2020 Podcast Advertising Stats - Voice Marketing Boosts Purchase Intent

Are advertisers spending more or less as a result of COVID-19?

2020 digital ad spend is expected to increase, while traditional ad spend will fall.

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Want to advertise smarter and build affinity for your product or service? Find a podcast that your target audience loves and go all in as a sponsor. Podcast advertising spend is one area of media that is actually expected to increase during and after COVID.

In fact, 52% of U.S. media buyers plan to increase spend in podcast ads during 2020-H2.

(Via Covid Impact on Ad Spend 2020: The Transformation of the Television Marketplace - IAB, 6/16/2020)

What are U.S. Digital and Traditional Ad Spend Plans for the Rest of 2020?

1. Digital spend is expected to increase. ⬆️

   1. CTV/OTT (connected TV / over the top such as Hulu or CNBC smart TV app): 59% plan to increase spend

   2. Digital video (non CTV/OTT, such as YouTube ads): 56% plan to increase spend

   3. Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn ads): 56% plan to increase spend

   4. Podcasts (such as buying dynamic ads through a network like Midroll): 52% plan to increase spend

1. Traditional spend is expected to decrease. ⬇️

   1. Linear TV: 54% plan to decrease spend

   2. Terrestrial radio: 61% plan to decrease spend

   3. Direct mail: 62% plan to decrease spend

   4. Print: 61% plan to decrease spend

   5. OOH: 51% plan to decrease spend

Brands that advertise their products and services on business podcasts enjoy an average 14% brand lift. Plus, 54% of podcast listeners are either “somewhat” or “much more” likely to consider buying from a podcast sponsor (which vastly outweighs the 7% of listeners who are less likely) according to Edison Research.

How many Americans listen to podcasts?

Over 55% of the U.S. is listening to podcasts. 37% of U.S. adults listen to podcasts monthly (as of 2021).

How many small business owners listen to podcasts?

39% of small and medium-sized businesses owners are podcast listeners.

Hear Emily’s Flash Briefing about this (subscribe free to listen anywhere):

The Brain: Listening, Podcasts, and Decision Making

There is plenty of research on customer behavior proving that podcasts create brand lift. It makes sense because music, sound, and memory are linked to emotion in the brain.

And buying is completely emotional.

Emotion is what really drives the purchasing behaviors, and also, decision making in general.

Studies completed by neuroscientists have found that people whose brains are damaged in the area that generates emotions are incapable of making decisions.

-Harvard Professor Says 95% of Purchasing Decisions Are Subconscious by Logan Chieriotti for Inc.

When marketing a product to a consumer, it's most effective to target the subconscious mind. Read more from Professor Gerald Zaltman in his book How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market.

The relationships that listeners form with podcast hosts over time engender trust, so ads heard during a podcast are associated with that trustworthy and positive relationship.

“Our brains couple sound with emotional information, storing it as a bundle. Over time, specific sounds elicit pre-conditioned emotions.” -CBC, The Psychology of Sound

STATS: Podcast advertising and purchase intent (updated June 2020)

1. Brands that advertise products and services during business podcasts have a 14% lift in purchase intent. (We love Pivot, The Compound Show with Downtown Josh Brown, and Masters in Business.)

2. Brands that have ads in podcasts about society and culture have a 9.2% lift in purchase intent. (We love Death, Sex, and Money.)

3. Brands that advertise in news and politics podcasts have a 12.8% lift in purchase intent. (We love Robinhood Snacks).

4. Brands that advertise in comedy podcasts are most likely to have a 7.3% lift. (We love Scam Goddess.)

5. Brands that advertise in sports podcasts are most likely to have a 9.3% lift. (Not big into sports pods but always open to your recs, tweet us @beetlemoment.)

