Why should a Marketer care about Digital Audio?
1. Enables the brand to engage with the customer/prospect in situations they can't when their eyes are busy: so, instead of reading or watching, they can hear
2. Situations where their hands are busy: so instead of typing, they speak
3. So, it's an easy way to collect user generated content (UGC): all they need to do is speak their answers. This creates meaningful engagegement
4. Transcribed audio -- podcasts, microcasts, content from your users -- can be repurposed and used in your blogs, and that's good for your SEO
5. People stay longer on pages that have audio embedded in them -- and that's also good for your SEO
6. Audio packs a lot of emotion and personality: this enables you to bring your brand to life and give it authenticity and differentiate it
7. Audio is trustworthy: the most effective ads are ads spoken by the host of a podcast. They are putting their whole integrity on the line by endorsing a product. The whole ad consisting only in the voice of the host means that there is no fluff -- graphics, flashing text: it's just the host telling it like it is
8. Creates intimacy and enables brand to get closer to customer
9. When was the last time an image or a piece of text got stuck in your head? Jingles on the other hand are sticky
10. No constraints on form factor: your audio can be delivered on any smartphone, any tablet, any smart speaker -- and you don't need to change a thing
For a detailed discussion on why Digital Audio is compelling, please read Chapter One of this book: The Elements of Voice First Style (O'Reilly Media, June 2022).
For more on Digital Audio, please go here.