Got a podcast? Congratulations! You’re one of more than a million podcasters who will publish new episodes this year.
It’s official: Podcasts have gone mainstream. That means there’s no better time than now to think about how to attract a bigger audience.
Have you thought about livestreaming your podcast? How about simply recording video alongside audio to create a video version?
It’s easier than you may think. In fact, it’s a great way to stand out in the sea of podcasts by giving your audience another way to connect with your content.
Read on to discover how video podcasts are an accessible, affordable, and convenient way to get more subscribers and grow your audience.
According to The Infinite Dial 2020, a yearly report on consumer usage of media and technology by Edison Research, at least 100 million Americans will listen to a podcast at least once a month this year. That’s a 16% increase over last year, and it shows no signs of slowing.
Nonetheless, even as the number of podcast listeners grows, some people don’t listen to them or refuse to outright. In late 2019, Mozilla found that the number of people who never listen to podcasts is just slightly less than the number of people who listen to them daily. Reasons why people don’t listen to podcasts vary, but Edison Research suggests that the most common reason involves a simple dislike of the medium.
So what if we could offer this demographic our content in a way that worked for them?
As it turns out, we can. And the industry is starting to figure it out. In July, Spotify announced that it would start supporting video podcasts.
As a vehicle for podcasts, video has a few distinct advantages:
We fully expect other major players to follow Spotify’s lead soon, but that doesn’t mean that the advantages of video podcasting need to be only for them. New technologies and video podcasting software are emerging that make it easier than ever to record video or livestream from devices you already use.
That’s right. Your podcast could have the power of live or recorded video at its back. No fancy equipment needed.
Imagine filming your podcast recording and livestreaming that video on YouTube while you do live edits and chat with viewers. Now imagine doing it on your iPad, where there’s no learning curve for the hardware. Sound too good to be true? That’s what the future of podcasting is moving toward.
Here are five reasons you might want to embrace that future:
Social media remains a dominant force online, and it’s not going anywhere any time soon. Most brands have a social media presence and an audience built there. Figuring out how to funnel that audience from the platform to your own website or podcast feed creates its own challenges. However, hosting a video podcast on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, or another platform can cut out the leap audiences need to take altogether.
In the case of YouTube, especially, social media can significantly boost your podcast’s visibility. Put YouTube’s search algorithms to work and let interested consumers find you.
Humans are visual creatures, which means that audio-only podcasts can pose a challenge to some. Video podcasts solve this problem entirely by introducing visual content alongside the conversation. Best of all? You can really get creative with it to boost interest and engagement. Some ideas you might consider include:
Want to build loyalty? Show your audience you see and hear them. Include them in the conversation and make them functionally become a part of the show. This is one of the biggest advantages that video podcasts have over purely audio ones — your audience isn’t limited to likes and shares when it comes to engagement.
Speaking of which …
Podcasts are notoriously difficult to share on social media, which is why word-of-mouth is so important in any podcast’s advertising strategy. When you work with video podcasting software like Switcher, you’ll not only empower guests to share the long-form video but also make it easier than ever to repurpose content into bite-sized clips that they can then share and post on other platforms.
Remember that we mentioned you could use an iPad or another mobile device to record or stream your podcast? With multicamera livestreaming software that works on your iPad or iPhone, getting creative with your video podcasts is a breeze. Imagine if your creativity were no longer limited to a single recording room. Imagine if you could:
Are you getting ideas yet for that video podcast you’re thinking about? Good.
Video podcasts are the next big thing as podcasters learn how to harness the power of video content. There’s no better time to start thinking about how you could leverage them than right now.
If you’re wondering how to get started, check out Switcher. This powerful, intuitive video podcasting software runs on iOS devices so you can get straight to work recording on the iPhones and iPads you already know and love.
Video can make your podcasts accessible to new audiences, and Switcher can make livestreaming or video recording accessible to you.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial of Switcher Studio today!