Take it from Seth Horowitz, an auditory neuroscientist at Brown University:

Sound and the mind are very, very intricately linked, and yet we almost never pay attention to sound. Sound is always there. It's our early warning system. It's also our emotional driver. It's our attentional driver. Everything you hear has some kind of an impact on you and changes how you respond to the rest of the world. So since sound provides context, it's operating in the back and is able to give us the basis for a lot of very, very complex cognitive responses. -Seth Horowitz, Sound A Major Emotional Driver For Humans, NPR

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Stats via Music Oomph, June 2020

Advertising in 2020: Stats (3 Episode Miniseries on Voice Marketing Flash Briefing)

People wouldn’t mind if 77% of the world’s brands ceased to exist, according to a recent study by Havas. That’s up 3% from 2017.

Photo by Dan Farrell on Unsplash

6.5 minute listen:

Below you can play our three-part miniseries about key advertising and marketing stats for 2020. This aired on Voice Marketing with Emily Binder, our Flash Briefing and daily podcast (links to subscribe are at the bottom).

Episode 1 of 3: 84% Expect Content from Brands

Havas research from 2019 says that 84% of consumers expect brands to create content. But where will you create it tomorrow? Data from Havas’ global Meaningful Brands® 2019.

Episode 2 of 3: 70-80% of Consumers Avoid Paid Search Results

SEM, Your Days are Numbered

70-80% of consumers avoid clicking on paid search results - via Search Engine Land and/or Hubspot / IMForza.

Episode 3 of 3: Videos Are Shared 1,200% More

Videos are shared 1,200% more than text and links combined - Forbes.

Stay on Top of Marketing & Voice, Easily:

We publish new episodes every weekday! Listen free on Alexa or your podcast app:

Working from Home - Our Favorite Products for Productivity and Health

Are you working from home? Here’s a list of our favorite products including everything from electronics and computer equipment to natural snacks and ergonomic gear to make you more productive and energized.

Shop our favorite home office products from electronics to healthy snacks

The list includes:

• Backup cables (don't be quarantined without a spare charger!) #preparation

• Ergonomic desk gear (see Emily’s reviews of the best standing desks for more info)

• The best quality water filter (the Big Berkey removes pathogens, impurities, and more)

• Aromatherapy for natural energizing ambience (peppermint helps when you have OD’d on caffeine)

• Natural healthy snacks and mold-free coffee

• Laptops and USB-c / USB hub adapters (especially handy for Macbook and Macbook Pro)

Links support our podcast and help pay for hosting, so if you’re going to buy something, we appreciate your click-through!

YOUR HOME OFFICE SHOPPING LIST:

Working from Home Goodies and Gadgets - from Emily Binder's Recommendations

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Listen to Some Good News

Coronavirus got you down? Need a break from the headlines? Get Emily’s daily update about marketing and voice, a Flash Briefing of 2019 Award Finalist. It’s one to three minutes, every weekday.

How to listen:

1. Enable this Alexa Flash Briefing skill then say “Alexa, news”

2. Subscribe free in your favorite podcast app:

Holiday Gift Guide: 3 Best Alexa Smart Speakers: Echo Dot and Show Review

Thinking about business or family and friends gifts for the holidays? Scoop up these powerful Echo devices and share the gift of voice! Here are our top three recommendations with honest product reviews:

1) Echo Dot 3rd Gen (Echo Dot Clock) - “Add Alexa to any room”

$34.99. File under: Gifts Under $50:

Our most popular smart speaker - Now available with an LED display that can show the time, outdoor temperature, or timers.

This is the newest generation Echo Dot with a digital clock. It's a smart speaker without a screen but it can display short messages like a stock ticker crawl. This feature is going to be used a lot more in 2020, just wait for it. We'll see brands begin sending notifications from their custom skills with this LED display. Because the price point is low, this will be a top popular Echo device and now it has a visual component. I’d grab one of these to replace any clock in your house because it is a clock and so much more.

2) Echo Show 5 - “Compact smart display with Alexa”

At 5.5 inches, it sits compactly on a nightstand, office desk, or book shelf with a handy clock face whose appearance you can customize from several artistic visual options. The smaller size means it’s not obnoxiously large or a big space commitment. Good for a smaller kitchen or limited desk or counter space. However, it is a bit small if you intend to watch video.

