Super Listener Study 2021 Recap

The 2021 Edison Research Podcast Super Listener Study yielded much of the same listenership trajectory as we have seen in years past…which is to say….excellent growth among the most active listeners of podcasts.  A few important conclusions:

Avid podcast consumers are listening to more and more content each week.

The amount of time avid podcast fans spent listening to podcasts is up from each of the past two years.  The most active consumer of podcasts is listening upwards of 11 hours of podcast content each week indicating a true preference of getting their news/information/comedy/etc from podcasts versus more traditional channels.

The podcast consumer is a prime target for any advertiser wanting to reach one of the hardest to reach demo groups.

These podcast listeners do not get their information from traditional media channels.  They want their content delivered on their terms. When they want it, where they want it, innately mobile and they self select the content they want to consume.  If you’re a brand or marketing team trying to establish your company or product to the next enormous wave of consumer, podcasting needs to be part of your strategy.

This group leans into the ads they hear on podcasts.

They like the integration they have with their favorite podcasts hosts and embrace the brands that support their favorite podcasts.  If a podcast host says “this is a great product and I know you will like it”…..that listener takes action to find out about that product.  The listener “leans in” to what a host has to say about a brand or product.

There is also a cautionary piece of intel with this study.

We can’t oversaturate podcasts with too many ads and we can’t give them bad ads that don’t fit in the context of the show.  This listener is noticing if the ads are bad and if there are too many.  We have to be thoughtful with how the ads are managed and expressed within our podcasts.  If the ads are done well, they create attention and action.  If they are done poorly, the listener will either skip them or leave.

Click here to download the full Super Listeners 2021 Study report!