Purposeful Podcasting and Annoying Ads

     Podcasts have been increasing in popularity for a long time now. The increased popularity is due to a number of different factors. Hosts have a lot of creative freedom, just like vlogs and there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to producing a podcast. From round table discussions to narrative storytelling, strictly audio or being videotaped, there are many different ways for a host to go about the format of their podcast. Along with different types of formats, today there is basically a podcast on any topic you can think of, which makes podcasting more appealing for creators and increases the scope of audience. 

    The most familiar type of podcast is influencer podcasting. Personally, I never listened to a podcast until an influencer that I followed started creating her own shows on Spotify. Then, before you knew it, I had to create my own for a class. Influencer podcasting capitalizes on the person's branding and partnerships by including a lot of ads and recommendations throughout the content. I never thought about how much more trusting I am in podcasts and TikTok ads compared to TV advertising. This is because I trust the people that I choose to view and listen to on TikTok and Spotify, rather than some stranger promoting the same exact product on my TV. This concept is what allows influencers to make so much money off of ads that they include in their podcasts. The listeners trust the host or influencer's opinion and are more likely to actually listen to the ads. 

    As we know, it is not just influencers who have ads within their podcasts. Ads are everywhere when we are online, and it can get to be annoying. Shockingly, podcasting is a type of media that creates an environment for people to be more open-minded and positively perceptive to an ad. To me, any ad is annoying, actually even more so in a podcast. When I am very interested and want to know what happens next in the host's story, I get extra annoyed when the voice stops, and some random ad starts playing. However, I can see where the concept comes into play. Since I want to hear the next part of the podcast so bad, I will continue to listen to the ads until the podcast resumes. On other platforms like TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram, it is easy to just scroll past all of the ads and avoid them completely. 

   Podcasting is more strategic than you think when it comes to including advertisements and the people who host them. I realized that today and will be annoyed for the rest of the day with any ads on my phone. I am curious to hear what your favorite podcast to listen to is and approximately how many ads are included in each episode?