The speaker quality is not fantastic but it’s good enough for the average person. It’s about as good the quality as playing music straight out of an iPhone, but louder. The Echo Show 2nd Gen (see #3 below) has even better sound if you are looking for a high quality speaker. If you’re not a major music aficionado and not buying it for primary use as a music playing speaker, the Echo Show 5 is FINE.

Bottom line: If you want a smart speaker with a screen (known as multimodal) to start using Alexa, grab the Echo Show 5. It’s perfect to: hear Flash Briefing news and weather, to set timers, to play Spotify or Pandora or Amazon Music etc., to control your smart home, Roomba, smart plugs or Philips Hue lights, to cook simple recipes by voice, or as an additional device in another room of the house, and more.

3) Echo Show (2nd Gen) - “Premium sound and a vibrant 10.1” HD screen”

10.1 inch screen. Buy this for your favorite friends, family members, or clients. It’s really nice.

• Premium speakers with Dolby processing let you stream music and books in crisp, stereo sound. With a vibrant 10.1" HD screen for watching videos, movies, and TV shows in a new fabric design.

• Ask Alexa to see lyrics and album art with Amazon Music. See weather forecasts, calendars, to-do lists, and your favorite playlists.

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Disclaimer: We post these types of links a couple times a year to get a bit of listener and reader support for producing all the free content we provide on shows like the Voice Marketing Flash Briefing. It’s a win-win since you may have wanted to buy this stuff anyway. Thank you for supporting our shows by shopping through our links!

We use Amazon Associate links which help cover hosting costs for our blog and podcast. This means if you click through and end up buying, we will get a small affiliate commission. It’s really small, but it helps a bit. Details are in our disclosure.

Definition: What is Voice Marketing?

Voice Marketing definition:

Voice Marketing is the strategies and tactics used to reach your target audience through audio content and/or voice-enabled devices powered by AI voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri.

It includes recorded audio content such as podcasts, Flash Briefing, and all branded audio including sonic logos, audio marks, and IVR phone systems. An evolution of search engine optimization (SEO), voice search optimization (VSO) is an important aspect of Voice Marketing wherein brands, products, and services optimize content to be found through spoken searches.

Why does voice matter for marketing?

We are leaving the Tap, Type, and Swipe era and entering the VoiceFirst era, where computing shifts from physical interactions on handheld devices and keyboards to natural speech.

Stats about Voice Search and Mobile:

1. Currently, 41% of adults use voice search at least once per day.

2. 30% of searches will be screenless by 2020 (Gartner). Thanks to the growing popularity of hearables and voice devices like Apple AirPods, Echo Buds, Google Home, and Amazon Echo, voice-first interactions will become ubiquitous. (Listen to our podcast with hearables expert Dave Kemp.)

3. Half of smartphone users engage with voice technology on their device (comScore).

4. The total voice searching user base among U.S. adults is 42.7% (Voicebot, 2019).

Voice marketing is the strategies and tactics marketers use to reach their audience through AI voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, often on smart speakers like the Amazon Echo.

Improvements in speech recognition technology have thrust voice search to the forefront of search marketing.

With speech recognition by AI voice assistants at 95%, on par with human speech recognition, NLP (Natural Language Processing) has advanced to the point where people are getting more tasks done through voice. This will only become more common because humans avoid friction in all tasks. Voice is the ultimate convenient mode of interaction, and it can be accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

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Alexa Flash Briefing:

Watch Emily’s video about Alexa Flash Briefing - a great way to get started with voice marketing with a mini podcast (a briefcast) on smart speakers:

Voice Technology Becomes Mainstream:

Voice controlled technology has officially moved out of the early-adopter phase and into the mainstream. Apple's Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant have become household names in a few short years, with Amazon Echo as the first mass market smart speaker that went on sale in 2014 with the first generation Echo.

As voice assistants continue to gain traction on smartphones and smart speakers, users will interact through voice more and more, with attention shifting to this medium. Voice will become the new battleground for user attention and it will be a top place to get information, place orders and shop, and consume content.

