Two sides of the same coin.

How often has the abbreviation “A.V.” been used over the years? Maybe too much. The two word theme could mean video production, live show management, or basically any combination of visual and audible components. Audio video is the means by which the future of marketing shall ride, and it’s a surfboard we climb onto willingly.

With mediums such as TikTok and Instagram taking over the scene with spontaneous and random short-length videos, it’s imperative you start to understand how this type of content can impact your marketing. That, and understanding how a video placement on a digital medium can differ from running an ad on your favorite podcast, can be important factors for your campaign strategy.

Today we fight head on, audio vs video.

This week’s Sip & Strategy is about the coolest, best, and most productive avenues to take for your advertising & content. Get in the ring, put on your boxing gloves, and welcome to the Audio Versus Video Marketing episode.

Memory Types

We have numerous types of memories that our brain can envelope. The two that I want to focus on today are iconic and auditory memories. Iconic memory is what you see, the visual component of your brain’s memory capability. The ability to remember and “save” that visual information is short, roughly one second before it begins to fade away. You see something as you're scrolling on social media, and if it doesn't create an emotional response, it will begin to leave your brain. With marketing, your visual ads must make one heck of an impression or it will fall flat.

Auditory memory, however, is quite different. There’s a reason we love listening to a podcast or audio book and begin to produce shapes, ideas, and even see the words we’re hearing in some cases. Audible marketing has a much longer retention rate than strictly visual marketing, and has the potential to stay in the consumer’s mind for a minimum of 4 to 5 seconds. Audio is just easier for the brain to process as well, with our minds understanding spoken words 40 milliseconds faster than reading. Overall, your content is more likely to stick in the brain of your target demographic than video. They each have their place and uses, but it’s important to understand when and why to focus on one platform or another.

Audio

I hope you’re all ears for this one, cause I have some sound advice for you. Okay, I’ll stop. Maybe.

Audio marketing has been around for a long time. Starting with radio back in the 1920s, or even the town crier hundreds of years ago, the spoken word and sound make a huge impact on us humans. As an advertiser, the most valuable factor is to create content that sticks in the minds of your audience.

Whether someone listens to the radio or an advertisement in between their podcast segments, audio creates an atmosphere of deep immersion. You can tell a great story and present a strong message when you have the full attention of your listener. Even if they’re not listening attentively, passive listening by your audience allows for a significantly longer amount of time to reach them. As we all know, the frequency of your marketing is important. Imagine being able to plug your brand’s name every hour, for the 8 hours of listening your audience is doing. Your competition is less, since they can only listen to one ad at time. The content you produce is also cheaper than video on average, and is typically contextual. If the listener enjoys their favorite morning talk show, and your ad relates to said talk show, you’re in like flynn.

Video

There’s no doubt video has been in the limelight for quite some time. It is much easier for a viewer to understand your product or service by literally watching it happen. Context is easy, since you can communicate much more information without saying it. When you see a kid in the kitchen pouring cereal, you instinctively know that it’s morning, the kid is hungry, they are of an age where they can feed themselves, etc. This all happens instantly, which is a great time saver for your marketing content.

With audio making such a huge impact on our heart strings, the combination of a visual component takes that a step further, with the potential to create memorable moments. Logo and branding is quickly absorbed, without spending too much time (if at all) in doing so. With video, you also have the option of easily presenting multiple topics, products, or services in your content. While this isn’t often advised in your content strategy, you can tackle multiple subjects with your advertisements in video.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.

In an all out battle for victory, it’s hard to say exactly what comes out on top between audio and video. Audio has a much higher emotional impact with a better memory longevity, but video can explain a message that no other medium can accomplish. Between the two, it depends on what your strategy is.

Audio, on a podcast, is highly contextual and relevant to the viewer. Use these ad spots thoughtfully, like a plumbing ad in a DIY homeowner’s podcast. Run radio ads when you need to reach a widespread but local audience. Ensure you have 3.0+ frequency, so that every listener hears your spot at least three times. Radio stations curate a specific audience as well, so you can target the type of listener that your brand appeals to. If someone is listening to a free digital audio service, do some case studies to locate the type of music that your customers often listen to and place your ads there.

With video, it's important to make an impact. You have such a short period of time to capture the viewer that you need to knock it out of the park… and you need to do it quickly. Make sure your content is engaging, right from the first second it appears on their screen. This is especially true on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Youtube. 

Have Your Cake And Eat It Too.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best marketing strategy is to utilize both video and audio. Find one specific message you want your content to convey and have it match & compliment your other content mediums. Let’s say someone hears your brand on the radio with your humorous radio advertisement and then they see the same message about your small business on their Facebook feed. You just had two points of frequency, on a worldwide platform and a trusty local audio format. That takes the customer journey farther, from awareness to interest, and subtly makes your brand seem more endearing. 

All in all, both are important as we pave the way for marketing in the future. Tune in, stand by, and always remember:

If you’re not advertising, you’re not being heard or found. We want to help!