{"id":3526,"date":"2025-03-23T04:47:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T23:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2025-05-01T13:09:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T07:39:46","slug":"is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Podcast as a Growth Hack Underrated?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#Growth_Hack_Yeah_Weve_All_Been_There\" title=\"Growth Hack? Yeah, We\u2019ve All Been There.\">Growth Hack? Yeah, We\u2019ve All Been There.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#A_Little_Throwback_Remember_Classified_Ads\" title=\"A Little Throwback: Remember Classified Ads?\">A Little Throwback: Remember Classified Ads?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#So_Where_Did_%E2%80%9CGrowth_Hacking%E2%80%9D_Even_Come_From\" title=\"So, Where Did &#8220;Growth Hacking&#8221; Even Come From?\">So, Where Did &#8220;Growth Hacking&#8221; Even Come From?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#Welcome_to_the_AI-First_Era\" title=\"Welcome to the AI-First Era\">Welcome to the AI-First Era<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#What_If_Your_Next_Growth_Hack%E2%80%A6_Wasnt_it_a_Hack\" title=\"What If Your Next Growth Hack\u2026 Wasn&#8217;t it a Hack?\">What If Your Next Growth Hack\u2026 Wasn&#8217;t it a Hack?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#The_Metrics_That_Make_Podcasting_a_No-Brainer\" title=\"The Metrics That Make Podcasting a No-Brainer\">The Metrics That Make Podcasting a No-Brainer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#Localized_Stats\" title=\"Localized Stats\">Localized Stats<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#B2B_B2C_Use_Cases\" title=\"B2B &amp; B2C Use Cases\">B2B &amp; B2C Use Cases<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/is-podcast-as-a-growth-hack-underrated\/#Final_Thought\" title=\"Final Thought\">Final Thought<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Growth_Hack_Yeah_Weve_All_Been_There\"><\/span><strong>Growth Hack? Yeah, We\u2019ve All Been There.<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGrowth hack.\u201d<br>You\u2019ll hear that phrase about a thousand times in your career. Doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a marketer, VP, growth lead, or that one brave soul doing it all with a Canva Pro account and a dream.<br><br>We\u2019re all after the same thing: A shortcut to results.<br>A way to reach more people, solve real problems, and scale, without burning through all your resources (aka money, time, energy, and sanity).<br><br>Ask your stakeholders for a budget? We all know that look.<br>And the follow-up question you can almost mouth with them:<br>\u201cCan we do it cheaper?\u201d (Yup. It hurts.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if there is a way? Is podcast as a growth hack effective? Before we dive into that, its history lesson time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Little_Throwback_Remember_Classified_Ads\"><\/span><strong>A Little Throwback: Remember Classified Ads?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s rewind 10\u201315 years.<br>Remember those yellow-page style classifieds? Local business listings, tiny text blocks in the paper or OLX-style websites, it was the go-to hack back then.<br><br>If you\u2019re born after 2000, ask your parents how they looked for rooms, bought second-hand stuff, or discovered local tutors. It wasn\u2019t sexy, but it worked.<br><br>That was growth hacking. In its most raw, scrappy form.<br>Fast-forward to today, and that tactic? Saturated. Obsolete for most industries.<br>And that&#8217;s okay. Because every growth hack has an expiry date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_Where_Did_%E2%80%9CGrowth_Hacking%E2%80%9D_Even_Come_From\"><\/span><strong>So, Where Did &#8220;Growth Hacking&#8221; Even Come From?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lennysnewsletter.com\/p\/the-original-growth-hacker-sean-ellis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sean Ellis<\/a>, in 2010.<br>He coined the term while building DropBox, LogMeIn, Eventbrite, you know, just some small side hustles.<br><br>His approach? Don\u2019t do everything. Do what moves the needle. Track what works. Kill what doesn\u2019t.<br>Run on data. And never stop optimizing.<br><br>It worked. But that was pre-AI, pre-ChatGPT, pre-short-attention-span-on-steroids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Welcome_to_the_AI-First_Era\"><\/span><strong>Welcome to the AI-First Era<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Search behavior is changing. Organic reach? Declining. Ad fatigue? Very real.<br>And Google? Taking a quiet hit while users drift toward AI tools for direct answers.<br><br>Now, I\u2019m not here to bash ads. They still work for acquisition and activation.<br>But once that budget dries up, your traffic evaporates.