Why Podcasts Are Still One of Marketing’s Smartest Plays

People love podcasts. These online audio programs can be downloaded and listened to on your computer and mobile, making them a popular way to learn new things, hear different perspectives, and build a connection with your favourite creators. Learn more about this thriving form of entertainment and the seven different types.

More than 584.1 million people across the globe listened to podcasts last year. That’s an ocean of opportunity, and many businesses are now casting out the net.

Podcasts give brands a way to build trust, deepen customer relationships, and encourage the open dialogue that static campaigns struggle to provide. These opportunities matter in 2026. Eighty-three per cent of marketers say customers increasingly want two-way conversations, but 69% struggle to keep up with inquiries.

Podcasts can provide a more intimate starting point for those back-and-forth conversations, helping brands build the kind of relationships that keep customers coming back.

Add in that podcast clips are also popular on social media and video platforms, and businesses are starting to dream up a very valid idea:

“Could podcasting be our new North Star for more human, connected marketing?”

In this guide, we’ll explain how podcasts work, explore ways to get started, and reveal how businesses can connect podcasting with their marketing and AI goals to build customer experiences that feel more personal and responsive.

• Podcasting works well for brands because it feels like a human conversation. In a world of generic campaigns (and customers wanting personalised engagement), that’s a big plus.
• One podcast episode can now travel well beyond a listening app. Think transcripts, blog recaps, email summaries, and short-form social media clips.
• The best podcasts don’t stop at awareness. They create trust and give customers a reason to learn more through your other owned channels.
• Audio is great for convenience, but video helps customers put a face to the name. The smartest strategy is to use both for maximum reach.
• AI agents are making podcasts easier to plan, produce, and connect to the wider customer journey. This is the key to turning listeners into lead generation.

• Why do people enjoy listening to podcasts?
• Why podcasts could be your next competitive edge
• How to make a podcast people actually want to follow
• Different types of podcasts (with examples)
• Where people discover podcasts in 2026
• Audio vs. video: which is best in 2026?
• How podcasts fit into your broader content strategy
• AI agents connect the journey from podcast to purchase
• Turn listeners into lasting relationships
• FAQs

Podcasts have been around since 2004, and they didn’t become popular by accident. They’re easy to listen to on the go, suitable for everything from education to entertainment, and flexible enough to slot into our everyday activities without needing our full attention.

Let’s quickly run through some of the reasons podcasts are so popular in 2026.

Most podcasts come out as a series. This gives people episodic content to follow over time, such as an ongoing relationship between co-hosts, special guest appearances, or a story unfolding episode by episode.

These days, there is a podcast for basically everything. (If it doesn’t exist yet, it probably will soon.) Popular genres include news, comedy, true crime, celebrity interviews, niche hobbies, or personal stories. You’ll find that some episodes are tightly scripted, while others feel more like a conversation you’re listening in on.

Podcasts are simple to follow for free and are on major platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts . On those apps and more, new episodes automatically appear, and you can set up alerts to be notified. It’s this combination of free, high-quality content that is on the apps you already have that helps podcasts get in front of new listeners.

You can listen to podcasts anywhere, at any time. Podcasts fit easily into daily routines. People listen to them while cleaning, driving to work, exercising, cooking, or winding down for bed (rather like a reading book). The “hands-free, eyes-free” format is a significant part of their appeal.

Anyone can make a podcast and upload it. Episodes can be short or long, released daily or monthly, and take any format the creator chooses. There is also a low barrier to entry. Anyone with a modern phone or small microphone can record audio for a podcast.

Creating content that feels fresh isn’t easy these days. Eighty-five per cent of marketers say customer expectations are higher than ever, and 51% say their campaigns sometimes feel generic. Today, the goal isn’t just launching static campaigns. It’s building personalised customer journeys that are distinctive, memorable, and human.

Podcasts give businesses a more natural space to show their personality and build trust over time. Rather than squeezing every idea into a short ad or single campaign stage, you can explore topics properly and give customers something they’ll be interested in spending more time with.

