Podcasts
Podcast Tracking
Background: Podcasts are notoriously difficult to track.
There are a variety of direct and indirect tracking mechanisms you can implement to help capture podcast exposure.
And via Rockerbox, you can associate podcast exposure back to a single user and include podcasts along with all other marketing touchpoints along the user’s path to conversion.
This will help ensure the impact of podcasts is understood and proper credit is given to podcasts as a true upper-to-mid funnel tactic.
At a high-level, Rockerbox supports the following ways to track Podcast attribution:
- Promo Codes
- Vanity URLs
- Post-Purchase Survey
- Links in Show Notes
- Paid Search Campaigns
- Integration with Podcast Attribution Partner
Solutions:
1- Promo Codes
- How to Track: Including show-specific or channel-generic promo codes within the audio ads
- Rockerbox Solution: Rockerbox captures promo code use in checkout, and by maintaining a mapping of all promo codes, then insert Podcasts as a touchpoint in the user’s path to conversion
- If doing show-specific buys (with show-specific promo codes), can have different touchpoints for each show
2- Vanity URLs
- How to Track: Including show-specific or channel-generic vanity URLs within the audio ads
- Rockerbox Solution: Rockerbox will map any inbound traffic to those vanity URLs back to Podcast channel and then insert Podcasts as a touchpoint in the user’s path to conversion
- If doing show-specific buys (with show-specific vanity URLs), can have different touchpoints for each show
3- Post-Purchase Survey (“How Did You Hear About Us” HDYHAU)
- How to Track: Implement an on-site survey after users complete an order asking how they heard about the brand, and include “Podcasts” as one of the response options
- This is also an effective tactic for capturing other offline marketing channels including OOH/DOOH, Linear TV, OTT/CTV, Pop-Ups, Sponsorships, Street Teams, Collaborations
- We strongly recommend setting the response order to randomly generate to remove any skewed results due to response selection.
- Rockerbox dynamically pulls in survey responses (on a user level) and for all users that select Podcast, inserts that as a touchpoint in users' path to conversion
4- Links in Show Notes
- How To Track: Negotiate links to be included in the show notes for all of the shows you directly sponsor/advertise on directly.
- Include either a show-specific vanity URL (or a URL with UTMs in the embedded hyperlink)
- While volume here will be small, it will enable you to capture the low hanging fruit / bottom funnel users who have high intent. (This will also help with overall SEO, as most Podcasts heavily optimize their show notes for SEO and discovery)
- Rockerbox Solution: Rockerbox will map any inbound traffic to those vanity URLs back to Podcast channel and then insert Podcasts as a touchpoint in the user’s path to conversion
5- Paid Search (Adwords) Campaign
- How to Track: Create adwords campaigns that mention the show name and/or host, and your category generic terms or any other phrases or adjectives used in the audio ads.
- Most podcasts users are more loyal to the show they listen to, and by extension will have higher recall against the show than a brand they’ve heard for the first time. By extension, when users do remember an ad they heard, they’re more likely to remember the show first, and search for the show and type of product mentioned, rather than the brand name of that product.
- While volume here will be small, it will enable you to capture the low hanging fruit / bottom funnel users who have high intent
- Rockerbox Solution: Rockerbox will associate clicks and conversions from those adwords campaigns back to Podcasts and the associated show, rather than Paid Search. (Rockerbox enables you to customize how you associate and represent marketing activity, making it easy to apply these types of rules.)
6- Integration with Podcast Attribution Partner
- How to Track: If you are already working with a podcast attribution platform such as Spotify Ad Analytics, then turn on their Integration
- This will set up the inbox, which will have additional delivery instructions for you to send to your Spotify Ad Analytics rep