How Voice Technology Will Influence Marketing in the Future

Hey there! Have you noticed how voice assistants like Siri and Alexa seem to be popping up everywhere these days? As a fellow tech geek, I‘m fascinated by the voice technology revolution that‘s happening right now. In fact, I think voice is going to radically transform marketing within just a few years.

Let me walk you through what‘s driving this change, some of the cool ways brands could use voice technology to connect with customers, and what marketers need to focus on to prepare for the voice-first future. I‘ll also share plenty of stats and examples so you can really understand the massive impact voice will have.

Get ready to see marketing in a whole new way – through the lens of voice AI!

Voice Assistants Are Taking Over The World

First, let‘s look at some of the key facts showing the insane growth of voice assistants:

As of 2019, smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home had reached 24% adoption in U.S. households. That‘s around 70 million devices already!
Voice assistant use is predicted to reach 55% of U.S. households by 2022. That‘s just 3 years away.
By that time, there are expected to be over 175 million smart speaker users in the U.S. alone.
In fact, 72.6 million Americans are forecasted to use a voice assistant at least monthly this year. Absolutely crazy growth.

Withadoption numbers like that, it‘s clear that voice assistants are hitting the mainstream in a huge way.

But why does this explosion in voice technology matter for marketers? Well, it opens up a ton of new possibilities for brands to engage with consumers:

Voice makes it super easy for people to search for products, places, or information. No more typing required – just ask your assistant!
Voice assistants enable two-way conversations with brands. We can finally chat with technology like real humans!
Smart speakers allow brands to be invited into the home and provide personalized services for daily routines. Such a cool opportunity.
As you‘ll see below, voice opens doors for revolutionary new marketing formats like hyper-personalized ads and branded "skills."

So in short, the rise of voice tech creates all kinds of new ways for brands to interact with their audiences. Companies that embrace voice early will have a big advantage in connecting with consumers moving forward.

Now let‘s explore some of these emerging voice marketing opportunities…

Voice Opens the Door to Exciting New Marketing Formats

Voice assistants like Alexa weren‘t even around 5 years ago. But now, they‘re sparking all kinds of innovative marketing formats for brands:

Voice Commerce

By 2020, 13% of consumers are expected to be making weekly voice commerce purchases.
The total voice commerce market is predicted to reach a staggering $40 billion by 2022, up from just $2 billion today. Huge growth!
Brands like Domino‘s, Campbell‘s, and Starbucks are already letting people place orders or reorder products through simple voice commands.
Imagine saying "Alexa, I‘m running low on paper towels, can you reorder those for me?" Voice makes recurring purchases so quick and convenient!

Hyper-Personalized Content

With access to data about users‘ preferences, routines, and previous queries, voice assistants can make tailored recommendations for products and services that fit their needs and interests.
For example, Alexa could suggest new music based on your listening history or recommend a restaurant near you serving the type of cuisine you frequently order.
Brands need strategies to tap into this hyper-personalization potential and deliver stand-out content.

Branded Voice Skills

Voice skills are kind of like apps for smart speakers, enabling customized experiences through conversational interactions.
Tide‘s stain-removal skill lets people easily get cleaning advice for specific stains. Pretty handy!
Campbell‘s has a dinnertime inspiration skill that suggests recipes and provides cooking instructions. Makes me want to put their soup on my shopping list!
Skills that provide utility like these help brands build relationships with customers.

Voice Ads

Of course, audio ads are coming to voice assistants as well. Just imagine Alexa promoting a brand‘s product while you chat with her!
While still in early days, 78% of users are open to voice ads if they improve the experience and 53% see them as useful product discovery.
Over 50% would engage further with brands after hearing a voice ad, showing major potential. Brands just need to tread carefully and test what works.

As you can see, voice opens up so many cool marketing possibilities – but only if brands can provide genuine utility and value vs. annoying gimmicks.

The key is to enhance the customer experience and make people‘s lives easier through helpful, convenient voice interactions. Do that, and voice marketing has huge potential.

Now let‘s look at why mastering voice search optimization specifically is so critical…

Why Voice Search Optimization Should Be a Top Marketing Priority

Here are some eye-opening stats on how important voice search optimization is becoming:

20% of mobile queries are already voice searches, according to Comscore. That number will only grow.
By 2020, 50% of searches are expected to be voice searches, according to Comscore. It‘s rising fast.
In fact, 55% of teenagers already use voice search daily, based on Google data. The next generation is voice-first.

So why is voice search optimization so crucial? Well, people search differently when speaking vs. typing. Brands need to adapt for these behavioral changes:

More Conversational Queries

Voice queries are more conversational, using natural language, like "What‘s the best place to buy running shoes near me?"
Content needs to match these longer, more descriptive spoken queries to rank highly.

Hyper-Local Focus

Voice searches often include location-based commands like "Find the nearest coffee shop open now."
Local businesses have huge opportunities optimizing for voice to tap into this demand.