The other big benefit is that podcasts are efficient. One episode can translate into a full audio release, a transcript, a blog recap, email content, and social media shorts (think TikTok, YouTube, Instagram). This kind of mileage can be a big deal when 78% of marketers need more personalised content than they’re able to produce.

All of this makes podcasts a powerful new direction for brands that want to create personal, human connections.

Compared to other media, podcasts are some of the easiest ways to get your voice out into the world. And now, with AI tools helping with everything from brainstorming to transcript summaries, it’s also easier to get started without a huge production team behind you.

The first step is to build a big idea. From there, follow these steps to get started.

Your first step is to record an episode. Most podcasters use simple setups: a mic, headphones and recording software (GarageBand, Audacity , etc.). Don’t feel discouraged if your first recording session feels a bit awkward. You’ll get more comfortable over time.

Before you hit record, you can use AI to help research topics, shape talking points, and test out rough episode structures. Basic AI tools can be handy for straightforward plans. For something more comprehensive, platforms like Agentforce Marketing can help you build out personalised content plans based on live customer data. It’ll also help you connect your podcast marketing to your wider customer journey, but we’ll touch more on that later.

After recording, you can clean up the audio in your software, removing background sounds and noise, cutting out mistakes or parts that weren’t as interesting, deleting gaps, and adding intro music, sponsor messages, or transition sounds. Once you’re finished with the editing process and have a finished audio file, you’re ready to move to the next step.

Next, take your raw audio file and upload it to a podcast hosting service (Spotify for Podcasters and Acast Open are both free to use).

You’ll need to add some details like the title and description. Keep in mind that when people search for a podcast, most apps pull up options based on words in your description, so it helps to have an understanding of search engine optimisation (SEO) at this stage. Strong titles, descriptions, and episode notes help platforms understand what your podcast is about.

Your podcasting platform will push the episode to your chosen podcast apps like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Overcast. At this point, you’re halfway there. The next step is using your marketing expertise to give your podcast room to scale.

A single podcast episode can become video clips on YouTube Shorts, social posts on Instagram, email content for loyal customers and potential leads, and blog recaps for your site. The more ways you give people to discover your content, the better your chances at building a following that translates into customer engagement, leads, and sales.

Podcasts don’t usually take off after one episode. The key is consistency. Keep showing up, pay attention to the episodes that get the most attention, learn what your audience enjoys, and refine the format.

This is how you turn a podcast from a one-off test run to a project that customers will actively follow and engage with.

Podcasts can cover almost any topic. The sky is the limit, and that’s an exciting prospect for businesses looking to make their mark with something unique.

That said, most types of content for podcasts fall into one of seven categories. It can be helpful to start here to begin building inspiration for your own ideas.

When most people think of a podcast, interviews are one of the first things that spring to mind. These podcasts often feature a consistent host who interviews or chats with a new guest each episode.

For example, Salesforce’s Executive Conversations podcast features interviews with leading CEOs and thought leaders. Each podcast centres on a critical business topic, including real-world examples, unique perspectives, and future trends.

The result is bite-sized insights and lessons that everyone from seasoned business leaders to budding entrepreneurs can use to grow and thrive in their industry.

Conversational podcasts are usually co-hosted. This podcast format is closer to what you’d expect from a radio show, featuring two or more podcast hosts who commentate on recent events or hold entertaining conversations.

The Hamish & Andy Podcast is one of the most famous examples in Australia that follows this style.

What started as two mates who enjoyed each other's company has quickly turned into Australia’s best-loved comedy double act. The pair talks about random topics and recent events with a touch of absurdist humour. Listening to the podcast feels like being in on an inside joke.

Also known as monologue podcasts, this category features a single host who speaks for the entire episode. This style is particularly suited to educational and narrative podcasts, where the podcaster is an expert in their field who can talk in-depth about a specific topic.

For example, embodiment coach and mentor Beatrice Kamau hosts Clearer, Not Louder (formerly the Self Love Fix), a weekly podcast series helping women of colour achieve self-confidence, happiness, and wellbeing.

Beatrice chooses a podcast topic each week, from addressing hopelessness in dating to finding your purpose.

As an expert in her niche, Beatrice has amassed a global following throughout Australia, Malaysia, the US, and the UK.

