Audio Advertising: What It Is And How It Works

November 27, 2023    

Audio Advertising: What It Is And How It Works

Audio Advertising: What It Is And How It Works

Audio ads can be included in any form of audio content. They help advertisers reach consumers who listen to the radio, stream music, or subscribe to podcasts. Because of the large number of consumers who subscribe to some form of audio content, it’s essential to know the specifics of how this form of advertising works and how it can benefit you.

Radio Ads: Time-Tested Customer Engagement

Radio ads have always been a great way to reach customers. In fact, more than 80% of US adults still listen to the radio regularly. The broad reach of traditional radio is why many businesses still choose to use radio as an advertising medium.

Digital Audio Ads: Reaching the Streaming Audience

Digital audio advertisements are the ads you hear when you’re streaming music or listening to an online radio station. Approximately 40% of internet users subscribe to some form of streaming audio service, which makes digital audio advertising a fruitful option.

Podcasts: Capturing a Dedicated Audience Segment

Podcasts are a subcategory of digital audio that makes up quite a large subset of advertising audiences. As of 2021, more than one-third of internet users regularly listened to podcasts. Moreover, they make up nearly 20% of digital audio ad spending due to their popularity.

How Do Audio Ads Work? 

Audio advertisements are placed within the radio or digital audio content in order to reach consumers. The ads can be placed before, during, or after a session or episode. Typical ad lengths are 15, 30, or 60 seconds long.

Some services allow listeners to skip past ads. For example, if you’re a paid Spotify subscriber and your podcast is interrupted by an ad, you can easily skip past it by fast-forwarding. However, listeners who don’t pay for a subscription or listen to traditional or online radio generally don’t have the option to skip ads.

What Are the Benefits of Audio Ads?

Audio ads offer a number of benefits for companies in terms of cost, reach, and effectiveness.

Budget-Friendly: Low Production Costs of Audio Ads

Audio ads aren’t costly to make, so they won’t take up a massive chunk of your advertising budget. They can also be created remotely, which means an ad with multiple people or voices doesn’t necessarily have to be recorded in one place.

Building Trust: Credibility in Radio and Podcast Advertising

Globally, radio and podcasts are two of the most trusted mediums for advertising. More than 50% of Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X consider digital and radio audio ads trustworthy. Boomers didn’t have quite the same faith in digital audio ads, but most consider traditional radio ads a valid source for product information.

Expansive Reach: Engaging Younger Audiences Through Digital Audio

Digital audio often reaches younger crowds more efficiently than older crowds. Focusing advertising on twenty and thirty-somethings is a great way to build brand interest and loyalty. Younger generations are also usually quicker to spread the word about a product or service online than older generations.

Precise Targeting: Customizing Audio Ads for Specific Audiences

The benefit of all digital and audio ads is that they can be targeted and scaled in a very granular fashion. For example, if you want to market a keto-friendly cereal, you could target your advertising to run during an exercise or dieting podcast. That means you can avoid wasting money on listeners who are unlikely to have an interest in your product. So let Hybrid Media manage all your audio advertising needs. Reach out today to Hybrid Media and get started!

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