What Business Podcasters Need to Know About Social Audio Platforms Social audio platforms allow you to create interactive social media shows complete with live voting, real-time rankings and more.
By Jared Easley
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
While business podcasters are quick to recognize that social media has changed the way they reach their listeners, social audio has introduced a whole new set of opportunities. The integration of social audio allows podcasters to develop a deeper connection with fans. Once you understand how social audio works, it is then your turn to weigh the benefits of using one for your podcast.
Here's an overview of what social audio platforms are all about and how they can help you grow your audience and enhance your podcast's appeal.
What is social audio?
Social audio is the integration of social media into an audio experience. Social audio enables listeners to connect and share their thoughts throughout the listening experience. Social media has infiltrated modern life. Hence, it is only natural that social audio would evolve to allow for greater listener engagement in podcasts through interactions like voting, ranking and live to comment. There are various audio platforms available for podcasters interested in using this new medium to interact with their fans on an entirely new level.
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What can social audio do for business podcasters?
Social audio increases audience engagement by allowing listeners a direct line of communication between themselves and the show host on topics they find interesting or want to discuss further. Social audio platforms offer tailored on-demand social media solutions that maximize their listeners' needs and help optimize the show. In addition, social audio allows for social media participation in a new way.
One of the best ways for podcasters to grow their audience is on social media platforms, which enable listeners to chat about topics they're interested in and build a community among other podcasters.
The original idea behind social audio was to create shows where audiences could vote, interact and engage with each other, allowing this heightened level of involvement between fans and host(s).
Live voting is a common element across all social audio platforms, but what differentiates one medium from another is its social media integration features. Social audio platforms have different levels of social media integration that can create listener/fan engagement on an entirely new level. Social audio platforms help bridge the gap between podcasters and listeners by providing a direct line of communication for social media fan/listener feedback (whereby fans can connect).
Social audio platforms offer a second-to-none listening experience, enabling podcasts to rise above the background noise in today's media landscape through listening and analytics.
These platforms also provide podcasters with invaluable metrics such as social signals, linking activity and social wall activity to better understand how their listeners interact with their show. Additionally, social audio allows you to share content on your site with audio widgets, sharing buttons and social sharing.
Finally, social audio also allows podcasters to leverage social networks for promotional activity through sharing features found on social audio platforms. Social audio can be a powerful marketing tool that attracts new listeners while strengthening your brand's appeal to existing fans with additional avenues of social engagement.
Related: Top 25 Business Podcasts for Entrepreneurs
The advantages of social audio
Social audio platforms allow brands, podcasters and content creators to reach audiences in more novel ways. Social audio platforms foster meaningful interaction between listeners that help podcasters deepen their connections with fans while providing pre-listening engagement opportunities that help listeners feel more connected to the show's content throughout their listening experience.
Social audio platforms offer podcasters and listeners a new, interactive experience. For example, through Social Listening (on Twitter), podcasters can see what an audience is talking about and react.
In addition, social audio platforms provide a directory of podcasts where you can subscribe to other shows in addition to running your podcast feed. There is even an API available for developers who want to use social audio platform data within their applications. With the rise in demand from podcasters looking for additional ways to engage listeners, social audio platforms are a great option for podcasters to market their show while offering social media integration.
Social media has changed the way that podcasters reach their listeners. With social audio, they have a whole new set of opportunities to create interactive social media shows with live voting and rankings for both the audience and host alike. So whether you want to increase engagement or experiment with your show's format, it may be time to explore this new medium.
