Voice assistants have been changing the way we interact with technology, and Amazon’s Alexa is one of the most popular ones. Launched in 2014, Alexa has gained widespread popularity and is now integrated into more than 100 million devices worldwide. It has also opened up a new frontier for advertising: voice enabled advertising.
Voice enabled advertising is an exciting development in the world of digital advertising. In this article, we will explore the potential of Alexa as the future of voice enabled advertising.
What is Voice Enabled Advertising?
Voice enabled advertising is a form of advertising that is integrated with voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri. It allows businesses to interact with customers in a more natural and conversational way, making advertising more engaging and effective.
With voice enabled advertising, businesses can create customized messages that are triggered by specific voice commands. For example, a customer could ask Alexa for a recommendation on a product, and Alexa could respond with a personalized ad for that product. The result is a more personalized and relevant advertising experience that feels more helpful and less intrusive.
How Does Alexa Allow Voice Enabled Advertising?
Alexa enables voice enabled advertising through the use of Alexa Skills. Skills are like apps that you can enable on your Alexa-enabled device to perform specific functions. For example, there are skills for playing music, ordering food, or getting news updates.
Alexa Skills can also be used for advertising. Businesses can create custom Skills that provide information about their products or services, offer promotions, or provide helpful tips. Customers can then enable these Skills and interact with them using voice commands.
For example, a business could create a Skill that provides tips for healthy eating. When a customer asks Alexa for healthy eating tips, Alexa could respond with information about the business's products that promote healthy eating. The result is an advertising experience that feels less like an ad and more like a helpful recommendation.
Amazon advertising via Alexa
With the "Customers Ask Alexa" program, Amazon is making advertising statements possible with the voice assistant. Under the name "Customers ask Alexa", brands will have the opportunity to answer frequently asked customer queries directly. When customers ask Alexa a question that revolves directly around the features or functions of a particular product, Alexa will respond with answers provided by the company or manufacturer itself.
Amazon explains the process with an example for carpet cleaning products. For example, a customer searching for cleaning products on the online retailer's website might ask, "How can I remove pet hair from my carpet?" A brand can now provide answers to such questions along with links to its Amazon store.
According to Amazon, all submitted answers go through a quality control process before Alexa selects the most relevant answer to share with customers.
The Benefits of Voice Enabled Advertising with Alexa
Voice enabled advertising with Alexa offers several benefits for businesses. Here are some of the key advantages:
- Increased Engagement: Voice enabled advertising offers a more engaging and interactive experience for customers. By providing personalized recommendations and helpful tips, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers.
- Better Targeting: Voice enabled advertising with Alexa allows businesses to target specific customers based on their interests and behavior. By analyzing data from customer interactions with Alexa, businesses can create targeted ads that are more relevant and effective.
- Increased Sales: Voice enabled advertising can help businesses drive sales by providing customers with personalized recommendations and promotions. By offering discounts and other incentives through Alexa, businesses can encourage customers to make purchases.
- Brand Awareness: Voice enabled advertising with Alexa can help businesses increase brand awareness by providing customers with helpful tips and information. By creating custom Skills that provide value to customers, businesses can build a strong brand image and reputation.
- Data Insights: Voice enabled advertising with Alexa provides businesses with valuable data insights into customer behavior and preferences. By analyzing data from customer interactions with Alexa, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers and improve their advertising strategies.
Conclusion
Voice enabled advertising with Alexa is an exciting new frontier in the world of digital advertising. By enabling businesses to interact with customers in a more conversational and natural way, Alexa offers a more engaging and effective advertising experience. With the benefits of increased engagement, better targeting, increased sales, brand awareness, and data insights, businesses can leverage the power of Alexa to improve their advertising strategies and build stronger relationships with their customers. As voice assistants like Alexa continue to grow in popularity, the potential for voice enabled advertising is enormous. It's time for businesses to embrace the potential of voice enabled advertising with Alexa and start exploring the many opportunities it offers for building stronger connections with customers.
However, it's important to remember that voice enabled advertising is still in its early stages, and there are challenges that businesses will need to overcome to succeed. For example, creating a custom Skill that provides value to customers requires careful planning and execution. Businesses will also need to ensure that their advertising messages are relevant and not too intrusive, to avoid turning customers off.
Despite these challenges, the potential of voice-driven advertising outweighs. As more and more customers embrace voice assistants like Alexa, businesses that are quick to adopt this new advertising channel will be in a strong position to build stronger relationships with customers and drive sales.
