Social media has become an inevitable part of marketing and that is why everyone, be it small, medium, or giant businesses, is trying to level up their game. It is no new thing for the people of the digital era, but the new platform that is making quite a noise especially from the past two years is audio social media.
If you find human voice intimidating and need no distraction of videos, images, or texts then audio social space is for your kind. With the success of famous apps like Clubhouse, Breakout, Twitter Space, it has reached a new level of success. In this piece of writing, we have tried to cover different aspects of audio social media and how it can be valuable. Keep reading to understand more about it and how your brands can make use of this valuable platform.
In fact stats also show the quick rise of audio media as 62% of the US population ages 12 or older listen to audio each week. It is estimated that these numbers will rise in the coming few years.
Whether you are traveling by bus from office to home or running or anything else, audio social media is something you can consume anytime. Isn’t it great, of course, it is? Live audio app is somewhat like a podcast but here it offers two ways of communication whereas in the podcast there is only a single way of communication where the speaker tells the information wherein live audio app the listeners can also participate in the conversation. Another major difference is that conversations are not recorded in the app, all you have to do is to listen or participate in live talk.
What is Audio Social Media?
Audio social media is very much like social media but here the only medium of communication here is the human voice. It is a mid path between images, reels, text, and video. Here there is no one to judge the person on the other side based on physical aspects. Unlike podcasts, it offers two ways of communication as the listener can also participate in the ongoing conversation. Audio media has become such a new trend that many big social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter have already launched audio-only space for their respective platforms.
Another reason why people are enjoying audio social media over social media is that it does not have any physical judgments barrier. For example, there are times in social media when people are trolled for putting videos, images just because they do not match some physical aspects which we call beauty standards. Oftentimes people hesitate to post valuable things due to such fake beauty standards, plus the use of artificial intelligence by these platforms leads to distrust amongst users. The Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma” very well portrays how social media platforms are using AI to manipulate and influence users’ choices.
But the good news is that this is not the case in audio media as there are no such things, everything is based on the pure choice of users. Plus it can be consumed passively while doing other tasks which makes it a viable choice. It is also a goldmine for influencer marketing as with the right brand, message, and unique approach you can have great earning opportunities
Why is Social Audio the Future?
There is no doubt in the fact that audio social media is the future and trust us it has got a bright future. We have listed out some of the following reasons to prove our points:
- The pandemic has boosted the platform as audio is given preference over text and image-based platforms.
- Wireless earpieces and new kinds of speakers further accelerate the keenness of social audio apps.
- Live open discussion on the social channel helps to form a personal and emotional connection, plus the pandemic tempted the importance of the social needs of humans.
Let’s strengthen our take on its bright future with some actual numbers.
- The average weekly time spent listening to audio platforms is 16 hours and 14 minutes in 2021.
- 62% of the US population use the audio platform each month in 2020
- It is estimated that in 2022, the average time listening to audio will increase to 1 hour and 37 minutes per day.
How can Brands Best Use Audio Social Media?
There are a plethora of advantages for brands to use audio social media in their marketing strategy. Following are some ways through which brands can make the best use of it:
1. Define Business Goals
One of the prime things to define before starting using audio social media is business goals. Uncleared business goals oftentimes lead to confusion and undesirable results. The type of content you want to speak will entirely depend on your business goal. You can set any business goals ranging from lead generation, sales drives, brand awareness, new launch, or anything that helps to gain popularity about your business.
2. Develop the Concept
Once the business goal is defined, next is to develop the editorial concept wherein you need to define topics to talk about, target audience, the tone of the talk, style, and the format of the show. Even in the audio platforms, there are numerous formats to present the show as it can be a one-off session, continue series, short lessons stories, and a lot more.
3. Choose a Platform
At the initial level, don’t think of having omnipresence across all audio platforms. Sometimes omnipresence across all audio platforms makes things hectic, boring, and difficult with limited resources. To make your task easy, here is one useful tip. You can choose the platform based on geography, scalabilities, and existing followers.
4. Host Sessions
Once you have chosen the platform, start the work by hosting sessions around the central theme and creating audio rooms to discuss sub-topics. For instance, if your central theme is “startup funding” then you can have sessions like “pitch practice”, “Dos and Don’ts during pitching”, etc.
