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101 Tactics to Promote Your Podcast (The Definitive Podcast Marketing Guide)

Over the years, most content mediums have grown more sophisticated, more dependent on technology, and more in line with futuristic experiences, like AR and VR. However, one somewhat archaic medium’s recent and unprecedented surge in popularity has content marketers everywhere rethinking their strategies.

Enter the podcast. Originally introduced in the early 2000s to coincide with the release of the iPod, these (typically) audio-only weekly or semi-weekly broadcasts have been undergoing a massive renaissance, with 40 percent of adults having listened to podcasts, and 24 percent of adults having listened to one in the past month.

Breakout hit podcasts like Serial, which is credited with playing a major role in the recent resurgence in popularity, have helped to redefine the medium, and hundreds of influencers have flocked to snatch up a piece of the pie.

Podcasts are especially attractive because they don’t cost much to produce (in terms of time or money). Anyone with a decent microphone and knowledge on a particular subject can talk for an hour and release an episode (though high-quality podcasts take more effort, as we’ll see), and if you can build up a big enough audience, you’ll see a surge of traffic to your site, or a new stream of revenue from advertising opportunities, or both.

The catch, of course, is that building an audience isn’t easy. There’s a lack of in-depth resources on the subject, which is why I wanted to put together this list of 101 tactics you can use to market your podcast. Ultimately, these tactics will seek to accomplish one (or more) of three goals:

• Attract new listeners. Though quality often means more than quantity, success in podcasting is often a numbers game. More listeners means more potential traffic.
• Retain old listeners. You also need to keep the listeners you already have; loyalty and recurring listenership are keys to success.
• Convert existing listeners. You’ll also need a way to “convert” those listeners, to build actual revenue or influence further actions.

So if you can, use as many of these tactics as possible to grow your podcast’s range of influence:

1. Make sure your podcast doesn’t suck. Before you do any planning (or any execution), take some time to listen to some podcasts that already have a substantial following. You can use any podcast app or podcast directory to browse for the most frequently downloaded casts, but make sure to search for popular podcasts in your own industry. Get a feel for what makes a “good” podcast before moving on. Above all, it should be unique, and offer value to listeners, whether in the form of entertainment, humor, advice, emotional support, guidance, news, analysis, stories, or simply creating a community. No amount of marketing tactics will work if your podcast sucks.

2. Choose a good podcast hosting platform. Your podcast is going to be syndicated using an RSS feed, and you’re going to need a good podcast hosting platform to generate that RSS feed, syndicate it automatically, and provide you with a central “command hub” where you can edit things like your podcast’s title, description, keywords, and other metadata. Furthermore, a podcast hosting platform allows you to access analytics that are crucial to know about your podcast, such as total downloads, downloads by day, downloads by episode, technology being used by your listeners, and traffic sources for your listeners. I have only used Libsyn for podcast hosting, so I can’t compare it to other hosting options, but I can certainly recommend it.

3. Publish your podcast everywhere. iTunes is probably the most common place to list your podcast, but it’s best to list your podcast in as many podcast directories as are relevant to your subject. There are dozens of directories available, each serving a different segment of users, and it won’t take much effort to list your podcast in each one. For a good start, ensure your podcast is listed in these directories: iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, blubrry, Podbay, and Podtail. Your podcast hosting platform may provide you with ways to get syndicated in other popular directories or outlets, such as iHeartRadio, too.

4. Keyword-optimize your podcast listings. You can (and should) optimize your podcasts for search, both for typical Google searches (when they’re hosted on your site) and for the search engines of each respective podcast directory. Fortunately, most of them work the same. You’ll want to include target keywords in your podcast name and description, as well as each individual episode’s name and description. I recently helped a video game podcast called What’s Good Games change their name in the Apple Podcasts app from “What’s Good Games” to “What’s Good Games: A Video Game Podcast” in an effort to rank in search results for keywords “video games” and “video game podcast.” The result? They went from not appearing in the search results for either keyword to displaying #2. Huge results for such a simple tweak! For help figuring out what keywords you should target, see Keyword Research: The Ultimate Guide for SEO and Content Marketing.

5. Create a website for your podcast. Next, create a domain that you can use to “anchor” your podcast’s brand. When you release new episodes, you’ll do it through podcast directories, but you’ll also need a space for information on your podcast, including news, blog posts, and an archive of older episodes. This will be incredibly helpful for other tactics.

