Podcast advertising terms are like a whole new language — one you are going to want to understand BEFORE you enter into the world of podcast advertising.
Here we bring you some key podcast advertising terms used by podcast advertising networks, like Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast Marketplace. They explain the value and reach of a buy, the type of ad, as well as the cost and revenue for both the advertiser and podcaster.
If you familiarize yourself with these podcast advertising terms and concepts, you can make the best decisions for your show or your product.
Podcast Advertising Terms
- Ad/Media Buyer — Media buyers oversee the ad buying process. With an understanding of marketing goals and target audience preferences, they execute the actual purchase of the advertisement space.
- Ad Inventory — This is the number of spaces available for advertisers to buy. At Libsyn, our ad inventory consists of 3,000+ podcasts, 240 of them exclusive partners whose shows are only available through AdvertiseCast.
- Ad Network — A podcast advertising network, such as Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast Marketplace, matches media buys with podcasts that naturally fit the ad goals of the buyer’s brand client. The network can configure a podcast ad buy to return the data buyers need to measure ROI.
- Automatic (sometimes referred to as programmatic) Ads — Automatic podcast advertising includes pre-recorded ads that appear to a user dependent on their demographics and listening behavior.
- Baked-In Ads — Ads that flow within the original recording of a program. Cutting or replacing baked-in ads is not easy because they are a PART of the program.
- CPM (cost per mille) — A paid advertising option where companies pay a price for every 1,000 impressions an ad receives. An “impression” refers to when someone sees a campaign on social media, a search engine, or another marketing platform. In the case of podcasts, it refers to the number of listeners that have downloaded the content where your ad is present.
- Dynamic Ad Insertion — Ads that are inserted into a podcast through dynamic ad tools. These tools allow you to target your exact audience at the time you want to reach them. They deliver ads based on geo-location, time of day, type of listening device, and much more.
- Fill Rate — The volume of ad markers that are successfully filled across podcasts in a network. Networks that offer a high fill rate are doing their job. Libsyn has one of the highest in the industry.
- Host-Read Ads — Personal advertisements for a product/service read by the actual host of a podcast. This form of advertising feels more like a testimonial because the host describes their experience with the product. The halo effect is present because listeners feel as though they know and trust their favorite podcast hosts.
- IAB Tech-Lab Stats — IAB stands for Interactive Advertising Bureau. The IAB provides the industry standard in podcast statistics measurement. These are what advertisers look for when selecting podcasts to buy. They make their decisions based on the strength of these numbers. In addition, these stats help podcasters to understand the health of their show relative to others in the same category, and aid in targeting where they should focus marketing activities.
- Media Buy — The name for the advertising buy in its entirety, including all slots/podcasts contained within that particular ad campaign.
- Mid-Roll — An ad marker that is automatically set to play in the middle break of a podcast.
- Pre & Post-Roll — Ad markers that play ads at the beginning and end of a podcast.
- Revenue Share — This is the proportion/split of the total buy that is kept by the podcaster and the ad and network. Again, Libsyn has one of the highest podcaster shares.
For Advertisers
If you are working with a podcast network like Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast Marketplace that allows podcasters to list their shows and inventory for brands to browse and select, you can provide both host-read and automatic advertising. Check out this video with Dave Hanley about the difference between dynamic and baked-in ads.
For more information, here is a blog about how easy it is to Spend to Scale with Podcast Advertising.
For Podcasters
Podcasters with AdvertiseCast can also search for and contact peer podcasts about cross-promotion or promo swaps.
If you are a podcaster wanting to understand what it means to enter into the podcast advertising world, check out this blog by Kate Erickson, Podcast Monetization — Content Systems before Sales.
Still have questions? Feel free to contact the team at Libsyn for all the answers you need!
