The level of podcast listening among Black Americans continues to climb, having already outpaced the levels of the market overall. New data from Triton Digital and Signal Hill Insights shows that nearly half – 47% – of African Americans reported during the second quarter they are now listening to podcasts on a month basis. That is up four points (or 10%) from a year ago, with an analysis showing many are newcomers to the medium.
Signal Hill President Jeff Vidler says a review of more than 24,000 surveys done between mid-2022 and the start of this year shows 46% of Black listeners said they started listening to podcasts in the past year, compared to 42% among podcast listeners in general. The recent shift to podcasting has been even more pronounced among women. Signal Hill says slightly more than half (51%) of Black women who listen monthly started listening in the past year.
“The Black audience also has distinct content preferences that set them apart from the overall audience,” Vidler writes in a blog post. “Demos+ survey results show they are particularly more likely to choose podcasts from the Sports, Music and Religion/Spirituality genres.” Similar to the market overall, he says there are gender preferences to formats. Black men are nearly twice as likely to listen to podcasts about music than Black women, while Black women listen to more Religion/Spirituality podcasts.
Vidler says the surveys also show that Black podcast listeners are slightly more likely to be owners of small businesses compared to podcast listeners overall (12% vs. 11%). He says the data show that is reflected in their listening, with 11% of Black listeners reported listening to a podcast from the Business and Education genres in the past month compared to 10% for the overall podcast audience.
What it means for ad buyers is clear, says Vidler, who sees opportunities for marketers in several ad categories. They include life insurance, noting Black podcast listeners are 36% more likely than podcast listeners in general plan to buy in the next year. They are also 26% more likely to switch wireless providers, are 21% more likely to have shopped in a high-end boutique in the past month and are 16% more likely to visit a fast food restaurant at least a few times a week.
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