5. Engage with Audience
One of the unique ways to build a loyal audience is through engagement. These days audience engagement is not everyone’s cup of tea as the algorithms decide the reach of your post but with audio platforms, you can have the complete attention of the audience. Engagement offer a platform to
- Humanize the brand
- The brand appears more accessible
- Invite feedback
- Answer questions about your product and service
6. Analyze Numbers
Just like everything else, it becomes important to analyze numbers to get more effective results. Without proper data analysis, it becomes difficult to analyze the current and future situation of the brand. Further, the two ways conversations will help to understand whether your audience has positive or negative value about your product and service. It becomes vital to pay attention to the tone and expression of your audience.
7. Repeat
Based on the analysis you can tweak your social media marketing strategy to get desired results. If your numbers are saying that your topics are not engaging enough, try to opt for new topics or a new approach to make them more valuable. You can experiment with different methods but here the prime key is consistency. In order to mark your brand’s presence in customers’ minds, keep posting new content without break. There is nothing like a viral post on audio social media, so have patience and keep working towards the brand’s goals.
What are the Advantages of Audio Social Media?
If you are not impressed by the statistics then we guess the advantages of audio social media can do a convincing job. Here are some of the advantages of using audio social media:
1. Lower Competition
Since audio social media is a new kid in the social media landscape, it faces lower competition. It is advised to be an early bird and make use of this not so competitive space as this space got the high audience’s interest. Further the chances of organic traffic and conversion are also high.
2. Better Communication Platform
Text messages, images, GIFs do not provide the emotional connection that a human voice can provide. Pandemic has taught us well the importance of human interaction in our lives. Audio social platforms aim to build connection without the barriers like the physical look as here voice is the only medium for communication. With it, you can evoke every emotion in the audience. They can hear your excitement, happiness, interact with the users in real-time, get their feedback about the brand, and all these things can help to connect better with the brand.
3. Direct Audience Feedbacks
If you know what to improve then you can make a big difference. Direct feedback from the audience helps to understand the requirements of users and by implementing given feedback into the products and services, you can improve sales and build trust amongst users. The way audio social apps provide the opportunity to interact with the audience helps to get direct and honest feedback from users. You as the brand can make the best use of this goldmine platform to introduce new ideas or improve the existing products and services. While collecting feedback ensures to receive negative or filthy ones with a positive attitude as sometimes your positive attitude helps the audience to connect more with the brand.
4. No Ads
Frequent ads in between sketches, stories, or discussions really sink the interest of users and also divides the attention of users. But due to the early stages of development in audio spaces, thank god there is no such disturbance. You can actually get the undivided attention of users and keep them involved in the discussion.
5. Community
Another beautiful aspect of audio social apps is a social community. Here you can build a social community with like-minded people. You can create a kind of fan base for the brand. Just us, a community is essential for a brand as well as an individual. It can help to portray the brand in a much better way, showcase the social side of the brand, and help to gain the trust of users in the long run.
What are Different Ways of Marketing on Audio Social Platforms?
There are a plethora of ways to grab the attention of users on audio social platforms.
1. Host a Conversation
One of the popular ways to market your business on audio social apps is by hosting a conversation. The topic of discussion can be around topics relevant to your brand. Here you can give a platform to the audience to understand your brands from human aspects.
2. Sponsor the Events
Sponsoring events is a very traditional approach to spreading good words about your brand. Here you can sponsor any upcoming chat room events that have a good and large audience base. With the right strategy and good events, you can really make a difference.
3. Influencer Marketing
Like any other social platform, even audio social platforms have a great scope for influencer marketing. Partner with renowned influencers of the industry and ask them to promote your brand uniquely and beautifully. Ensure to have a strategic and effective methodology to make some noise on the platform.
4. Audio Room
The majority of audio social apps offer premium and public audio rooms. You can choose the audio room type as per your preference. While interacting with the audience in your audio room, ensure to make the conversation interesting, make it more human by sharing the vision of the brand, and take feedback positively. Here the key to success is personalization. People are interested to know the behind-the-scenes, human side of the brands, and people working with the brand.
Wrapping up
Audio social platforms are evolving like never before. People wish to connect with one another without the fear of judgments plus the human voice is more intimidating. Building audiences at the early stage of the audio revolution helps to build a large and loyal audience base. We hope that our comprehensive guide on audio social media has helped to understand this new platform in a better way and how brands can make the best use of it.