6. SEO-optimize your website. It’s one thing to have a website, but it’s another to have a website that gets found by potential listeners. Use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics to ensure your website gets as much search visibility as possible in order to continually attract new listeners. For help, see 101 Ways to Improve Your Website’s SEO.

7. Publish keyword-optimized content on high-authority publications. If your keyword is “video game podcasts” then wouldn’t it be great if your podcast was included in a list of the best new video game podcasts? Sure it would! Work with journalists, columnists, and contributors at various media publications to pitch them ideas for such a round-up. You never know who might work with you to create such a list which includes your podcast! You can work with PR or content marketing agencies like mine, AudienceBloom, to help match you with journalists who might be interested in working with you.

8. Create a page on your website that lists all the locations listeners can find you. When a potential listener comes across your website, you want to maximize the chances of turning them into a loyal listener. Do so by creating a page on your website that lists all the locations your podcast can be viewed or listened to, with easily clickable links to each one. Some users will prefer to listen to your podcast on Spotify, while others will prefer SoundCloud, while still others will prefer to watch on YouTube. Accommodate everyone here.

9. Tap your network for initial listeners. Your first few regular listeners will be the hardest to get, so get whoever you can. Talk to friends, family members, and employees to drum up initial interest. Ask them to share it with their friends, colleagues, and social media audiences, too.

10. Submit a press release to announce your podcast’s launch. When you launch your podcast initially, take the time to write up and syndicate a press release, which should only cost you a few hundred dollars on PR Newswire or PRWeb. You’ll get some new inbound links to the podcast website, and a burst of initial exposure to new potential audiences.

11. Pay for initial advertising. Once you’ve figured out what keywords to target, consider paying for paid advertising on Google Adwords, Reddit Ads, Facebook Ads, and Stumbleupon Ads—at least as a temporary measure. Your first listeners are going to be the hardest to get, so it’s worth the money you’ll spend to net early listeners.

12. Pay to be mentioned in other related podcasts. If you know of another similar podcast with lots of listeners, consider paying the other podcast to announce your podcast’s launch and recommend it. You can even rent their email list to make an announcement via email.

13. Ask your listeners to subscribe at the start of each episode. The best way to keep listeners coming back to your podcast is to get them to subscribe, so they automatically download or listen to your latest episodes. Accordingly, it’s on you to request that your listeners subscribe (preferably at the beginning and end of each episode).

14. Periodically ask your social media audiences to subscribe in Apple’s Podcasts app. According to a 2015 study, 82% of mobile podcast listening happens on iPhone, mostly using Apple’s Podcasts app. Be sure to remind your social media audiences periodically to find your podcast in the Apple Podcasts app and subscribe to it.

15. Keyword-optimize each individual episode. Each episode you release will likely deviate in some small way from your main keyword targets, so spend some time optimizing each episode for search. For example, since What’s Good Games is a video game podcast, their episode topics will cover different news and different games. While the general topic of the show is “video games,” one episode might be particularly relevant to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, while the next might be focused on Horizon: Zero Dawn. Be sure to optimize the titles, keywords, and descriptions of each episode for their topics of relevance so they can be found easier by potential listeners.

16. Create robust, keyword-rich show notes for each episode. Your show notes are the description, keywords, timestamps, and other metadata that will be included with every episode you publish. Take the time to create compelling, interesting notes that compel people to go ahead and start listening. Nothing is quite as much of a turnoff as boring show notes.

17. Use eye-catching logo/background art. Most podcast listings display a piece of background art associated with the show; typically a brand logo. You can use this opportunity to catch prospective new listeners’ attentions; create a piece of art that falls in line with your brand, and preferably one with a single, dominating color, with elements that don’t make it appear too crowded. Often, this art will be viewed on a mobile device (two-thirds of podcasts are listened to on a phone or tablet), so ensure that the text is large and easily readable on a small screen. Use your image or icon stand out from the other podcasts in the list.

18. Ask for shares and recommendations early on. The fastest way to grow is for the word to spread through other people. You can make this happen faster by deliberately asking for shares and recommendations early on; you can do this on air or off air, depending on your preferences.

19. Create social accounts for your hosts and your podcast brand. After naming your podcast, you probably thought to claim the social profiles for it on mainstream platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Make sure to fully flesh out your profile on each of those platforms. Then, claim profiles for each of your hosts (if they haven’t already been claimed); to make your podcast successful, you’ll want the power of personal branding to amplify your messages.

