Why Digital Audio has a Larger Share of Voice than Radio

Share of voice is crucial to creating impactful audio campaigns, and traditional AM/FM radio doesn’t deliver the SOV needed to drive results. Digital audio is far more effective and delivers a greater ROI for small business owners who need to drive impact. 

There are a few reasons digital audio advertisers have a larger share of voice (SOV) beyond listenership (though that certainly plays a larger role each year):

• Fewer competing voices

• Less ad time per hour

• Targeted delivery

• Creator and community loyalty

The ability to deliver the right message to the best audience results with digital audio improves your ability to influence your consumers. And streaming, podcasts, and SiriusXM offer substantially more SOV than traditional radio, making them more effective channels for driving impact with audio ads.

What Does High Share of Voice Mean

The short answer is yes. Digital media has had a comparable or favorable SOV advantage over traditional AM/FM radio for a few years. But in 2024, it’s safe to say digital audio is in the lead based on its larger audience, reduced ad-time-per-hour, and unparalleled targeting accuracy. 

Growing listenership

The popularity of digital formats like streaming audio and podcasts is growing as AM/FM listening time continues to decline. Since there are more streaming listeners every day, there is a larger chance of growing your share of voice. AM/FM radio has seen a 24% decline in the share of listening time since 2015.

But listenership is just a piece of the pie. Even before digital audio outranked radio in terms of listenership, it has always offered its advertisers a larger piece of the pie.

Less advertising clutter

Digital audio platforms generally offer audiences more uninterrupted listening, meaning the ads they do hear are more likely to stand out. It’s one of the reasons listeners have replaced radio time with digital and streaming.

SiriusXM Media’s ad-supported platforms have 50% less commercial time per hour than traditional AM/FM radio, meaning our advertisers have less noise to compete with, and a lot more room to breathe.

Pinpoint accuracy

With digital audio, you can serve your message at the beach, in the rain, on a smart speaker, during carpool pickup, and even through the mouth of your audience’s favorite podcast host.

That’s the power of having a loyal listenership voluntarily sharing personal preferences and listening habits in exchange for more personalized experiences. Listeners report “not minding” ads when served to them in context. The majority of respondents to one podcast user study reported enjoying ads read by their favorite hosts.

A well-placed ad is welcomed if the listener needs what you’re selling. 

How to Increase Share of Voice for Your Brand

The best part about digital audio is that the share of voice isn’t reserved for the biggest brands. Businesses of any size and any campaign objective can get in the game for a minimal investment (as low as $250 through services like AudioGo, SiriusXM Media’s self-serve advertising partner).

Because digital audio allows for such pinpoint targeting, it also allows advertisers to narrow their advertising focus. Not only does better targeting save budget, but it increases the impact. Why spend money advertising to an entire network when you’re selling work boots? Instead, try some of these digital share-of-voice tips.

Get dynamic with your ad delivery.

Dynamic ad insertion gives advertisers the ability to automatically serve ads in real time based on listener data. Brands set their service criteria, and the media partner can serve specific ads (or even combinations of ad segments) based on location, music genre, content mood, podcast host, listening device type, weather, and much more.

Cozy up with your (audience’s) favorite podcast.

As the popularity of the medium continues to grow, so do the opportunities to reach large, engaged audiences with podcasts. And they’re receptive to hearing your ads, with 85% of podcast listeners saying they’re open to hearing any type of podcast ad. And it’s not just about host reads—though they are most popular. Four in ten listeners are interested in ads voiced by a familiar host from a related podcast, over three in 10 enjoy ads read by voiceover talent, and nearly a third want to hear ads featuring diverse voiceover artists.  

Mix up your placements.

Advertisers who use programmatic advertisers and take a multi-platform approach often find exponential returns. SiriusXM Media advertisers can serve ads to their listeners across platforms, networks, and devices, from the Pandora app on their smart speaker, to SiriusXM in their connected car, to the SiriusXM Podcast Network shows on their phone.

SiriusXM Media advertisers reach up to 55% of the US population ages 18+. And when you layer your audio buys, you can achieve incremental reach. For example, adding podcasts and streaming to a SiriusXM campaign can deliver +127% incremental reach.

Claim a Larger Share of Voice with Digital Audio Ads

SiriusXM Media advertisers simply have access to a larger piece of the pie. And with each year that passes, the digital audio audience grows as they turn off the AM/FM dial for the last time, meaning that digital audio advertisers are seeing exponential SOV growth. 

Are you ready to see how more engaged audiences, better targeting, and modern advertising tools can grow your brand's SOV? Let’s talk.

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