Podcast Marketing for Experts & Professional Services Firms

Some businesses understand the benefits of podcasting. According to Exploding Topics, “Business” podcasts make up 8.9% of all podcast genres, which is the 4th most common after Society & Culture, Education, and Arts. More marketers are catching on, too. According to a 2022 survey by HubSpot, 82% of marketers plan to continue or increase their investment in podcasts or other audio content.

Podcasts aren’t just for consumer companies either, podcasts are prevalent among B2B SaaS companies, and would benefit expertise-based businesses like professional services firms. In fact, consulting firm giant Deloitte has over 50 different podcasts under their brand.

Let’s break down the numbers. According to Listen Notes, there are 3.1 million podcasts available for consumption in 2023. 60% are English speaking (1.86 million). According to Exploding Topics, “Business” podcasts represent 8.9% of all podcast genres. That brings us down to 165,540.

Here’s where it gets interesting. According to Podcast Industry Insights in Q3, 2023 less than 18% of podcasts were active, having released a new episode within the most recent 90 days. Apply that number to Business podcasts, and you have 29,797 active, English-speaking business podcasts spread across thousands of different niches.

Request an audit to see how crowded podcasts are in your niche.

People listen to podcasts for a variety of different reasons. According to a December 2022 survey of 5,132 U.S. adults (18+) by Pew Research, 60% cited “entertainment” as the most common “major reason” for listening to podcasts. Some 55% say that learning is a major reason for listening, and 52% say a primary reason is to have something to listen to while they do something else.

Professionals are people, too. According to a survey of over 2,700 users by LinkedIn, 44% of department heads, VPs, owners, and C-suites listen to podcasts. The same study showed 39% of LinkedIn users in the U.S. listen to podcasts.

According to Podcast Insights, 49% of podcast listeners tune in from home, while 22% listen in the car. Research from Demand Sage shows that 79% of podcast listeners in the U.S. tune in from their smartphone. More than 60% of all podcast media consumption happens on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Your ideal podcast length may vary based on a number of different factors. According to The Infinite Dial 2021, the average length of a podcast episode is 43 minutes. However, Market.us Scoop found a slightly shorter episode between 20 and 40 minutes is the most common duration — 30% of published episodes are within that range.

See what makes sense for your business podcast. Request a consultation today.