20. Have your hosts promote the podcast on their personal and business social media accounts. Your hosts are going to become the face of the brand, so they need to be active on social media, interacting and engaging with users, and promoting the podcast.

21. Build your social media following. If a tree falls in a Facebook page and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Aggressively build your social media likes and followers using interest-based targeting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and wherever else is relevant for your podcast. For help, see 101 Ways to Get More Social Media Followers.

22. Syndicate your podcasts on social media. Whenever you release a new episode of your podcast, announce it and syndicate it across your social media channels—both on your main brand’s social channels and on the personal accounts of your podcast’s hosts. If you’re publishing weekly, consider also scheduling follow-up announcements a day or two after it’s released.

23. Tweet a SoundCloud link for every new episode. People can play SoundCloud audio right from their Twitter stream, so go ahead and push your SoundCloud link on Twitter. Be sure to schedule follow-up tweets at later days and times, too, since Twitter is a fast-moving platform where tweets quickly get pushed down by other, newer tweets.

24. List your podcast in content discovery apps. Next, list yourself in content discovery apps, such as Stitcher, which connects listeners to thousands of different radio shows and services, and blog readers like Feedly.

25. Add your podcast link to your email signature. How many emails do you send every day? Think of how many new people could learn about your podcast if you took the simple step of adding a blurb and a link to it in your email signature.

26. Get theme music. You don’t need to hire an especially accomplished composer; even a string of a few notes can serve as your introduction music. Some podcasts even rely on a basic sound effect. The key here is to cue the listener that your podcast is about to begin, and differentiate it from competitors. If it’s catchy, all the better. Theme music becomes associated with positive emotions if your users hear it every time they start a new episode (assuming they enjoy your podcast). Those positive emotions translate to longer listening times, a more engaged audience, more word-of-mouth referrals, and higher conversion rates when it comes to monetization.

27. Score your episodes. In the same way, you should consider musically scoring your episodes. Narrative formats, which tell dramatic stories, need scoring more than discussion panels, but a bit of background noise and music reflective of the mood can take any podcast to the next level.

28. Choose a strategic time to publish your podcasts. Look at some of the podcasts syndicated by your competing brands. When do they roll out new episodes? If you want to avoid getting lost in the clutter, choose a publication day that’s offset from those competing times. Or, if you choose to release your episode at the same time as your competitors, make sure do one or more of the following: 1) have a better show; 2) promote it better.

29. Be consistent. Whatever you do, do it consistently. Consistency is the best way to make sure your current listeners keep coming back for more. If you run half an hour, keep your podcasts at half an hour. If you post every Friday, keep posting every Friday, and never miss an episode. Listeners will make your show a part of their routine, and missing even one episode could break those habits and cause you to lose listeners, or have them doubt your consistency.

30. Promote specific episodes using Facebook ads. Whenever you publish a new episode, use Facebook ads to promote the Apple Podcasts App link to that episode (targeting iOS users on Facebook) or the Stitcher URL (for mobile users not using an iOS device). Here’s a fantastic step-by-step walkthrough on how to do it.

31. Promote your main podcast page (in the Apple Podcasts app) using Facebook ads. As we learned earlier, 82% of mobile podcast listening happens on iPhones, so target your audience where and when they’re most likely to take action: when they’re on their iPhone. You can set up an ad that targets only users who are accessing Facebook using an iOS device, and which opens the Podcasts app and takes the user right to your main podcast page within the app. Here, they can view your latest episodes and subscribe. Compare running these ads targeted to people who like your page as well as people who don’t, and see what gives you a better ROI.

32. Hold contests to get more ratings and reviews. Try holding contests where your listeners can win prizes in exchange for leaving a review of your podcast in iTunes. The condition of entry would be that they leave a review and then email it to you in exchange for a chance to win the prize.

33. Experiment with multiple formats. There are multiple ways to pull audio for your podcast, so to keep things interesting, experiment with a variety of formats. Talking into a mic, playing old recordings, and making phone calls are just three examples here.

34. Cater to emotions. The best way to capture attention from prospective new listeners is to provoke strong emotions with your episode topics and titles, such as fear (as in: “does sitting increase your risk of death?”) or nostalgia (as in: “why 90s cartoons still haven’t been topped”). The more invested your audience is, the more likely they’ll be to share your material, as well.

Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber released video evidence from the escape of Wesley Correa-Carmenaty and shooting death of Deputy Mark Burbridge.

View discretion is advised.