Single Vocal Response

On voice assistants, users hear a single spoken response to their query rather than seeing pages of text results.
Ranking #1 is vital. Brands should optimize content to be that featured voice search result.

Personalized by Context

Your voice assistant knows details about you like location, schedule, preferences, habits, etc. Results get personalized using this context.
Brands need deeper audience understanding to create content tailored to users‘ unique contexts.

Optimizing early for these voice search behaviors will give companies an edge. But brands can‘t just retrofit old content – they need to develop voice-specific strategies to win.

Okay, we‘ve covered why voice technology is blowing up, some exciting marketing opportunities it enables, and how to optimize for voice search. But what are some pitfalls brands should watch out for?

Challenges Brands Face With Voice Marketing

Jumping into voice requires testing and learning. Here are some key challenges brands should anticipate:

Delivering Valuable Voice Experiences is Hard

It‘s tough designing a voice skill that truly enhances customers‘ lives. Novelty skills get old fast. Unique utility is a must.
For example, a weather skill doesn‘t add much beyond just asking your assistant for the forecast. Needs special features to stand out.

Slow Adoption of Voice Commerce

Despite the hype, buying via voice remains limited. Only 3% of smart speaker owners use them more than once a week for purchases.
Between privacy concerns and UX friction, mainstream voice commerce usage faces barriers. Patience and small tests are key.

Young Voice Tech User Behavior Not Well Understood

Voice assistant usage differs enormously by demographic. Adoption by millennials and Gen Z far outpaces older generations right now.
But not much data exists yet explaining young users‘ voice search behaviors, interests, and needs. More unknowns to uncover.

Measuring Voice Marketing ROI is Hard

With voice commerce and branded skills still emerging, widely accepted metrics to gauge effectiveness and ROI remain elusive.
The path to determining success metrics is blurry. Brands must get creative with small tests and focus on learning.

While exciting opportunities abound in voice, brands need to enter carefully. Start by enhancing existing touchpoints before attempting to completely transform them through voice. Let‘s look now at how marketing strategies as a whole will need to shift…

Marketing Strategies Will Rapidly Evolve in a Voice-First World

It‘s clear voice is poised to become a primary interface between brands and consumers. Here are some ways marketing strategies will need to evolve as voice tech keeps spreading:

SEO Focuses Heavily on Voice Optimization

With voice search usage exploding,visibility in voice results and featured snippets will make or break brands.
Optimizing content and SEO specifically for voice search behavior is mandatory.

Brand Messaging Gets More Conversational

Brands will need to develop more conversational, interactive messaging aligned with natural voice interactions.
Marketing copy will shift to sound like suggestions from a friend instead of sales pitches.

Hyper-Personalization Becomes Essential

To stand out on voice assistants, brands must serve hyper-relevant content personalized to users‘ tastes and context.
This demands next-level audience insights few brands currently possess. Major upgrades in understanding customers required.

Experiences Must Maintain Consistency Across Platforms

Smartphones were first, then smart speakers, next car assistants, and beyond. Experiences need to stay reliable across endless environments.
Marketers must figure out how to tether digital + voice + in-person consistently as voice usage grows.

New Audio & Interactive Formats Emerge

Brief voice content formats like podcasts, interactive audio stories, and conversational ads will complement text-focused content.
Brands need to build skills across writing for digital articles, snappy audio scripts, visually engaging social content, and more. Exciting new mix of creative skills required!

Looking just a few years down the road, brands that don‘t adapt their strategies for voice technology risk getting left way behind.

Key Takeaways for Voice Marketing Success

We‘ve covered a ton of ground exploring voice technology‘s enormous marketing potential. Let‘s recap the main action steps for brands looking to prepare for the voice revolution:

Get your content ready for voice search demands – Conversational, local, personalized, single-response focused. Voice optimization trains are leaving the station.
Experiment with smart speaker opportunities – Test innovative approaches like commerce and branded skills, but start small.
Take a crawl/walk/run approach – Enhance existing touchpoints with voice first before attempting dramatic overhauls. Baby steps are key.
Shift messaging to be conversational – Adopt a casual, engaging voice aligned with how real people speak.
Obsess over audience insights – Know your customers‘ interests, pain points, and contexts at a deeper level to personalize voice content.
Expect multi-platform consistency – Map out strategies to keep experiences cohesive across voice, digital, in-person, and future interfaces.
Add audio and interactive formats – Podcasts, targeted audio stories, and conversational ads will grow. Build creative chops across written, visual, and voice-driven content.

That covers my deep dive into how I see voice radically reshaping marketing. As you can tell, I‘m super excited about the possibilities voice opens up! Brands that tap into this technology early on are poised for success as voice keeps growing.

What do you think? Any questions on the impact voice assistants could have? Or ideas on creative ways brands could use them? I‘d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to ping me with any reactions.

Talk soon!
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