PODCASTS. A podcast, or an audio blog, is a digital audio file that is made available for downloading

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Betty Charles
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1 PODCASTS I. PODCAST OVERVIEW: What is a Podcast: A podcast, or an audio blog, is a digital audio file that is made available for downloading from the internet to either a computer, smartphone, tablet, or other portable media device. Podcasts are typically available as series, new installments of which subscribers can receive automatically. Podcasts have been around longer than most people realize. People started putting up audio content around 1998, but the word podcast was not coined until The amount of people who have ever listened to a podcast has tripled since Podcaster Ann Friedman said, there s an industry-wide sense that the podcast is on the cusp of a revival. Who listens to Podcasts and how often: Podcasts reach an audience that many social media channels are currently missing. The Infinite Dial has done 23 podcasting studies since Edison Vice President of Strategy, Tom Webster said that the studies, are all executed using the gold standard of survey research. Webster has published a large amount of data on the demographics of podcast listeners. He has found that 50 percent of podcast listeners are men, and 50 percent are women, so the data that podcasts produce should appeal to both sexes to maximize listeners. Podcast listeners are also young. Half of podcast listeners in the U.S. are between 12 and 34 years old according to Owner of Freedom Podcasting, Jonah Geil-Neufeld. As far as race of podcast listeners goes, the racial groups are not very far apart according to NPR. More than 11 percent of whites with a college

2 degree listen to NPR, whereas nine percent of Asians with a college degree listen, seven percent of Hispanics, and six percent of blacks. Since these percentages are so close, there is opportunity to target any one of these groups and engage them, or come up with something that engages all of them. Podcast listeners also are more affluent members of society. While a quarter of the U.S. population (age 18+) has a household income of more than $75,000, 36 percent of podcast consumers have a household income of more than $75,000. The majority of the population of the U.S., 58 percent, have less than a four-year degree. The majority of podcast consumers have at least a four-year college degree, and almost a third of them have at least some graduate school. Podcast consumers are also more media savvy. 43 percent of the U.S. population uses social networking sites or services at least several times a day, while 60 percent of podcast consumers use social networking sites or services at least several times a day. Since there are so many affluent and savvy podcast listeners, podcasters must form their content around them. There is also a percentage of the U.S. population that listens to podcasts not just leisurely, but frequently. According to Jonah Geil-Neufeld about 10 percent of the U.S. population listens to podcasts on a weekly basis, these listeners average about six podcasts per week.

Why do we listen to Podcasts: Many people are reaching for a unique type of medium.

Unlike blogs that have to be read, people can listen to podcasts wherever they are.

What devices are Podcasts being listened to on: In addition to the types of people who are listening to podcasts, another important variable

4 Why do we listen to Podcasts: Many people are reaching for a unique type of medium. Podcasts tend to reach people that many social media channels are missing. Unlike blogs that have to be read, people can listen to podcasts wherever they are. Many podcast listeners listen in the car, at the gym, or even while cooking dinner. What devices are Podcasts being listened to on: In addition to the types of people who are listening to podcasts, another important variable is what they are listening on. As of this year 64 percent of podcast listeners are listening with their smartphones, tablets, or portable audio players. The amount of people in the U.S. who own tablets and smartphones has increased steadily since their creation. As of 2015, 49 percent of Americans own tablets. Just six years ago only 10 percent of the U.S. population owned

5 smartphones, now 71 percent are using smartphones. This opens up the world of podcasting to an even greater amount of consumers. II. PODCAST CONTENT: Top Categories of Consumed Content: Sports Lifestyle Humor Science Politics Podcasts rely on a different type of content than many social media channels such as Facebook and Pinterest. While celebrities, DIY, and shopping tend to be popular on those channels, topics like science, politics, and lifestyle are what many podcasts focus on. The content of the podcast is crucial. Although the most engaging content in general for social media channels is health, beauty, and romance; podcasting requires a different outlook on content. Of the top ten podcasts, the most frequently recurring topics are science and humor. Also popping up are: philosophy, lifestyle, economics, and culture. These types of subject matter engage a different kind of audience. There is a huge opportunity for rare to engage in this audience. Rare has a wide variety of content on their site. This gives them the contingency to engage not only the typical American audience that is interested in health, beauty, and romance, but also the more upscale and discerning audience that is interested in culture, philosophy, and

