Podcasting for Business and Brand
Implementing a spoken word audio content strategy over the next decade provides an amazing opportunity for businesses and brands to reach new markets.
With the democratization of audio combined with the reach of the internet, it has never been easier to reach the masses with spoken word content.
And with the saturation of the mobile phone market across all regions and demographics, the power to reach people now sits daily in their pockets.
In fact the podcast industry alone is expected to average a 28% compounding annual growth rate to 2032.
From a business perspective, being an early adopter of audio content marketing strategy provides an opportunity to help share knowledge and solve problems for your customers.
If done properly by solopreneurs, coaches, consultants and professionals, audio allows you to clone yourself, with each piece potentially working for you like a digital employee 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
It also positions you as a thought leader and industry authority providing a platform to generate leads and in turn grow revenue.
There’s a myth that you have to keep producing a podcast, the fact is a podcast need not be never ending.
You can produce a season, with a set number of episodes around a core theme, and share it as a body of work, much like authoring chapters in a book.
Best of all, a spoken word or audio strategy has a low barrier to entry and cost, but the return on investment can yield big results.
A Brief Audio History Lesson…
The year 2020 marked 100 years since the first US licensed radio station hosted an official broadcast (<- click to listen)
With the advent of podcasting, there has never been a better opportunity to harness the power spoken word marketing offers from a brand perspective.
For one century, radio has dominated the spoken word space (both production and distribution). But that is no more!
Give ‘voice’ to your brand.
Today “Audio on Demand” is everywhere in the form of audio books, social audio, podcasts, corpcast, newspods and auditorials.
The portability of spoken word combined with people’s ability to multitask while listening has always been audio’s strength.
A strength other traditional media like newspapers, television and magazines cannot replicate.
Spoken word also offers the ability to bring attention to current and trending topics due the speed at which audio content can be recorded, edited and distributed.
Strategy brands and businesses can take advantage of it too, with the right approach and format.
A Spoken Word Industry Revolution or Evolution?
Similar to the way websites, social media, and streaming services have challenged the traditional media landscape of newspapers, television, and magazines.
So too, radio is now in the firing line of modern spoken word media creators, particularly brands and independent players publishing as part of an audio content strategy.
“Modern spoken word media” is a term I use to describe a bucket of new audio innovations considered still in their infancy.
A growing industry that includes podcasting 2.0, audiobooks, spatial audio, AI Spoken Word, VR, AR, drop-in social audio, smart speakers and blockchain podcasting (e.g. Hive – value for value).
What this points to is more growth and innovation and therefore more opportunity coming to the spoken word content marketing sector.
Radio, in my opinion, is the traditional media least likely to experience long-term effects from the growth of the spoken word sector.
If anything we are already seeing traditional radio take advantage of podcast distribution by repurposing their own content, buying up podcasts or creating their own.
But with more dilution the radio industry is taking a hit financially, which I show a little later in this article.
Radio and Podcasting Go Hand In Hand
Unlike other media, radio will weather the storm better than most other traditional media platforms due to their ability to localize content, making it extremely targeted and relavant.
Here are the core reasons radio will survive:.
1) Specializing in audio – radio already has all the tools at their disposal to produce audio content and share it both live and on demand to both global and local audiences. That is, they can compete directly with current offerings or even piggy back on modern media platforms, diversifying their offerings and reach. This provides more value for advertisers and audiences alike.
2) Radio’s ability to draw advertising revenue – from local bricks and mortar businesses is likely to be unchallenged by the current global nature of audio streaming. While revenues will decrease, the opportunity for radio to engage and target listeners in real time and locally will continue to provide them with a competitive advantage.
3) Three factors still position radio as a leading format: music, local market, and niche continue to be the foundation for most radio programming. While news services and currency also provide a competitive advantage.
4) Professionalism – the quality of some content being produced in the Spoken Word space, is poor. And sound quality is a big deal for both audiences and advertisers. This, however, does provide an opportunity for the Spoken Word sector to lift their game. So, this could be considered a future threat as spoken word audio production houses improve their product.
5) The biggest challenges – for modern streamed spoken word media continue to be discoverability, searchability and localization. These are not problems for radio stations, in fact, you can pretty much find any radio station streaming live in your city today over the internet. (Check out RADIO GARDEN) or just scan with your DAB or terrestrial radio receiver and you’ll find stations near you.