<br><br>There\u2019s no loyalty. No long-term retention. No word-of-mouth magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_If_Your_Next_Growth_Hack%E2%80%A6_Wasnt_it_a_Hack\"><\/span><strong>What If Your Next Growth Hack\u2026 Wasn&#8217;t it a Hack?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What if it was a channel?<br>A flywheel that grows over time. That keeps working after the campaign ends.<br><br>Sounds too good to be true, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look, I won\u2019t call it vibranium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you use it right, it\u2019s <strong>pretty damn close<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Podcasting.<\/strong><br><br>Not the kind that needs a studio or a celebrity co-host.<br>Just a mic. A message. And a clear reason to exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Metrics_That_Make_Podcasting_a_No-Brainer\"><\/span><strong>The Metrics That Make Podcasting a No-Brainer<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s Start with Basics: AARRR funnel? (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, Referral)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Acquisition: Listeners discover your brand without paid ads. <strong>Source:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edisonresearch.com\/the-infinite-dial-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2023<br><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Activation: 75% of listeners say podcasts influence their buying decisions. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/us\/en\/insights\/industry\/technology\/podcast-advertising-effectiveness-and-influence.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deloitte<\/a>)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Retention: Podcasting builds a habit. Your audience keeps coming back. 40% of listeners growth in US in last 3 years<em>. <\/em><strong>Source:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nielsen.com\/us\/en\/insights\/report\/2021\/podcast-engagement-and-loyalty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Nielsen Podcast Insights<br><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Revenue: Podcasts convert\u2014via product plugs, sponsors, or affiliate links. <em>Podcast ad revenue crossed $2 billion in 2022 and is projected to hit $4 billion by 2025. <\/em><strong>Source:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iab.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IAB_US_Podcast_Advertising_Revenue_Study_FY2023_May_2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> IAB U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue Study 2023<br><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Referral: People don\u2019t just listen. They share. One good episode can spark hundreds of organic impressions. 6% of podcast listeners have recommended a podcast to someone else<em>. <\/em>One great episode = organic reach with zero media spend. <strong>Source:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ads.spotify.com\/en-US\/inspiration\/culture-next\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Spotify Culture Next Report 202<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/ads.spotify.com\/culture-next\/culture-next-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Localized_Stats\"><\/span><strong>Localized Stats<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>India:<br>&#8211; 3rd largest podcast market globally<br>&#8211; 100M+ monthly listeners<br>&#8211; Tier 1 &amp; Tier 2 cities driving growth<br><br>Southeast Asia:<br>&#8211; 30\u201340% YoY growth<br>&#8211; Highly mobile-first audience<br><br>United States:<br>&#8211; 42% of Americans (13+) listen monthly<br>&#8211; Podcasts drive 4.4x higher brand recall vs. display ads (Nielsen)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"B2B_B2C_Use_Cases\"><\/span><strong>B2B &amp; B2C Use Cases<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>B2B Example:<br><\/strong>\u2018Marketing Brew\u2019 by Morning Brew \u2192 sharp insights, drives trust and media signups.<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingbrew.com\/stories\/2024\/11\/21\/why-beauty-brands-are-turning-to-podcasts-to-advertise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.marketingbrew.com\/stories\/2024\/11\/21\/why-beauty-brands-are-turning-to-podcasts-to-advertise<\/a><br><br><strong>B2C Example:<br><\/strong>Nykaa\u2019s \u2018Beauty Book\u2019 \u2192 educates, entertains, and drives store traffic.<br>Podcasting works whether you\u2019re selling software, skincare, or services.<br><a href=\"https:\/\/iide.co\/case-studies\/marketing-strategy-of-nykaa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/iide.co\/case-studies\/marketing-strategy-of-nykaa<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thought\"><\/span><strong>Final Thought<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Not because it&#8217;s trendy. Not because it&#8217;s easy.