Audio articles have reshaped the content marketing landscape over the last few years.
Enabling consumers to access content in the audio format opens up a whole new range of possibilities for both consumers and marketers.
Audio articles are relevant to both B2B and B2C business goals and have the potential to become a core part of marketing strategies.
The great news is that content creators can now leverage AI-enabled software seamlessly to turn text to speech and create a custom AI voice with an identity of its own. The AI voice can be tailored to mirror a human voice and tweaked to bring more nuance in terms of pronunciation, pitch, and emphasis.
This revolution opens up opportunities like never before. Here’s a peek at five major benefits emerging from specifically converting long articles into audio:
1. Enhancing Reach
Contents
Long-form articles are highly valued because of the depth they bring to any topic. But not all consumers have the capacity to read for long periods even if the content is relevant to their interests.
Long articles have a much higher chance of reaching a wider audience with a customized text to audio format.
For instance, commuters listening to music, audiobooks, and podcasts are audiences that are quickly adapting to audio articles. Many consumers also prefer audio formats while multi-tasking, taking a shower, or attempting to reduce screen time.
Text to speech technology makes it an easy transition, and content creators can offer content in an audio format that accompanies the text.
2. Improving Accessibility
Millions of consumers have limitations when it comes to reading. It could be due to a disability or low literacy. You also have a large number of consumers who just do not have the reading habit yet, are consumers of media.
Building audio functionality makes your content accessible. It also makes your marketing strategies inclusive, thus enabling you to be relevant to a diverse demographic.
Access boosts traffic and reach. For instance, audio is also playing a key role in multimedia learning environments for students with dyslexia, as it reduces reading barriers.
The simple act of converting an essay into an audio clip with a voice generator can make learning more engaging.
3. Expanding Revenue Streams
As audio articles become more popular as a format, marketers are leveraging it to expand advertising models and grow revenue.
Stronger engagement and expanded reach improve the potential to sell advertising inventory, demand higher ad fees, and deliver a higher return on investment for advertisers.
For instance, converting sponsored articles into audio opens avenues to make advertising opportunities more attractive for advertisers.
According to Statista, ad spends on digital audio advertising are projected to reach US $6.92B in 2022 and grow at the rate of 9.01% to become a $9.78B market by 2026.
Businesses making early investments in text to audio are already monetizing audio articles.
4. Boosting Search Engine Optimization
With audio-enabled pages becoming more popular, consumers are also recommending and sharing them organically. This behavior has a domino effect on the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings of audio-enabled content.
By making text to audio a part of their overall content marketing strategy, businesses can leverage the benefits of wider reach and engagement and benefit from SEO boosts.
5. Experimenting with Audio Formats
Both consumers and marketers love to experience and experiment with multiple formats in terms of consumption and storytelling.
Text to audio opens up a whole new variety of formats that creators can leverage to build unique content that serves many purposes.
For instance, content creators are experimenting with audio storytelling formats to appeal to both adults and children. Audio formats can include audio articles, podcasts, and audiobooks, to name a few.
The Takeaway
Newer demographics of consumers are predicted to consume more and more audio in the future. AI voice technology is paving the way to build an immersive, intimate experience that makes listeners feel connected.
Simultaneously, by leveraging text to audio technology, companies can reduce the cost of production, labor, and effort and build content that has a mass appeal.