The Social Media Shift: Why Brands are Betting on Audio

Social media has never been less brand safe for advertisers. Volatility is at an all-time high, with 64% of consumers saying social media spreads misinformation, and nearly 50% saying it has a negative impact on their mental health.

The solution? Audio. With its high levels of trust, intimacy, and positivity, it’s the perfect medium to future-proof your media strategy and ensure a more authentic, engaging connection with consumers. And we’ve proven it. We chatted with experts Sophie Anderson, Associate Director, Podcast Sales Marketing, SiriusXM Media, Casey Fandacone, Sales Marketing Manager, SiriusXM Media, and Tom Webster, Partner, Sounds Profitable, to unpack the secrets to audio’s success. 

Listen to the full audio here, then check out some highlights below.

More Trustworthy than Social Media

Highlight: “What podcasting does that social media simply doesn't have the depth to do, is it makes people feel like they know the creator. They feel connected to them. They're spending more time with them... The podcast host not only engenders the most trust compared to platforms, but that trust extends to the brands that advertise on those podcasts with podcasting to a larger extent than it does with streaming video.” - Tom Webster

Viral Moments Live On Through Audio

Highlight: “There's no doubt that social media is often the first place that we think of when it comes to virality. But there's also really a significant opportunity for brands to tap into audio within these viral moments… If we take a moment like the Grammys, where we saw artists like Chappell Roan or Doechii have incredible performances...the true viral impact is still continuing on audio. Right after Doechii’s performance, she saw a 404% increase in Pandora station adds. And Chappell Roan has seen a 400K+ increase in song spins. So, it's showing how these viral moments spark interest, but then listeners are turning to audio to really dive deeper." - Casey Fandacone

Targeting Is Easier than Ever

Highlight: “The thing with podcasting is that you can target exactly who you want to target. If you want to reach young audiences, there are plenty of podcasts that have massive young audiences… So much has evolved in the past five years, with segmentation, targeting, and all the incredible adtech tools that we have available, podcasting is micro-targeted. We do have to work on getting that word out to people and making it easier to buy. That is one thing about social media, it is incredibly easy to buy, which means that it just becomes habit for people. But with more education about how easy it is to buy podcasting and how targetable and segmented it is, I think we can actually overcome that hurdle.” - Tom Webster

Podcasts Are Constantly Evolving

Highlight: “We have a lot of really powerful voices who are steering the ship forward and reaching new audiences and generations, like Alex Cooper with her Unwell network... A lot of her strategy is rooted around partnering with these young, emerging creators who have these built-in Gen Z followers and bringing them into the podcast space sometimes, maybe even for the first time as well. This is very much a format that has changed so much in recent years, and it's something that we're watching evolve rapidly in real time, too...” - Sophie Anderson

Increase Purchase Intent

Highlight: “The way to do this is to work with your sales partner to map out your goals and your target audience, and then lean on us to identify the right shows, voices, and formats. Virality is so quick and it's hard to come by and we know the process... By using podcasts and podcast networks like us, you could really attract a loyal and consistent audience like the one we mentioned with Mel Robbins, to get a predictable cadence of episodic content that's really perfect for advertisers.” - Casey Fandacone

Podcast Advertising Works

Highlight: “Podcasts ranked as high as social media platforms in terms of driving consideration for brands, specifically, 71% of respondents said that they would be more likely to consider products and services they learned about on a podcast versus 70% for TikTok, and 69% for YouTube and Instagram.” - Sophie Anderson

Listeners Respond Better to Podcast Ads

Highlight: “We can ruin any medium with too much or really bad advertising. But the podcasting industry has done a very good job policing itself, in terms of ad quality and ad load. And that's certainly one factor in that, when you have an ad in a podcast, it's not one of 20 in a pod. You're getting focus and you're getting attention. And the people aren't fatigued with it. They recognize that there has to be some advertising to support the content that they love, but they're not fatigued by it. In fact, they are more receptive to it than any other media consumer.” - Tom Webster

Audio Adds Reach

Highlight: “Podcasting is comparably effective in driving consideration when it comes to how we stack it up against social, but it's not always the same audiences. We released a report called Just Add Audio, and we discovered that audio can add incremental reach anywhere from +13% to +38% when compared to social platforms, depending on the platform. So, by adding digital audio to your existing social campaigns, you're not only tapping into audiences that are just as, if not more leaned in and responsive to the ads, but you're also reaching net-new listeners that you couldn't find across other mediums.” - Sophie Anderson

The Power of Podcast Ads

Highlight: “One in five podcast listeners didn't listen to the radio last week. And one in five podcast listeners didn't watch TV last week. So, that audience is pulling apart from legacy broadcast media... They're being exposed to fewer ads because they're being a lot more selective about their content. They're subscribing to a lot more premium things, and they're obviously listening to a lot more podcasts. So, you're reaching an audience here that, because they're not so saturated with advertising, they're actually more receptive to it.” - Tom Webster

Adding audio to your campaign mix just works, and podcasts are a great way to reach the right kind of audiences your brand is looking for. Ready to put the power of audio to use? Let’s chat.

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