Why audio is structurally different
Every visual channel competes with everything else on the screen. Audio arrives during commutes, workouts, dog walks, and chores — moments where there is no feed, no competing content, and no option to scroll past.
Attention is not divided. That is rare, and it is currently cheap: streaming audio commonly runs $5 to $15 CPM, well below social and a fraction of connected TV.
What it is good at
Frequency and memorability at low cost. Audio is the best channel for making a local business name and a simple offer stick, which is exactly what you want when the purchase happens weeks later.
It is also good for reaching people during the specific windows when your category comes to mind — morning commutes for coffee and breakfast, evenings for home projects, weekends for family services.
Podcasts, specifically
Host-read spots on niche shows convert unusually well because the recommendation carries the host’s credibility. The tradeoff is scale: a show with ten thousand engaged local-ish listeners is a real buy for some businesses and a rounding error for others.
Programmatic podcast inventory is easier to buy at local scale and cheaper, without the endorsement effect. Start there unless you know a show your customers genuinely listen to.
Creative rules
Thirty seconds, one idea, and the name said three times — beginning, middle, and end. No URL nobody can type while driving; a name people can search later is better than a web address.
Write it out loud. Copy that reads well on a page frequently sounds wrong when spoken, and it is the sound that gets bought.