The year is 2025 and everyone has a podcast. From neuroscientist Andrew Huberman to relationship expert Esther Perel to, yes, Susan — your mom’s next-door neighbor who’s set on becoming the next true-crime junkie. Bless her heart.
Over the last year, Spotify has seen a 140% increase in video podcasts on its Top 50 U.S. list. A recent New York Times article even compared the explosion of studio-quality video shows to a new version of basic cable.
But the podcast world isn’t just growing, it’s evolving. Video has transformed podcasts into a hybrid between YouTube and talk radio. That shift has made the medium both a goldmine and a maze for marketers.
And while not everyone’s content will pique the interest of listeners (sorry, Susan!) or lead to streams — much less revenue — brands that develop a clear strategy and consistent follow-through can benefit from the segmentation and targeting unique to a well-honed podcast audience.
Engagement Thrives In Niche Podcast Communities Where Trust Runs Deep
At the core of every good marketing message is a built-in level of trust — the subtle and not-so-subtle cues that say: you can trust that what I’m selling will benefit you; you can trust that I’ll deliver on what I promise.
That trust takes time. It takes consistency. It takes proof.
The magic of a podcast lies in the trust listeners already have for the host. With the exception of hate-listening (tuning in just to criticize), audiences show up because, on some level, they resonate with the voice in their ears. They relate to them. They believe what they’re saying.
That connection creates a sense of safety and taps into what behavioral economics calls the familiarity heuristic — our brain’s tendency to gravitate toward what feels known. Podcast hosts become that familiar voice, week after week, an anchor of consistency that builds credibility.
And that trust, the secret sauce every marketer is chasing? It’s already baked into the tribal nature of podcast communities. It’s no surprise that podcast hosts are three times more influential than social-media influencers, given how many hours fans spend listening. Access to these loyal, niche communities is an opportunity for advertisers to engage deeply with their target customers.
Who’s Actually Watching (And Who’s Just Listening)?
Creating a media-buying strategy for podcasts requires finesse. Unlike most media, this one offers multiple ways to engage.
While audio remains king, video is quickly reshaping listener behavior. Some people watch, others passively listen while driving or running errands, and many do both. This means a single campaign can reach audiences in vastly different attention states.
That’s both the challenge and the opportunity: marketers must adjust and tailor campaigns for context, not just content.
Creators, meanwhile, are always looking to monetize through YouTube ad-revenue sharing, brand sponsorships, paid subscriptions, memberships, and premium episodes.
While brands can buy media through traditional OTT platforms, the closer you get to the host, the stronger the impact. Host-read ads carry built-in trust and longevity. And when an ad is organically folded in through storytelling, it continues working long after the campaign ends.
With YouTube’s recommendation algorithm constantly resurfacing old episodes, that long-tail exposure can deliver compound value over time (though measuring ROI can be a challenge).
3 Traps To Avoid In Your Podcast Marketing Strategy
To navigate the expanding video-podcast universe, you need a thoughtful approach and sophisticated targeting by device and platform. Here are three common mistakes we’re seeing:
1. Half-Baked Understanding of the Customer
Before you even start researching potential partnerships, you need to really understand your audience — what they want, what motivates them, what moves them. This requires going beyond the surface and understanding behavior through an emotionally intelligent lens.
If you’re a luggage company targeting the mid- to high-end luxury market, it’s not just about materials or utility. In psychological terms, you need to understand your customer’s identity schema — the mental framework for how they see themselves, others, and the world around them.
Are they a corporate, no-time-for-fun traveler, or a style-driven, detail-obsessed jet-setter?
Knowing their persona could be the difference between building a campaign around a data-driven show like Diary of a CEO versus a lifestyle-forward one like Call Her Daddy. Same product, different mindset.
If you can segment further, identifying whether your audience prefers to watch or listen, even better. At minimum, before launching a new campaign, you should have clear answers on why a particular sponsorship will connect your brand with your target customers.
Video-podcast targeting is a worthwhile investment, but it’s not cheap. Identifying the podcaster who aligns best with your brand is essential to maximize your ad spend.
2. Unrealistic Expectations
On average, only about 10% of purchases can be attributed to the first customer touchpoint, which means not having your nurturing strategies in place after launch could cost you up to 90% of potential conversions.
Launching a podcast or influencer campaign in isolation isn’t a strategy, it’s one leg of a multi-pronged effort.
Most campaigns fall apart after kickoff because companies forget that this is just the first step. The real value hinges on lifecycle marketing; building recognition, trust, and consistency over time.
That might mean retargeting podcast listeners who’ve visited your site, building drip sequences around campaign launches, or tracking branded search spikes after host-read ads. The goal is to treat podcast exposure as a conversation starter and then measure how that awareness converts over time.
3. One Size Does Not Fit All
As we discussed above, podcast audiences engage in different attention states. Not adapting creative and messaging to fit the medium can turn a strong idea into a missed opportunity.
Video podcasts capture and hold attention through visuals, tone, body language, and on-screen graphics. And while that kind of engagement might seem like the gold standard, a fully visual campaign could actually underperform — especially if your audience is a working single mother of two catching her favorite podcast on the drive to work.
In that context, a host-read story may outperform a slickly produced pre-roll. The message needs to meet the listener where they are, not where your brand wishes they were.
Great podcast marketing understands the psychology of context, because attention is earned and shaped, not assumed.
Looking Ahead
Podcast marketing isn’t just another ad channel. It’s where strategy, connection, and psychology meet in real time.
As podcasts continue to blur the lines between entertainment and influence, the brands that will rise aren’t the ones chasing attention, they’re the ones building trust. The ones that understand that real ROI isn’t measured by impressions, but by impact.
Because the future of marketing won’t belong to whoever is shouting the loudest. It will belong to those who listen with attunement, those who create resonance for the person on the other side of the sound waves.
About the Author:
Maria G. Sosa, LMFT is a licensed therapist and Senior Advisor of Behavioral Science at Lineout Media. You can read more of her writing by subscribing to her Substack.