Why Women-Centered Podcasts Work
When podcasts first came onto the scene, the medium’s uses seemed endless. Even after almost 14 years since the first podcast, Forbes still claims podcasting has “limitless growth” potential due to the popularity and fanfare around flagship shows. While more men listen to podcasts currently, Female listenership is growing and the space is allowing women to have a dialogue around women’s issues without the challenges of other digital mediums.
No Need to Reply
Podcasts rid expectations for creators to respond to every platform review and comment.
“There’s no notification when a listener reviews a podcast, so there’s not a direct line between would-be harassers and the podcasters,”
notes Stephen Perlstein, the Director of the growing Studio71 podcast network.
“Further there’s no easy way or expectation to respond to those reviews, meaning that engaging or ignoring criticisms is a choice. Trolls can shout into the void and never be heard.”
Just a Voice
The audio format can give creators a sense of anonymity if they so wish. It enables women to build an audience without regularly showcasing their bodies in a way that could result in stalkers or comments about their image. Other social platforms have norms that there will be a constant stream of content from creators, even creating expectations that creators should be “open” with their audience about all aspects of life, whereas the normal podcast cadence is once weekly episodes and fans and advertisers reward that type of consistency. People listen because of the subject at hand, and this allows for different kinds of conversations to take place.
The Results
While the number of men listening to podcasts has stayed relatively stable, the amount of time that women listen to podcasts has increased sharply in recent years. Ad Age reported in 2018 that
“time spent with podcasts significantly grew among women, from 4.6 hours per week in 2017 to 5.5 hours per week… a 20 percent uptick year-over-year.”
Women listening to podcasts for longer periods of time has actually been one of the main driving forces for increased ad revenue on the medium.
Podcast producers have definitely taken notice. At Studio71, there has been a recent focus on female-driven podcasts including Kayln’s Coffee Talk, Between the Reps with Brooke Ence, and Something Scary, hosted by Sapphire Sandalo. At NewFronts this year, Studio71 announced OHoney, a new podcast created and hosted by best friends and veteran influencers Amanda Cerny and Sommer Ray. The show centers on the pair, along with an enviable list of confirmed guests, taking calls from lovesick listeners, and offering up their best advice for surviving millennial relationships.
Podcasts may finally be the medium made for women to have a diversity of content topics and conversations across mediums. While the rise in female listenership is being driven by shows hosted by women and men, it’s a great opportunity to cater further to these women with female hosted shows and women-focused conversations. It’s clear to see that there is a unique space for female-focused podcasts and that limitless growth everyone’s been talking about might just be female.