Marketing Implications - From Screens to Voice:

Attention is moving off screens and to voice. Much like we moved from desktop to smartphones and had to update our strategies and websites to be mobile, we need to think about voice the same way. But for the first time ever, we will not be computing in computerese (typing, text, and the language and interface of the machines). Voice is a unique departure and a true paradigm shift unlike anything before.

You are probably wondering what the return will be on tactics involving voice marketing. These tactics might include building a custom Alexa skill or a Google Action, launching a podcast or Flash Briefing, or investing in sonic branding. Read more here: What is the ROI of Voice Marketing?

Ask an expert.

30 or 50 minutes with Emily Binder.

Schedule a private call

Best Podcasting Equipment

Clients getting started with a podcast or Flash Briefing often ask what they should buy. In the last few years, the technology and equipment available to anyone who wants to record and publish audio has improved considerably and prices have dropped.

Sound good, easily.

You can get a quality podcast recording setup for a couple hundred bucks.

This post has the perfect equipment for podcasting beginners or intermediate level. It’s short so you don’t have to wade through reviews and tons of information. Just buy a few of the items we recommend and start recording!

Reach out if you want help with your content strategy or podcast marketing.

(Updated): Best Easy Video Podcasting Setup for Zoom:

Watch Emily’s video showing the best home podcasting setup for video podcasting with Zoom:

Podcast Hosting (RSS Feed and Scheduling Tool):

You will need an affordable podcast host to generate your RSS feed and store your audio files (your episode mp3s). We recommend Acast. You can get a $25 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up from our page. Our clients have been happy using Acast for podcasts and Flash Briefings.

Watch Emily’s interview with Tess Neudeck from Acast: What Podcasters Should Know.

Read the rest: Best Easy Podcasting Equipment – Microphone and More

Amazon's Easy Way to Top Search Results - "Financial Advice" SEO Example - Citywire

Would you rather compete with a billion others or ten? Here’s a stark example of just how blue the ocean of Alexa Skills and voice search is.

Google’s SERP (Search Engine Result Page) has 1.3 billion results for search term “financial advice”.

Search for “financial advice” on Google. There are 1.03 billion search results as of this writing.

Then search on Amazon.com under the “Alexa Skills” department, or under Skills in the Alexa app. There are TEN results.

Amazon.com’s SERP (Search Engine Result Page) for Alexa Skills has 10 results for search term “financial advice”. (The top two results happen to be the skills we built for Ritholtz Wealth Management - case study.)

Press play below for a 2-minute briefing about:

• Why it’s easy to rank for your keywords on Amazon Alexa vs Google (SEO for Alexa Skills is a big opportunity)

• Flash Briefing is far less competitive than podcasting (and shorter is better for most content)

• How to repurpose Flash Briefing beyond just Alexa - it’s a marketing tool

• Understand that this applies to almost any industry - not just finance!

• EVENT: October 3, 2019: Online event - join me and other Flash Briefing experts at The Voice of the Flash Briefing to learn more (get tickets for the webinar)

Bottom Line about Voice Marketing

Voice is a big opportunity because right now there is a scarcity of content. It was like the early days of the internet when there were only 10,000 web pages. (There are currently about 10,000 Alexa Flash Briefings.)

Amazon is the third largest search engine in the world.

And it’s no longer about just products and ecommerce results. With Alexa providing answers, information, and voice experiences, this is becoming a search engine to compete with Google.

#CitywireRIA

I’ll be presenting this and more cool information about how to use Alexa for marketing your wealth management firm at Citywire RIA on October 2, 2019. See you there!

-Emily

Voice Marketing Success Metrics - Alexa Skills ROI

Amazon dominates the smart speaker market and is predicted to easily hold onto its top spot through 2021, when nearly 70% of total U.S. smart speaker owners will continue to use an Amazon Echo device. (via eMarketer, 2020)

What metrics should your company or brand look at to determine success in voice marketing? Let’s focus on Alexa first. Beyond the stats available for Alexa Skills (including Flash Briefing) in your Alexa Developer Console, you have ratings (how many reviews, how many stars your skill averages). But what else matters and how do you know your voice marketing efforts are paying off?

