A pandemic is the perfect time to learn audio marketing

Audio marketing is a super popular way to make a splash as a freelancer. We use audio marketing far more than we realise because we often don’t refer to it as that.

In broad strokes, audio marketing can be:

·        Podcasts

·        Audio lessons in courses

·        Voice search on Google

·        Using Google Home or Alexa

·        Radio and digital radio streaming (advertising, programming, preference driven exploration etc)

·        Some forms of ASMR

·        Audiograms (the trippy visuals with voice stuff you often see shared on inspirational Facebook pages etc- not the baby hearing tests)

You know that joke going around about how everyone has a podcast in a pandemic? There’s a reason for that. It’s not only because we now have the tools at home. Music and audio can be a way to focus. It’s almost like mindfulness on tap. And it makes for easy access to colour and company on lonely days. Sorry to burst your bubble, Daily Mail. 

Audio can also:

Ø  Help combat stress and reframe thinking

Ø  Reduce negative and intrusive thoughts

Ø  Tap into the comforting moments of being read to before bed to provide calm and comfort

Ø  Give us an alternative to reading if our eyes are tired or for people (like me) with sight issues

Ø  Block out stressful sounds like traffic and construction to create peace 

Ø  Change our mood to calm, happy, nostalgic and more

Audio marketing gives you the opportunity to repurpose content, create stories, and influence the way people search when they are on the go.

When you think about it, audio marketing is about the only place where you can hold a lion-share of attention of your audience while they do everything from exercise through to vacuum, drive the car or drift off to sleep.

Plus, when everyone is under stress, it’s much harder to read and write effectively. But we have so many ideas and thoughts to get out. Audio gives us the opportunity to get the release and relief we seek without having to wade through the stress-filled goo-piles we jokingly call our brains.

When you think of it in those terms, it’s little wonder that so many people have turned audio marketing as a big mix of their 2020 plans.

Places where you can explore the audio world

Here’s some of the ways you can play with audio and feel the difference:

·        Listen to podcasts on a regular basis

·        Check out streaming services like SBS and ABC digital radio via the Listen App 

·        Like something a little different? Head for community radio stations where you can stream all kinds of local community radio stations to your laptop and iPod with Fbi Radio, 4ZZZ, 3RRR and 2SER 

·        Head to the beanbag with your favourite album and listen through earphones

·        Start singing lessons, join a virtual pub choir or take lessons

·        Make yourself mixed playlists to match your moods

·        Record your own notes and play them back to you to learn different and difficult topics

·        Explore audiobooks

·        Have a silent disco in your lounge room with your iPod and headphones

·        As vehicles for guided meditation through apps

·        Make audio files and podcasts for your clients to listen to such as blogs, training documentation, onboarding info, introductory info, as summaries of large-scale documents and more

Easy steps to audio marketing

You don’t have to make massive software investments or kit up a recording studio. A solid USB microphone like a Rhode or a Yeti can get you on your way for less than a couple of hundred dollars.

Software wise, it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start producing audio with tools like:

a)      Zencastr– this allows you to record interviews and conversations

b)     Zoom– you can use the audio only option with recorded files

c)      Audacity– a free recording program that allows you to edit and convert files

d)     Garage band– a standard recording software with most Macs

e)     Anchor.FM – this is a dedicated podcasting platform that lets you access podcasting easily

You can also find a bunch of different ways to listen to audio through iTunes, apps for both Apple and Android, radio streaming services, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, through your digital TV setup and your browser.

Specific considerations for audio marketing

As audio relies on one sense picking up most if not all of the sensory load, it has to be good quality sound. People get a bit weird about pops, breathing, background noise and anything that distracts from the core audio.

Atmosphere also counts. Even if you are going to do something as a single voice project, it is probably worth your while looking at audio libraries for stock sounds that you can use in the background.

And remember that the story telling matters. We can forgive a cheesy script in an action-packed film, but because audio marketing only speaks to the ears, we really want to know that it is a strong story.

Using audio also means thinking with the way people speak in mind. For example, voice search is different to how someone might refine their search when typing. And how we speak generally is far more intimate, relaxed and gentle than how we write. These sorts of considerations have to be a part of the audio mix.

Are you a fan of audio marketing? Feel free to share your channel or your tips below.