Can You Hear Me Now – Digital Listening Trends

With so much focus on various technology trends, the decreasing use of radio may have been overshadowed. What are radio listeners turning to? As technology evolves, nontraditional radio is becoming standard. On-demand streaming with apps, such as Spotify and Apple Music, are now the norm. In the past, people got into a car on their way to work and flipped through radio stations. Now when people get into a car, Bluetooth is automatically connected, and Spotify is turned on to their favorite podcast or playlist. What may have started as a quick resource for a consumer to listen to a song once or twice has now turned into a paid account with personalized playlists.

 

Traditional radio gave companies another chance to promote their brand and be heard. This method may have been a great addition to a company marketing plan in the past, but it is now losing effectiveness. As the number of podcast listeners has increased by 40 million users in the past five years the popularity of radio is decreasing, which makes the scale of traditional radio smaller. With users moving to on-demand content, brands should also shift from traditional radio. Adapting to the target consumer and being where they are is imperative to staying on top of your audience. It is beneficial for companies to shift money to streaming services, such as Spotify, to continue their advertising. Brands can now be in an ad space where consumers want to listen, and they can be given relevant ads by targeting topics related to their industry or consumer behaviors. If you were selling a health-related product or service using traditional radio ads, it was difficult to target health-focused people. Now, it is possible to put your health-related product or service in an audio ad served to users whose online behaviors indicate they are health conscious, which is more targeted than a regular radio station.

 

The power of nontraditional radio becomes increasingly important, especially as society is more mobile. Many people travel long distances to work or even listen to on-demand content while working, so utilizing this method is yet another trend to be on top of as target audiences and marketing efforts evolve. Contact Quantifi Digital to get started with your next digital audio strategy. Our experts cannot wait to work with you!