Listen, podcasts are growing in popularity

Podcasting – audio on demand – allows for the creation of communities of interest based on content. Big brands are beginning to see the benefits of advertising to these communities, who make for an appealing audience as they are generally affluent and well educated. Listeners are engaged with the content they have chosen.

One of the most exciting things about podcasting is the opportunity it provides for the commercialisation of content from major radio stations to smaller independent podcasters, says the CEO and founder of iono.fm, Ryan Dingley.

iono.fm provides radio stations with a commercially viable digital platform for streaming their live feed to audio on demand. Content is given a monetary value on a pay per download basis, with ads inserted at the beginning and end.

Radio stations are starting to embrace the idea that offering audiences on-demand services makes sense. Not only do stations offer the content, they create hype around it on air, which has created awareness of podcasting that did not previously exist. South Africa has seen a dramatic increase in independent podcasters with dedicated followers for the niche content they create.

Karl Gostner, GM of Primedia Broadcasting Cape Town, says the growth of podcasting is due in part to the rapid increase in audio sharing options like SoundCloud making access to audio more widespread. Primedia is learning from TED-Talks, where much of the content is shared as audio only. This is done for a variety of reasons, including the fact that audio is lighter on data and allows for multitasking – consumers can listen while getting on with other things.

Within the digital space, audio ads have a higher impact than visual web banners, which seem to simply become part of the clutter. There is also an emotive quality that comes from hearing a voice as opposed to simply reading a message on a banner. Podcasts give advertisers a way to aim a campaign at a specific audience. 

The big take-out: Podcasting in South Africa is experiencing rapid growth because more people have smartphones and access to cheaper data. Advertisers too, are beginning to see the benefits of using the platform.