Marketing podcasts — particularly the best marketing podcasts — present an epic opportunity.
They allow you to unlock industry leaders’ secrets to create impactful campaigns.
It is like creating your own marketing university, where you can assemble classes and attend lessons:
- On your commute
- On your coffee break
- In the gym
- Wherever you are, right now
In this article, we are going to “look” at the ten best marketing podcasts of the moment so you can fill your ears (and your mind) with juicy marketing insights.
Behind The Numbers is a digital marketing podcast examining media and marketing’s impact on the business world.
eMarketer uses long-form interviews, in-depth reports, and short segments to make you think about how your marketing impacts others and how others’ marketing impacts you.
Episodes explore topics like:
All of which are important for the now, and the future, of your brand’s marketing.
If you do not have time to tune in every day, check in on Fridays for The Weekly Listen where they explore multiple topics and gather the need-to-know industry insights.
Recommended Episodes
Social Media Marketing is a top marketing podcast about, well… social media marketing! It does exactly what it says on the tin.
In this once-a-week podcast, Michael Stelzner interviews an industry professional to break down a pressing industry topic and provide actionable advice.
Past episodes have looked at:
One thing we really like about this podcast is that you do not see the same-old line-up rotation of big names promoting their latest book.
Michael interviews real, in-the-trenches people. Making this one of the best marketing podcasts on this list, and essential listening if you use social media to connect with your customers.
Recommended Episodes
3. Akimbo by Seth Godin
Akimbo is, true to Seth Godin’s style, a marketing podcast with a difference.
Its short-and-sweet episodes, rarely longer than 30 minutes in length, feel more like chapters from an audiobook than your traditional podcast episode.
Each episode tells a story of a person, a business, a customer, or a certain moment in time and breaks down the lessons in how we (and our products) connect to people.
Once the story is told, Seth answers questions about the previous week’s episode, that can be submitted through the podcast’s website.
Recommended Episodes
Freakonomics Radio is a podcast that explores the hidden side of everything. And, although it is not a pure marketing podcast, it is one we find ourselves constantly recommending.
Why?
Because they explore topics that intersect with marketing, share little-known business facts, and give you a greater understanding of the world your customers (and employees) live in.
Freakonomics Radio’s episodes range in length from 30 to 60 minutes and follow a report-style format. This allows them to go deep into each of the topics they talk about.
They cover topics such as:
- Why hitting project deadlines is so hard
- How to improve your team’s meetings
- Why it is so hard to get open offices right
- How supermarkets helped win the cold war
You may not walk away from each episode armed with a marketing strategy. But, you will walk away with insights and ideas that impact everyone your business comes into contact with.
Recommended Episodes
Marketing Over Coffee is a podcast with a relaxed water-cooler feel about it. It is just a handful of great marketers, having a chat about relevant topics they love.
Christopher Penn and John Wall spend each 20-minute episode discussing strategies, trends, and insights to help marketers in the online and offline worlds.
Often joined by a special guest, they have talked about topics like:
- How to stay up to date with social networks
- Gender bias in the industry
- Niching down
- Email copywriting
And, although their episodes are short on time, they are long on insights. Each episode has an actionable takeaway you can start using today.
Recommended Episodes
6. HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review
HBR’s IdeaCast is a business and leadership podcast that is a must-listen for any marketer.
Each episode calls on one of the business world’s top academics, thinkers, innovators, or practitioners to look at the week’s hot topics, and share actionable takeaways.
Across their library of 700 episodes (and counting), they discuss topics like:
- Hiring
- Marketing practices
- Feedback
- Customer acquisition
Meaning that, no matter what role you have within the marketing team, there is an episode that will help you grow, understand, and make a difference.
Recommended Episodes
HAMYAW stands for Hillary and Margo Yell At Websites. And, it is the best marketing podcast you have never heard of.
Hosted by prolific marketers and copywriters Hillary Weiss and Margo Aaron, this talk-show style podcast takes a no-holds-barred look at the worlds of business, marketing, and branding.
What we love about this podcast is that it is raw. The hosts are not afraid to get into the weeds of their own mistakes, or call out lame passing trends, to help you get the results you need.
Be aware that some of these episodes usually contain swearing from the get-go.
They have Youtube-based episodes talking about:
- Brand authenticity
- Rebranding
- Pricing
- List building
All with insights that are fueled from their work with big brand clients and running their own freelance businesses.
Recommended Episodes
Copyblogger FM is the go-to content marketing podcast.
Sonia Simone’s intro to the show says it all:
This podcast is about “emerging trends, interesting disasters, and enduring best practices.”
Each short-form episode feels like a Copyblogger blog post come to life. There are lists, tutorials, case studies, and sometimes it is just the rant you needed to hear.
But you will always come away with a new insight about:
That you can use to create a killer content marketing strategy.
Recommended Episodes
50 Things That Made The Modern Economy is not a traditional marketing podcast. It does not explore industry trends, new ideas, or interview industry leaders.
But what Tim Harford does in each eight-minute episode is show you how great ideas, innovations, and inventions have shaped the world.
This podcast is our go-to in a creative slump when we want to generate ideas and remind ourselves it is the simple, oft-overlooked, things that make the biggest difference.
You can learn about how:
- Cellophane transformed the food industry
- Market research created today’s customer-led industries
- Contraception ushered in a new era of employment
If nothing else, the show is a masterclass in using non-fiction storytelling to grip an audience.
Recommended Episodes
EDGE of the Web is the podcast for anyone looking to better understand SEO.
This interview-style podcast gets granular on the topic of SEO and gets industry leaders to share tactics and strategies you can use in your campaigns.
What is great about this show is that Erin Sparks, the host, does an excellent job of cutting through the jargon and industry-speak and making topics easy to understand.
This means that no matter your level of SEO understanding, you can jump into any episode and understand what is being spoken about.
Recommended Episodes
The 10 Best Marketing Podcasts In A Nutshell
Marketing podcasts are an excellent way to:
- Generate ideas
- Find trends
- Develop strategies
- Understand tricky concepts
By mixing and matching different episodes, you can create your up-the-minute marketing university, taught by the teachers you want to hear from.
