When was the last time you tuned into a podcast? If you’re like 15% of Americans over the age of 12, it was within the past month. While 15% may not sound like much, consider that Twitter is used by approximately 18% of American adults — an only slightly larger slice of the pie that has had a profound impact on everything from how we consume news to how we engage with our friends and favorite shows.
Given the rise of smartphones and 4G/LTE connectivity, it is now possible, affordable and easier than ever to stream audio from just about anywhere. Whether you’re at the gym, commuting to work or roaming the aisles at the grocery store, a limitless amount of information can now go anywhere you go. In fact, Edison’s research found a huge shift between 2013 and 2014 in the percentage of podcasts that are listened to on a mobile device versus a computer.
With more than 250,000 podcasts currently available on iTunes, cutting through the noise in order to find the right podcasts can be a challenge. I recently created a solution for marketers with the launch of MarketingPodcasts.com, a brand-new discovery engine that sorts podcasts by category, host, number of reviews, iTunes ratings and more. In addition, the team at MarketingPodcasts.com reviews podcasts each week on our blog so you can be sure you’re not just getting something – you’re getting something good.
So, now that you know how to find the good stuff, here are a few suggestions to get you started. Based on MarketingPodcasts.com’s Audience Approval Rating*, here are the top 10 social media podcasts. These shows feature information on social media, and occasionally marketing, digital marketing, entrepreneurship and other related topics.
- Amplify: Social Media and Blogging Podcast, hosted by Blogging Concentrated: 50+ episodes of smart blogging advice
- The #AskGaryVee Show, hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk: New Q&A show by social media dynamo
- JD Blogger Legal Marketing, hosted by John Skiba: Nearly 100 episodes of everything lawyers need to know to dominate in social and online
- Social Media Marketing Podcast, hosted by Mike Stelzner: Hugely popular show from the founder of Social Media Examiner
- Relationship Marketing & Sales, hosted by David J. Soler: Newer show with a strong personal branding focus
- Oh So Pinteresting Podcast, hosted by Cynthia Sanchez: The most popular social media podcast focused on a single channel
- The 10-Minute Marketing Show, hosted by Kim Roach: Small business advice with a content marketing and social slant. Compact, 10-minute episodes
- The Marketing Agents Podcast, hosted by Rich Brooks: Inbound/SEO, digital marketing, and social media advice from a guy who’s seen it all
- The Marketing Lifestyle Show, hosted by Amy Schmittauer: Social media and digital marketing tips for entrepreneurs
- Connect, Engage, Inspire, hosted by Danny Ivy: Content marketing and social media, with a strong SEO flavor
Ready to do some exploring of your own? Visit MarketingPodcasts.com to find podcasts that educate and inspire you.
* The podcasts on MarketingPodcasts.com aren’t just our favorites (how unfair would that be?) They’re ranked using a custom algorithm we developed – the Audience Approval Rating. The algorithm evaluates iTunes ratings and computes them on a 100-point scale, creating a fair metric to measure how popular a podcast is among its listeners – and how it stacks up against the competition.
Jay Baer is the creator of MarketingPodcast.com and president and founder at Convince & Convert, a digital marketing and social media consultancy. His Convince & Convert blog is the world’s No. 1 content marketing resource. Jay is an avid podcaster, and is the host of Jay Today and cohost of Social Pros. He is also the author of the New York Times best-seller “Youtility.”