Podcasts have been growing in popularity for about 15 years, and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic got even more people hooked on podcasts. One in four Canadians now listens to an average of five podcasts per week — a demographic too large for any REALTOR® keen on marketing to ignore.
Doug Downs is the President of Stories and Strategies, a podcast production, marketing, and advertising company. He joined TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer on a recent episode of Ready to Real Estate to share the business case for podcasting.
The AIDA Marketing Funnel
Whether they know it or not, many REALTORS® will guide people through the four stages of the AIDA marketing funnel before landing them as clients:
- getting their Attention;
- generating Interest by explaining benefits;
- cultivating greater Desire by building an emotional connection; and
- providing a call to Action, or telling prospective clients what to do, for example, “Choose me to be your REALTOR®!”
Where Podcasting Sits in the Funnel
Most podcast producers see podcasting as a top-of-the-funnel strategy, or a way of getting attention. Not Doug. He believes that podcasts cultivate interest and desire, or sit in the middle of the funnel, where the number of prospects is narrowing but also closer to choosing the service.
Podcasts attract smaller numbers of people than social media. If someone has 1,000 followers on social media, they may have only 100 listeners for their podcast. But, these listeners are deepening their personal experience and trust in their brand. People who listen regularly feel as though they know them. (And they obviously like their style or they wouldn’t keep tuning in!)
Unlike social media posts, which people scroll through and scan quickly, podcasts forge stronger personal connections because people spend a longer time engaging, often more intimately. They block out the rest of the world, especially if they’re wearing earbuds or headphones, to spend 20 or 30 minutes with the podcast’s host and any guests.
The signal a podcast sends to listeners is that the host’s knowledge is deep, not superficial.
Where Podcasting Doesn’t Sit in the Funnel
A podcast is not the time for REALTORS® to say, “Choose me to be your REALTOR®!” It’s not in the action portion of the funnel and including a call to action will put listeners off. The podcast is the time to build a connection so that when the listeners, or people they know, start looking for a REALTOR®, the host of their favourite podcast will come to mind.
To hear more about the business case for podcasting, along with helpful tips about creating and promoting a podcast and analyzing metrics for success, check out the full conversation between Jason and Doug on this episode of Ready to Real Estate.
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