Audio marketing: Examples and trends to inspire you in 2024

It will take you, on average, 10 minutes to read this post. It’s not that much but if you’re in a hurry and prefer to listen to this content while doing other things, you’ll probably save some time without interruptions. Good, right? Convenience is just one of the many benefits of digital audio, considered one of the most strategic marketing resources of this decade. 

In fact, about three out of four internet users in the US are expected to engage with digital audio in 2024, according to Insider Intelligence. This popularity is not only due to the expressive growth of podcasts but also the impact of text to speech (TTS) and other audio marketing trends.

For increased brand awareness and engagement, make sure to include digital audio in your campaigns. Check out the best practices gathered in this guide and start an audio marketing strategy for your B2B business.

What is audio marketing?

Audio marketing is the practice of incorporating sound-based strategies and content to promote brands, products or services. It includes more immersive formats — from longer podcast stories to short, catchy jingles — used to establish a connection with the audience, exploring the intimacy that the auditory sense allows.

In an era of competition for users’ attention on digital media channels, audio emerges as a format with high potential to be remembered. A study by Amazon Ads and Edison Research shows that 78% of audio streaming listeners keep in mind the ads messages they heard on audio platforms. In other words, audio ads are likely to leave a lasting impact on customers.

Source: Amazon Ads and Edison Research

5 audio marketing examples to inspire your strategy

Brands actively employ different types of audio in their strategies to reach and engage audiences. Here are our five favorite examples.

1. Corporate podcasts

Podcasts have been a territory of brands for more than a decade, initially starting as sponsors on streaming platforms. Now, in addition to supporting creators’ narratives, companies also invest in their own branded content.

An example of a long-lived branded podcast is Shopify Masters, launched by the e-commerce platform Shopify in 2016 and still active. Every week, the podcast shares expert experiences running successful online stores. Each episode covers topics related to starting an e-commerce business, including creating effective social media ads, finding the right suppliers and more.

2. Audio advertising

Audio advertising began in the 1920s with the first radio commercials. In the early 2000s, it expanded to digital platforms with the first broadcasts on streaming services. This recent digital scenario multiplied formats and ways of reaching target audiences.

Overall, digital audio ads are less intrusive than pop-up ads and digital banners, delivering a message that is easily absorbed by listeners of streamings and other platforms. 

An example is an audio ad campaign launched by software company Salesforce in 2022. By exploring diverse formats, such as spots and mid-roll ads, the campaign increased listener’s intention to seek information about the brand by 11%, according to Spotify. 

Source: WARC

3. Text to speech content

Text to speech content is created by converting written text into spoken words. It is commonly used to create audio versions of written content (e.g., blogs and news articles), making it more accessible for those who consume content on digital platforms.

TTS content also includes categories such as audiobooks and educational podcasts. The most common format to enhance business marketing strategies, however, involves audio versions of articles or blog posts, as you find at the beginning of this text. 

In Productive Shop’s blog, readers find posts with audio versions, created with our own TTS software, which converts text into spoken words. Our TTS tool offers a variety of human-like voices generated by AI. Here’s how it looks on our blog.

📝  Learn how text-to-speech (TTS) tools improved over time.

4. Audio clips and audio playlists

Audio clips are a type of short audio content that you embed on your blog, website or newsletter. It’s a resource for promoting a corporate podcast by sharing the most engaging parts of an episode, for instance.

Another way to use this format is by organizing audio playlists, a series of digital audio content that may include short audio clips, podcast episodes or other auditory elements. An example of a company using audio playlists is Pillar VC, a venture capital firm that shares a series of audio clips to help leaders and founders in their startup journey.

Each playlist reunites audio clips where mentors answer questions related to specific topics, such as starting to build a startup, developing a pitch deck or leading a team.

🎧  Explore the top reasons why people listen to audio content.

5. Sonic branding

Sonic branding is a marketing strategy that uses songs, jingles or other sound elements as assets to increase brand awareness.

You’ll probably remember Netflix’s sonic logo “tudum.” The iconic branded sound became such a memorable asset that Netflix used it to name their website and also a global livestream event in 2023.

Another example of sonic branding applied in a B2C business is McDonald’s whistle, which expresses the feeling of the brand’s concept, “I’m loving it.”

💡 Before creating a sound for your business brand, make sure you understand the brand’s identity and personality. Researching the buyer personas you’re trying to reach is essential.

Top 4 audio marketing trends to watch in 2024

Audio advertising has become increasingly strategic in marketing. Statista projects the amount spent on digital audio ads will reach $13.21 billion by 2028, reflecting a significant 268% growth over a decade. While investments in digital audio advertising are on the rise, the amount spent on traditional audio ads, like radio spots, is anticipated to decline by 9.6% during the same period.

If the audio market itself is changing, let’s take a look at what is coming. Here are the top four audio marketing trends to observe in 2024.

