Podcasting Is The New Kind Of Influence
Acast, the podcast hosting company, released Podcast Pulse 2025 with some remarkable findings.
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Acast, best know for its podcast hosting platform, released its Podcast Pulse 2025 report last week. And their findings, though not surprising to me, are remarkable.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was that people trust podcasters more than social media influencers.
According to the report podcasters don't like the term "influencer." 75% of weekly podcast listeners do not consider podcasters to be influencers, but more than 84% state that a podcaster has managed to sway their opinion on something.
Um... that's influence in the strongest sense of the word, if you ask me. 💪🏻
And ultimately I think it stems with the fact people spend more time with podcasters than they do with a social media influencer. Because of this deeper connections are made and that leads to trust.
I've bought stuff that podcasters that I listen t0 regularly, because I trust them and find their recommendations trustworthy.
Because podcasters have their listener's trust they rank above other influencer types.
For example in the report, social media influencers rank 28% whereas podcasters are at 33%. I think this has a lot to do with the nature of the medium. When you're looking at social media you have a second to capture someone, when someone is listening to a podcast they are more invested and will give you more than a second to figure out if they want to keep listening.
And this means that brands need to pay attention to podcasts as an advertising medium.
Leo Laporte over at the TWiT Network has influenced me quite a bit and I've bought a number of his sponsors' services and products on his recommendation.
According to the report, "4 in 5 global marketers say podcast hosts are effective at shaping consumer perception of brands." I'd say Leo has been quite effective.
If you're a marketer and spending all your marketing budget on social media and celebrity influencers you're missing the boat.
What do you think? Should brands invest more advertising dollars into podcasts?
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The news and content consumption landscape has shifted—and podcasts are leading the charge.
Younger generations aren't just occasionally listening to podcasts for news and information—they're abandoning traditional media for them. If you're not leveraging this medium, you're missing out on one of the most powerful ways to build your personal or professional brand.
Here's the problem: most people start a podcast without a roadmap. They waste months figuring out what works through trial and error, or worse—they give up entirely.
I've spent over 15 years in the podcast industry, watching it evolve from a niche hobby to a billion-dollar ecosystem. And here's what I know for certain: the podcasters who succeed don't go it alone. They learn from others who've already navigated the challenges, avoided the pitfalls, and cracked the code.
That's why I created the Podcast Mastery Community on Skool—a space where you can learn alongside experienced podcasters, get real feedback, and fast-track your success.
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The Latest From The Entrepreneur's Enigma Podcast
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A bit self-serving but still I think I provide some good pointers!
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About time!
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Seriously. Coke give up.
Mastodon just got Quote posts!!!!
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More about what's new on Mastodon from Sarah at TechCrunch.
Bonfire is a really cool Fediverse service. Of course I have an instance of it running on my VPS.
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Meta is such a disgusting company.
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A great interview with a true legend.
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Yes, absolutely. Where to put them is the question. A good read from a podcast pioneer.
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Web Find
Al Boardman
Now this is how you do a logo! Wowza!
That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!
-Seth
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