Identifying and understanding what podcast listener goals your podcast satisfies can help you to promote your podcast to the right people, continuously provide value for your listeners and create a community.
Identifying your audience’s goal when listening to your podcast is a key part of knowing your target audience.
In a recent Spotify study into goal-oriented podcast recommendations researchers identified that podcast listeners usually have one of two types of goals: low-involvement (e.g. “relieve boredom”) and high-involvement (e.g. “learn something new”) goals.
Low-involvement podcast listener goals
Listeners with low-involvement goals want a podcast that is easy to listen to and keeps them entertained. The goal is to relieve boredom. These listeners are looking for podcasts that can entertain them and help them pass the time.
High-involvement podcast listener goals
High-involvement goals are life goals that listeners feel podcasts could help them with, such as self-improvement, knowledge, and learning. Listeners with high-involvement goals are looking for a podcast where they will learn something new and expand their knowledge. They are interested in podcasts that can educate them and provide them with new insights.
Structured recommender system
Spotify’s study found that listeners benefit from a structured recommender system to help them with their high involvement goals. This system helps people break out of the “filter bubble” they might be stuck in with their regular recommendations. Unfortunately, Spotify does not have plans to integrate the recommender system used in this study into their player but hopefully something similar will be available in the future.
Key takeaways for podcast creators
Despite there not being plans to integrate the recommender system there are several key takeaways from this study that you can implement to attract and retain listeners:
- Identify which goal your podcast satisfies – make sure your podcast satisfies one of the two common user goals. Does it relieve boredom and entertain or does it help listeners learn something new?
- Don’t rely solely on the algorithm – If your podcast satisfies a high-involvement goal, it’s important to put your podcast in front of your audience in a variety of creative ways such as through social media promotion or cross-promotion with other creators.
- Accurately describe your podcast – Ensure your description, tags, categories, etc. accurately describe what your podcast is about and advise what goal you are satisfying.
By keeping these tips in mind, you can create a podcast that not only attracts listeners but also satisfies their goals and keeps them coming back for more. Podcast listeners have different goals, and understanding those goals is important for podcast creators who want to build a loyal following. Use these tips to create a podcast that not only satisfies your listeners but also helps you achieve your own goals as a creator.
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