6 science. The most effective types of podcasts are not only entertaining, but educational and informative as well. In a world surrounded by images, videos, and graphics, some find it refreshing to just be able to listen. Rare could also attempt a new terrain in the area of podcasting and try a new type of podcast that has not yet been successful. That is a podcast created around health, beauty, and romance. These are the top three topics for social media, so why not create a podcast based on one of those topics? Frequency of Podcasts: There are other factors that determine how successful a podcast will be. One of these factors is frequency. The frequency of a podcast is important just like the frequency of a television show. You want the listeners to want to hear more and look forward to the next installment. The average podcast is posted weekly and for good reason. Blogger Kevan Lee looked at the top twenty-five most popular podcasts to see what they were doing right. He also found that the best day to post a podcast is on a Tuesday and the best length for a podcast is twenty-two minutes. The average podcast listener tends to stay connected for only twenty-two minutes, no matter how long the podcast is. The millennial generation tends to be more visually driven, but if and when they get hooked on a podcast, they will most likely not be hooked for an hour, so a shorter podcast is a good idea when trying to engage millennials.

7 III. PODCAST TOP 10 MOST POPULAR PRODUCERS: Platform Top Audience Audience Genre Audience Performers (Facebook) (Twitter) (FB+T) Podcast The Chive 1,504, ,000 Men s Humor 2,036,757 Podcast This American Life 982, ,000 Lifestyle 1,313,108 Podcast Freakonomics 343, ,000 Economics 939,949 Podcast Radiolab 365, ,000 Science/Philosophy 571,017 Podcast Podcast The Football Ramble Snap Judgment 76,981 59,400 Soccer 136,381 97,493 22,700 Culture/Society 120,193 Podcast Hidden Brain 8,870 79,200 Discovery 88,070 Podcast The Bugle 25,355 61,500 Humor 86,855 Podcast The Naked Scientists 41,363 27,800 Science 69,163 Podcast Reply All ,300 Digital Age 21, 415 As you can see from the table podcasts have not yet gained the immense followings like people on Facebook and Instagram, but nevertheless, they are entertaining a unique type of audience. The type that wants to learn and gain insight about topics like science and culture.

8 These podcasters are paving the way for future podcasts and new ideas. Rare has an opportunity to become one of these new and exciting podcasts. IV. PODCAST PRODUCER INTERVIEWS The podcasters have different views about how to go about their trade. The host of Reply All, Alex Goldman, outlines the importance of cross promotion and social media with podcasts. Their main promotion strategy is to utilize social media and to appear on other podcasts to help advance their standing. Goldman also emphasized the importance of reaching out to his audience. He believes it is important to engage with the audience to get feedback as well as keep them engaged. Reply All also uses Soundcloud to see how many downloads each episode has, along with using Chart Beat to measure website engagement, and Google Analytics to keep track of website traffic. Reply All also sell ads to drive revenue and hopefully gain more of a following. Reply All does not often employ partnerships, while another podcast, On Being does. On Being is a podcast about existing, and what it means to live and to be human. Annie Parsons, the Community and Engagement Coordinator for On Being highlighted some of their partnerships: The Fetzer Institute, The Ford Foundation, The Henry Luce Foundation, Kalliopeia Foundation, The George Family Foundation, and The Osprey Foundation. On Being is a nonprofit podcast, so they get their revenue through their funding partners. They also utilize social media as a marketing and promotional base. They also have e-newsletters and blog posts to help keep the public engaged. V. RECOMMENDATIONS Rare does use podcasting to some extent, but they are missing a huge opportunity if they do not expand that perspective. This forum could be applied more and in a distinctive way. Rare s

9 podcast is difficult to find. There should be a tab that says Rare Report under Rare Forum to make it more accessible to the public. Also, Rare s podcasts seem to be solely based on politics with Allen West as the host. Although there is a market and audience for politics in podcasting, there is also a huge opportunity being missed. Health, beauty, and romance are the three most popular content types currently. Rare could do something that has not yet been done successfully by taking one of these topics and creating a podcast about it. Health would be a good place to start. Exercising is trendy, and really appeals to the millennial generation. Rare could create a health/fitness podcast with a young, fit host or hostess. Podcasts do not always have to be merely audio. Rare could produce an audio and visual podcast to help engage the visual millennial generation. This podcast should not be longer than thirty minutes to ensure engagement throughout the podcast. The podcast should contain different workout tips for men and women as well as what types of supplements and drinks would match with each person s workout strategy. Rare could do the same thing using beauty as the topic. Rare could get a celebrity guest to come on the podcast each week and give/show some beauty tips. This could be a shorter podcast for an even younger generation of The podcast could also be audio and visual and last approximately ten minutes. This would keep the audience engaged and not take up too much of their day.

Evangelical Christians on The Infinite Dial. #infinitedial

Evangelical Christians on The Infinite Dial #infinitedial Methodology Overview In January/February 2014, Edison Research conducted a national telephone survey of 2,023 people aged 12 and older, using random