1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,780
I'm Danny Brown and you're listening to One Minute Podcast Tips, the show that helps you be a better

2
00:00:07,780 --> 00:00:12,520
podcaster in just a minute a week. If you want more specific tips just for you and your podcast,

3
00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:17,300
check out the Magic Mic membership at oneminutepodcasttips.com forward slash support.

4
00:00:17,300 --> 00:00:19,300
And now, this week's episode.

5
00:00:19,300 --> 00:00:28,500
One of the questions I see getting asked a lot online is what's the difference between a download,

6
00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:33,800
a listen, and a follower. So let's break that down. For a download, it depends on whether the

7
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:39,960
platform is IAB Certified or not. The IAB, or the Interactive Advertising Bureau, is the industry

8
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,460
standard for podcast analytics and measurement. When it comes to a download, this means one of

9
00:00:44,460 --> 00:00:50,040
two things. If a hosting platform is IAB Certified, a download is when someone presses play on an app

10
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,260
or a web player and listens for at least 60 seconds, or downloads enough data to their device

11
00:00:54,260 --> 00:00:56,400
to listen back for at least 60 seconds afterwards.

12
00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,160
If a host isn't IAB Certified or is IAB Compliant,

13
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,140
which are different guidelines than being certified,

14
00:01:02,140 --> 00:01:05,000
then they might use the IAB guidelines as a starting point,

15
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,440
but have a different way of reporting and measuring analytics.

16
00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,120
Now, when it comes to Spotify for Podcasters and Apple Podcasts,

17
00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:12,000
there are some differences.

18
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,840
Spotify for Podcasters, which is the reporting dashboard for Spotify,

19
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,980
and Podcasts Connect, which is Apple's podcaster dashboard,

20
00:01:18,980 --> 00:01:20,360
has slightly different metrics.

21
00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,500
Spotify has Starts, which is zero seconds and over,

22
00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:28,160
and Streams, which is anything for at least 60 seconds, so closer to the IAB definition.

23
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:33,220
Podcasts Connect has Plays, which is greater than zero seconds, and Engaged Listeners,

24
00:01:33,220 --> 00:01:38,020
so when someone's listened to at least 20 minutes or 40% of an episode within a single session.

25
00:01:38,020 --> 00:01:41,500
Both of these metrics, especially the streams and engaged listeners,

26
00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:43,480
are a good measurement of actual listeners.

27
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,400
This is because you can have a download that isn't listened to,

28
00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:51,640
so auto-download on a podcast app, for example, a bot, automated scripts, etc.,

29
00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,100
so metrics around actual listen time are more valuable.

30
00:01:54,100 --> 00:01:57,760
It's why you have the likes of average consumption on Apple Podcasts,

31
00:01:57,760 --> 00:01:59,880
consumption hours on Spotify for Podcasters,

32
00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:02,540
and why we offer a consumption percentage at Captivate,

33
00:02:02,540 --> 00:02:04,740
where I'm Head of Podcaster Support and Experience.

34
00:02:04,740 --> 00:02:07,640
These stats show you how much of an episode is being listened to

35
00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,460
and where drop-off is happening, etc.

36
00:02:09,460 --> 00:02:13,240
So you can then look to see why and then optimize your content based on that data.

37
00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,580
Followers are what used to be subscribers,

38
00:02:15,580 --> 00:02:17,900
and these are listeners who have moved from just listening

39
00:02:17,900 --> 00:02:19,500
and now subscribe to your podcast,

40
00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:21,560
so they get each new episode as soon as it's released.

41
00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,760
So hopefully that's helped identify the difference between downloads,

42
00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,880
listens, and followers, and made things a little bit clearer for you.

43
00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,780
Until the next time, happy podcasting.

44
00:02:30,780 --> 00:02:38,220
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy One Minute Podcast Tips, be sure to share with your friends

45
00:02:38,220 --> 00:02:42,840
and other podcasters so they can enjoy it too. Until the next time, happy podcasting.

46
00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,840
♪♪♪