PONDOFF’S ANONYMOUS — SPONSOR REPORT December 2025
1. Executive Summary
December headline (sponsor-ready)
December delivered a major momentum month for Pondoff’s Anonymous, powered by breakout short-form performance on Meta and a tentpole long-form YouTube episode that functioned as a true “video podcast” platform win. Discovery expanded sharply while podcast listening depth remained strong—creating a balanced month of reach + attention.
- Meta discovery surged: Facebook + Instagram combined produced ~113K+ views (platform totals), with meaningful follow growth and action signals.
- Podcast attention stayed deep: Spotify + Apple produced ~686 hours of verified audio listening time.
- YouTube long-form mattered: Long videos (≥60 min) represented 36.6% of YouTube views but 97.7% of YouTube watch time.
- Anthony Slaughter episode = tentpole: It anchored the month across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
At-a-glance funnel view
Think of December as a strong “content funnel month”:
- Discovery (fast): Facebook + Instagram short clips generate mass exposure and follow growth.
- Conversion (intent): Clicks and profile visits signal curiosity and consideration.
- Retention (deep): Apple + Spotify + YouTube long-form deliver uninterrupted sponsor exposure and trust.
Key implication: your best sponsor packages should bundle short-form amplification + long-form host-read.
2. Topline KPIs (Dec 1–31, 2025)
3. Sponsor Value Summary
What sponsors can buy (and why it works)
- Short-form visibility: Facebook + Instagram delivered sustained, repeated exposure in-feed where discovery happens.
- Long-form trust: Apple + Spotify + YouTube long-form create uninterrupted attention where host-read sponsor messaging is retained.
- Multi-touch recall: Viewers see the story in clips, then consume the full conversation in long-form—ideal for sponsor repetition without fatigue.
Important framing upgrade: For a show like yours, YouTube long-form episodes (≥60 minutes) are not “social.” They are a podcast platform because the viewer behavior (intent + time spent) matches audio podcast consumption.
“Attention” is your real product
December’s most sponsor-meaningful KPI is not views—it’s hours.
4. Cross-Platform Summary Table
| Platform | Discovery | Engagement | Depth / Action | Role in the ecosystem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63,724 views · 45,496 reach | 2,132 engagements (1,819 reactions · 247 comments · 66 shares) | 4,900 total clicks · 153 link clicks · ~238 watch hrs | Primary discovery + action channel (fast reach, measurable intent). | |
| ~49,618 views (Meta overview) | 2,600 interactions (Meta overview; export supports content-level detail) | 113 follows · 658 profile visits (overview) | High-velocity amplification + repeat exposure via Reels. | |
| YouTube (overall) | 14,913 views · 30,354 impressions · 6.2% CTR | +141 subs (net in export) · comments/likes not fully captured here | 1,831 watch hrs (Dec total) | Two layers: shorts for discovery; long-form for “video podcast” retention. |
| Spotify | 797 plays · 563 streams | — | 340.8 listening hrs · +31 followers | Retention platform: consistent, intent-driven listening. |
| Apple Podcasts | ~2.3K plays · 178 listeners | 142 engaged listeners | ~345 listening hrs · 365 followers | Scale + depth; strong behavior for sponsor message retention. |
5. Facebook Deep Dive
Facebook totals (post-level export)
Behavior interpretation (what this means)
- Facebook is doing two jobs: feeding new people into your world (reach/views) and generating “consideration signals” (clicks, comments).
- Comments matter: 247 comments is a real conversation signal—strong fit for story-driven recovery content.
- Clicks are unusually strong: 4,900 clicks indicates real curiosity, not passive scrolling.
Top Facebook posts (by views)
| Post | Views | Reach | Engagements | Clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Slaughter is known for keeping things… Reel |
19,828 | 13,152 | 1,159 | 2,892 |
| A yearly review turns into a termination… Reel |
5,325 | 5,547 | 64 | 431 |
| Last episode of the year. Releasing tomorrow. Post |
4,890 | 2,385 | 228 | 245 |
| 🚨 New Episode Drops Monday 🚨 Post |
4,594 | 2,792 | 115 | — |
| Episode clip / story moment posts Multiple |
… | … | … | … |
Facebook content insight
The top post is not just the top post—it’s a tentpole event. When a guest/story resonates at that level, Facebook becomes the “mass amplifier” that turns one episode into a month-defining performance driver.
6. Instagram Deep Dive
Instagram overview (December)
Instagram is performing as a Reels-first amplification layer. It’s not “traffic-first”—it’s “repeat exposure + follow conversion.”
Instagram content insight
- Reels dominate: your largest wins come from short clips that hold attention immediately.
- Story beats win: hospital / identity / faith / consequence narratives outperformed generic promos.
- Follow conversion is real: Instagram is acting like a “brand memory” loop—people watch multiple clips, then follow.
Top Instagram posts (by views, export)
| Post | Views | Reach | Engagements* | Follows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Slaughter is known for keeping things… Reel |
10,557 | 6,211 | 1,024 | 43 |
| Growing up with people calling someone… Reel |
8,172 | 4,744 | 509 | 11 |
| The hospital lights, the scans, the needles… Reel |
5,973 | 3,795 | 224 | 10 |
| Church every night growing up… Reel |
3,824 | 2,395 | 87 | 7 |
| Drinking all day is easy… Reel |
3,314 | 2,127 | 100 | 6 |
*Engagements here = likes + comments + shares + saves (post-level export).
7. YouTube Deep Dive (Discovery + Video Podcast)
YouTube is two different platforms for you
- YouTube Shorts / clips: discovery behavior (fast scroll, short attention, broad exposure).
