There are lots of question and answer forums out there but none using voice. Reddit, Quora, Stack Overflow, TripAdviser – the list goes on.
Comments on particular issues can give insights but voice comments and intonation of the voice gives greater trust.
Sometimes people want to watch a video for help, and other times reading text is just fine. When you have emotional issues to discuss, this is when voice comes in. It could be, for example, advice for new mothers. MumsAnywhere.com, an audio forum for mums by mums, is a great example of where voice can have an impact. Thousands of mothers on Mums Anywhere help each other with questions and answers all driven by voice notes. Users can listen to advice, and the listening to the voice gives users the wisdom of the crowd, and the empathy of the human voice. Founder Claire Morritt invented Mums Anywhere to solve a problem she had when she was pregnant with her first child. Gestational diabetes was diagnosed late in Claire’s pregnancy which led to much anxiety. Claire would often type emotional questions into Google only to get plain text returned. This simply amplified the anxiety. Emotional problems need platforms where emotions can be expressed and this is where the human voice wins.
Another voice forum has been created by James Knight, a business coach. James’ business, IMA Strategies, is designed to enable better connections in the workplace. Once people complete the IMA questionnaire, they are given a colour to explain their personality type. Personality types can be High Red, High Yellow, High Green or High Blue. Red and Yellow are big picture thinkers who prefer a faster pace. Blues and Greens are more interested in the detail and prefer to work slower. Greens and Reds are logical in their approach to business whilst Yellows and Blues are creative. Now everyone is unique and all have our own DNA and particular level of intelligence, but IMA allows you to better understand the people you work with. People with the same colours tend to be on the same wavelength, and our communication approach needs to be adapted to fit the personalities in question. James has set up IMA Nation as a podcast site to allow people to listen to audio explaining their strengths and weaknesses. Members of IMA Nation can join groups and discuss all sorts of issues using voices notes.
Everyone likes a good discussion, and discussion forums have been around for years online. Whether it’s the bottom of newspaper articles, product reviews or self help support groups. Enabling audio forums for your brand gives greater authenticity and truth to comments. In a world of fake news and fake reviews, listening to genuine people and their tone of voice goes that little bit further when building communities online.
Useful Links
Mums Anywhere
IMA Nation