There are over 4 million registered podcasts as of 2023 and more people are aware of and listening to podcasts than ever before. If you have one, this gives you a unique opportunity following Gen Z trends to market to a massive audience with less competition.
Gen Z favors podcasts over social media for their emotional well-being. While about a third believe that social media has harmed their mental health, the majority listen to podcasts as a form of relaxation, escapism, or even a way to understand their own feelings. Gen Z is currently shaping marketing trends, so catering to them through generational podcast marketing can help boost your success.
What Is Generational Marketing?
Generational marketing, simply put, involves strategic tactics to appeal to your target audience’s age range. You can also undergo a multi-generational marketing process, but most podcasts have a pretty clear demographic that they cater to. Here are some key caveats to keep in mind when tapping into generational marketing:
- Don’t rely on stereotypes;
- Align marketing with your target audience’s generation;
- Realize that preferences change over time;
- Take cultural, economic, and social influences into consideration.
Generation Z, in particular, has a specific set of tactics that generally work well for marketing to their group. As of 2023, this includes social media, gaming, cutting-edge tech, and socially responsible values. Just be aware that this may change over time, and it may change with the unique audience of your specific podcast. However, tailoring your marketing to well-researched generational attributes can boost your podcast to the right people in the first place.
Tailoring Podcast Marketing to Gen Z Trends
If your podcast appeals to a mostly Gen Z audience, it’s time to start tailoring your marketing techniques to this group. You can also get in front of their eyes and have potential viewers. The majority of podcast listeners prefer video to go along with the audio. In any case, you can use carefully crafted video content to push your podcast to Gen Z.
Short-Form Videos
If you choose to put out video along with podcast audio, you can repurpose clips from those videos into short-form content. According to HubSpot Blog’s 2023 Social Media Marketing Report, short-form video has been and will continue to be the type of content that provides the best return on investment (ROI). Instagram and Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikToks are three of the most popular social media post types that incorporate short-form videos. TikTok has the highest potential for success because of its large user base.
This is important because a whopping 41% of Gen Z TikTok users said that they stopped listening to podcasts as much since engaging with TikTok. Getting onto the platform and creating videos they want to stop scrolling for could be your way back in.
Repurposing viral TikTok sounds can boost your marketing for your podcast. These can be found on the trending sounds page and with a little creativity, you can adjust a TikTok trend to fit your podcast theme.
What’s more, you can take audio and video clips from your podcast and trim them down to anywhere from one second to three minutes long. However, the shorter and more attention-grabbing, the better. If the audio from your TikTok is funny, catchy, or inspiring, it could turn into a viral sound of its own.
Social Media Influencer Marketing
Although there’s a trending tag on TikTok about anti-influencing, #deinfluencing, influencer marketing still remains a popular Gen Z marketing tool. Most of the videos on deinfluencing reference products that are touted by untrustworthy influencers that recommend products that the TikTokers have found to be overpriced or overrated. Gen Z has been bombarded with so many sponsored posts that they are growing savvy to the money pushing the products — and the sometimes subsequent exaggeration of the products’ features or results.
However, a podcast is not a tangible product that you are pushing on consumers. Instead, you can tap into different influencer marketing tools to create honest, transparent, influential campaigns that reach Gen Z authentically. Whatever social media platform and influencer you choose should have a large Gen Z audience and be conducive to your podcast topic. Even a simple shoutout from a fan of your podcast that happens to be influential for Gen Z could be huge.
Values-Based Marketing
In line with Gen Z’s keen eye for dishonesty, these consumers of content also base their consumption on their own values and beliefs. The Sprout Social Index of 2022 found that 73% of Gen Zers think that a brand should raise awareness and advocate for important issues. Whatever your podcast stands for, amplify that message as much as you can. Keep an eye on cultural and social movements and make sure to stay topical to resonate with Gen Z the most.
Metaverse Marketing
The metaverse has been the topic of conversation since the Facebook Company became Meta back in 2021. As a generation that grew up with online access, Gen Z is well-positioned to adopt these VR worlds as they become more accessible, feasible, and immersive. Reaching these younger consumers within VR could be the ticket to your podcast’s Gen Z success.
Today, Gen Z makes up about 60% of the metaverse’s user base. You can access the metaverse by acquiring a VR headset and optional controllers and haptic devices. Although the complete metaverse has not taken the world by storm just yet, you can get ahead of the curve by promoting your podcast in VR platforms that do exist like Roblox and Star Atlas. You can place ads for your podcast in these VR games so early-adopter, Gen Z gamers are more likely to see them. As the use of the metaverse expands, make sure to secure your place — possibly even hosting a live podcast session in a VR world.
Keep Adapting
Gen Z trends evolve quickly with the widespread use of social media and tech. It’s easier than ever to spread news and information, and trends are jumping from one to the other faster as a result.
If you keep a close eye on these trends, you can serve your podcast to Gen Z listeners and watchers on a silver platter. Stay honest and do research to stay relevant in the minds of Gen Z.
Sam Bowman is a freelance writer from the West Coast. He writes about viral marketing and podcasting. Before becoming a freelance writer, he worked in audio marketing development. His time in marketing has influenced the content he creates today.