Corporate Communication Through Podcasts: The Impact of Voice-Fit and Attention During Listening on Parasocial Interaction with the Host and Persuasive Effects

Abstract

Companies increasingly integrate their own podcasts into their communication strategies and are thus using a medium in which the host’s voice is the primary contact point for recipients. Since podcasts are generally listened to either with full concentration or in parallel with other activities, the question arises as to how voice characteristics exert an influence in different attention conditions. A 2 × 2-between-subjects-laboratory-experiment (N = 129) shows that attention, but not voice-fit with the company, increases parasocial interaction (PSI) with the host. However, deeper message processing due to higher PSI leads to negative persuasive effects. Scientific and practical implications of these findings are discussed.