Social Media Ads vs. Podcast Directory and Listening App Ads
I’m just going to start by saying this: social media ads aren’t the most ideal avenue to market a podcast because people aren’t on social media to find or listen to podcasts. Sure, they could see your ad and still click and listen, but that won’t be a high percentage.
However, if you want to test it out, what I would recommend is to promote specific episodes (instead of the podcast) that have guests you can target their specific audience on social media. The average podcast guest won’t be well-known enough to even target their followers, but there may be some guests that you can do this with. If you have guests which you can target their followers, I recommend starting with a $1/day budget per episode.
I would also ensure that you set up different ad sets with specific parameters based on the person’s listening device (Apple or Android).
This is a hard subject to describe in written form, so I will be creating a walk-through video in Podcast Profit Pro where I give specific and detailed examples of how to make this work for you.
Unlike social media ads, you will have a lot more success with podcast directory ads. What this means is your ad will appear in podcast directory or listening apps, usually as a display ad versus a text ad.
First, you know right from the get-go that the person hearing or seeing your ad is already a podcast listener. On social media, you do not know who is or isn’t a podcast listener.
Second, since the listener is already in a podcast listening app, there is no barrier to entry. They can just click the ad to check out your show. They won’t need to download a new app or be redirected somewhere else.
The only downside to these types of ads is they are much more expensive than social media ads, but with good reason, as I mentioned above.
Here is an example of a more affordable option. This promo was for a $99 one-week ad I did in Castro. The first image is what they tell you can expect from the ad and the second image is how my ad performed.
As you can see, my ad performed better than they promised! That is an ad I would run again because it over-performed and because it’s the most affordable paid ad option that I have found.
Some apps let you request a free placement or promo. I have created a list of the various podcast directories and listening apps that either offer free or paid promotions. Where possible, I have also linked to the submission form for each one or directions on how to submit. You can find that list with clickable links to both free and paid promotion or advertising opportunities (as well as screenshots of various ad platform pricing) at PodcastProfitPro.com.
In addition, I will do walk-throughs showing how to set up ads and how they performed with Castro, Buzzsprout, Spotify, PodBay, Disco, and more.