Content is everywhere. Attention isn’t. For B2B marketers, audio content offers a golden opportunity to cut through the noise and connect with senior decision-makers in a format that’s convenient, credible, and deeply personal.
Some view podcasts the way they viewed websites back in the boom years – everyone scrambled to launch one, then forgot why they mattered. The shine wore off. But write them off now and you could be missing a real trick. We’ll unpack why they’re quietly becoming a power move in modern content strategy.
What exactly is a podcast (and what makes it so effective in B2B)?
In B2B, podcasts usually come in several flavours:
- Interview-based – where hosts chat with industry leaders, customers, or partners to get fresh perspectives
- Educational or how-to – helping your audience learn something new, fast
- Panel discussions – bringing in multiple voices to explore hot topics or trends
- Case study formats – showcasing real-world results and your brand’s thinking in action
They’re also incredibly flexible. You can run a short, self-contained series that tackles a single issue in depth. You can build an always-on show that grows a steady audience throughout the year. You can create campaign-based episodes to support launches, events, or thought leadership pushes. And you can make them work hard for sales enablement – giving your team smart, snackable content to open doors and keep conversations going.
Take, for example, a cybersecurity client who ran a nine-part series as part of a broader thought leadership and awareness push. Each episode tackled a key challenge faced by their target audience and was aligned to different stages of the buyer journey. The content didn’t stop at awareness either – the episodes were broken down into short, pain-point-focused clips that sales teams used in follow-ups and outreach. It gave them a fresh, relevant way to open conversations and stay visible, without relying on traditional sales collateral.
It’s this mix of form and function that makes podcasts such a valuable asset for modern B2B marketers.
What’s the difference between a podcast and a vodcast?
While a podcast is audio-only, a vodcast (short for video podcast) includes video footage – usually of the same conversation or content. Think of it as a visual version of your podcast. It’s what you’d typically see on YouTube, where audiences expect a more dynamic or face-to-face experience.
Here’s the good news: you don’t have to choose one over the other.
Recording a vodcast allows you to capture both video and audio in one go. That gives you options:
- Release the video version across platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and LinkedIn
- Strip the audio for Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast apps
- Repurpose clips for social media, blog embeds, and campaign content
This dual format means you widen your net. Your audience gets to choose how they engage with your content – whether they’re watching on a screen or listening on the move. It’s all about meeting people where they are and respecting how they want to consume content.
The stats: who’s listening, and how often?
Podcasting isn’t a niche anymore – it’s mainstream, and that includes business audiences.
Let’s look at some numbers:
- Over 584 million people globally now listen to podcasts – that’s up 6.8% from the year before (Backlinko, 2025)
- In B2B specifically, 53% of weekly podcast listeners are involved in purchasing decisions, meaning you’re talking directly to people with influence and budget (Lower Street)
- 23% of weekly listeners spend 10+ hours a week listening to podcasts (Edison Research)
- 74% say they listen to podcasts to learn new things – so they’re not just there to switch off, they’re there to tune in (Lower Street)
And it’s not just about volume – there’s quality too. Branded podcasts can increase brand awareness by 89%, boost brand favourability by 24%, and drive purchase intent up by 14% (Lower Street).
This data shows podcasts aren’t just engaging – they’re commercially effective. They help build brand credibility, nurture buyer confidence, and drive measurable impact across the funnel. For marketers under pressure to prove ROI, that’s not just a nice-to-have – it’s a powerful differentiator.
Thought leadership is on the rise-but podcasts live outside the box
B2B buyers, particularly senior decision-makers, are hungry for insight. That hasn’t changed – but how much time they’re willing to give it, has.
A few years ago, studies suggested C-suite executives were spending up to 6.5 hours a week engaging with thought leadership content. Today, that number has dropped significantly. Recent research from LinkedIn and Edelman shows that over half of C-suite leaders now spend just one hour or more per week on this kind of content.
That’s still meaningful – but it shows the pressure on time and attention is only increasing.
And that’s exactly where podcasts stand out.
Podcasts don’t compete for the same carved-out, desk-bound time as whitepapers, reports, or webinars. They slip into the gaps. They’re a companion during a commute, a lunchtime walk, or the gym session you’ve been promising yourself since Monday.
