This Social Audio Club Is LIT: Social Audio Picks Up Steam Fostering Live, Intimate & Transparent Conversations
Touched on briefly in Harmelin Media’s recent media trends presentation, social audio is an emerging media channel that continues to catch fire. “Sparked” by the pandemic, the need for human connection and, let’s be honest, video fatigue, social audio allows users around the world to participate in and lead active discussions across a variety of topics and interests. Social audio content can feel akin to a live podcast or even online radio. There is no on-demand functionality or archive feature, so the content disappears once the event ends, and members don’t want to miss out. As a result, at any given time, live conversations, audio events and performances are happening across a growing field of social audio platforms.
Clubhouse is currently the largest social audio platform, garnering more than 10 million app installs worldwide in the month of February alone. Clubhouse reaches the connected, early adopter. Access to Clubhouse is exclusive, as members extend invitations to people within their network to download the app on an iOS device. Clubhouse listeners build out profile descriptions and have the ability to follow other members and clubs based on their interests. Although Clubhouse may have been the first social audio platform to debut in April 2020, more players are entering the market. Twitter, Spotify, LinkedIn and Facebook are all in the process of actively developing and launching social audio offerings.
Social audio offers consumers a forum in which their actual voice can be heard, but with no anxiety about being on camera. Marketers can leverage the channel to showcase thought leaders and influencer partnerships as well as using it as a feedback loop to gain insight on consumer opinion. Additionally, there are many benefits from the ability to curate meaningful conversations loosely related to brands and behaviors via moderated, branded chats.
Paid advertisements on social audio are not available at this time, but there are ways marketers can still experiment within the channel without getting burned. Marketing opportunities exist within influencer, PR and event marketing, rather than the traditional media buy. While there is currently no out–of–pocket media cost, it will require time, talent and ingenuity to build equity in the social audio space. Consider the following when joining the conversation on social audio:
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- Be real – authenticity matters! Rather than sticking to the script of speaking points and status quo brand messages, thought leaders and influencers should showcase expertise through their individual perspective. Allow the audience “on stage” to ask questions and contribute to the discussion.
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- Make it personal – Overly salesy pitches and heavy branding are discouraged, especially on Clubhouse. The social audio space is an environment where members can lean in, connect, learn, and grow. Open communication is the goal for fostering human connection that adds value to the audience’s experience. Marketers should work toward earning credibility as opposed to expecting direct sales.
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- Scale expectations accordingly – Social audio activity can impact awareness, but not likely to the same degree as social media, which reaches more than 212 million users, or podcasts, which reach 118 million users. Primary metrics for social audio would include social mentions and impressions. Additional metrics to consider are room popularity, direct and network follows which offer insight to reach on the platform. Time spent listening offers insight to user engagement.
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Social audio continues to grow in scale and as more platforms become available, marketers are likely to become increasingly savvy as to how to best leverage the channel. The main question that remains is whether consumer interest and adoption will be able to keep pace. Or, will social audio simply flame out, becoming just a footnote in the stories we will tell about how we used to pass the time during the COVID-19 pandemic?
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