In marketing, what goes around often comes back around in popularity. The renewed prominence of all forms of audio content is proof of the often cyclical nature of trends. The Golden Age of Radio, which saw the birth of commercial broadcast radio from the 1920s to the 1950s, was the first national audio medium to bring news and entertainment to Americans, with listeners regularly tuning into their favorite radio programs and “fireside chats” from politicians and prominent figures. Radio’s domination was quickly superseded in the 1950s by TV, with eager viewers able to watch programs instead of just listening to them—the very first example of “screen time.”
In today’s world, screens have reached the apex of popularity, with endless ways to view content—via mobile, desktop, Smart TVs, SmartBooks and more. In fact, because of the demand for readily accessible content, social mediums like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and more are continually inventing original platforms for users to watch and engage with and advertisers must find new ways of leveraging these platforms to remain relevant. Bottom line: video has become such a table stakes playing field that it seems inevitable a shift in mediums would have to emerge.
And emerge it has. The recent rise of social audio and screen-free viewing is now the hottest marketing trend for 2021, and seems almost a retro return to those golden days where the power of soundscapes pulled in audiences far and wide. Fueled by the growing popularity of podcasts and audio/music streaming during the pandemic, as well as iPhone users craving human interaction and new ways to connect that go beyond passive viewing, new apps like Clubhouse have become a welcome space to talk to friends, meet new ones and engage in discourse on all kinds of topics.
So how does the rise of social audio and its implications for new marketing avenues impact your business? We’ll take a look at the most popular emerging platforms and trends so you can decide for yourself whether it fits your business’ strategic goals. Just because it’s the hot new thing doesn’t mean you have to jump on the bandwagon, but if it aligns with your strategy as an innovation leader, audio marketing just might be the way to go in 2021.
Clubhouse
If you aren’t familiar with Clubhouse, here are the basics. Launched in April 2020 for iOS, it’s a much-buzzed-about, invite-only social app that lets users connect to fellow members based on personal and business interests for drop-in audio conversations. Similar to Instagram, users can follow celebrities, influencers and friends who are also members, as well as join chat rooms and clubs to participate in live discussions. Its popularity grew exponentially in early 2021 once celebrities like Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg started making surprise appearances on the app—going from 3.5 million downloads to 8 million globally by February 21. It’s also recently been valued at $4 billion after a new funding round, impressive for a limited-access, early stage app.
Still, though there is a big lure around the exclusive, connective nature of the app, there are a few hitches and unknowns to this new audio platform. First, because it’s still in the early stages of honing its UI and building its audience base, Clubhouse does not currently carry advertising, meaning marketers will need to get creative with their offerings. Joining Clubhouse as a rep for your company, starting a club based on industry interests and then building an organic following from there—similar to how popular Clubhouse influencer Kat Cole, the “unofficial queen of Clubhouse” did—is a way around the limitations of traditional advertising methods like ads and sponsored influencer content.
Secondly, the future of Clubhouse is yet uncertain; downloads have dipped back down to a low of just one million in April, leading some to wonder if it has long-term potential. Other apps have taken notice—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Spotify all recently launched or are set to launch their own social audio platforms—and this potential steal of audience share, along with people finally being able to leave homes due to COVID-19 vaccinations, might end up making Clubhouse an obsolete “pandemic fad” if the trend in low downloads continue.
There are also some ongoing UX issues that could be contributing to the drop in downloads, including entering chats mid-talk and irrelevant content notifications that might be turning off new users. Finally, Clubhouse only just launched its Android app, after a year of exclusivity with iOS. Time will tell if unlocking a whole new set of mobile users can increase its traffic and get it back on the upswing.
Is Clubhouse right for you?
Despite the growing pains, Clubhouse still offers advantages that could help strategically invigorate your business. It’s a ready-made platform that, above all, offers authenticity—perfect for deeper dive discussions and voice-to-voice customer engagement, allowing people to chat with you directly about your offerings, ask questions and learn about your brand in a real-time, organic way. Additionally, if your brand offers innovative products and services, early adoption might get you ahead of the competition so you can be seen as leading-edge to potential clients.
Twitter Spaces
Twitter is one of the social giants that has swiftly taken notice of Clubhouse’s meteoric rise in the past year and launched their own audio platform accordingly—Twitter Spaces. The main requirement to host a Space is that you must already have at least 600 Twitter followers; the thinking is that those accounts with an established audience would be more likely to successfully host live conversations about timely events and happenings. According to Twitter, “Spaces are for small and intimate conversations with just a few others, or for big discussions about what’s unfolding right now with thousands of listeners.” The key word is timeliness; whereas Clubhouse has a vast array of topics and interests to entice users, Spaces is basically an extended audio offering of what Twitter does naturally: talk about what’s happening at the moment.
Is Twitter Spaces right for you?
If your business has a lively presence and following on Twitter already, Spaces might be the next logical step to strategically build your following and increase awareness of your brand in a meaningful way. Realtors might use the forum as a chance to live chat questions about properties their clients just toured or discuss current real estate marketplace news and events with potential buyers. Other brands might use it to answer questions about a demo they posted to Twitter, letting followers interact in deeper ways to learn about the brand than a pre-seeded video can provide.
Audio-only advertising on YouTube, Spotify and more
Other big names in music streaming and video content have also recently followed suit in capitalizing on the demand for audio. YouTube just announced it would offer audio-only advertising for users who already listen to (but not watch) content. And according to advertising giant Carat, Pandora and Spotify are both experimenting with voice-controlled ads, similar to voice commands on smart speakers; Spotify even ran a campaign for NARS cosmetics that allowed listeners to interact with an ad to get a free sample.
Spotify may even take things a step further: to gain revenue, it might tap into its current music streaming ad-supported model for its new social audio platform, so that you’d hear an ad before you are let into an audio chat room, similar to how you hear ads before a podcast or playlist begins if you don’t have a subscription. This could be a game-changer for startup audio platforms like Clubhouse, who have not yet allowed recording and archiving celebrity-heavy discussions for replay and could open the door to selling ad inserts into their programming.
And the new Fireside app, co-founded by Mark Cuban, allows users to add sound effects and music tracks to their shows and distribute them on podcast platforms.
All this to say, social audio in all its emerging formats and platforms are on trend to make huge strides in 2021, but whether or not you dive into the fray is something best answered by looking at one key component of your business: strategy. Ask the following questions to determine whether social audio is truly right for the direction you want to take your brand or if you’re simply eager to get on the innovation bandwagon:
- Does my core strategy or business model align with what social audio has to offer?
- What benefits can my current followers and potential new followers gain from social audio ads and discussion-rich live platforms? Will they organically grow my audience?
- Are there unique offerings beyond traditional digital ads and video platforms that only social audio can provide to my customers?
If social audio is indeed the right kind of medium for you, you’ll have a wealth of options to choose from as it becomes an increasingly robust, innovative way to engage audiences and give your brand a more distinctive voice and sound.
Looking for a partner to help you evaluate the best way to integrate some of these new tools into your marketing strategy? We’d love to talk. Reach out to Barbara at barbara@wickmarketing.com or (512) 479-9834.
