Rob Greenlee runs content and partnerships at Libsyn. He spoke first,
focussing on the importance of good ads in podcasting. Your ads must
be aligned to the broader message of the podcast, and must be more
focused on the audience than the advertiser. If they are done well,
they can contribute to the building of trust in the brand and the
podcast.
Rob talked in detail about paid premium podcasts. Bonus content and
premium content has become an important part of the market, with
annual and monthly paid subscriptions growing, albeit from a small
base.
“It’s been a slow process but we need to be patient”.
Conversely, sponsorships and crowdsourcing have been an important part
of the market for several years. They are compatible with the
host-read and endorsement model which has worked well for podcasters.
But what will happen with crowdsourcing in the future? Content makers
need to keep innovating in order for the money to keep coming in.
After Rob, Daniella Murphy, from Acast, spoke. She focussed on
production and creative: How can podcasters make advertising and
branded content that people actually want to listen to? How can we
make art instead of adverts?
Daniella showed the group a selection of great ads, which had
successfully engaged audiences. Some of them were beautiful and
poignant, others were hilarious and robust.
Daniella also had some tips for content makers… Respect the
audience, be believable and make sure you embrace emotion. You can
engage audiences with advertising and branded content, you just need
to be creative.
