5 Ways to Use Audio in B2B Marketing

Whether you prefer streaming music in the car or listening to the hottest podcasts, there is likely to be some form of audio content that you enjoy consuming.

I am also one of those who always have to hear something. Whether it’s a new Spotify playlist or the latest episode of a podcast, I pretty much take every opportunity to consume audible content.

I am hardly the only one who likes audio in this way.

Consumers have noticed that consumers will spend more time alone or at home in 2020 a significant increase in audio content and audience.

It is not shocking. In recent years, consumers have increasingly turned away from traditional TV content in favor of mobile or online platforms – especially those that Advertising and production of audio content.

At this point, marketers are aware of the audio options. The hearing behavior of consumers has created an enormous opportunity for marketers – especially in the B2B area – to create brand-related, audible content. Audio is often associated with consumer marketing, but these types of assumptions offer B2B brands a missed opportunity.

After all, here at HubSpot we create content for marketing and sales professionals in various formats. When you read our blog, it is no secret that we are constantly asking you to do the same – including audio. So let’s examine how this can be done and first consider the science behind the act of listening.

The hearing process

Before you start creating audio content, it can be helpful to understand how and why users are listening. The act of listening after Merriam-Websteris “to hear what someone said and to understand that it is serious, important or true.”

It also helps to satisfy different ones physiological goals. We listen to change our mood, stay alert and find out things. That was pretty much the case with humans as long as we exist. The process begins when we receive hearing stimuli that our brains must then interpret. This is supported by other senses – such as seeing – and helps us better understand what we hear.

Once our brain has interpreted these audible signals, we follow a series of steps that involve retrieving, evaluating, and responding to the information we consume:

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This is the third step in this process – remembering – that could be the most important for marketers. Numerous studies have discovered how listening triggers a widespread network of brain-wide activities. This activity connects auditory stimuli so strongly with memory.

Maybe that’s why we like to talk about things we’ve heard, such as a great song. We actually share a story about ours memory from what we heard. And that comes back to what we do as marketers. We share the stories of and about our brands in a way that gets people to pay attention and listen to us.

So let’s start with creating content that people will hear.

4 ways to use audio in B2B marketing

1. Create or sponsor brand podcasts.

According to Edison ResearchThe number of podcast listeners has increased steadily since 2006. Podcast audience recorded an increase of 26% over the previous year.

In addition to the audience, podcast revenues have also increased. By 2021, pOdcast advertising expenses are expected to reach $ 354 million.

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People often make the mistake of thinking that podcasts are largely consumer-oriented. We think of those who are broadcast on public radio or moderated by celebrities for the mass of bored commuters who are trying to pass the time. In reality, however, there are a number of B2B podcasts Adhesive tape marketing, ZenDesk RelateAnd HubSpots The growth show.

When creating brand podcasts, many B2B marketers raise similar objections that we previously raised about blogging, e.g. B. “I don’t have time” or “I have nothing to say”.

Like blogs, podcasts follow the pillars of inbound marketing by creating valuable educational content for people looking for information about what your business can do best. That is an option The growth show works for example. As HubSpot’s marketing, sales and CRM software is a growth stack, we use our podcast to discuss related issues with executives who have achieved remarkable growth and good stories.

“Companies – especially B2B companies – have a hard time telling the story of their company,” says Kierran Petersen. The growth show Associate Producer. “Creating a brand podcast is the perfect opportunity to do that. It’s such a personal way to give people an insight into your work by showing your audience who you really are. “

This is where the answer to the second objection – “I have nothing to say” – comes into play. When people tell us they can’t spend time blogging because of that, we usually say, “Write what you know. “The same goes for podcasts, but instead of writing, talk about what you know. And for some, it may even be easier than writing.

Of course, creating a brand podcast is not as easy as recording 30 minutes of streams of thought about your business. It is helpful to view this content creation like a blog and to create an editorial calendar that plans and outlines various topics and people you want to interview.

You should also consider how to distribute this content and the various platforms on which your target audience can use the podcast. For beginners we recommend free tools like SoundCloudor experiment with different ways to share audio through social media.

Reuse blogs as podcasts

If you’re still unsure about creating an original podcast, you can start on a smaller scale by reusing your existing content. Some blogs may have given you the option to listen to an audio version of the post. This is a fairly easy way for businesses to create original audible content. Take what you have already written and turn it into a spoken word version.

There are several ways to do this. Some brands turn their blog posts into full-length podcasts with an introduction, music, quotes, and sound effects. National Public Radio – better known as NPR – often does this with its various news. Notice how this piecehas both full text and audio, for example, the latter of which can be heard below.

But others like The Atlantic, do it differently and dictate it full text of articles that treat it like an audiobook. Listen:

There is no “right” way to reuse existing audio content this way – it largely depends on the length of the piece or whether you want to shorten the spelling for the spoken word. The most important thing is that it is so Not impossible and with a little creativity, B2B marketers have numerous options for creating audible content of this kind.

