The evidence

Attention is rented. Trust compounds.

Ads buy impressions that evaporate. A podcast guest spot earns something better - an hour of attention, a host's trust, and the influence that follows a buyer all the way to the decision. The research traces every step.

01 - Attention

Nowhere else do people lean in for a full hour.

Podcasts earn a kind of attention scrolling never will - headphones on, undistracted, one voice at a time. That is the raw material trust is made of.

0%
Have pressed play

Nearly three in four Americans aged 12+ have listened to a podcast.

Edison Research · The Infinite Dial 2025
0%
Listen monthly

More than double the monthly audience of 2017 - the medium is mainstream.

Edison Research · The Infinite Dial 2025
0%
Tune in weekly

Around 115 million Americans now listen every single week.

Edison Research · The Infinite Dial 2025
02 - Trust

The most trusted voice in media is a podcast host.

Buyers decide who to trust long before they decide what to buy, and they hand that trust to hosts and genuine expertise, not ads.

Who listeners call most influential
Podcast hosts0%
Social-media influencers0%

An hour in someone's ears builds what a feed post never can.

Cumulus Media / Signal Hill · Podcast Download 2025
“Decision-makers trust thought leadership over marketing material - 73% say it's the better test of what a firm can actually do.”
03 - Influence

Trust converts. Quietly, then all at once.

When expertise is heard, buyers act - they research you, take your calls, and leave rivals to do it. The bar for quality is low; the reward for clearing it isn't.

0/10
Take the call

Are more receptive to sales outreach from firms with consistent, high-quality thought leadership.

Edelman & LinkedIn, 2024
0%
Switch suppliers

Ended or reduced a relationship because a rival's thought leadership was better.

Edelman & LinkedIn, 2024
0%
The open lane

Only 15% of what buyers read rates as very good. The gap is your opening.

Edelman & LinkedIn, 2024

Sources

  1. Edison Research - The Infinite Dial 2025 - U.S. podcast reach: ever / monthly / weekly listening.
  2. Cumulus Media & Signal Hill Insights - Podcast Download, 2025 - Host influence vs social-media influencers.
  3. Edelman & LinkedIn - 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report - Trust, outreach receptivity, supplier switching, quality gap.
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