In Radio’s Quest To Increase Engagement, Podcasting Leads The Way.

With so much audio, video and social media vying for consumers’ attention daily, how can AM/FM radio boost its profile and its engagement with its listeners? The answer, Amplifi Media founder and CEO Steven Goldstein says, is podcasting.

“This is a pivotal moment for broadcasters: the audience is shifting, habits are changing, and the window to seize digital leadership is narrowing,” Goldstein says in Amplifi’s blog. “The reality is that radio is still largely behind in the shift from linear to on-demand. Podcasting [is] the most effective way to recapture the listening you’re already losing and to keep your audience engaged when they’re not in the car or near a radio. This isn’t about adding an extra platform. It’s about retention.”

Goldstein’s research shows that average listeners to a major market’s seven top morning shows miss 83% of that content, with 59% of the cume tuned in once per week, and an additional 18% tuned in two times per week. “Add it up, and the average listener never hears most of your best moments,” he says. “That’s a lot of missed laughs, stories left unfinished, and surprises that vanish into thin air. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, unless you make sure your content is available somewhere your audience can find it.”

This is where podcasts featuring radio’s best personalities and content come into the picture, and are more than just, Goldstein says, a “nice to have.”

“Radio stations, like most of linear media, are seeing lower engagement,” Goldstein tells Inside Radio. “I think about this through the lens of TV networks who want to capture viewership via linear, app, streaming network or YouTube — every screen, every device. Radio needs to be more nimble and make high-value content available and easier to find on more platforms. Podcasting leads the way here.”

The good news for radio is that the way is clear for local vs. national podcasting. “Local is underserved, and we are seeing smart companies innovating in the sector,” Goldstein says, telling radio, “You have the advantage: an existing audience, local brand trust, and daily relevance. But those assets only matter if you apply the same rigor to creating and promoting on-demand content as you do to your live show.”

Right up top, podcasting requires an understanding of the metrics, so Goldstein provides a crash course. “[Radio people will] say they have 200,000 monthly downloads, but when you divide things up into weekly numbers, and how many elements are uploaded into a podcast feed, that can translate into just a few hundred listens,” he says, “and importantly, a download is not a listen. An alarming number of podcasts are downloaded but never played.”

For radio, local podcasts are more than just “putting the show online,” Goldstein says, as it also involves: “time-shifting with intention, captur[ing] listening you’d otherwise lose; video-first thinking, meet[ing] audiences where they already watch; strategic curation, post[ing] only high-value content, packaged for discovery; and a real digital strategy, not a “bolt-on,” treat[ing] YouTube, podcasts, and socials as destinations, not afterthoughts.”

“Treat your podcast feed like Netflix: highlight the best content, make it easy to find, and package it for binge-worthiness,” Goldstein says. “The name of the game is retention. YouTube is now the number one TV network in the country. I see this as a professor teaching Gen-Z students at NYU. They expect to find all content on YouTube. If you’re not there, you are missing the opportunity to connect.”