Everybody and their cat is on social media. No, seriously. Why is my entire feed filled with cat videos??

The way I experience social media may totally differ from the way you experience it. You might see a whole bunch of dogs! Or maybe sports or politics or fashion trends or whatever the algorithm of a platform has understood of your interests. And this only relates to the general social media platforms, wherein you find pockets of people interacting on a particular topic. 

If we dig deeper, we’ll find that there are also platforms that cater to specific niches. For example, some social media targets gamers, sports talk, the professional world, medicine, etc. This is the beauty of social media. There’s something in it for everybody.

Given that social media provides so many forms of experience, this then begs the question: “should I use social audio?” We can answer this in two different ways.

Social Audio as a Listener

It’s not unheard of that some people use social media primarily as consumers of content (i.e. they don’t post or post very infrequently). As a listener of social audio, the question you want to answer is if there’s anything worth listening to. 

In the few years that social audio has been around, these virtual spaces have resulted in a variety of themes and topics. Among these, educational and conversational topics are especially common. If you’re looking to learn about things like cryptocurrency, AI, entrepreneurship, mental health, and other areas in which people provide mentorship, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to learn via social audio. Likewise, the conversational nature of voice-based social media makes it a great place to find communities that share a specific interest, like TV shows, fashion, art, and more.

Social audio also shines as a means of keeping up with friends and loved ones. Whether that be live conversation or voice notes, social audio acts as a telephone between people. Once upon a time, people primarily relied upon phone calls to stay in touch with others. Social audio revives that audio-based connection with a modern kick.

Topics and themes aside, another way to answer if social audio is for you is how you plan to consume content. If you’re a busy person, you might know firsthand the addicting nature of social media that can take you down the rabbit hole. Before you know it, you’ve stared at your screen for two hours!

Social audio allows you to enjoy content while letting you take back your time. The beauty of audio, as compared to other media, is that listening can be done while doing other activities. This is evidenced by how people routinely listen to podcasts, music, and audiobooks, or take phone calls while multitasking. 

Social Audio as a Speaker

For those looking to share voice notes or participate in conversation, finding spaces to do so is just as easy. As mentioned above, there are both general apps as well as apps dedicated to specific kinds of people or interests.

What’s more: ask yourself what kind of content creator and personality you are. Some folks may prefer the quick and anonymous nature of text-based sharing. Some folks may prefer showing themselves on camera as a means of establishing a connection with their audience. Audio sharing lies in the middle of that spectrum. Your voice can personally engage with your listeners while still maintaining a level of flexibility and ease when it comes to content creation.

Another kind of person that may enjoy creating content on social audio is one who likes to talk through things. It can often be difficult to communicate complex thoughts through text. And even if you can communicate your ideas, text diminishes the emotions and passion behind your words. For those who want to recreate a more lifelike communication experience, voice allows you to do so.

Finally, social audio provides an opportunity for two-way communication, a fairly uncommon aspect of standard social media. Whether a live conversation or a thread of voice replies, social audio engages you with others as if they’re in the room with you. This conversational nature of social audio makes it the perfect medium for those looking to communicate their thoughts or establish meaningful relationships.

Creatures of Communication

At the end of the day, there are nearly 5 billion people who use social media in some fashion. Some may primarily use it to share photos of their cat. Some may use it to share their thoughts on the NBA Finals. Some may use it to jump on viral dance trends. And some may use it for all of the above. 

Audio introduces a novel dimension to social apps that I believe every one of these 5 billion can enjoy. As I touched on in the last Social Audio Corner post here, we humans have a natural inclination to socialize. That’s the number one reason why social media has exploded since the technology allowed for it. We love to connect with others, and we love to communicate our thoughts. Since the name of the social audio game is communication, you might find yourself naturally inclined to it.

And if you fit any of the qualities above, you’ll definitely love it. So give it a shot by signing up for updates to Voicebox!

Social Audio Corner is a series where we discuss all things related to the audio segment of social media, from latest developments to use cases and more.