First, remember that on an early platform like voice, you won’t see direct ROI as quickly or easily as on more established platforms. That’s fine. You’re not doing voice to increase sales 50% this year. You’re doing voice to get in on the fastest growing consumer technology since the smartphone. You’re here to learn, set your product or service up for longterm success, and avoid falling behind. In two years, everyone else will be playing catch-up.

Why voice analytics are distinctly powerful:

70% of online carts are abandoned. If someone leaves your website without buying anything, you can often only speculate as to what went wrong (or try to learn after the fact, via a survey for example). You can email them coupons to try to lure them back to complete the purchase. And many users are savvy to this automation so the exit the site to simply wait for your “Come back!” coupon email. It’s an ecommerce rat race.

With voice, the customer has literally told you what they’re looking for, even if your voice app (Alexa Skill, Google Action, or Siri) wasn’t able to handle it. You get that human insight. That’s a win.

Voice Marketing Success Metrics

1. If success is defined as Alexa skill use/engagement:

The obvious metrics in Amazon Developer include:

• Customers

• Plays (for a Flash Briefing)

• Sessions

• Lifetime enablements

But go further and calculate stickiness. I.e., of total enablements, how many return to use the skill more than once?

Metrics available in Alexa Developer Console - Analytics for custom Skills

Figure out how many people come back vs enable once, use, and forget. Some skills should have higher retention than others; for example, Tide’s Stain Remover should be invoked a few times a year at least, or however often you stain your clothes. Get Urgently’s frictionless roadside assistance Skill may only be used about once a year or less - it would still be successful though. It depends on the functionality and use case.

2. If success is defined as showing up when people search for your brand name, product, category, or service (SEO):

Figure out the top 3-5 essential phrases your customers might use to search for your brand or type of product with voice. Are you showing up based on those voice queries? Example: “Alexa, show me the best running shoes.” (Note - as of this writing, Alexa on the Echo Show 5 shows men’s Nikes no matter the gender of the person who searches. This is a miss because Amazon has the user and shopper data to show a personalized result. That will come.)

3. If success is defined as increased interaction outside voice (multi-channel):

If you have any sort of CTA inside your skill, whether that is to visit a web page or comment on Twitter with a certain hashtag, track it. Use a specific URL or hashtag that you only share on your Alexa skill or announce in your Flash Briefing. Drive customers to your other channels if it’s valuable for them. If your Skill provides appointment booking or location information (such as for a local business) then track how many users found you this way.

4. If success is defined in terms of revenue:

Caveat: revenue as a KPI for voice is a simplistic view that doesn’t account for the value of being early to a new platform. We don’t focus on revenue yet. However, voice commerce is expected to be an $80 billion market by 2023 (via Juniper Research). Hold on.

Incremental sales: what revenue have you driven that you can attribute to voice search or voice commerce?

Marketing Tip: how to promote your Alexa Skill or voice experience

When you run surveys in your general marketing practice, whether those are on a sales receipt, a website pop-up / survey form (“How did we do?”), or a thank-you email post-purchase, include a question or two about whether your customers are aware of and have used your Alexa skill.

5. If success is defined as insight that will inform your strategy:

Look at Alexa as a way to learn from your customers - what do they ask? What do they try to accomplish? Use Amazon Developer to begin understanding what users want and like based on utterances. If you gain insight, that is success. Consider:

What is the ROI of voice marketing? It’s hearing what your customers want in real time. Click here to retweet this image

• How many utterances users make in a typical session with your Skill?

• What percentage of user interactions with your Skill result in a successful outcome?

• Which of your Skills’ capabilities are being used the most and the least? What does that tell you?

• Cohort analysis: see whether people acquired during a given month (e.g., after you launched a new feature) behave differently than those who joined prior

• Retail: See where in the sales path customers are having to ask for help (note: transcripts aren’t available for voice assistants like Alexa at this point, but you can still identify friction points by volume of questions and the answers your skill is called on to give).

Want more?
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A) On Alexa Flash Briefing (enable here then say “Alexa, news”)

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