Photo courtesy of Glassell House

Glassell House Founder and CEO Xavier Savant

Generating over $23 million domestically, grossing more than $11.7 million in its first week, Kevin Hart’s record-breaking concert film “What Now” stood as one of the most celebrated box office releases of 2016.

In addition to hitting theaters, Hart also traveled to 45 cities across the U.S. and Canada for his “What Now” tour, selling out arenas and football stadiums in comedic rockstar fashion. With the average seat selling for $200, Hart’s historic event accounted for a substantial portion of his $87.5 million payday earned last year. Presenting a unique hybrid of cinematic storytelling and live stand up, the immersive entertainment experience set a new precedent for how major motion pictures are developed and marketed to the masses.  

Another highly anticipated film that hit theaters in 2017 was the L.T. Hutton produced Tupac Shakur biopic “All Eyes One Me”. Telling the story behind one of rap’s most beloved superstars and cultural leaders, the film generated $27 million in its first week, totaling just under $45 million in sales to date. Tapping into the spirit of nostalgia surrounding Shakur’s life and legacy, recreating a series of iconic images, magazine covers and storied moments made the movie’s marketing initiatives both memorable and effective in driving ticket sales. 

The agency behind both films was Glassell House, a Los Angeles based full-service marketing company and design studio, specializing in developing innovative campaigns and creative for major motion pictures, television shows and other entertainment franchises. 

Founded by industry veteran Xavier Savant, Glassell House served as the lead creative agency for Kevin Hart’s concert film tour, spearheading the ideation and development of promotional materials across traditional and digital platforms. In addition to driving the film’s lead up, Savant’s team also created the title sequence, movie posters, billboards and large in-stadium motion graphics that appeared behind Hart during each of his sold-out appearances. 

Following the company’s success with “What Now”, Lionsgate and Codeblack partnered with Glassell House to lead the marketing efforts for the Tupac Shakur biopic, providing creative direction and producing of the primary photo shoots for the film’s global marketing efforts. Additionally, the collective designed the three collectible movie posters that were distributed to every major domestic market in support of the film’s outdoor campaign.

With proven experience, an expanding team and growing portfolio of clients, Glassell House has become a sought-after creative agency tapped by major studios and independent production companies looking to market high-profile cultural films. 

I spoke with Glassell House founder and CEO Xavier about the vision behind his company, shifting from traditional to digital marketing, and his approach to crafting the marketing campaigns for many of today’s top cultural films. 

You began your career in print before building your business in the internet era — What were your keys to successfully making the transition from traditional advertising to digital marketing? 

Xavier Savant: I spent a lot of time working in print. The talk about ‘print is dead’ started happening fairly recently. The shift really happened within the last 10 years, when companies started generating revenue online, which led to big investments in digital. How creative is delivered may continue changing, but there will always be a need and respect for quality creative. The fundamentals of design and communication art haven’t changed, only the delivery of it. Now, it’s delivered on your mobile device, computer or television — It’s no longer in magazines, or on billboards. Even billboards are going digital now. You have to keep up with the software, and always have a hunger to learn. Once you stop learning in this field, you’ve lost. The key is never letting the technology get in the way of the creative. I worked in video games for several years, developing campaigns and art work. There would be a print team or key art team that would come up with the visual language of the game. Then, you would have the digital team, which was usually separate, create assets. This was the team making ads, mocking up websites, designing takeovers, and developing animated ads. When the companies were looking to pitch, they were always waiting on us, needing assets and art work. So, they would go back to the ‘print’ guys, but we weren’t printing anything. We were just doing the heavy lifting. We were building the core creative elements that everything was created from. The process of needing core creative to create content and build platforms still exists. That’s when I made the transition to become the guy that makes the cool content. They way I made the shift was getting studios to see me and my team as the idea guys, not the packaging guys. We come up with the concepts and create the content that makes the campaigns sing. 

Describe your approach to communication design and the role it plays in building impactful brands and experiences? 

Xavier Savant: When you look at art as a tool, you start to understand the relationship other people have with art.  You have people that are surrounded by or experiencing design everyday that never see it as art. When you go into a grocery store and look to buy something, every product is packaged in art. It’s communication design. That’s often the primary piece that drives you to make a purchase. There was most likely a designer sitting in front of a computer crafting that image that grabbed your attention. It’s exactly like language and other forms of communication, just in visual form. Being able to have something you can make creatively that has a practical use is what drives this business. It’s literally bringing visions to life, being able to show people intangible ideas in a tangible way. 

