Have you heard? It’s the year of audio.
While the last 10 years have been focused on video development from a digital context, a clear shift to audio has taken place. Major companies are making significant investments, especially in spoken word audio in the form of podcasts.
And no surprise, Apple and Facebook are at the forefront.
Facebook is building community around audio by incorporating live audio (Facebook Live) into their platform. And we know this: When Facebook prioritizes something, it tends to catch on!
Which means the development of audio content deserves all of our attention heading into 2022.
Leave it to Facebook: “You want pictures? We’ll buy Instagram and bring you back to us. You want audio content? We’ll create a platform for it.”
And as for Apple, they recently began offering subscriptions. You can now obtain both free content and paid content. The transaction goes right through Apple pay and makes it very simple for those subscriptions to be processed for consumers in the Apple ecosystem. There are also multiple updates around the way you can set up channels and have multiple podcasts under those channels.
Apple is treating podcasting like television. They’re using the vernacular of television, channels, stories, and miniseries in serialized content.
Yet Apple users often make a big mistake. They are not diversified when it comes to where they are distributing content. Did you know there are more Android users in the world than there are Apple users?
It’s not just Google Play. It’s Spotify. It’s Stitcher. It’s SoundCloud. There are many different preferred podcast platforms. Even Apple users are finding there are other apps in which you can download a podcast.
But perhaps what’s most important from a technology perspective is flexibility. We need to know that anything can change at any time, and we need to be prepared for it. We can’t be too dependent on Apple podcast, Spotify, or Audible. Being diversified is important, as is ensuring that we own our audience.
And as you fine-tune your podcast, think beyond capturing your audience through great storytelling, to how you can move them to a clear call to action. The end goal is not to get someone to listen to your podcast.
The end goal is to fully engage them with your organization.
Right now in your neighborhood, there are at least six other people creating podcasts. Everyone is hoping to unlock the next big thing that goes viral and influences the culture. And so, just sharing something that was preached or taught to a live audience on a podcasting platform is not going to cut it anymore.
Think this way: How can you take the unique voice you have and create content that then engages the person listening and gets them excited to partner with you?
If the primary person listening to your podcast is a runner or a driver, how are you engaging them? How are you talking to them in a way that makes them feel like they’re a part of the conversation?
How are you being informative in a way that shapes their view of the world, the culture, their finances? All of that matters. Just repurposing live content will no longer work.
The bottom line is this: Stay diversified in your distribution and flexible when it comes to technology. And finally, consider the quality of your content. The barrier to you entering the audio space is not technology. It’s content. And quality is better than quantity.
The best way to start creating good content is to start creating content.
If you’re still doing the same thing you were doing a year ago, you’re probably not doing a very good job. Consider whether you should make audio content a priority – because so many people are in this space.
And the consumption rate is only going up from here.
*For more tips on how to effectively produce and distribute audio content, be sure to check out The Cause+Effect Podcast episode, How to be Successful in Podcasting.
+ More Insights from Dunham+Company: “More About Podcasting“