Audio Advertising: Reaching Local Customers through Streaming and Podcasts

As technology advances, so does the way we consume media. Gone are the days where people only listen to the radio while driving to work or running errands. Nowadays, people have access to a plethora of options through streaming services and podcasts, creating a captive medium for advertisers to connect with their audience on a more personal level.

If you’re a business in Chicago looking to advertise on the radio, it’s essential to understand audio advertising’s impact through these new mediums. In this post, we’ll discuss how audio advertising has increased use and purpose during an era of podcasts and streaming services, helping businesses reach local customers more effectively than ever before.

Streaming is a Captive Medium

Streaming and podcasts are choice-based mediums, allowing listeners to choose what they want to listen to and when they want to listen to it. This presents an opportunity for advertisers to reach a highly engaged audience, as listeners likely deliberately put on a program or music they intend to listen to with undivided attention. Even if they’re putting something on while doing something else, like driving or cleaning, they’re captive listeners receiving the programming.

One of the biggest advantages of audio streaming services like Spotify and Pandora is their ability to target their ideal customer based on demographic and behavioral data. With this information, businesses can match their audio ads to their customers’ interests, reaching them with relevant content that resonates with them on a personal level. It allows you, as the advertiser, to target your audience based on their listener categories.

Because streaming services can allow for such specificity, businesses can create more specific messaging that caters to a smaller, more engaged audience. That gives businesses the opportunity to create highly personalized ads that speak directly to their target customers, helping businesses increase their reach and make meaningful connections with their audience.

Lets You Target Customers by Interest

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, with more than 80 million Americans listening to at least one podcast per week. Podcasts tend to cover specific topics, which attract very specific listeners. Podcasts often collect demographic information about their audience, which businesses can use to choose shows whose audiences overlap with their customers.

If you own a pet store in Chicago, you may want to advertise on a podcast that covers topics related to pets or animal care. This way, you can reach potential customers who are already interested in your products and services, increasing the chances of converting them into loyal customers.

Audio is a Non-Intrusive Platform

Audio advertising is a non-intrusive platform with ad structure that don’t distract from the listening experience. With podcasts, for instance, ads and sponsor messages are typically placed at expected times, so listeners know to expect them. This predictability makes audio advertising less invasive to the listening experience and helps your audio ads reach customers at crucial moments.

Some listeners may appreciate the sponsor’s contribution to their favorite podcasts or enjoy their hosts’ take on providing this messaging. Customers feel more positively toward their favorite hosts, as they can cause a 62% increase in positive brand perception, and will be more likely to recall their products accordingly.

Cost-Effectively Grow Your Brand

Compared to other forms of advertising, such as television or print, audio ads are relatively low-cost but can have a tremendous impact on credibility and brand recall, giving radio a very high ROI.

Aside from being accessible to businesses of all sizes, audio advertising is a cost-effective way of growing your brand recognition. Even small businesses with limited budgets can benefit from the power of audio advertising to establish credibility and awareness with their audiences.

Makes it Easier to Track Success

Audio ads are also incredibly easy to gauge effectiveness since business can easily include special URLs to track campaign success in real-time. That allows you to see who clicks into your site, providing valuable insights into who you’re reaching. This information can be used to make informed decisions about future campaigns and to continuously optimize and improve the success of their audio advertising.

Grow Your Business with Digital Audio Ads

Audio is a captivating and effective medium for reaching your audiences, and it’s one that continues to grow in effectiveness. Streaming services have only expanded on its capabilities in resonating with audiences by allowing it to reach them at moments when they’re receptive and attentive.

While it is a widely accessible medium, creating audio ads yourself is not always the best course of action. Working with an experienced media partner can help you devise a plan and see through creation of a great campaign.