok, and that you’d catch most of Gen-Z dead before they’d land on their parent’s favorite platforms.
But can we dive deeper than that? And do our assumptions line up with the real stats?
In today’s post, we explore the latest research on social platform use — valuable data that can help you promote your show, build your audience, and foster long-term growth.
Most popular platforms overall
This year’s edition of The Infinite Dial, spearheaded by Edison Research, uncovered several useful stats.
First off, let’s take a look at social platform use in US residents aged 12 and up.
This is where things landed…
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63% use Facebook
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46% use Instagram
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36% use TikTok
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28% use Pinterest
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27% use Twitter
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27% use Snapchat
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And 21% use LinkedIn
Unsurprisingly, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok dominate in the general population — but how do these behaviors compare to those of your everyday podcast fan?
Most popular platforms among podcast listeners
In the same report, Edison Research shared their data on social platform popularity among folks who listen to podcasts at least once a month.
Here are the stats…
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68% use Facebook
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64% use Instagram
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45% use TikTik
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38% use Pinterest
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38% use Twitter
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35% use Snapchat
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And 34% use LinkedIn
Obviously, these numbers are pretty different from the first set — but what exactly are they telling us?
Let’s break it down.
At the most basic level, folks who listen to podcasts are also more likely to use social media, with each platform attracting at least a third of the regular listeners polled.
From this data alone, it should be pretty clear that social media is an ideal tool for brands that want to target, attract, and grow their audience with a branded podcast.
But there’s more to be seen in these stats…
Perhaps the most notable gap is in the numbers surrounding LinkedIn. As you can see above, a significant number of professionally-minded folks also seem to enjoy podcasts.
While this isn’t news to us, you can take it as a great omen if you’re in the B2B space — or otherwise want to attract engaged professionals, or workers within a certain field.
We can also see that Instagram is much more popular among folks who listen to podcasts.
So, please go ahead and take this as your sign to…
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Promote your series on Instagram
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Create a wide array of photo and video assets
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And maybe even launch an account dedicated exclusively to your podcast
Now that we’ve taken a look at the general stats surrounding podcast fans, let’s take a look at the numbers based on age.
Ages 12 to 34
Starting with Gen z and younger millennials — the age group that accounts for nearly half of monthly podcast listeners — let’s see how each social platform fares.
The Infinite Dial reported that…
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34% use Facebook most often
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24% favor Instagram
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17% use TikTok the most
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And less than 10% favor Twitter, Pinterest, or some other platform
Perhaps the most notable thing we see here is that Facebook isn’t dead…
In fact, more than a third of young consumers are spending the bulk of their time on Facebook, despite the fact that many of them are younger than the platform itself.
This is great news for brands looking to use organic or paid posts to promote their content, as Facebook offers both.
With this platform, you can create a page for your show, schedule posts, engage your audience, and even run targeted ads that are easy to place, test and monitor.
Clearly, Instagram isn’t a platform to overlook either.
As we mentioned above, you can (and should) use photos and videos to promote your show on this popular platform — especially if you’re targeting a younger audience.
(And as an added perk, this helps to create a multisensory experience that’s more accessible for folks that are hearing impaired.)
Ages 35 to 54
Aging up to folks 35 to 54 — who account for about a third of monthly podcast listeners — we see significantly different trends.
Here’s how the data panned out…
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61% of this group favors Facebook
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10% spend the most time on Instagram
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And less than 10% prefer each of the other social platforms
Again, Facebook and Instagram are the heavy hitters, with Facebook vastly outperforming every other social platform.
Needless to say, if you’re looking to target older adults, this social media goliath should be the focus of most of your time, energy, and attention.
Aged 55 and up
In folks closer to “senior” status, the statistics pan out pretty much how you’d expect them to.
A whopping 77% of social media users in this bracket spend most of their time on Facebook, with every other platform accounting for a fairly negligible percentage.
While this group may be pretty one note when it comes to social media, they are not to be overlooked — especially if they’re the ideal audience for your brand — as they account for around 20% of monthly podcast listeners in the US.
More than the numbers
All of this said, it’s important to remember that, while the numbers are clearly helpful, you will want to consider the nature of your podcast as you build your social strategy.
Like we mentioned above, B2B brands are likely to thrive on LinkedIn.
Or, perhaps you have a podcast centered around photography or cooking — in which case Instagram might just be your best bet.
Creating a series for DIY or home decor? Maybe it’s time to give some extra love to Pinterest.
The bottom line is that while market research is entirely necessary, you’ll want to learn your specific audience, their favorite platforms, and what really makes them tick.
And hey — in case this sounds overwhelming, here’s your friendly reminder that a qualified production agency can help you do just that.
To learn more about podcast promotion and community development, check out our Ultimate Guide to Audience Growth.
