PodMov Daily: Monday, June 29

Episode 236: Your Monday Mix

Youth Voices: Winners of the Third Annual NYT Podcast Contest

What’s on teenagers’ minds? For this year’s Student Podcast Contest, The New York Times’ Learning Network “invited teenagers to create an original audio program, five minutes or less, about anything they wanted.” Of the 1,300+ submissions, eight high school winners and three middle school winners have been selected.

“This year’s podcast submissions showed us how teenagers think about social media, climate change, family, migration, music and race,” reflect the organizers. “Throughout all of the podcast submissions, there was one recurring theme: the ways in which teenagers have been affected by, and are learning from, the coronavirus pandemic.” 

This and the NPR Student Podcast Challenge display truly remarkable talent and drive from the first generation to grow up with the medium. We highly recommend checking out the work of these young audio storytellers. Stay tuned for an upcoming Podcast Movement feature from a 17-year-old winner of both contests!

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How Big is Podcasting's “Independent” Audience?

“When indy podcasters worry about the larger networks occupying their airspace, those concerns aren’t unfounded,” says Tom Webster, SVP of Edison Research. Why? Audience habits. Recently Edison shared a study indicating that buying the top five podcast networks would reach 50% of weekly podcast consumers. 

The discussion that followed raised the question: Just how big is the audience listening to independent shows each week? It’s “a stat that our Podcast Consumer Tracker is uniquely qualified to measure,” Webster points out, reaching a verdict of 49%, or over 33 million people. What does this mean for the individual indie podcaster?

“51% of the weekly podcasting audience doesn’t listen to any indy shows. That’s nearly 35 million people who [listen weekly] but have not made independent shows a part of their media diet,” Webster reasons. “Finding ways to get your show in front of those people is the actual low-hanging fruit of audience growth.”

Claritas & Megaphone: Podcast Measurement and Attribution Case Study

The most important metric for podcast measurement isn’t impressions, it’s conversions. Deep insight into campaign performance and attribution is essential to improve and optimize ads. Precise analysis requires understanding which campaigns and conversions drove incremental lift. That’s where Claritas comes in.

Interested in how Megaphone’s clients have seen up to 116% lift in conversions? The latest Case Study has the answers. As Megaphone connects content with thousands of unique audiences, Claritas tracks and attributes campaign impressions to online and offline conversions to evaluate and monetize campaign performance.

An understanding of which marketing channels are moving audiences to conversion through accurate attribution, combined with evaluating the source of the incremental lift, marketers will be equipped to optimize and drive better ROI.

Ready to make every podcast marketing dollar you spend work harder? Read on for higher revenue.

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Here's what else is going on:

• Bleep bloop: Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch takes an in-depth look at recent firmware updates and new accessories for the RODECaster Pro. The user-favorite production tool is deemed a “perfect blend of studio-quality hardware controls and simplicity.”

• Mix tape: A local radio station held a podcast competition to increase on-air diversity. The response was overwhelming. Why? Alexandra Borchardt of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism explores the “necessity of diversity in the digital newsroom.”

• Nap pod: Feeling unmotivated to keep podcasting? A seasonal break may foster new energy. “What you do next is critical to the success of your show,” says Danielle Desir of WOC Podcasters. “Remember, you can’t pour into your audience from an empty cup.”

• L'chaim: The renowned Canadian podcast Sickboy has been destigmatizing chronic illness since 2015. Used to raising money for health initiatives through live recordings, co-host Jeremie Saunders tells Graeme Benjamin about the upcoming first-ever virtual event.