Anyway, there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there, and several hundred of those are marketing-related shows. So, what were my criteria for choosing this list?
Value Added
First, they needed to be a value-added investment of your time. By that I mean the show should regularly offer a takeaway or two that you can apply to your own work as a marketer, or that will otherwise help you professionally.
For example, I’ve included Gimlet’s newest show The Pitch in this list. Well, you may not be pitching your startup before a bunch of investors, but you’ll benefit by listening to the types of questions and concerns investors have about a pitch. These are very similar – if not the same – questions and concerns your prospective buyers ask themselves when considering your product or service: Does it solve my problem? Are there better alternatives? Do I trust the company or founder?
Interesting
Second, they needed to be interesting enough to listen to for 15 minutes or an hour. I really enjoy how Reid Hoffman’s Masters of Scale has reinvented what would normally be a simple back-and-forth interview. He identifies key qualities or characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and then explores how and why those attributes contribute to that individual’s success ‒ and maybe your own.
Not Too “Salesy”
There are some business and marketing podcasts out there that are pretty damn popular but not included on this list. And that’s because each time I’ve listened to them, I felt I was listening to a used-car salesman trying to sell me back the same junker I just traded in. This could be in the form of wanting me to subscribe to whatever get-rich scheme they’re offering, or they’re interviewing a guest who has probably paid for that privilege, which results in a lot of brand-focused softball questions. I’ve got enough spam in my life, thank you.
Current
Finally, they needed to be current. I’m always on the hunt for a source – whether blog, magazine, or podcast – that keeps me up to date on the latest trends, awesome campaigns, and so forth. Well, several of these shows – This Old Marketing, Adlandia, HBR Ideacast – help me do that.
Podcasting has been around more than a decade, and really it existed before that but wasn’t called “podcasting.” A lot of folks say its recent trendiness came following the success of the This American Life spinoff, Serial, in 2014. I also attribute its growth to the global adoption – even saturation – of mobile devices.
Edison Research has been tracking podcast listening over the last decade. The recent 2017 findings show podcasting metrics continue to rise across the board, from awareness to monthly listening:
- Monthly listeners grew to 67 million people, and 42 million weekly.
- The audience for podcasts continues to be predominately ages 18-54, and leans slightly male.
- Podcast listeners outpace the US population in education, education, and employment.
- Average time spent listening to podcasts each week is five hours.