Pride & Podcasts: LGBTQIA+ Audience Insights for Brands

The LGBTGIA+ population is growing—and so are the opportunities for brands to reach and resonate with these audiences. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, the percentage of US adults who identify as LGBTQIA+ has doubled over the last decade.1

In honor of Pride Month, we’re celebrating the advancements the community has made in the fight for equality, representation, and visibility. And we’re here with fresh insights into the LGBTQIA+ podcast listener. For starters, among LGBTQIA+ audiences who listen to podcasts, 76% say they listen daily and one in four say they’re listening to podcasts more than they did a year ago! In fact, 90% say “I’d miss my favorite podcast if it was no longer available,” and 70% say “listening to podcasts is an important part of my daily routine."2

Okay, so how can brands reach this powerful audience with podcasts? Well, we have some insight into that. Let’s explore the latest findings from a new study from our proprietary podcast listener panel: Podsurvey. 

Showing Love for the Network

LGBTQIA+ podcast listeners are curious and passionate—eight in 10 say they regularly started listening to a new podcast or show in the last six months. So, how are they finding them? Well, 85% say they find out about new podcasts by hearing about them on another podcast (Hint: this is why your brand should be advertising across multiple podcast shows). And more than one in two LGBTQIA+ podcast listeners say they hear about new podcasts from shows that are in the same network (e.g., Team Coco: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Scam Goddess, Literally! With Rob Lowe, etc. and Audiochuck: Crime Junkie, CounterClock, The Deck, etc.).2

Insights in Action: Leverage the SiriusXM Podcast Network to connect your brand with the right audience through genre alignment, contextual targeting, and advanced audience targeting capabilities. You can reach audiences across our owned-and-operated podcasts straight from Stitcher Studios, SiriusXM, Earwolf, and Team Coco plus exclusive partnerships with networks like NBCUniversal, Audiochuck, Crooked Media, Pitaya Entertainment, and ReVolver. To sum this up, think efficiency, reach, and efficacy.

Enjoying a Variety of Genres

We’ve established that LGBTQIA+ listeners turn to podcasts daily, but it’s important to note that they’re consuming a variety of different shows and content. In fact, among LGBTQIA+ podcast listeners, nine in 10 say they listen to multiple different podcast shows in a given day or week. And with their penchant for pure entertainment, it may seem obvious that comedy, society & culture, and true crime podcasts are among their most sought-after content categories.2 But brands needn’t stop there—because these listeners sure aren’t.

Insights in Action: Advertisers looking to reach the LGBTQIA podcast listening audience need to think broadly and consider pursuing a variety of categories. The SiriusXM Podcast Network can help brands meet this audience no matter what they’re listening to.

Finding More Than Entertainment

Their love for the content is fueled by the various roles podcasts play in their everyday lives. While 91% of LGBTQIA+ podcast listeners say podcasts “entertain me,” they have an underlying desire for connection and community. These listeners value diverse perspectives and beliefs and emphasize personal well-being and mental health. Specifically, 41% say that podcasts “connect me to my culture/community,” 57% say podcasts “offer diverse perspectives and opinions,” and 50% say that podcasts “are important for my mental health and well-being.”2

Insights in Action: Understanding the moods and mindsets of the LGBTQIA+ podcast listener will help brands find the right shows and categories to run ads on. It can also inform the tone of brand messages. From our targeting solutions to our creative expertise at Studio Resonate, we can help you do both.

Looking for Authenticity

One of the most noteworthy findings from our study is that LGBTQIA+ listeners are highly receptive to explicit and sensitive content. They’re not precious when it comes to podcasts—94% of LGBTQIA+ people who listen to podcasts say they agree that “podcast shows or episodes with profanity and explicit language don’t bother me.” And 80% of these listeners agree “it doesn’t bother me if a brand is advertised with explicit podcast content.” In fact, 39% say “I think explicit podcasts shows/episodes are more authentic.”2

As podcasts have become a staple in their everyday lives, LGBTQIA+ podcast listeners have naturally developed deep connections with their favorite podcast hosts. 

• More than two in three say “I feel a personal connection to the hosts of the podcasts I listen to”2

• Nearly one in two say “I think podcast hosts are more authentic than other public figures like social media influencers, radio DJs, celebrities, TV hosts, etc.”2

Insights in Action: Authenticity always wins with the LGBTQIA+ community—using your most genuine brand and creative messaging to garner their trust. (Hint: this is why your brand should leverage host read ads.) And supporting shows with creators and hosts in the community will go a long way.

Taking Action After Hearing Podcast Ads

There are clear benefits to this deep trust and connection—it inspires and motivates action. Among LGBTQIA+ podcast listeners, 95% took any action after hearing a product or service advertised on a podcast! And we see those actions across the entire marketing funnel, from researching a product or service they hadn’t heard of before (81%), to visiting an advertiser’s website (76%), using a promotional code heard during a podcast ad (68%), or purchasing a product or service at a store or online (60%).2

Insights in Action: Take a lesson from a national non-profit advertiser. In a recent campaign, this brand tapped into one of SXM’s influential voices and LGBTQIA+ personalities, Jameela Jamil, to spread their message, and the results speak for themselves. The ads on the popular and empowering iWeigh podcast drove impressive results—a 3.29% conversion rate. That’s 9X higher than the SiriusXM Podcast Network benchmark for median conversion rate.3

Take Your Next Pride Campaign Beyond June

In recent years, we’ve seen a positive shift in social awareness, acceptance, and support, which is great because this diverse group of individuals isn’t going anywhere (psst: they’re out and proud all year—not just in June). Brands need a comprehensive plan to reach them year round, and podcasts are the perfect medium to add to any media mix. 

Are you ready to put these insights into action for your next campaign? Let’s talk.

Sources

1. Gallup, February 2023

2. Podsurvey Podcast User Study, Q2 2023

3. Podsights, Q4 ’21-Q1’22