How did your relationship with Kevin Hart originate and what was the process developing the creative for ‘What Now’?

Xavier Savant: It was timing, opportunity and preparation coming together. I was working at Trailer Park, a major advertising agency in Hollywood. They acquired a company I worked for, and I became the head of their video game group. The company shifted and decided they weren’t going to focus on video game clients anymore. My team kept getting smaller, until it was just myself, an Account Executive and one 3D artist. That was a sign that even with all of the great work we had done in the time period, it was time to move on. I started thinking about what was going to challenge me next. I freelanced for a few companies independently, and kept my own list of clients. Then, one day, the phone rang. It was Harbeat, Kevin Hart’s company. They explained that Kevin was looking to go on tour soon, and asked if I was interested in creating some announcement art work for it. They already had key art and some of the other important elements, so they just needed something he could post on Instagram to let his fans know it was coming. So, I told them let’s get some photography done and I’ll put something together. We went and did the shoot with Kevin, which took just over 30 minutes to finish before he had to leave. We made a short presentation with art, a logo, and gave direction that felt like an action movie. It was a very unconventional concept for promoting comedy. We wanted to make him look like an action hero. We sent the ideas over, he posted a couple, and got a great response internally and online. After that, he said he wanted to scrap all of the previous design work and go with what we presented. That’s where it all started. They came back and asked what else I could do. They needed art work for the stage, and wanted to make a motion poster. We started doing animation for the stage graphics, which led to doing the outdoor art work to promote the film and tour. I started the company from that project, and the rest was history.

What was your mentality stepping into ‘All Eyez On Me’ knowing the magnitude, hype and conversation surrounding the film? 

Xavier Savant: Like a lot of people, I came up in that era and was a huge Tupac fan. Also, being from Los Angeles, ‘California Love’ was the West Coast anthem. Prior to the project, I’d seen different films and documentaries about his life and influence. When this opportunity came back around, I had met L.T. Hutton at a screening and listened to him and others share stories about Pac. I could see how passionate they were and how much they cared about him. They wanted to make sure the project captured the essence of him as a man, and the kind of person he was — not just an artist. Tupac had many different faces — he was a poet, a rapper, an actor and a rebel. The challenge became deciding which direction we wanted to go, and what sides we wanted to show at this stage. The film was intended to be somewhat of an untold story about his life, and give people a new perspective. Everybody knows the loud and outspoken Tupac they would see in the press, but I really wanted to capture the deep, reflective side of him. I watched hours of his interviews, hearing him talk about politics, the struggle, the youth, and the music. I didn’t want it to be overdone, just the reflective side of Tupac. We created several posters, and each one resonated differently with people. We didn’t want people to feel like they were seeing someone playing Tupac, but feel like they were actually seeing Tupac at first glance. During the whole process, you could feel his presence in the room and on the set, which I think you could sense in all of the work. 

What were some of the notable challenges you faced while building your business? 

Xavier Savant: The first challenge was defining what we were as a company — are we a print company, a digital company, or a design studio? We had to define what we were doing, because we were doing everything. After doing the work for Kevin, people were calling the studio asking who were the guys doing the art work. I kind of had a name for myself in print, but not in animation or doing motion graphics. As a company, we simply built a reputation for delivering whatever our clients requested. So, it was important to develop a clear vision and plan for the type of work we specialized in. Our business plan morphed into a reflection of what our clients needed from us. Then, the next challenge was growth — I knew we had to expand. We needed a dedicated business manager, an account, space for the team to work, and so forth. Having no prior experiencing launching a business or scaling a company, there was a major learning curve I had to catch up to.

How have you managed to standout as a company amidst so much competition within a rapidly changing industry?

Xavier Savant: One tough challenge in this industry is managing perception. Typically, what would happen is that a movie producer will have a project, and get that project distributed by a major studio. That studio has a marketing department, Director of Creative Services, and so forth. Those people have longstanding relationships with different agencies. For example, they have a best friend who works at a major creative agency, and they go directly to those agencies and partner on the work. At the end of the day, the studios give the project to people they trust, and they know will make them look good. During the day, they have jobs that they want to keep, so they rarely take risks on a startup or unknown company. That was a big challenge initially, just getting in the room with these guys and making them feel comfortable enough to work with us as an emerging agency. Of course, it goes a long way when your first client is Kevin Hart, and he has tremendous momentum and influence in Hollywood. That gave us some leverage in meetings, and having them support us helped open some doors. But, it continues to be a challenge. Executing on existing opportunities, finding new opportunities, and continuing to take the business to the next level. 