2. Create short or long audiograms.

An audiogram is a recorded sound bite that you can use to explain or promote something fairly quickly. It differs slightly from an advertisement in that you don’t necessarily have to pay to advertise it, and you don’t necessarily need a call to action. Brands have experimented with audio snippets, which are short soundbites, as well as longer announcements.

Audio snippets

In February, you may have noticed that the co-founders of HubSpot, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, wrote a special post on the marketing blog dedicated to the 2016 reporting year. But it didn’t end there. In our online presence, HubSpot distributed news about the year in various formats, including nifty little audiograms.

“But what is an audiogram, Amanda?”

I thought you could ask that. Well, an audiogram is part of it – imagine that – audio overlaying a still image. We have curated a collection of them on ours websiteand some posted on Facebook, like this quote from Bertie Ocampo, Hubspots APAC Event & Field Marketing Manager.

Audiograms can also be shared on Instagram. This is “mobile first, so chances are good that people will wear their headphones,” says Marissa Emanuele, social media manager at HubSpot. But it encourages you to provide context – don’t just post a section over an image and expect people to understand its purpose. “Audiograms are always better,” she explains, “if they contain text or subtitles.”

Long-form audiograms

This strategy can also work with longer audio files, says Chelsea Hunersen, social media manager at HubSpot. “We shared some videos,” she says, for example, “that play an episode of The growth showwith a picture that says “This is audio”. “

That means you can use the same technique with audio samples that are “longer than 30 seconds,” says Hunersen. So, when considering how to distribute your podcasts, consider the following: turn them into audiograms or pair them with these images as video.

3. Stream audio to Facebook.

Source: Facebook

In December 2016, Facebook announced its latest live content feature: Live Audio. “Sometimes,” read the official announcement“Publishers on Facebook want to tell a story with words, not videos.” There are usually two reasons for this:

1. Audio is often a little less maintenance than video because it requires less hardware – like cameras – and less connectivity.
2. It is also a bit easier for the listener. “Audio is a very little committed method of consuming content,” Hunersen explains. “I can open the audio in my browser and listen to something like a podcast, even if I don’t see it on Facebook at the same time.”

Facebook Live Audio has flown a bit under the radar since this announcement, and it’s unclear whether it is actually available to marketers or not – we haven’t seen it used yet. Hunersen also explains: “It is said that it is only available on Android devices.”

However, it does offer another option for distributing audio content to marketers: double a podcast recording as a Facebook live broadcast.

How does it work exactly? You may have seen videos from radio hosts who broadcast live videos of themselves in the recording studio and, for example, share a visual version of the interviews they conducted. Here is an example of a German radio station that created this type of content with the independent musician Astronautalis:

While this example falls into the B2C area, B2B organizations can easily customize it. It also shows how a Facebook live stream of your podcast or interview can later be used as recorded video. Film a short intro of your guest and follow him with a clip of one of the most interesting moments of the conversation. It is also a great way to keep the audience busy – ask them questions they want to ask your guest in real time.

4. Use other spoken content

When marketers want to create content, accessibility is not always important. For people with visual impairment, for example, an infographic or flowchart is not the most consumable content.

This is just one reason why adapting your visual and written content to audio versions can be so valuable. This way, not only can you use what you’ve created in a portable way, you can also make it accessible to a wider audience.

For example, it’s like creating audible versions of books that people can use to enjoy or consume novels or non-fiction when reading is not an option, like driving. B2B marketers can do the same with their e-books and white papers. But be sure that it is still interesting for the listener. For example, there is nothing less interesting than a computer-assisted dictation of written content. When you record the spoken versions of this content, make sure that it is read by someone who can bring energy to the words, rather than just reciting them monotonously.

5. Create an audio advertisement.

Don’t have time to create custom or co-branded content? You can also create a short audio ad that can appear on a podcast or radio. Show or streaming service.

With this method, the soundbites you need to produce are shorter and less time consuming. However, due to the large amount of audio content, it may be more difficult to determine where your advertising dollars are going and where to place your ad.

Here is an example of a Hendrick’s Gin ad that Gimlet distributed and displayed on a number of his podcasts Advertising page.

For expert tips on how to advertise specifically in a podcast, Check out this blog post.

Start talking

I don’t know anything about you, but I’m pretty excited. I feel a newfound motivation to get out there and create something that people can hear, and I hope you do too.

As these examples show, using audio in B2B marketing doesn’t have to be a big deal – it can be as simple or extensive as you like, depending on your resources. You can create something completely new or reuse what you already have.

Remember: Always keep it engaging. And whatever you create, we can’t wait to hear it – we’ll be here and listening.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2017, but was updated to be fresh and complete in June 2020.