Social Savvy: Discover the marketing opportunities of podcasting and online audio content – March 2026
By Irene Williams
In today’s multi-sensory, multi-touchpoint media environment, podcasts and online audio content are highly prevalent, giving the idea of “brand voice” greater meaning than ever before.
As a reader of this magazine, you are most likely aware of the FloorDaily.net interviews hosted by publisher Kemp Harr. He has been producing short interviews with industry leaders on a daily basis for the last 20 years. In 2006, when he started creating informative audio content for dealers and disseminating it through the website and emails, podcasting was in its infancy. Today, his audio interviews are a standard-bearer for the flooring industry, and podcasting is a thriving, multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
Approximately 158 million people in the U.S. listened to podcasts in the last month of 2025; that equates to around 55% of the population. Data shows that around 100 million of those folks listen to podcasts on a weekly basis, substantiating that people’s commitment to tune in is predictable and consistent, and is solidifying podcast media as a staple for large swath of Americans.
Beyond the pod, online audio through streaming stations (AM/FM radio and streaming-first portals) reaches 79% of Americans each month. Listeners of online audio and podcasts expectedly include commuters streaming through their smartphones or in-vehicle radios: people driving their own cars or taking public transportation. However, listenership also includes those who stream through stationary devices such as Alexa, Apple TV and Google Home in their houses, exercise facilities and workplaces. Suffice it to say, podcasts and online audio are mainstream, highly consumed and viable as ways to connect with communities of customers.
This all may sound good, but how can it support your brand’s business goals? There are myriad ways. From original podcast production to geo-targeted advertising, audio content is an alternative worth exploring as you vie for customers’ interest and attention in a bustling, fractured media landscape.
PODCAST PRODUCTION: CREATING YOUR OWN PLATFORM
Producing a custom podcast for your business can be an effective way to connect with customers. Even though the flooring industry is a visual one, audio will still be measurably beneficial for your business.
• Connect with customers wherever they are: Podcasts can be consumed on the go without viewing a screen, making messaging extremely flexible in the mobile-first marketplace.
• Offer customers unique perspectives: Podcasts lend themselves to unique and more in-depth messaging. While your typical social posts err on the side of brevity, a podcast offers more time to explore relevant topics. Consider discussing product education and industry trends, addressing commonly asked questions, or interviewing an array of relevant voices (sales team, existing customers, manufacturer reps, etc.).
• Amplify existing marketing messages: Podcast episodes are easily embedded into websites and are ripe for splicing and dicing into audio snippets to be used across all your social profiles. You can even distribute podcasts to your YouTube channel and blend it with your brand blog, repurposing content for greater reach and engagement.
Even if you aren’t ready to commit to a regularly produced podcast, you can incorporate singularly created audios into your messaging mix. Occasional audio offerings can be a good way to test the waters before committing to a regularly produced show for your business. These individually created audio files can be uploaded to free platforms such as SoundCloud, which offer web links to share on social media and embeddable players to add to your website.
How to deduce if you should produce
As you consider this as a way to support your business goals, assess if you answer in the affirmative to these questions.
• Do you and your team address commonly asked customer questions with answers that would benefit a broader audience?
• Do you and your team prioritize keeping up with trends and being educated about relevant issues and topics?
• Are you actively tracking how mobile-first your customers already are (engaging with social media, email and websites predominantly by phone)?
• Do you have an inventory of blogs, sales decks, email newsletters and the like that can serve as quality starter content for your custom audios?
If you answered yes to all or most of these questions, your business may be a strong candidate for podcasting.
I don’t have space in this article to fully explore the details of producing audio content for your business. However, I can attest that you shouldn’t write off the idea as too complicated or cumbersome. From the quality of audio recording capabilities of today’s smartphones to the simplicity and low-/no-cost of streaming platforms to distribute audio content, podcasting has a surprisingly minimal barrier to entry, especially in the context of potential ROI.
PODCAST ADVERTISING: REACHING AUDIENCES BY INTEREST & LOCATION
If you’re not ready to be the podcast creator, give podcast advertising a look. As mentioned previously, more than half the U.S. population listens to podcasts, and a high percentage of listeners stream their preferred podcasts every week. That means advertisers have the opportunity to reach consistent and devoted audiences.
There is a range of options for entering the podcast advertising arena.
• DIY, small budget: Self-service options such as SiriusXM’s AudioGO let you directly set up ads within your budget constraints and targeting preferences. You set parameters, and the services distribute your ads accordingly to reach relevant audiences. They also commonly offer AI ad production at relatively affordable rates. These DIY services are good for testing ads with minimal expense to determine what might work best for your business goals longer term.
• Mid-range campaigns: After self-serve solutions, you can graduate to options like Audiobook or Triton’s AdBuilder. These demand-side platforms (DSPs) offer programmatic campaign buying to reach audience targets across streaming, podcasts and digital radio. They’re more involved to work with but are good for scaling your campaigns to maximize ad dollar spend.
• Podcast network advertising: If you’re tuned in to specific podcasts/podcast genres your audiences listen to and have a more robust budget to reach them, solutions such as Spotify Ads and Acast are the way to go. These platforms distribute your ads based on location (city, ZIP, DMA), demographics, interests and genre to well-established podcasts with larger listenerships, often hosted by notable personalities. In-network podcasts can have tens of thousands, if not millions, of listeners, but only people within your defined parameters will hear your message. Additionally, these platforms offer deeper reporting to help you gauge effectiveness and ROI.
With the popularity of podcasts and online audio nationwide, they are an area of great opportunity for a business like yours. To date, the streaming world is not oversaturated with content specific to flooring, installation or material-focused design, either business-to-business or consumer-facing. Narrowing down further to your business details, particularly geographic parameters, it’s reasonable to presume you could be the first business in your category and region to stake a claim and make a mark in this realm.
If you’re intrigued and need more specifics to move forward, reach out to me with questions anytime. I’d love to hear from you!
THE AUTHOR
Irene Williams is a marketing consultant with 25+ years of experience in the flooring and building-products industry. She’s also a coach, speaker and author on personal and professional development and digital wellness. Learn more and get in touch at irenewilliams.biz.