1. Podcasts are growing in listeners and income

Beyond the hype of “celebrities-creators,” podcasts bring businesses closer to their audiences. For the coming years, expect an increase in the number of listeners, as well as in revenue from audio advertisements.

Sources: Insider Intelligence, Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers

🚀  Do you consider including podcasts in your GTM strategy? If so, see which format matches best with your marketing goals. Here are the most popular podcast types:

2. B2B audio marketing is exploring immersive ads and storytelling

Audio marketing enhances B2B SaaS strategies, offering improved performance and creative possibilities.

YouTube, where users also listen to audio on the go, tested the performance of its audio ads. The results showed that 87% of audio campaigns drove an increase in ad recall. In addition, 81% of audio campaigns boosted brand awareness.

B2B content has evolved beyond traditional formats of audio advertising, such as spots and program sponsorships. B2B companies also explore immersive ads and audio narratives to create new experiences. Your business can use podcasts to share inspiring experiences, helpful information or discussions that matter to the public. Another option is to establish a deeper connection with listeners through a stimulating high-quality ad that draws attention to your services’ benefits.

An example is the online typing assistant Grammarly, which has incorporated sound design effects into its video advertising campaigns. By watching an ad, you engage with sounds that create a sensory connection with the product — like clicking and typing.

3. The use of TTS tools by businesses is increasing

The global text to speech (TTS) market was valued at $2 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $5 billion by 2026. 

Online text to speech tools have become a cost-effective resource for audio marketing strategies because they enhance content consumption with convenience and better accessibility. The result is improved user experience.

Here are key possibilities for integrating TTS into your digital marketing strategy:

• Podcasts: Generate spoken versions of written scripts.
• Audiobooks: Convert e-books, guides or long articles into audio formats for listening.
• Voiceovers: Enhance your videos or presentations with audio narrations.
• Accessible content: Assist users with visual deficiency by turning texts into audio.
• Automated phone systems: Use TTS to read out information in your customer service phone system.
• Virtual assistants: Enable your content to be read by virtual voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa or Google Home. Leverage speakable markup schemas to recommend content for audio playback.

4. Audio content marketing is becoming a booster of other strategies

Audio content marketing has proven to be not only a unique strategy but also a tool that complements other strategies and content formats (e.g., blogs and videos) by:

• Enabling the convenience of listening to the content of an article
• Automating the narration of an audiobook 
• Improving an immersive VR experience

Audio resources help you segment your marketing resources and campaigns for different audiences, reducing the production costs of a business. For instance, you can personalize a single video countless times with audio voiceovers, creating as many versions as your business requires.

Top reasons to build a digital audio marketing strategy

In 2024, you need an audio marketing strategy to:

1. Reinforce brand identity

Building a brand is a continuous effort that impacts purchasing decisions. Research by Edelman indicates that 83% of a typical B2B decision happens before a buyer engages directly with a provider. With a sound marketing strategy, the use of audio formats gains consistency, a decisive element in enhancing brand perception.

2. Humanize the brand tone of voice

A report by Content Marketing Institute shows that increasing empathy through content made audiences more receptive to brands’ messages. An audio content marketing strategy helps you to humanize the brand’s tone of voice, which creates a deeper connection with listeners.

3. Improve content quality

Research by Semrush shows that 77% of the most successful content marketing players planned to increase their content marketing budgets. Businesses are vying for attention through content, making every effort a potential differentiator. A digital audio marketing strategy becomes a competitive advantage, especially if you employ resources to streamline your operations.

4. Reduce the cost of content resources

Even if your B2B business is investing more in content writing, you must weigh its cost-effectiveness. A special advantage of audio content is its affordability compared to visual content formats. If you are starting an audio marketing initiative, integrate it into other content strategies, such as blogging and video marketing, to reduce costs.

Audio marketing strategy checklist

Ready to start exploring the possibilities of audio marketing? Use this checklist to guide your strategy development.

• Define your brand’s voice and messaging
• Identify and understand your personas
• Research the platforms your audience uses
• Analyze what your competitors are doing
• Set the goals and objectives of your strategy
• Determine your budget for audio marketing
• Start with formats with low production complexity  
• Invest in lower-cost audio marketing services, such as TTS tools
• Establish KPIs to measure the success of your strategy
• Explore opportunities for collaborations
• Stay informed about the latest audio marketing trends

The easiest way to add audio to your content

Crafting your audio marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complex. You can use available resources to easily integrate audio with your existing content.

With our Productive Shop TTS tool, you seamlessly integrate native-sounding audio into your B2B and B2C websites. You can even pick up one of the various AI voices to humanize your own narratives.

Bring our TTS tool to the center of your digital audio marketing program, so you:

• Enable audio on your blogs: it’s super quick, under a minute
• Create voiceovers for videos and share your audio snippets with the audience
• Review copy before publishing: just because everyone needs to save time, right?

Need help to integrate audio into your content? We’re here for your business.

Sign in for our PRO TTS tool and boost your audio marketing efforts.