6) Ease of access – spoken word media may create a barrier to entry from both a price standpoint and a technical know how standpoint. While providing improved access for disadvantaged communities and those who are less able.
The Challengers – podcasting, social audio, audiobooks
Taking those factors into account I would say the radio industry certainly won’t be brought to its knees by podcasts, social audio or audio books.
But the dilution of market share through more competitive option may risk the profitibity of some small players.
Of course music streaming sources like Spotify, Apple and Amazon Music also contribute in the decline of audience for terrestrial radio.
Here’s what one recent report of the Australian Audio/Radio Industry found: (source: pwc)
The audio market has continued to evolve, with the segment now covering a range of products that consumers use to access audio services. The traditional stronghold of terrestrial radio is now fully complemented by streaming, podcast, and catch-up services.
Traditional leaders in this market were terrestrial and digital audio broadcasting (DAB)-delivered linear radio, with music, podcasts, and live radio streaming making up a small portion of the overall market.
As consumers’ choice for audio content increases, coupled with the 2020 decline in traditional radio revenue, the market is close to an even split between consumer and advertising revenue.
“The total segment declined 8.1 percent in 2020 to A$1.5 billion. As audiences return to more predictable listening patterns within key dayparts, terrestrial radio will see a recovery, however, it is not predicted to return to 2019 levels within the forecast period. Streaming will continue to see growth of 12.0 percent CAGR to 2025 based on the midpoint forecast scenario as podcasting and music streaming offer alternative ways to access audio content for consumers”
Audio Content Strategy – What, When and Where You Want
The biggest pivot was not to digital radio as people thought would happen in the 2000s, but rather the pivot to audio on demand and streaming over the internet (i.e. podcasts, audiobooks, music services etc.)
The ability to deliver the type of audio people want, when they want it, where they want it, and on the device they want arrived with the advent of smart phones, tablets, and smart devices. (Not DAB devices, as was hoped and expected by the radio industry.).
And this is why we are only at the beginning of the spoken word revolution and evolution.
Edison Research 2021 Share of Ear Report in the US found:
Spoken words share of audio listening has increased by 40% over the last 7 years, 8% in the last year.
This shift provides a huge opportunity for those in the spoken word space, as statistics here demonstrate a potential for 7-12% growth to 2025 (projected in Australia and US in these reports).
Podcasting as a Brand Strategy
With the costs of audio production, hosting and distribution coming down there is a massive opportunity for businesses and individuals to give “VOICE” to their brand as never before.
Many businesses have not yet realized the potential impact and reach a spoken word audio content strategy can have for their brand’s growth.
Adding a spoken word podcast strategy to your content marketing mix just seems a no brainer when it comes to building brand awareness, authority and sales growth.
Not hosting “auditorials” on your own website, that give you the chance to speak to potential clients and customers may be a missed opportunity.
While “corpcasts” provide you the opportunity to share internally recorded audio content to deliver information directly to employees’ smart devices and to share with them the happenings of a large organization.
Traditional “podcast” formats provide the chance to position yourself as industry and thought leaders and speak B2B and B2C on platforms where distribution is free.
Not to mention the repurpoing potential in other formats and across other social media platforms.
A company that does all three may well be an industry leader who has positioned themselves as an early authority in the spoken word audio space.
After all, the early bird gets the worm.
Need Help with YOUR Spoken Word Strategy?
Applaudable Media founder Coach Craig Rowe can help you or your marketing team plan, produce, edit and launch an audio content strategy.
Coach Rowe has both traditional media experience having attained a Journalism degree from the University of Queensland and was also a former award-winning radio announcer.
He is now an experienced operator in podcasting and social influence in both audio and video formats as well as live streaming.
Connect via email at enquiries@applaudablemedia.com if you are serious about pursuing a spoken word audio content strategy to grow your brand and add value to customers, employees or industry.
With over three decades of career capital in graphic design, IT, and digital content creation, Applaudable Media can help you “give voice to your brand.”.
(*Note: The earliest unofficial broadcasts of spoken word and music in the US were also said to be 1906 and later in 1909.)
