Podcasts: a new tool to include into PR strategies?

Published by Alice Kabanoff at 28 April 2020

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Podcasts: a new tool to include into PR strategies?

For a few weeks now, a third of the world population is confined in order to stop the spread of Covid-19. The tourism industry, widely impacted by the sanitary crisis, predicts heavy financial losses and 2020 will be extremely difficult for tourism actors.

While communication right now is mainly about the virus, tourism actors are already focused on their recovery plans and are going the extra mile to imagine impactful and differentiating communication plans. Public relations are no exception, especially with the current explosion of media consumption: +60% as of today. A good time to think about new medias. For example, why not take a look at a new tool clearly widely adopted by a whole generation and which offers many advantages, especially in this period: podcasts.

Podcast 101

Podcasts are audio recordings distributed on platforms such as Apple Podcast, Sybel and music streaming operators such as Deezer or Spotify. French people currently listen to 85 million podcasts (replay and native) every month, and more than 80% of the time, they listen to them in their entirety, an indicator of strong interest from listeners.

There are several types of podcasts: radio replays and native podcasts, which are produced to be broadcast on podcasting platforms only. The latter are the ones mainly appealing to listeners and are best integrated into a communication strategy.
Whether they last a few minutes or more than an hour, whatever the tone and format, you can find all types of podcasts out there.

The key is to be entertaining and relevant.

As with all medias, there are publishing networks, including media groups, radio groups, but also new specialized editors such as Binge Audio, Louie Media or Nouvelles Écoutes. There are also independent podcasters who produce and market their own content.
Even if there are not that many studies yet on the benefits generated by podcasts, new tools are emerging such as Casted, in order to measure various metrics (number of listeners, average listening time, source …) and return on investment.

Top reasons why you should include podcasts in your PR strategy

90% of French people consider this tool as a media and listen to at least one podcast per week.

Including podcasts in a PR strategy is a new way to reach an attentive target. According to a study carried out by Havas Media and the CSA, 74% of native podcast listeners say they are interested in the idea that the brands and companies they like start producing their own podcasts. These listeners are looking for creative, inspiring and authentic content to create or maintain a relationship with the brand or destination.

It is important to note that podcasts answer more inspirational than transactional objectives: they are a great way to ignite curiosity and interest in listeners.

Why should we use podcasts during lockdown?

If the health crisis has led brands to review their communication strategy, the use of podcasting can meet different objectives while circumventing the economic constraints linked to the period, and the logistical constraints linked to homeworking. Adapting content to audio by recording podcasts with tourism professionals or individuals with a close link to a destination is an effective way to awaken the curiosity of travellers and help them discover a country from their couch/bed.

Examples of brands which have adopted native podcasting

Eucerin in cosmetics, Les Mousquetaires in retail and Hermès in fashion, many brands now integrate podcasts into their communication strategy. In the tourism sector, some brands also produced their own podcasts, such as the specialist tour operator Voyageurs du Monde and the airline company Air France. The topics covered are varied: discovery of different destinations, events, musical playlists, talks with Air France staff, etc.

Some destinations have also taken the plunge, such as Québec, a client of the agency. Québec has produced 9 episodes with Bynativ in its program “Azimut, Itinérances bis”. Each podcast presented a region of Quebec. The podcasts from the custom travel specialist have been a great success, with more than 15,000 listenings since their launch in January 2019. You can listen to the Quebec podcasts here.

The same goes for the media: Nova produces “Les Voyages Immobiles” for a general public target, while Tourmag, in collaboration with Saliha Hadj-Djilani, has launched “Voyagez confinés” for tourism professionals.

Enough to keep up the desire to travel during this very special time and to continue to awaken the imagination of potential customers!