Episode 7: 

What Does the Future Hold for Podcasting According to the Latest Statistics?

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Eric Rutherford: [00:00:00] What does the state of podcasting look like today? Is it worth starting or even continuing a podcast? We'll look at some recent statistics to shed light on those very questions. Stay tuned.

It is time for Build that podcast where we will discuss how you can use a podcast to grow your business and expand your influence. I'm your host, Eric Rutherford. Today I'm going to share with you some statistics from Daniel Ruby's December 31st, 2022 article from Demand Sage. Now, demand Sage, according to the website, unlocks the power of HubSpot data.

 

Not only within this article do they reference the HubSpot data, but Daniel also pulls from other data reports, all of them noted on the webpage, and it's a fantastic. Just to make you aware, I am in no way or [00:01:00] shape affiliated with HubSpot. They don't sponsor the show. However, I think the data is very powerful and that you will benefit from hearing it.

 

Daniel goes on to identify 39 unique statistics. I will pull eight from his list. If you want to read all 39, by all means, go to the article. I will put it in the show notes, it's a good read. And then afterwards I'm going to give you a summary and really three reasons why these statistics matter, because statistics by themselves, they're just numbers.

But how you use those statistics and what conclusions can be drawn from them makes all the difference. So let's get into the list. So number three on his list. Is one third of the American population listens to podcasts regularly, so let's think about that. One third of the US population are regular podcast listeners.

 

There are 336 million people in the [00:02:00] US today. That means about 112 million people then listen to podcasts on a regular basis. It's incredibly large base of listeners and potential customers. You're moving into that sphere, which is excellent. Number 13 on his list, there are 464.7 million podcast listeners globally as of January, 2023, and it's predicted that they'll be around 504 million listeners worldwide by the end of 2024.

 

To give you some perspective, we have just over 8 billion people on. That makes, that means 5.8% of the world population listens to podcasts and the number of listeners is only going to increase. It's becoming an even more popular medium for information and communication. Number 15, on his list, [00:03:00] as of 2023, the podcasting industry is valued at 2 billion and they're forecasting the podcasting industry will be worth $4 billion.

 

In 2024, when an industry is predicted to double in value within 12 to 18 months, that's a big signal to me to pay attention, and it's an industry I want to be involved in. If you're thinking about doing a podcast or adding it as part of your business and marketing strategy, also understand a lot of money, a lot of attention is flowing into the sector.

 

So it is a growth area and definitely worth considering.

 

Do you host a regular Twitter spaces event either each week or every other week? If so, are you using that content in a podcast? Because if you're not, you're losing a valuable source of information for your audience, for your c. And it is just [00:04:00] evaporating into the ether.

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I've got a solution for you. Go to spacestopodcast.com. That's spaces t o podcast.com, and sign up for more information about a course. I'm launching this February about how to take and build a podcast from your existing Twitter spaces. We'll go into the details not only of gaining the recording, but creating an intro and outro and lots of other information. Again, spacestopodcast.com. It's in the show notes. Sign up and get more information.

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Number 23 per a Buzz Sprout report. Apple Podcast is the leader in podcast. So Apple is number one in market share. Spotify is number two in market share. However, Spotify has more, uh, podcasts in their library. Apple Podcast market share is 37.4%. Spotify is at 26.8%. Number three [00:05:00] drops all the way down, uh, to 2.9%, which is where web browsers are. Google podcast is at 2.4. And the list kind of decreases from there. Amazon music is at 0.7%. If you want to host a podcast, you need to make sure it's on Apple and on Spotify. However, a third of the market listens elsewhere, so there's a lot of opportunities.

 

Number 24 on his list, per the infinite dial report, 50% of people between the age of 12 to 34 listen to podcasts every. So, let me repeat that. 50% of people between the ages of 12 and 34 listen to podcasts every month. It's important because these listeners are in the buying stage of a macro trend. They are establishing a family, or they're establishing themselves on their own, or they're preparing to move into adulthood.

 

These are spenders [00:06:00] on a very large scale, wielding an incredible amount of. And they're listening to podcasts number 27 on his list. A study done by podcast Host revealed that just 17% of podcast hosts record their episodes in video format along with the audio. This is a great opportunity to really establish yourself in a niche, so if you're already doing the podcast as an audio version, you can also use tools like Repurpose nine io to be able to flip that out out onto.

Or repurposing into different snippets that you can put on Twitter or LinkedIn or wherever it is that you're communicating with your audience. There's a lot of opportunity with video within your podcast, number 34 on his list. More people. That is 18% more people are listening to podcasts in 2023 than they did eight years ago, so that is a positive growth direct.[00:07:00]

 

Number 38, and this is the last one from his list I'm going to read. Then I'll sum up. 59% of people tune into a podcast while doing something else simultaneously. I've written about this in other places, and one of the benefits of podcasting is people don't have to be seated or they don't have to watch a screen to consume your content and learn about you.

They can be running, driving, cooking, washing the dog, any number of activit. and they will still hear your message. You still get to build that relationship with them, even while they're on the move or while they're doing something else. They don't just have to be standing still or sitting still and watching or reading a screen.

 

Okay, so why do these stats matter? Three main reasons. First, again, we're looking at macro trends. They point to a

continued increase in podcast. Listen. . For example, if you're a bricks and mortar business and you look around and your [00:08:00] population in that area is decreasing, the likelihood of your business growing and surviving diminishes with that population decline.

 

However, if you're a bricks and mortar business and your population is growing in your area, there's a much better opportunity to, for people to buy from you and for your business to. Same with with podcasts. If you're using podcasts to expand your influence, podcast listenership is increasing, therefore more people are out there that can hear your message.

 

So it's a good positive trend. Second reason is majority of of up and coming listeners, gen Z, millennials, listen to podcast. again. They have incredible purchasing power and it's only going to increase over the next several years. If you wanna build that relationship with buyers of today and buyers of tomorrow, now is [00:09:00] the time to use that podcast to begin that familiarity building that intimacy with them.

 

And through your podcast, you can become the go-to source of information. Last item last, number three. . It's the long tail. It's the niche. If you've not read Chris Anderson's book, the Long Tail, while the Future of Business is Selling Less of, more, go to Amazon. Pick it up. I'll drop a link in the show notes.

 

In his book, Chris describes how technology has opened up ways to reach smaller niches, which were not even possible 20 years ago. If you think back 25, 30 years ago in network television or radio, you had to get on the network. You had to be in the top 40 to be able to get your product or to get your service to the masses.

 

With the internet, with YouTube, with podcasts, now you can niche way down and there are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of niches out there [00:10:00] where you can reach an audience who is deeply interested in what you have to. So the benefit of a podcast is you can get to the people who want your information most.

 

You have not missed the opportunity. If you haven't started a podcast yet, it is definitely not too late and these numbers back that up. So if you want to learn more about how to use podcasts to grow your business and expand your influence, make sure to sign up for our newsletter@buildthatpodcast.com slash newsletter.

Links are in the show notes. If you have questions or comments, DM me on Twitter, I'm at R four ej, or email me eric straightforward mg.com. Remember, use podcast to grow your business and expand your influence.