Educational podcasts focus on teaching a specific topic, like history, geography, or entrepreneurship. These podcasts can be either solo, conversational, or interviews. The podcaster will often include show notes to help consolidate the lesson.

Science Vs is an educational podcast that battles against myths and misconceptions with evidence-backed science. Each episode tackles a unique and varied topic, from fibre and the climate crisis to microplastics and menopause.

Thanks to its no-nonsense style and easy-to-understand content, Science Vs has risen to the top charts in multiple countries.

Narrative (often scripted) podcasts are all about telling stories, either in one episode or an entire season. These stories can be non-fiction, as is familiar with true crime and documentary podcasts, or fiction podcasts, such as creating fantasy stories with voice actors.

For instance, The Stories of Mahabharata by Sudipta Bhawmik is a serialised retelling of The Mahabharata, an epic from ancient India.

Bhawmik posts new episodes, and subscribers can tune in to hear the next part of one of India’s greatest tales. This is an excellent example of how a podcast can be both entertaining and educational.

Roundtable podcasts bring a panel of people together to discuss a topic from multiple angles. Instead of a single host leading the conversation, you get a mix of perspectives and insights from different people.

This format works particularly well for business, leadership and industry analysis, where a variety of voices can add depth that a solo show can’t.

CEO Roundtable by SBJ Podcasts is a good example of this format. Each month, business leaders sit down to discuss the trends shaping their industries and the challenges leaders are navigating right now.

The format feels collaborative and gives listeners a mix of perspectives they can use in their own work. It’s the kind of podcast people often play in the background while they’re working, because the insights are easy to absorb and directly relevant to day-to-day decision making.

Hybrid podcasts mix two or more formats, often blending interviews, group discussions and solo monologues into one cohesive show. Not sticking to one ‘type’ of podcast gives creators more freedom to explore complex ideas and bring in extra voices.

The Philosopher’s Zone is a strong example of this style. Each episode centres on a philosophical question, but the format is different depending on the topic.

Some episodes feature in-depth interviews with academics, while others weave narration with expert commentary or bring in multiple voices for a more conversational feel. The mix keeps the show engaging and allows listeners to approach big ideas from different angles.

There are dozens of different places to listen to podcasts, both on computer and mobile. Here are some of the most common podcast listening apps and platforms your audience might frequent:

• Spotify isn’t just for music. The platform also features thousands of varied podcasts popular with users. Just know your audience will need a premium subscription to listen without ads, so this is worth keeping in mind.
• Apple Podcasts is an easy way for iPhone users to listen to podcasts. It’s a built-in app that is free to use. As a plus, the app provides audiences with recommendations based on their listening habits.
• Amazon Music also offers a large variety of podcasts alongside its music streaming.
• YouTube is the easiest way to find popular video podcasts. These are accessible on any device, provided customers have an internet connection.
• Audible is ideal for narrative-style podcasts and documentaries. The platform also features some exclusives that are only available on the Audible platform.
• Podchaser offers the ultimate podcast directory, allowing audiences to find top-rated podcasts in every niche.
• Pocket Casts is a dedicated podcast app for both Android and iOS with an excellent user interface and search options.
• ABC Listen is a strong option for Australian users, offering a variety of local and international podcasts and radio.
• Social media sites like Instagram and TikTok also regularly feature podcast clips, helping audiences discover new shows faster without committing to full episodes.
• For self-promotion, there’s also Reddit’s r/podcasts , a community-driven subreddit featuring recommendations, reviews, and discussions.

This means there are now more ways than ever for prospects to stumble upon your show. It’s also why transcripts, episode titles, descriptions, and recap content matter more than they used to.

When people discover your show through search, clips, or AI recommendations, you need to give them enough context to work out whether your podcast is worth their time and a clear next step when they’re engaged.

Podcasts are known for being audio-exclusive, and many of them are. Nowadays, however, it’s also common for podcasts to include video clips (sometimes called Vodcasts). This could be footage of an interview taking place or graphics to support the host’s monologue.

