Audio content was being produced for decades but now it has come out of the shadows and become a popular marketing asset in the content creating field. All the tech giants are working towards building communities in the audio medium. Several smart audio products have been launched like Amazon Alexa Echo, Google smart speakers, etc. that are a tremendous success and the demand for such products is increasing day by day. This has led to an increase in the marketing of such products and services as well.
Most popular businesses create daily or weekly podcasts on topics that appeal to the masses. Globally, the market size of podcasting was valued at USD 11.46 billion in 2020. It is expected to grow about 31% at a compound annual rate from 2021 to 2028. This sharp rise in demand for audio content has made new businesses learn how to make not just social media posts, ads, video content, etc. but also learn how to create the best audio social media content.
The sudden rise in audio content
The success of all types of advertising and marketing campaigns was seen in the word-of-mouth advertising in the conversations by the water cooler. It was the chatter that happened during the small work breaks between colleagues that determined which shows will be watched more or which places will be visited during the weekends. But this was all before the lockdown of 2020. After working from home for more than a year, the modern-day equivalent to the water-cooler gossip is the first few minutes of zoom calls. .
People had to become used to being alone in the house and needed to be stimulated all the time. So while doing chores, working out, or in between work, almost everyone started listening to music and audio content. You cannot watch videos while doing chores but you can listen to a podcast or two and maybe learn something new. Some even went back to listening to radios, if you can believe it.
So after a few months of lockdown, the marketing industry noticed the change in audience behaviors and preferences and began to modify their strategies as well. It was not just musicians and comedians getting all the ears. Consumers were eager to try all kinds of audio content and now there are household brands from Vodafone to Sephora that are launching their own full-fledged podcasts.
The industry was also pleased to make this change because, in the remote-working situation, it was easier to create audio content that needed recording than video content that required multiple meetups with the cast and a lot of editing.
Listeners started tuning in to live audio rooms on Facebook. Apps that let you socialize using audio became a popular hangout spot in the online community. Let’s explore the marketing of this medium in detail when it comes to apps.
Audio rooms and marketing
Nowadays, users want to be able to go into online “rooms” and talk to strangers with similar interests or just listen to what is being discussed. They miss being a part of a group because of the lockdown and being social. You can always approach each new person by personally messaging them on social media but it comes off as inappropriate and with good reason. It would be like going to some random person’s house and introducing yourself and asking them to be your friend when it comes to the offline world. Does that sound right?
But audio room app like Breakout make it possible for you to make friends who have the same interests as you do or talk and learn more about certain topics. You can interact as much as you are comfortable with. It is possible to just go into rooms and listen in and leave as per your convenience. Nothing is recorded so it is exactly like getting to talk to a room full of people about your favorite topics.
Several celebrities have joined such apps and brought popularity to this new culture of socializing on audio platforms but it is the Breakout app that is taking this idea to the next level. On Breakout, you can create Global, Social, and Private rooms. This means that you can either host a talk and let people all over the world participate in it or you can create a room just for your followers. These concepts are similar to having a public and private Instagram profile. Then you can also create a private room and just invite the person or people you want to talk with.
Breakout is a perfect place to start audio marketing your skills, programs, host your shows, and gain popularity. Breakout also has other features like “Bee Search” which is a search engine that is established in the app itself. So if you need to immediately look up something, you can use this in-built search engine in the app itself while being in the “room”. You can also access analytics from the home page that will show the number of followers, new followers (this week), new unfollows (this week), names of attendees in your room, time of the room, engaged time, no. of total attendees, and no. of people who used the “Bee Search” engine while being in the room.
Just like the stories we put up on other social media, there is an option of audio stories that you can post for your followers. You can check out the upcoming rooms and what they will be discussing can be seen in the descriptions. If there are any live rooms open, you can join in immediately and become a part of a community. There is an option to chat in the room so you can share links or images and these texts will be saved for you to access anytime you want.
Businesses can get creative with this app and use Breakout for their marketing. You can sponsor rooms, start regular live podcasts and check out how many people are tuning in every week, promote your brand, co-host with Breakout celebrities and let them do the marketing for you. The best part about promoting your brand on Breakout would be you will get an engaging audience that will provide live feedback that will help you improve your product/service as well as your marketing strategy. The analytics of Breakout will further help you understand what your target audience likes based on their engagement.
So check out and join the audio social media platform to host your own shows, to collaborate with others, to become a part of a community, and most importantly, let your voice be heard.