What are some of the lessons you have learned throughout this process that have helped get to where you are today? 

Xavier Savant: One of the simple, yet most important things I’ve learned throughout this process is how to actually run a business. They never teach you how to be an entrepreneur in school. School teaches you how to be an employee and keep your job all day, but they never teach you how to be a boss. In some ways, it seems like that is left out of curriculums on purpose. So, in my experience building this company, I realized how little I actually knew about running a business. While I knew how to get the work done, I had to reach out for help from people who have built similar businesses to offer advice and insight. We’re not really making art for arts sake. At the end of the day, we’re trying to not only do what our clients want, but deliver what they don’t even know they want yet. We also want to make sure we’re going back, exploring our approach to the work, and providing fresh, out-of-the-box thinking to every project. 

VideoInk: What are you doing at your company, if anything, to prepare for the merging of traditional and digital means of advertising?

Tony Chen: As budgets continues to merge and consolidate under the ‘video’ umbrella, agency media buyers are increasingly adopting hybrid roles buying between traditional and digital. At Channel Factory, we built an intuitive experience with our data and ad-tech software, IQ, similar to the way TV advertisers are accustomed to purchasing media in a streamlined solution to research, plan, buy, optimize and analyze campaigns.

For instance, a core focus of our platform is providing solutions for purchasing and measuring YouTube. We provide media buyers with comprehensive analytic profiles for each YouTube creator channel similar to what a cable or TV network provides for media planning. This allows for informed video campaign planning, using whitelist targeting on a channel to video level, and execution ease within one platform. Additionally, IQ’s sophisticated machine learning is an added benefit, strategically mapped towards optimizing against campaign performance KPIs. This means our reporting tracks and analyzes performance on a video and channel level to provide actionable data. Buyers accessing this reporting intel can then strategically implement a deeper and meaningful brand integration with the YouTube channel.

Video marketing strategies are constantly changing. What are three things every video marketing strategy should include?

The following are three strategies we believe are staples that should be present for all video marketing strategies:

1. Message relevancy and frequency: having your video creative in front of the right audience is just as important as making sure to remind the individual who just saw your commercial during prime-time programming. Through re-targeting you further drive consumer intent and future consideration.
2. Audience targeting makes up only a fraction of the strategy in a successful campaign. The content/context in which you appear against must be relevant to your audience or creative messaging to make for optimal performance.
3. Testing creative receptiveness is best through leveraging digital video. The viral nature of digital media provides real-time feedback and invaluable performance insights and complements measurable awareness lift to your traditional buys.

In what ways do you think AI integrations will impact digital marketing performance?

AI integrations will be an important factor for agencies and clients to help eliminate ad waste by optimizing against ROI. For example, Channel Factory is in the process of integrating 3rd party tracking with ROI measurement systems to identify which channels and videos perform best for our respective campaigns, maximizing efficiency and performance. The days of low cost per view media hype will be transformed by AI toward informed performance based targeting.

What are two trends you’re seeing emerge among the advertising industry?

Previously advertisers only focused on contextual targeting or audience targeting. Rarely were they dual considerations in any one campaign. Advertisers are beginning to combine these two tactics while still needing to account for cost efficiency. Through big data and platform AI, Channel Factory is solving this conundrum.

Additionally, advertisers are no longer focused solely on price; brand safety and content quality have also become important campaign priorities. This is to ensure their ads run against the right audience, within the right context, at the right time.

How have advertisers changed their online strategy after YouTube’s Adpocalypse?

We have seen a paradigm shift in advertiser thinking, with regards to the following three areas:

1. Advertisers are adamant on implementing channel whitelists that allows them to vet with precision and control where their ads will run.
2. Advertisers are strategically utilizing their influencer integrations synergy with ad buys to achieve greater performance and reach.
3. Advertisers are no longer just thinking about cost efficiency but about content alignment and really focusing on where about where their ads are being placed.

Wideglide Entertainment is filling up the lineup for the Legends Valley Music Festival, happening on Aug. 23-27.

Fans are excited to see who’s coming to Laketown Ranch in Lake Cowichan.

