Ever had a conversation with a voice assistant and found it’s been unable to understand your accent? If so, you’re not alone. In the UK, for instance, people with regional dialects find it hard to speak to audio devices like Siri and Alexa. According to a study, 79% of people with regional accents alter their voice to make sure they are understood by their digital assistants.  

Voice assistants have risen in popularity in recent years, with 2 in 5 adults using voice search daily. Users in other countries are struggling to hold a conversation with voice technology as well, which indicates there needs to be an improvement in the way voice devices comprehend different languages.

In the B2B marketing world, people are always looking to predict the next major trend, and the one that keeps cropping up is voice search. Voice assistant devices are becoming commonplace, and businesses are adapting to the way consumers are using the technology to shop online. Amazon Echo has established itself as a popular device. A swiss army knife of voice assistants, Echo integrates with Alexa to stream music, make phone calls, set alarms and do all manner of wonderful things that can be achieved with a few words.

A great addition to Echo is the presence of ‘skills’ that can be downloaded to achieve other tasks, like finding a lost phone. A skill that’s widely used on the Echo is Flash Briefing, which delivers pre-recorded news snippets from media outlets. From a B2B marketing perspective, this is huge.

As part of our mission to share marketing knowledge, we’ve created the B2B marketer’s guide to voice, focussing on how businesses can use voice search in their marketing campaigns.

What’s covered in the guide?

• Types of voice devices
• How voice technology is affecting UX
• The importance of voice search optimisation
• Creating voice optimised content
• Voice technology of the future

When it comes to new technology, voice assistants have emerged as a growing trend in the marketing industry. It’s thought that around 1.8 billion people will be using voice assistants on a global scale by 2021, leading to a change in the way consumers interact with the world around them. Devices like Alexa and Siri are meant to make it easier for users to multitask and access content, which is why brands need to consider how voice search will affect content distribution in the future.

Local search is a key part of how people are using voice technology to find information. So, creating content that’s tailored to local search is a good way of making sure B2B products and services gain maximum exposure. Here are a few types of content to keep in mind when developing a voice-related B2B content strategy.