They don’t ask for more time in the day – they make better use of the time your audience already has. That’s what makes them such a powerful tool for reaching people in the so-called ‘dark funnel’ – those untrackable, off-platform moments when decision-makers are reflecting, researching, or simply decompressing. Podcasts allow you to be present in those spaces where traditional content can’t go.
The magic of audio: intimate, uninterrupted, and untethered
Think about it: when someone listens to your podcast, they’re often wearing headphones. They’re away from their inbox. They’re not scrolling, replying or writing a slide deck. It’s just them and you – one-on-one.
And they’re choosing to spend time with you. That’s a rare and powerful thing.
People listen to podcasts while:
- Driving or commuting
- Walking the dog
- Cooking or cleaning
- Exercising
- Even just relaxing away from screens
That means your brand gets a level of undivided attention that’s hard to achieve anywhere else. No tab switching. No distractions. Just focused listening, often for 20 minutes or more.
Can you name another medium that gives you that?
In a world where brands are finding it harder to stand out in increasingly crowded channels, this kind of time and focus is gold dust. It’s not just a nice moment of connection – it’s a strategic edge.
Do more with less: podcasting without the price tag or compromise
As marketers, we’re all being asked to do more with less. The smartest plays are the ones that are both flexible and scalable. And increasingly, teams are looking for formats that prove their value across more of the funnel, with fewer resources. You might be thinking: If podcasts are this good, they must cost a fortune. But here’s the thing – like most things in marketing, you can spend a lot if you want to… but you really don’t have to.
At the most basic level, all you need is a decent idea and Zoom. That’s it. The bar for entry is low – and that’s part of the beauty. You don’t need a studio, fancy equipment, or six editors. Just a clear message, a compelling host, and content your audience actually cares about.
That said, quality does matter. One of the biggest reasons listeners switch off is poor audio. If you’re going to spend budget anywhere, start with the basics – like a half-decent microphone. You can get one that does the job for less than the price of a team lunch.
From there, you can start to build. Platforms like Riverside offer a step up from standard video calls, letting you capture individual audio and video tracks for each speaker – which gives you more flexibility in post-production and a much more polished end product. The result? Higher quality content that’s more engaging for your audience, without breaking the bank.
In short: podcasts are a smart choice for teams embracing leaner, more strategic content operations. You don’t need to go big – you just need to sound like you know what you’re doing. And with a little upfront effort, you’ll come across as credible, considered, and well worth your audience’s time.
Why B2B brands should lean in-now
For B2B marketers, podcasts aren’t just another channel. They’re a strategic opportunity to:
- Build trust with senior audiences
- Demonstrate expertise and personality
- Stand out in a sea of static content
- Engage decision-makers during screen-free moments
- Repurpose and extend content across formats and platforms
And best of all? They’re cost-effective to produce, endlessly repurposable, and highly scalable. You don’t need a production studio. You just need a strong point of view, a plan, and the right partners to make it happen.
So if you’re looking to deepen engagement, grow brand affinity, or simply try something new that actually cuts through – audio might be your best bet. It’s the kind of thing we’ve helped clients launch and scale – without the fluff.
Want to explore how podcasting could work for your brand? We’d love to chat. Or better yet, let’s record a podcast together!
Whether you’re starting from scratch or scaling a series, we can help you shape a format that fits your strategy – and your audience. What would an audio-first content play look like for your business?
Kiri Craig, Managing Partner
Kiri has been working in marketing agencies for almost 20 years, and in that time she has worked across a range of B2B and B2C sectors, from large enterprise clients to SMEs.
For the last decade, Kiri has been focused solely on B2B marketing, and as Managing Partner of onebite, Kiri draws on this experience to feed into B2B demand generation strategies for our clients and prospects, and to oversee onebite’s delivery.
At onebite, she’s curated a team of B2B demand generation specialists from the best talent on the market, helping our tech and telco clients launch, refine and amplify their brands to generate long-term revenue growth. Kiri’s passion and drive to deliver exceptional work for our clients is evident to everyone who meets her.