According to the group’s marketing and PR manager Erin Richards, “The diverse lineup includes Body Count, with legendary rapper and actor Ice-T; House of Pain, the popular hip hop group best known for their hit ‘Jump Around’; Magic!, the Canadian reggae fusion band that made waves with their hit single ‘Rude’; and the Canadian classic rock band, Sloan, whose many hits like ‘Money City Maniacs’, ‘Everything You’ve Done Wrong’ and ‘If It Feels Good Do It’ topped the charts again and again throughout the ’90s and early 2000s.

“This will be the first time Body Count, House of Pain and Magic! are playing the Island, and the 25th anniversary tour of House of Pain, which will include original members Everlast and DJ Lethal,” she said.

The list now includes Daniel Wesley, Five Alarm Funk, Delinquent Habits, The Harpoonist The Axe Murderer, Forgotten Rebels, Funkdoobiest, Mat the Alien, The Gaff, Kytami, Bend Sinister, Dayglo Abortions, Illvis Freshly, Caleb Hear the Royal Youths, Power Clown, Antipolitic, Cocaine Moustache, Getaway Sticks, and Ganjo Bassman.

Tickets are on sale now and start at $179 for the whole four-day event.

Just added to the lineup are Daniel Wesley and Dehli 2 Dublin: two more great reasons to take in the event.

Legends Valley is not just a music festival, but also the home base of Bio Cup Canada, a celebration of cannabis culture, including an international growers’ competition, exhibitors, educational seminars and more.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.legendsvalleymusicfestival.com.

lexi.bainas@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

The internet has given birth to a plethora of online sensations — from the Turkish chef who became a sensation as ‘Salt Bae’ just by seasoning meat — to Jeremy Meeks, the felon whose viral mugshot catapulted him into a modeling career.

For many, social media can be a cruel and harsh place. Yet others, like noncelebrity « influencers » able to ride the wave of viral content to high follower counts and visibility, can easily make big money creating their own brand and promoting others.

According to Influencer marketing agency Mediakix, Instagram’s influencer market is worth $1 billion, and shows no signs of slowing down. The firm predicted recently that by 2019, that figure would double.

« The fastest growing influencer marketing platforms are Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook, and YouTube, » Jeremy Shih, head of marketing at Mediakix, told CNBC recently. « For now, there’s no comparable market for Twitter and the live video application Periscope. »

Yet Periscope was a saving grace for Amanda Oleander, an artist based in California. In 2015, Oleander shot to fame on the platform by live streaming herself — eventually parlaying that into a six-figure income.

« At age 25, I [wanted] to be my own boss, » Oleander told CNBC in a recent interview. When she first signed up for Periscope, she had recently been laid off and never considered being an internet entrepreneur.

After one week of being on Periscope, she became the most followed woman on the entire app.
« It kind of happened overnight, » she said.

Live streaming herself painting exposed Oleander to a new class of clientele, with many viewers purchasing the illustrator’s work, which costs an average of $5,000. Some of her clients include T-Mobile CEO John Legere, who owns two of her paintings — both of which he bought while tuned into one of Oleander’s live painting sessions.

The artist told CNBC that her audience feels connected to the pieces she creates live, which encourages them to purchase the art. For example, Legere waited two years for Oleander to complete a $20,000 painting.

« I think people are attracted to that [rawness], » Oleander told CNBC. « A lot of the people who buy my pieces, they see the process, » she said.

How to elevate your influencer game

Anna Rosenblatt, vice president of cultural strategy at advertising agency sparks honey, recently told CNBC that to build a following, « live streaming works especially well for activities such as painting, gaming, and things people want to feel like they’re there with you. »

Otherwise, « Instagram is a top platform for micro-influencers, people who may not have millions of followers, but tens of thousands, » Rosenblatt said.

As a result, micro-influencers are flourishing as brands increasingly unplug from people with far larger social media followings.

In recent years, some influencers have been able to purchase followers, enhancing the appeal of accounts with smaller followings but more targeted (and real) audiences. Rosenblatt explained that not only do micro-influencers tend to have a greater engagement with their niche, but are a cheaper deal: On average, most charge less than $500 per post.

Still, experts said the most successful micro-influencers are those who specialize in a small niche — such as art — versus a larger market like fashion. To encourage engagement with her fans, Oleander has meetups, giveaways, creates affordable prints for her viewers and even has a curated « peri-fam birthdays » list on her website.

« If you are an individual and you want to get an influencer deal, you have to build an engaged and large following in a specific topic, » said Matt Britton, CEO of Crowdtap, a marketing tech platform that aligns influencers and brands.

