I want to remind brands and agencies that podcasts are on demand and not everyone simulcasts. Podcast ads are not TV commercials or radio ads that are seen or heard immediately. Therefore, you need patience and a strong message when advertising on podcasts, AND you must implement ALL podcast tools to gauge traction properly.

Reminder - in today's landscape, it's safe to say that it takes at least 12 touchpoints to turn a lead into a sale, and it's high time we all embrace this reality. The concept of "touchpoints" refers to the various interactions a potential customer has with your brand or product before they make a purchasing decision. The average touchpoint is considered to be 8, and even this can vary between 1 - 50 depending on the length of the buying stage.

Patience is mandatory if brands are going to buy podcast advertising. Why? Because brands have to allow people to download podcast episodes, listen to them, hear their brand elsewhere, or see it and then make a purchase. Too many podcast agencies are canceling ad buys before giving the ads time to reach their greatest impact. Agencies are not educating their clients on what it takes to be effective in podcast advertising. We had several this year cancel B2B contracts two weeks after the first ad dropped, stating "it didn't work." Well, of course, it didn't work - they did not set their client's expectations, nor did any of the agencies we work with implement the proper tools to truly measure impact. And if you are canceling podcast ads two weeks after the first ad drops, then you are wasting your client's money.

Here are the five recommended tools to properly understand the impact of a brand's podcast advertising campaign:

1. Implement a landing page or offer code with a compelling offer unique to the podcast.
2. Use ad tech to see who downloaded a podcast with a brand's ad in it and see how many visitors went to the brands website.
3. Measure the increased traffic to the brand's website as some podcast fans use VPNs and opt out of tracking, making it impossible to measure everything.
4. Review downloads, as podcast ads take time to deliver all advertising impressions, and you have to give fans time to listen and then act.
5. Implement post-purchase surveys because if your offering is for a B2B product/service, I doubt the CEO who heard the ad made the purchase, making ad-tech useless if the person making the purchase is not the same person who heard the ad.

Lastly, you need patience. Podcast advertising works because fans trust their hosts, and they take time.

Host: Lisa Laporte

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