Marketing strategies are constantly evolving and growing manifold to adapt to the requirements of the ever-increasing demand of the market. One of the increasingly popular and used content formats is audio. This format has become a means of communication admired by all and which makes it possible to offer a different sound experience to the customers. Let’s understand this marketing trend and take advantage of this new opportunity to improve your digital marketing strategy especially…
Sound Marketing, a Constantly Renewing Trend
While sound marketing has been around for a long time, consumer habits have changed in recent years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic and longer prison terms. Today, around 76% have adopted audio content on a daily basis. Amongst this content, there is podcasts, a marketing channel that is now essential on all media.
In fact, radios continue to emulate and the fact of being able to listen to them online helps to appeal to all age groups and all listeners, regardless of their field of activity. According to surveys conducted by Sortlist in France in 2021, more than 90% of the people who answered the questions say they listen to audio content, especially on radio and then podcasts. This interest stems from the fact that they can be heard at any time without the need to suspend viewing one’s business as would be the case with a video for example.
Evidence: More than half the time listeners spend listening to the radio is in transportation or on the go. Still according to SortList:
- Only less than 30% of party material that is related to their hobbies and other hobbies;
- Only 10% are interested in content related to their business activities.
- Conversion rates can go up to around 79% if they include product or service recommendations, indicating that listeners are more interested in audio ads, which are much easier for them to understand.
Various Audio Marketing Options
Faced with increasingly tough competition, companies need to adapt their marketing strategies to a larger and more demanding target audience. Audio marketing or sound marketing will help in establishing their reputation through various processes, such as:
- sound;
- sound effects;
- music.
Podcasts are a real opportunity to get to know people or keep consumers in suspense.
podcast
With imprisonment, many marketers decided to launch their first podcast and it literally exploded! More than 900,000 people were born in 2020. In 2021, several million have been identified. These digital audio materials appeal because of their practicality and versatility. For a company that wants to ride the trend, podcasts are a great way to promote a product or service by answering questions customers have about one of them. It allows you to form a bond of trust with those who follow you.
native podcast
There are different types of podcasts that can be used to introduce you to the general public, starting with native podcasts that are specialized for online broadcasting. Since it is not subject to adherence to a time limit, as may be the case with a radio broadcast, it can adapt to all formats, all genres. As part of a marketing strategy, he may adopt a tone that is the identity of the company, whatever the theme.
Native podcasts make it possible to go a long way in meeting listeners. If they are satisfied, they will naturally talk about it on their favorite social network and build a community, which makes them the best ambassadors to represent a brand.
Also, a podcast can be independent as it can be part of a particular production house. It offers not only podcasts created by them, but also those designed by others to be repurposed under the same banner to optimize their visibility and expand their audience.
replay podcast
Replay podcasts are also called catch-up radio. As its name suggests, it allows the listener to re-listen to the program which he may have missed while broadcasting or he wants to listen again for some reason or another. It is commonly used by radio stations so that their broadcasts are accessible to listeners at all times.
Radio podcasts aren’t the only sound marketing option. In fact, multiplication of distribution channels is the best solution to address a more diverse audience and prospect of becoming a customer. To do this, interviewing satisfied customers, collecting testimonials from loyal users and integrating them into website content helps attract future prospects. The goal is to inspire him to join the list of people who have trusted him and to inspire him to take action according to Elmo Lewis’s principles of conversion rate.
Live Audio or Social Audio
It is impossible to ignore the importance of social networks today. They are an integral part of our daily lives and one of the main preferred means of communication for all generations, a habit that has become more embedded during the pandemic. A company that wants to position itself in the face of increasingly innovative competition must know how to spot trends without losing its identity. Using Facebook Live Audio he can reveal himself, sharing upcoming projects or products soon to market. It is also an opportunity for the company to talk to its customers, answer their questions, and address their concerns, if any. In this category, she can choose to use the clubhouse.
Clubhouse has the exclusiveness of being accessible by invitation only and only on iOS devices. Also, unlike social networks like Facebook or Instagram, priority is not given to written messages and comments. “Guests” form private discussion rooms with a limited number of participants. To avoid abuse, moderators are responsible for regulating speaking times and allowing different participants to express themselves. Although it is not open to everyone, Clubhouse is beginning to impose itself on users, especially since by calling on recognized influencers, it piques the interest of the youngest.
playlist
More and more brands are playing on consumer sentiments. Music is one of the most effective communication channels. Everyone knows this melody that stays in their head all day, that song we sing aimlessly and that we immediately imbibe something, or brand, and that has become mythical.
Playlists are one of those audio marketing strategies that have been proven over the decades. Sound marketing should convey the brand image of a company above all. It should highlight its values. Structuring a branded playlist requires intense musical skills, but also a perfect knowledge of human psychology. This makes it possible to attract new customers and strengthen the relationship between a brand and the people who are already loyal to them.
In terms of music advertisements, companies have the option of music streaming platforms like Spotify, which is free to download on smartphones, thus promoting the mobility of listeners. You should know that as of early 2021, it had over 199 million listeners who didn’t subscribe, meaning they could hear ads throughout their listening time. So these millions of people are just as potential customers.
Other media are used by companies to implement their digital marketing strategy. This is for example the case when someone calls customer service. While she waits, the music plays. The same applies when it is redirected to another service, or if it has to leave a message on the answering machine.
To whom should you entrust the development of a good marketing strategy?
The implementation of a good marketing strategy should be entrusted to professionals in the field. Training is available for those who want to become a sound designer. Thus, it is possible to follow 2 years of study to be accepted by Diploma in Technician Trades of Sound. For a Higher Diploma in the Sound Profession or a Master’s Degree in Sound Production, it will be necessary to follow 5 years of training in the design option within the art school.
A sound designer may also be referred to as so is responsible for the sound creation or sound environment of a show or store. Sound marketing also requires the intervention of a content writer, who writes the interviews, the text of the podcast according to the needs of the company and the orientation they want to give their content. This may be advertising, information or advice relating to the Company’s products or services. They can also be simply playful, pleasant to hear.