Advertisers gain from podcast engagement, says Sharon Taylor of Omny Studio

Podcasting’s intimate nature is a major difference between it and radio, according to Sharon Taylor, CEO of Omny Studio, a leading podcasting platform that was born from a need for radio stations to repurpose and share their content.

“I think that radio is more of a lean-back, and podcasting is more lean-in,” she says.

“Radio is such a linear experience. You can just turn it on, it’s one-to-many, have it playing in the background. It’s continually moving ahead. So, you don’t have to worry about where you come into the broadcast, for instance.

“Whereas podcasting people are choosing to start at a certain point…and they’re actually choosing to interact with you. They want to listen to you and what you have to say for 20 minutes. It’s not just something that happens in the background.”

Taylor says this intimate nature of podcasting is attractive for advertisers.

“You think these people are your friends and talking directly to you and you’re more willing to listen to what they’ve got to say; and that extends to branding, that extends to advertising,” she says.

Taylor insists host-read ads are far more effective for the advertiser, if done well.

“Eighty percent of people are more likely to buy something if they hear it on a podcast,” Taylor says of data conducted by Edison Research in the United States.

“I think brands are waking up to the fact that there’s this really engaged, passionate listener base out there that are willing to believe what comes out of a host’s mouth, because they [the hosts] haven’t yet sold out…so there’s that trust there.”

There’s a caveat, warns Taylor: “I think if a brand wants a quick return, and just wants someone to read a script, they’ve got to pick the podcasters pretty carefully. I think the power of it is because you have given this person carte blanche…to use their personality – their brand – to sell your brand.”

Sharon Taylor’s interview is from Episode 6 of the new and highly regarded podcast series on Australia’s podcasting industry, BE Podcasting – Engage Your Audience.