Mamamia ahead of the pack in podcast production

Mamamia’s foray into podcasting is set to get even bigger, claims Kylie Rogers, Managing Director of Mamamia Women’s Network.

Mamamia dipped its toe into the podcast pool in early 2014, explains Rogers in episode 7 of BE Podcasting.

“No one was doing great audio content for women in Australia,” she says. “So, we built ourselves a little mobile podcast studio in our Sydney office and our Melbourne office and we launched our first podcast, Mamamia Out Loud.

“Fast forward and we are producing 18 podcasts a week.”

This makes Mamamia the world’s largest women’s podcast network. The increase in audio content has coincided with an increase of staff, from 30 in 2014 to 100 full time employees today.

But, why the plunge into podcasts?

“Women have an insatiable appetite for content, but we’re generally very busy,” Rogers explains. “So, there’s a limit to screen time. What podcasts offer is mobility.”

“The way we’ve seen our women embrace podcasting is phenomenal,” she says. “What’s great about podcasts, is that it’s really intimate and women are leaning in — they’re choosing to better understand what content we’re tackling in that podcast. And, so, they want to be there.”

Mamamia understands – more than traditional media – the issues women want to hear.

“Women are talking about parenting, pelvic floor and politics all in the one conversation. We’re quite generalist in our views.

“I think we have an authentic take which differentiates us from our competitors out there,” says Kylie.

With its obvious benefits, why aren’t other media companies – particularly radio – getting involved with podcasting? Kylie says some are just starting to dip their toes in the water.

“Look, the radio networks have been doing it for some time. I’d argue that they’re not necessarily podcasts — they’re just reshaping their radio shows via podcasts. But, the likes of Nova are starting to look at bespoke entertainment podcasts.

“We’re seeing the likes of News Limited trying more podcasts. Fairfax are trying more podcasts. Nine are trying podcasts.

“It’s early days for them.

“So, we are definitely seeing our competitors ramp up, but we’re three years ahead of them and it’s my job and my team’s job to stay ahead of the pack.”

Kylie Rogers’ interview is from Episode 7 of the new and highly regarded podcast series on Australia’s podcasting industry, BE Podcasting – Engage Your Audience.