- YouTube long-form episodes (≥60 min): podcast behavior (intent + long watch time + sponsor retention).
In December, long-form content accounted for 36.6% of YouTube views but drove 97.7% of watch time. That is exactly what you want for sponsor value.
Anthony Slaughter episode (YouTube tentpole)
Interpretation
This is a classic tentpole event: one guest/story becomes an acquisition + retention engine across multiple platforms. For a show like yours, tentpoles are where sponsors should “lean in” (premium placement), and the surrounding clips become the distribution machine.
Top YouTube content (by views, Dec)
| Video | Views | Watch hrs | CTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 E43 Anthony Slaughter Gets Real… Long-form episode (video podcast) |
4,863 | 1,669.8 | 11.47% |
| Church every night growing up… Short clip |
1,032 | 3.32 | 5.13% |
| Anthony Slaughter is known for keeping things… Short clip |
983 | 7.64 | 11.27% |
| Merry Christmas… Short clip |
939 | 1.74 | 4.76% |
| The hospital lights, the scans… Short clip |
932 | 7.54 | 6.83% |
What’s missing (and why it matters)
- We have excellent view + watch time totals, but YouTube “podcast metrics” improve further if we add: average view duration + audience retention graph (YouTube Studio).
- For sponsors, retention curves matter because they show if mid-roll reads land before drop-off.
8. Podcast Platforms (Audio + Video Podcast)
Spotify (Dec 2025)
Listening rhythm (what it suggests)
- Peak day: Dec 15 (96 plays, 39.8 listening hours) — lines up with the tentpole moment.
- Listening concentrates early week (Mon/Tue), which fits a Monday release strategy.
Apple Podcasts (Dec 2025)
Using the Apple metrics you provided from screenshots.
Audience geography (Apple top cities)
- St. Louis (largest)
- Kansas City
- Belleville
- Milwaukee
- Chicago
Episode highlight (Apple)
| Episode | Plays | Avg. consumption | Sponsor interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 E43 — Anthony Slaughter | 1,511 | ~70% | Anchor episode: high completion supports premium sponsor reads. |
| S2 E42 — Recovery with Matt Pryor | 197 | ~63% | Strong long-form stickiness; reliable mid-roll inventory. |
| S2 E45 — A Mother’s Story | 145 | ~42% | Narrative-heavy; strongest for mission-aligned sponsorship. |
9. What This Means for a Show Like Yours (Insights + Strategy)
1) You have a “tentpole + clip engine” model
December proves your show performs best when you treat certain episodes as tentpoles (big guest/story), then build a clip engine around them for 2–3 weeks.
- Tentpole: Anthony Slaughter drove the largest spikes across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and podcast plays.
- Clip engine: multiple story beats (hospital, faith, identity, consequence) created repeat exposure and follow conversion.
- Net effect: one episode becomes both acquisition and retention.
2) YouTube long-form is now a podcast platform for you
The data is blunt: long-form videos created nearly all YouTube watch time. That’s podcast behavior. Your sponsor inventory should explicitly include “video podcast placements.”
- Long-form generated ~1,789 watch hours in December.
- The Anthony full episode alone generated ~1,670 watch hours.
3) Sponsor value is strongest when bundled
If you sell sponsorship as only “audio,” you undersell your real advantage: repeated multi-format touchpoints.
- Package concept: Host-read (audio + video) + “tentpole week clip takeover.”
- Why it works: viewers see the clip, then consume the full episode; sponsor message is reinforced naturally.
- Best sponsor fit: brands that benefit from trust + repetition (health, wellness, recovery, local services, community orgs).
4) The audience is locally dense (a superpower)
Your Midwest concentration is not a weakness—it’s a positioning advantage for regional sponsors and community brands. Dense geography increases sponsor efficiency because the message repeats within the same markets.
Actionable recommendations (based on December’s pattern)
- Build “tentpole launches”: plan 1–2 anchor episodes/month that get heavier clip coverage for 14 days.
- Clip sequencing: post 3–5 different story beats per tentpole (identity, consequence, turning point, hope, practical takeaway).
- Standardize sponsor placements: pre-roll + mid-roll in audio AND long-form YouTube for tentpole episodes.
- Capture missing YouTube retention data: pull average view duration + audience retention for the long-form episode to strengthen sponsor proof.
- Measure “conversion” simply: keep tracking Facebook clicks + Instagram profile visits + follows as your lightweight funnel KPI.
10. Data Appendix (What’s included)
Sources used for this December report
- Facebook: Meta post-level export (Dec 1–31, 2025): views, reach, engagement breakdown, clicks, watch time.
- Instagram: Meta export (Dec 1–31, 2025) used for top content + engagement; Meta overview used for month totals (views/follows/profile visits).
- YouTube: YouTube Studio exports (Chart/Table/Totals) for Dec 2025: views, impressions, CTR, watch time; long-form vs short-form split derived from duration.
- Spotify: Spotify analytics export (Dec 1–31, 2025): plays, streams, consumption hours, followers.
- Apple Podcasts: screenshot metrics provided: plays, listeners, engaged listeners, attention hours, followers, episode highlights, cities.
KPI definitions used (plain English)
- Views: platform-defined video views.
- Reach: unique users reached (when available).
- Engagements: likes/reactions, comments, shares (and IG saves where available).
- Clicks: total clicks; link clicks where available.
- Attention (hours): verified listening/viewing time on podcast platforms.
- Video podcast: YouTube videos ≥60 minutes (treated as podcast consumption).