The №. 1 Reason why Voice is becoming the next Online Interaction platform
Written by Roland Gavrilescu and Andrei Tiu
If you have been part of the business world, you have certainly seen a very deep transformation in the past few years in regards to the way in which audiences consume media, interact with brands and integrate devices and software in their lives. The first big transformation happened when the Internet became widely available, followed by the evolution of Mobile & Social Networks, as well as technologic innovation which enabled people to be much more interconnected, have on-demand access to information and add an extra layer on efficiency to their lives.
In terms of forms of media, we have seen the growth of written word-based content, followed by the Video revolution in the past decade. However, the developments happening at the moment will very soon determine the world to shift to a new form of interaction with devices and way of living — removing friction with devices and adding an extra layer of intelligence to the day-to day lives of the modern population.
What does this revolution look like?
It’s very likely that in the next 2 to 5 years we will be looking at Alexa and Google Assistant the way we are looking now at iOS and Android devices. Back in 2007 and ’08, we couldn’t really comprehend the way phones would literally become extensions to who we are, bridging the gaps between our physical and digital worlds. We are so connected to our digital self that we will become uncomfortable if our phones are not within an arm’s reach of us. All these social changes happened because of the platforms that have been built on top of the iPhone and on top of Web 2.0.
The internet is hitting maturity, it’s about to enter its third era. With continuous advancements in Cloud computing, machine learning and IoT, a new platform is emerging and we are grossly underestimating the impact it will have. As we speak, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, they all are building the next search engines, the next user interfaces, the next computing platforms that will be so ubiquitous and integrated in what we are doing, that will completely shift the way society is perceiving technology today.
Gary Vaynerchuk, mastermind of VaynerMedia and “black belt” in pattern recognition and consumer behavior, has been incredibly vocal about the raise of voice. He created VoiceCon, VaynerMedia’s own conference on voice technologies, addressed to businesses, marketers and developers.
“The reason I wanted to do VoiceCon is: not since social media 2005, ’06 and not since internet ’94, ’95 had I felt the chemicals in my body that have dictated my career, which is: I know what you’re gonna do before you know you’re gonna do it. And I know that everybody here is underestimating how voice is about to change their lives and how that affects you as a human and how that affects you personally and how that affects you professionally. […] This is an unbelievably selfish conference because I’m very excited that our company gets to put a flag in the ground in this space. I believe that so many of you are on the verge of disproportionately impacting your business because of this space.”
But why is he so incredibly bullish on voice? What is he seeing we are not?
There is one fundamental concept that drove technological advancements for centuries, something that is sitting at the core of voice interfaces. Make sure you thoroughly understand this concept:
Besides the health and wellbeing of our families, time is the asset we are valuing the most. Money comes after that.
1 out of 4 web mobile searches in the US is done by voice. In 2 years, that will become 1 out of 2, according to ComScore. Why? Because it’s just faster. If you are looking into implementing a voice strategy for your business, you need to understand the following: the passive element of smart speakers, the ambience of the cloud, the ability to contextualize and integrate within our lives, all these are making voice a frictionless user interface, optimized for speed. Believe it or not, grabbing your phone to check what movies are playing in the weekend is still friction.
Consumer: “Alexa, find the cheapest cinema running Jurassic World this Saturday night near me.”
Alexa: “Odeon Camden will be running it at 20:15, £9 a ticket. How many would you like to buy?”
Consumer: “Two.”
Alexa: “Done.”
…this is not.
When our TVs will be able understand who we are and what we’re watching, they will create an obnoxious number of ways of interacting with movies, shows, brands and people. Just imagine the requests they could handle:
“Who’s this guy? Open his instagram on my phone.”
“Where was this scene filmed at? Find me the cheapest flights to that place.”
“What shoes is she wearing? Show the entire collection on my laptop.”
“I want it! Buy this now!”
Our fridges will literally become our dieticians. It will be able to give us nutritional information about the foods we are buying, tell us if we’ve been consuming too much of a certain product and reorder items before we’ve run out of them.
Take a look at the recent growth in podcast consumption. More 17 to 35 year olds are listening to podcasts instead of music during their commutes because it just saves them time. It’s what we value as humans. Because we now tend to consume multiple sources of media at once, podcasts and audio are well-positioned to win. We would prefer listening to the latest episode of our favourite mentor or business person’s show and get some value while driving or working out rather than just listening to music. With video you can’t do both. It takes all of your attention to consume that content the second it starts.
Influencers and Youtube content creators need to find a way to transit to this non-visual space and maintain the essence and high quality of their material.
Convenience is king. Time will always win.
We also have some thoughts when it comes to starting a tech business in the voice space. The beauty of it is that there is complete pattern recognition into what things play first. As we’ve seen with the iPhone, apps built on these new platforms have the potential to turn into giant companies. Companies like Uber, Waze, Rovio, King, they all were some sort of utilities or entertainment products. Taking the example of Angry Birds, escapism (the avoidance of boring or harsh aspects of our daily lives) is definitely a very fruitful category to look into.
The big winners of “voice” will be the ones building an utility or automation that will be saving tremendous amounts of time for their users — or, looking at Instagram and Snapchat, entertainment and Social-based environments.
Brands will also need to be able to create a 1 : 1 relationship with their users through voice in the near future, as well as become discoverable in the search engines used by these devices. Imagine if every company would be able to have it’s own Google Duplex chatbot. That would be a game-changer, wouldn’t it?
Now that we have painted a better picture into what the future looks like, it’s time to let you know about what we have been working in the background for the past half year:
Starting August, we have released a new subdivision to our agency — “Marketiu Voice”.
As we have been doing in the Digital and Mobile spaces, we want to be at the core of the life and industry-changing innovations shaping the future. In the past 6 months, we have build a top-of-the-class team of Voice Solutions architects, working together with our Consultant and Digital teams in getting companies to the next level, and supporting their positioning as Industry and Innovation leaders over the next 1–3 years. From now, we will be able to provide full support on Google Assistant and Alexa Skills bespoke development, as well as consultancy in what tools will be able to help each individual client grow exponentially in this space, gaining at the same time an unfair advantage of being the leader driving innovation.
Stay close, and if you have questions we’d be happy to hear from you — write us anytime at hello@marketiu.com!
Article written in Collaboration with Roland Gavrilescu , Product Specialist and Solution Architect, Voice at Marketiu
At Marketiu, we help you get to the edge and maximise your Digital Marketing returns as well as exponentially grow your business by combining latest Strategic Industry Know-how with intelligent Marketing Execution, Automation & Personalisation tools & Tactics on all required channels.
We have obtained continuous success through Marketing channels integration and optimisation, great scheduling and on-spot control. We offer top-class tailored Marketing Consultancy, Social Media & Cross-channel Digital Advertising Services as well as All-round Digital Production, and have worked with brands ranging from Luxury International Cosmetics, Financial Services and Entertainment supporting their growth. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have too!
Think we can help further? Get in touch @ hello@marketiu.com for a free Marketing Audit and Consultancy session, and let’s prepare the ground for setting your business on a rising Profit Curve!
Let’s get social! Follow us for more updates on the latest Digital Tips & Tricks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marketiu/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketiu_london/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marketiulondon