Video is especially popular for interview and conversational podcasts, where audiences often want to see and experience the interactions between hosts and guests. For instance, Salesforce ANZ interviews are both digital audio and video, giving users more ways to enjoy. Take this discussion about the role of AI agents in marketing personalisation as an example:

The good news is that podcasters don’t have to pick one type of podcast to create. Video and audio streaming content can both be recorded simultaneously, allowing the podcast creator to edit the same raw material for different platforms.

Take Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO , for instance, which features a new guest each week to speak with the host about a niche topic. The podcast is available as audio on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as in video form on YouTube.

So, which is best? The real win is to do both at the same time.

Audio is easier to consume. Whether you’re working hard, hardly working, pumping up for a run, or winding down in the bath, it’s the kind of content that can slot into any moment.

On the flipside, video puts a face to every name, which can help businesses reach a wider target audience and create more opportunities for long-lasting customer relationships.

Combining each gives you the best of both worlds. A single recording becomes a full podcast episode for your listeners, a video upload for your viewers, and a bank of short clips to support discovery from the next batch of potential customers.

The popularity of podcasts is no secret. They’re an excellent way to build brand awareness and give your brand a more human voice. But there are still questions to answer:

How do your listeners move from “engaged follower” to a potential customer ready to make a purchase? And how can you connect that journey from one end to the other?

This is where it helps to take a step back and think bigger. A podcast works best when it’s treated as part of a larger marketing strategy. A strong episode can spark interest, but the real value is when you can convert that engagement into a lead and connect the journey so customers have a clear pathway to follow. Here’s an example of how this could look:

• A leader sees a short LinkedIn clip from your recent podcast about content marketing in the AI era.
• They click through to listen to the full episode, where the host explains how AI can support content planning and real-time personalisation.
• From the episode page, they view a short blog recap to engage with the topic in a different way.
• The host encourages listeners to sign up for the company newsletter for more insights and marketing tips at the end of the episode. The leader signs up.
• That sign-up triggers a follow-up email sequence with more relevant guides and a first look at your company’s AI CMS system.
• Marketers send out an invitation for a demo of the product after the leader shows positive engagement with the email nurturing sequence.
• Sales steps in at the right time to continue the conversation and guide the prospect towards a purchase.

Of course, the big challenge isn’t mapping the journey on paper. It’s having the time, consistency, and context to make it feel connected and personal at every touchpoint.

This is where an agentic marketing platform like Agentforce Marketing can help. By building a single real-time view of each customer across marketing, sales, service, and commerce, businesses can understand what each prospect has engaged with and personalise the next step in real time.

This unified context also creates a practical foundation for AI agents that can automate, plan, personalise, and engage across the entire customer journey.

AI agents can think intelligently, surface insights, recommend next steps, and take action based on customer signals. This makes them the ideal way to connect the customer journey and deliver personalised experiences at scale.

To show you what’s possible, here’s an example of how an agent within Agentforce Marketing could help move a prospect from podcast to purchase with less friction:

• When an engaged podcast listener lands on your website, an agent can engage the lead in two-way conversations, answer any questions, and give personalised recommendations based on what the prospect is looking for.
• Once that lead creates an account or signs up for a newsletter, your agentic marketing platform can use this data to build a unified customer profile, then activate that customer context in real time where your teams already work.
• Now that the prospect is known, the AI agent triggers a personalised follow-up email journey based on live signals, sends out tailored guides, and responds to customer emails in real time with personalised messages.
• As the prospect explores your business offerings, the AI agent keeps the journey connected across channels by remembering past conversations and customer context. This means interactions never start from square one.
• As the relationship deepens, the AI agent continually updates the unified customer profile and keeps marketing, sales, service, and commerce in the loop with live updates and next-step recommendations.
• When the prospect is ready, the AI agent summarises what the prospect engaged with, what topics interest them most, and any interactions they’ve already had. It then passes this context to a rep so they’re ready to make the next conversation count.

This is what turns a simple brand awareness play into the start of a connected customer experience that feels personalised across every channel.

And the big victory here is how much time it gives back to your teams. When agents take care of the prep work and warm-up tasks that take up hours of team time, marketing, sales, and service get to spend more time delivering the next-level experiences that turn listeners and viewers into loyal customers.