<br>But because it&#8217;s underrated, and underutilized by brands who think growth only comes from ad spend.<br><br>A podcast is your silent growth engine.<br><br>It builds authority. Earns trust. And keeps working when you&#8217;re offline.<br><br>So, what if your next growth hack was a mic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Start your podcast with <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Hubhopper Studio<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 free, fast, and built for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1.India is the 3rd largest podcast market globally<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marknteladvisors.com\/research-library\/india-podcasting-market.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.marknteladvisors.com\/research-library\/india-podcasting-market.html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2.100M+ monthly listeners in India<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2025\/01\/27\/3015350\/0\/en\/India-Podcast-Market-to-Hit-Valuation-of-US-4-248-Million-By-2033-Astute-Analytica.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2025\/01\/27\/3015350\/0\/en\/India-Podcast-Market-to-Hit-Valuation-of-US-4-248-Million-By-2033-Astute-Analytica.html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3.Tier 1 &amp; Tier 2 cities driving podcast growth<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marknteladvisors.com\/research-library\/india-podcasting-market.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.marknteladvisors.com\/research-library\/india-podcasting-market.html<\/a><br><br><strong>Southeast Asia:<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4. 30\u201340% YoY podcast growth in SEA<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/amo\/media\/music-radio-podcasts\/southeast-asia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/amo\/media\/music-radio-podcasts\/southeast-asia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5.Highly mobile-first audience in SEA<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/amo\/media\/music-radio-podcasts\/southeast-asia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/amo\/media\/music-radio-podcasts\/southeast-asia<\/a><br><br><strong>United States:<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>6. 42% of Americans (13+) listen monthly<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftstrategies.com\/en-gb\/insights\/what-the-podcast-boom-means-for-digital-revenue-in-a-post-pandemic-landscape\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ftstrategies.com\/en-gb\/insights\/what-the-podcast-boom-means-for-digital-revenue-in-a-post-pandemic-landscape<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7.Podcasts drive 4.4x higher brand recall than display ads<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftstrategies.com\/en-gb\/insights\/what-the-podcast-boom-means-for-digital-revenue-in-a-post-pandemic-landscape\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ftstrategies.com\/en-gb\/insights\/what-the-podcast-boom-means-for-digital-revenue-in-a-post-pandemic-landscape<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growth Hack? Yeah, We\u2019ve All Been There. \u201cGrowth hack.\u201dYou\u2019ll hear that phrase about a thousand times in your career. Doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a marketer, &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254,422],"tags":[411,423,412],"class_list":["post-3526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast-growth-hacks-tips","category-saas-marketing","tag-blogs","tag-growth-hack","tag-podcast"],"acf":[],"_dp_original":null,"_oembed_3a87f2a5394252799bc1f55f1d66e857":null,"_oembed_44547d1fedb63de41203bcbda4b31c85":null,"_oembed_9fdfb869226e5e3d4523cafec891236e":null,"_oembed_c2633143ea8c6fb09c1951fb80526f73":null,"_oembed_cec5e7e844cda99b4f3d55f48552a2a3":null,"_oembed_f969b907ddea83f6b812b18531e275be":null,"_oembed_time_3a87f2a5394252799bc1f55f1d66e857":null,"_oembed_time_9fdfb869226e5e3d4523cafec891236e":null,"_oembed_time_cec5e7e844cda99b4f3d55f48552a2a3":null,"_oembed_time_f969b907ddea83f6b812b18531e275be":null,"_thumbnail_id":"3527","_wp_desired_post_slug":null,"_wp_old_date":null,"_wp_trash_meta_status":null,"_wp_trash_meta_time":null,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"254","_yoast_wpseo_title":null,"enclosure":null,"medium_post":{"author_image_url":null,"author_url":null,"byline_name":null,"byline_email":null,"cross_link":null,"id":null,"follower_notification":null,"license":null,"publication_id":null,"status":null,"url":null},"nb_of_words":null,"_edit_last":"10","BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_user","BS_guest_author_name":"","BS_guest_author_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3526"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3820,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions\/3820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hubhopper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}