We couldn’t agree more, and we would also like to add: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

In this article we want to show you why your podcast analytics should be reviewed on a regular basis to make data-driven improvements.

Why should I review my podcast's analytics?

An audio or video stream puts out a significant amount of data. This data tells you not only who listened to your content, but how long they listened, on what type of device they listened (mobile or desktop) and much more.

The only way you can fully cater to your podcast listeners and provide them with targeted podcast content that they will enjoy, is to truly understand them and their listening habits.

Here are 9 reasons you should measure your podcast’s performance with an analytics program:

1. Understand your audience

Analytics can help you gain insight into who is listening to your podcast, for how long they listen, the types of devices they’re using and much more. This data can help you tailor your content and marketing efforts to better reach and engage your target audience.

2. Improve your content

By analyzing listener engagement data, such as how long people listen to your episodes and where they tend to drop off, you can identify which topics and segments are resonating with your audience and which are not.

3. Measure the success of your marketing efforts

Analytics can help you track the success of your marketing efforts and determine which strategies are most effective in attracting new podcast users, show followers and podcast plays.

4. Identify trends and patterns

Analyzing your podcast data over time can help you identify trends and patterns that can inform your decision-making and help you stay ahead of the curve in your program. For example, if you learn over the years that podcasts released around the end of the year get less engagement, you can adjust your podcast publishing calendar to accommodate.

5. Benchmark your performance

Comparing your podcast's performance to industry benchmarks can give you a sense of how you are doing in relation to others in your niche and aid in formulating best practices to compete and surpass others in the industry.

6. Identify your most popular episodes

Analytics can help you understand which episodes are resonating most with your audience by showing you which episodes are getting the most listens. This information can help you identify the type of content that your audience likes best so you can create more of that content in the future.

7. Optimize episode cadence

By analyzing your episode publishing schedule and comparing it to your podcast plays, you can optimize the episode release cadence of your podcast to better reach your audience more effectively.

8. Measure the impact your podcast has on your business objectives

You can measure how your podcast is impacting your business by analyzing how podcast consumption is impacting your business goals. These goals could include increased revenue, company cost savings, increasing productivity, strengthening company culture and many others.

9. Determine who your podcast champions are

By analyzing which of your employees are consuming the most podcast minutes, you can determine your biggest podcast fans. Use this information to measure against individual performance for better understanding of ROI. Also, use this information to poll your most active and least active users to better understand podcast listening behavior.

Accessing your uStudio analytics dashboard

By analyzing your podcast's data, you can make data-driven decisions about your podcast's future direction, including changes to content, format, and distribution strategy.

A crucial component of a successful private podcast strategy is measurement, which is easy thanks to uStudio’s analytics dashboard. Visit our website to learn more about how uStudio is helping companies leverage podcasting for internal communications and training needs.

If you already use uStudio, learn more about the data available in your Dashboard in our knowledge base article.