Blink and 2023 will be here. And with a new year comes new trend predictions for content marketing. We’ve seen that audio has been having a moment for the past few years, and its popularity is still on the rise. Let’s look at how social audio and podcasting stand out and why your business should invest in them since this trend is actually our new normal.
Social Audio
What is social audio? Social audio is a niche of social media networking that involves members of social audio platforms communicating over voice recordings rather than text or images. This form of social media really surged at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and is yet to slow down.
Social Audio Platforms
Social audio platforms include Discord, Twitter Spaces, Spotify Greenroom, Meta (Facebook) Live Audio, Instagram (this is available using their Live feature as well), and even Tiktok. In various ways, users on these platforms can communicate by recording their voices to discuss a specific topic or trending event or tell a story.
Advantages Of Social Audio
Why should you care about social audio? There are many advantages to incorporating these platforms into your brand’s content strategy. For one, it would allow you to interact and engage with consumers in real-time. It would allow you to gain invaluable insight into an uncaptured part of your customer journey by opening a new door for your brand to learn your audience’s values.
Social audio adds another spoke to your content distribution wheel, allowing you to hone in on particular key messages for your brand. While also boosting your brand’s credibility.
Podcasts
Another form of trending audio and an excellent avenue for repurposing key messages is podcasts.
Data provided by HubSpot suggests that podcasts are on the rise among B2B and B2C, with around 43% of marketing leaders indicating that their investment in podcasts will increase.
With 26% of Americans listening to podcasts every week, according to Edison Research, many brands are trying to reach their audience through sponsorship or creating their own content with branded podcasts.
Branded podcasts are a highly effective tool for reaching consumers in a non-invasive way. They can be done through educational, narrative, or journalistic lenses to deliver a compelling message to listeners while driving brand awareness, engagement, credibility, consideration, and thought leadership.
According to the BBC, branded podcasts saw excellent ROI with an 89% increase in brand awareness, a 57% increase in brand consideration, a 24% increase in brand favorability, and a 14% increase in purchase intent.
If companies are not creating their own podcasts, leadership team members can also make guest appearances on top brand programs to accomplish these KPIs. Wild Coffee Marketing co-founder Amy Anderson is frequently a guest on well-recognized podcasts sharing insights on our outsourced marketing model, company culture, and sharing tips on leading a dispersed team. Engaging consumers in this authentic way strengthens your company’s expertise, demonstrates values, and establishes you as a thought leader.
Podcast advertising has also shown extremely substantial results for brands as well. Nielsen found that brand podcast ads had a recall rate of 75%.
Social audio and podcasts don’t take much for your brand to thrive because you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. These channels are great ways to repurpose bite-sizeable content you’ve already created in the form of blogs, social posts, interviews, and newsletters.
Interested in learning more about content strategy and current trends? Wild Coffee Marketing is here for you. Contact us today to get started. At Wild Coffee Marketing, we love helping companies reach their audiences.
