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Daily Podcast Listening

A Diary Study Examination of Daily Podcast Routines

Team

Caroline Gomez 

Haasini Sai P

Hailee Kenney

Nisha Jain

Xuny Haley

Problem Space

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Daily news podcasts have surged in popularity, because they serve a critical need in keeping listeners informed on current events. As a longtime podcast producer, I wondered what other needs might be served by podcasts if there were a deeper understanding of listeners' daily routines and how podcasts fit within them?

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Furthermore, I hoped to discover opportunities for podcast makers to produce podcasts to meet user needs.

Research Questions

  • How do podcasts serve podcast listeners’ needs and why? 

  • How can podcast creators design podcasts to better suit listeners?

  • How do podcasts fit within users’ schedules?

  • What limitations do podcast listeners face?

Methods: Diary Study + Interviews

We conducted a 7 day diary study with 5 participants

Step 1: Screener Survey

Participants were selected based on:

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  • Listening habits

  • Age

  • Gender diversity

Step 2: Pre-study interviews

  • Selected 5 avid podcast listeners

  • Conducted 30 min semi-structured interviews to learn some background about participants

  • Briefed participants about study

Step 3: Diary Study + Voice Memos

Participants: 

  • Filled out daily questionnaires

  • Recorded voice memos reflecting on what they listened to and why 

Step 4: Post-study interviews

  • Picked participants to probe further into their responses

  • 2 post- study semi-structured interviews were conducted

Analysis methods
Quantitative Coding

  • Counted frequency of codes

  • Calculated averages of 

    • Number of podcast episodes per day

    • Minutes per day

    • Focus level

    • Distraction level

Qualitative Coding

  • Assigned codes to quotes, survey responses

  • Affinity Mapping

  • Generated themes

Insights

Podcasts are uniquely suited to accompany other tasks

  • Participants were able to listen to podcasts while doing a wide range of activities including driving, cooking dinner and creating art.

  • “I did not want to watch something while eating as that makes me take a longer time to finish lunch.”-P1

Podcast listeners engage with podcasts between major activities

  • Most participants listened to podcasts before or after the main activities of their day took place. 

  • P3 listened to podcasts in the morning in bed before getting up and starting their day: “Those interstitial times between one work meeting and another.”

Podcast listenership is at the mercy of listeners’ daily schedules.

  • Participants listened to podcasts within the confines of their daily schedules.

  • If participants became too busy, they did not listen to podcasts, as was the case with P1, P3 and P5.

  • Listeners' predictions on their next day podcast routine ranged from 20% - 60% accurate.

Podcasts facilitate vibes

  • Podcasts enhance moods and emotions

  • The desired vibes are deeply personal

  • P1 and P3 used podcasts to fall asleep.

  • Participants also listened to relax: “Literally the least new information I could possibly ask for - it’s very relaxing for me to listen to because it’s pleasant and unsurprising and reminds me of a show I enjoy.”-P2

Podcasts fulfill multiple needs for listeners

  • Each participant had various motivations to listen to podcasts.

  • Some were content-specific, and others were emotion-specific.

  • These needs were highly personal

  • P1 listened to podcasts to stay up on current events in their home country, fall asleep and figure out ways to be better about procrastination

  • Opportunities for podcast creators to consider target audience as well as common goals of podcast listeners

Opportunities for Podcast Creators 

Podcast creators should make an effort to understand when and in what situations listeners engage with their shows in order to best tailor their shows for listeners' needs.

 

Furthermore, podcast creators should consider creating shows that serve needs beyond delivering information.

 

A couple of provocations to consider: how might a podcast help a listener fall asleep? How might a podcast help a listener feel less alone?

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