As more and more consumers become smitten with home voice assistant devices like Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, the trend suggests a rosy future for voice marketing. In fact, by 2020, 50% of searches are expected to be voice-based. This is a number that will only grow with time.
This emergent technology is changing the way SEO is done to drive more traffic to a firm’s website. It can also help brands improve their customers’ experiences and empower them to stay ahead of the competition.
This is why NOW is a great time to develop a voice marketing strategy for your business.
But how?
Here are 7 ways to start building your voice marketing strategy right now!
#1: Put yourself in your customers’ shoes
Before you create a voice marketing strategy, you need to know who you are creating the strategy for and why. Think about where your consumers are most likely to use voice.
At work?
In the kitchen?
While driving?
Ask yourself: How can my brand provide value through a voice-activated device and where?
#2: Identify your goals
Sure, a lot of marketers are jumping onto the voice bandwagon now (a few years ago it was social media!). But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should too. In fact, if you do so without a measurable goal (or goals) and a solid implementation plan, you are unlikely to succeed in the long run.
Identify your purpose first, whether it’s to increase sales, boost brand awareness, bolster customer engagement or encourage repeat purchases (or anything else). Once you know why you’re using voice, you will know better what you need to do to meet that goal.
#3: Create a Google ‘action’ or Alexa ‘skill’ for your brand
Google actions and Alexa skills are functions that allow these voice assistants to react appropriately to user-generated commands or queries. There are already over 30,000 skills on Alexa and almost 2,000 actions for Google Assistant.
Businesses all over the world and in almost every industry are getting creative with creating actions and skills that boost their brands’ equities.
What about you?
#4: Design your website and make it voice-optimised (not just SEO-optimised!)
In general, voice searchers tend to use longer phrases in their search queries.
Can you re-design your website – or at least some pages – with these relevant question keyword phrases? This way, users can quickly find answers to their questions. If you do this consistently, more consumers are likely to engage with your brand and stay engaged with it over the long term.
#5: Think of voice as ONE touch point in a holistic marketing strategy, not the ONLY touch point
Voice marketing should not be used as an isolated strategy. This might be a case of putting all your eggs into one basket – a strategy that is rarely successful for any business.
Your presence on voice channels must be strategically aligned with your overall brand identity. Furthermore, data from your other marketing initiatives must inform your voice strategy, and vice versa. In short, take a holistic approach when incorporating voice into your marketing plan.
#6: Use data to tweak and improve your voice campaigns
Voice is a rapid form of communication that offers brands the opportunity to connect with people in a more natural, non-interruption-causing way. On the flip side, when it comes to voice, consumers have even less tolerance than usual for bad interactions.
This is why it is critical for brands to analyse the data gathered throughout the customer journey and use it to inform and improve their voice campaigns. The use of appropriate context and location-based data will ensure that consumers get relevant information that enhances their daily lives and enhances your brand’s value.
#7: Design content optimised for voice
Developing content for voice channels is a challenge for most marketers, but especially so for those who are more used to creating visual branding campaigns (banners, TV commercials, etc).
Pay attention to the type of content that does well on voice platforms and create content for your brand accordingly. Also ensure that your content is engaging, relevant and faithful to your brand’s overall personality.
Final thoughts…
Voice marketing is here to stay. If you can implement voice marketing campaigns that are relevant, contextual and useful, you will be able to deliver unique, exciting customer experiences and achieve success with this emerging trend.
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