Until recently, the most popular social media platforms were visual-based. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, among others, encouraged users to share text, images and videos to engage audiences. But now, listening platforms and features are having a moment. People are tired of staring at screens in the age of remote work, which is why they’re turning to social audio instead.
According to research, there will be 1,498.2m social listeners by 2025. This presents a major opportunity for you to develop your brand’s audio presence (aka sonic branding). Audio is the key to brand recognition and recall, so sonic branding can be used to break through the noise and distinguish your brand from your competitors. This means creating a consistent audio presence across platforms.
Crafting a Consistent Sonic Brand
People get a sense of your company’s core values through your brand voice, so it’s important to get it right. If you’ve already developed your brand’s voice and tone through text and visuals, you’re well-equipped to make audio decisions. Ask yourself how your brand would look and sound if it were a person. After you’ve identified some key attributes, focus on portraying them.
Need a little more guidance? Try starting with your customer personas. People buy products from people who sound, think, and communicate like them because there’s an inherent level of trust and comfort. If you know who you’re trying to reach, you can craft your sonic brand accordingly. Try writing scripts like you would say them aloud, and avoid introducing variables like accents and dialects that are unfamiliar to your audience’s region.
Above all, make sure you remain consistent. Your sound should make your target customers say, “I think I’ve heard that before.” Of course, consistency doesn’t mean everything should sound exactly the same. When it comes to sonic branding, audio elements such as voices and sounds should be similar and recognizable, not identical. You can think of this as a color palette: Identify a primary color and the corresponding complementary colors. Additionally, any music you use should be stylistically consistent. The genre, tempo, and overall feeling should authentically express your brand.
Creating Audio Content for Specific Platforms
After developing your sonic brand, you’ll need to determine how you’ll approach each platform. What are your goals? Who are you trying to reach? How will you measure success? Once you’ve mapped out your strategies, you can start crafting the appropriate messaging.
Here are tips for creating content on four of the biggest platforms with social audio:
Audio Branding on Clubhouse
Launched in April 2020, Clubhouse is an audio social network where people can host or listen to discussions on a variety of topics. There are three different types of rooms where discussions are held: open rooms, social rooms, and closed rooms. Open rooms allow anyone on the platform to join, social rooms allow users who follow a moderator to join, and closed rooms are moderator invite-only.
In order to become a host and create a club of your own, you need a track record of engagement. Then, you can name your club after your brand, create a schedule discussing a broad range of topics, and moderate discussions.
Audio Branding on Twitter
Twitter Spaces allows anyone with a Twitter account and more than 600 followers to host conversations on the platform. Anyone who follows the host’s account or has a link can access the space and participate in the conversation.
One benefit of Twitter Spaces is that users in a chat can engage with one another while also scrolling through their feeds. This takes engagement within the platform to the next level and allows you to comment on trending topics and gain credibility. Eventually, Twitter will debut Ticketed Spaces, which will allow users with more than 1,000 followers to charge admission to conversations. This could be a great way to consistently engage your followers via must-attend social networking events.
Audio Branding on Facebook
Early in 2021, Facebook launched new audio features available in the Facebook app, including podcast listening and discovery tools. These features enable users to listen to podcasts on the app even while the app is running in the background.
Similar to Clubhouse, Facebook is also hosting Live Audio Rooms where members can engage in conversations with one another. You can use this tool to further interact with audiences on a platform you’re familiar with.
Audio Branding on Spotify
Spotify has existed in the audio space for years. Although it started out as a music streaming platform, Spotify’s CEO believes its future involves all audio endeavors.
Now that Spotify has released Greenroom, listeners can connect with artists and engage in post-event chats, discussions about new releases, and more. Listeners are craving authenticity and transparency now more than ever. If you can establish your brand on this platform, you’ll be able to tap into the user base that Spotify has built.
While sonic branding might seem new and somewhat daunting, it’s just an extension of what you’re already doing on social media. By tapping into the up-and-coming audio space, you can create new customer touchpoints and engage people authentically.
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