Britton told CNBC that the key between being an influencer and actually profiting from the industry is signing on to an influencer network, since « brands are not going to work with individuals directly, » he said.

There’s a definite hierarchy, Britton explained, as large influencers — defined as accounts with more than 100,000 Instagram followers and/or at least 300,000 subscribers on YouTube — usually get explicit overtures from brands. « Influencer marketing companies and agencies, as well as networks, also work closely with brands to identify the right influencers for a given initiative/campaign, » he said.

Meanwhile, smaller fish in the social media pool can use marketing platforms, which allow influencers to apply for specific campaigns, to get their own deals.

More importantly, once influencers get a deal, according to Rosenblatt, it’s imperative that the brand deals align with their values, and that taste arbiters continue to stay true to themselves and exercise transparency. That way, the audience does not feel like the influencer sold out.

« Credibility is key, » Rosenblatt said. « We live in an era of trust over truth. »

THE WAY OF THE INFLUENCER

Hankering to become a social media « celebrity »?

All you need is some patience and the willingness to stump up several hundred dollars for it.

In a bid to expose the issues plaguing the « social media influencer » economy, marketing agency Mediakix created two fake Instagram profiles recently.

For the first account, the agency hired a local model and shot the entire channel’s content with costumes and props in a one-day photo shoot.

A fake profile of a fitness/lifestyle influencer – calibeachgirl310 – was then started to host the images.

Mediakix decided to take more risks with the second account – wanderingggirl – by using only freely available stock photos.

Some of the images used include iconic shots of Cinque Terre in Italy and the Eiffel Tower in France.

To lend credibility, the agency also inserted random images of the supposed travel and photography influencer, a blonde female teen whose face is never seen.

Mediakix then started buying « followers », paying up to US$8 (S$11) for every 1,000 followers.

• NOTABLE TRENDS

• NDP 2017: The live stream of this year’s parade in 360 was a hit among Singaporeans who did not manage to get any tickets. The three-hour video had more than 240,000 views.

  SINGAPORE AIRLINES: SIA’s new in-flight safety video is the top trending video on YouTube, according to search giant Google. The five-minute video shows an air stewardess giving safety instructions at various landmarks around Singapore.

  BRIGHTON BEACH CRITTERS: An Australian teen emerged from a night-time dip with blood streaming from his feet and ankles. His father captured hundreds of « sea lice » he said were responsible for the injuries.

There were cheaper options but those services tend to take a while before delivering on the fans.

« We were concerned that purchasing too many followers at the onset would result in Instagram flagging the account, » the agency said. « However, we quickly found that we were able to buy up to 15,000 followers at a time without encountering any issues. »

Within weeks, calibeachgirl310 had 50,000 followers while wanderingggirl had 31,000.

But to draw sponsorships and deals, the accounts also had to be active in engaging fans.

Mediakix set out to buy likes and comments, paying about 12 US cents per comment and up to US$9 per 1,000 likes. For each photo, the agency purchased up to 2,500 likes and between 10 and 50 comments.

Once the accounts were sufficiently padded up, their profiles were signed up to various influencer marketing platforms which typically require influencers to have at least 10,000 followers.

Mediakix applied for new campaigns daily, writing a short message to the brand or simply clicking a button to submit the profile for consideration. Within days, it hit pay dirt, securing two sponsorship deals for each account.

Calibeachgirl310 had a deal with a swimsuit company while wanderingggirl scored with an alcohol distributor.

They both also had deals with a food and beverage chain. Each campaign offered free products and monetary compensation.

Mediakix sounded a warning to brands against falling for this unique form of ad fraud.

Influencer marketing – a growing industry that is projected to reach US$5 billion by next year – is attracting unethical influencers who inflate their follower numbers and engagement rates artificially to compete and secure bigger, better sponsorships.

The best safeguard against this is to do proper research and due diligence to ensure the accounts are legitimate.

SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH SHOWING NO SIGNS OF STOPPING

The number of social media users has crossed the three-billion mark, with the bulk of them accessing sites through their mobile phones.

A report, released by media company We Are Social and social management firm Hootsuite, says 40 per cent of the world’s population is on social media.

Facebook is the platform with the most monthly active users (2.047 billion), followed by YouTube.

Closed social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are tied at third spot.

Instagram comes in at sixth place, after Chinese services WeChat and QQ.

Mobile adoption continues at a rapid pace, the report says, growing by 650,000 new users each day.

The average smartphone user now consumes more than 2.3GB of mobile data every month, most of which is used for video streaming.