When the pandemic started, the concern for podcasts and audio to text was that with people not commuting, we would see a big drop in audience. But Twipe reports that “research from GlobalWebIndex found the decrease in commuters has been offset by people who are listening to more podcasts (ranging from 13-16% globally). There has even been growth in advertising revenue for podcasts.”   “This is backed up by publisher experiences as well,” writes Mary-Katharine Phillips, “with Norwegian media group Schibsted still expecting to see podcast ad revenue growing by 50% this year, due to factors beyond the pandemic such as the maturation of the market.”   There's also evidence that audio to text has accelerated during this time. Dutch news website The Correspondent recently launched a new audio app for members. “We were a text-based site mostly, and our members asked us if we could also provide audio, because it’s eas ...

I watched my first live news discussion this week on Instagram—it was excellent—and then found out that I was a bit behind the times. "Another big change in the last few years has been the growth of Instagram which popularized visual formats like 'stories' and short videos via IGTV," says the publisher-insightful Reuters Digital News Report, just out last week.   "Instagram now reaches more than a third of all people (36%) weekly and two-thirds of under-25s (64%). Instagram reaches 11% across age groups, almost as many as use Twitter for news."   Fortunately for my ego, the report does still verify one thing: "Overall, the most important factor for those who subscribe is the distinctiveness and quality of the content. Subscribers believe they are getting better information."   The Reuters report is 112 pages but we have distilled it here to four key questions:   1. Are you emailing eno ...

We know the huge hit that events are taking now. And we encourage everyone to register for next Thursday’s SIPA/AM&P/Connectiv webinar titled Coronavirus and Your Events: How to Make Decisions that Protect Your Business and the Safety of Your Staff, that will include our own Brian Cuthbert from Diversified Communications..

This episode of LunchByte features host - Jill Abbott, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of ETIN as she speaks with James Basham.

When it comes to podcasts, "don't skimp on your own home on your site or content hub," Chris Blose, VP of content for Imagination, told us last year in a session on what it takes to start a podcast. "Build a mobile-optimized podcast page with show notes, speaker bios and links, and relevant resources for listeners."

On a recent webinar titled Podcasting for Publishers: How Podcasts Can Deliver Qualified Leads and Bottom-Line Revenue for Minimal Investment, Lynn Freer, president of Spidell Publishing, told about running into a tax accountant listener at one of her events. He kidded her about his wife wondering who that woman with the great voice is who he's conversing with every Sunday morning.

According to the findings of a new study from PodcastOne and Edison Research, 60% of super listeners—people who spend at least five hours a week listening to podcasts—view advertisers positively on their favorite podcasts, appreciating the support they offer. Nearly half of respondents, 44%, have a more positive opinion of a company when it is mentioned in a podcast they listen to.

"I feel like [synergy in an organization or company] is overlooked a lot when it comes to marketing podcasts," Blake Althen of podcast-producing company Human Factor told me recently. "At least with organizations I've done work for, the magazine/newsletter department might be doing their thing, the email people might be doing their thing and the events people are doing their thing, but there's not a lot of synergy. And we tried to close that gap and have done it really well.

"Who do you want to be listening?" asked Kate Super, founder and executive producer, Sidford House Media, during a session on Creating Successful Podcasts this morning at Association Media & Publishing's annual conference here in Washington, D.C. "That will tell you a lot about what your content should be."

Two years ago, the Book Industry Study Group, with all of its 138 members, had to make some money. So Brian O'Leary, BISG executive director, decided to do webinars—more specifically sponsored webinars. 33 of them. In one year. All sponsored.