Should Your Podcast Have Video or Not?

Welcome to Profits Through Podcasting, the show for entrepreneurs with podcasts who want to monetize by generating leads and profits for their business from podcasting. I’m your host, joel Oliver, ceo of East Coast Studio. Should your podcast have video or not? This is a heavily debated topic. That’s kind of challenging to do a podcast episode for, because things change so rapidly, so the information and technology can be outdated pretty quickly in the near future. People also like to debate what a podcast even is. Well, that’s a show. They’ll say. That’s not a real podcast. I’m not here to talk about that.

We’re not going to be discussing what constitutes a podcast, although I will put a little framework in place for what we’re going to talk about. At least. What we’re doing is making content to generate business leads and revenue, and there is, of course, the focus on podcasting. But podcasting has some offshoots and there are so many different platforms it can be available on and repurposed onto. Okay, so we won’t get into debating what is a podcast, but for this episode we will assume that you do have a traditional podcast, in the sense that there is at least an audio version available on platforms like Apple, spotify and whatnot. You do have a podcast, whether or not. It has a video component. At this point, we’re making a recording and distributing it on the podcasting platform, so that’s a bare minimum, I think. So a key point to highlight here before we get into this, because it can be a little complex, let’s differentiate between being on YouTube versus doing video. Okay, so to be on YouTube, you don’t need actual video to have your podcast available on YouTube. The audio only version can be there. Now, you never needed video to get your podcast on YouTube. You could always put an audio only version on there. But the way that happens has changed, especially with the shutdown of Google podcasts, which was Google’s equivalent to Apple podcasts. They’ve moved everything towards YouTube now and they’ve made it much easier to get an audio-only podcast onto YouTube and, most likely, more accessible to viewers. Because when YouTube was 100% video focused, we questioned if putting an audio-only file onto YouTube would even get any traction. But now they’re actually promoting it, specifically with the podcast section of YouTube music. So that’s an upside. But anyway, you can already be on YouTube If you have an audio only podcast. As it is, you can already be available on YouTube and you definitely should be. But we’re going to talk today about if that audio only is enough, or are there any worthy benefits of adding actual video where people can see your face and perhaps your guest’s face as well?

First, let’s touch on the downsides of actual video footage. So, number one, getting your face out there. Yes, I can see why you would be hesitant about that. I was certainly hesitant about it as well, especially if you’re more of an introverted type or you just like your privacy. Especially if you’re more of an introverted type or you just like your privacy. Well, you probably are happier sitting behind a microphone in your office, not having people see who you are, and it doesn’t even have to be like a privacy thing. You maybe are just shy and you’re not ready to be the face of something and you’re opening yourself to judgment when you put that kind of content out there. So there’s a big leap in that regard how you go from audio, where no one can really see you, to hey, it’s me, here I am. How confident am I right now? So there’s that it can potentially be more challenging to create quality video content as well, but this has changed and my opinion has changed on it and also people’s habits have changed. There was a point in podcasting where you could do an audio podcast anywhere and it can sound great, and nobody knows if you’re sitting in your closet in your underwear, a big mess behind you, they just wouldn’t know. It sounded great, so it was arguably quite a bit easier to do an audio podcast that sounded highly professional.

Video, on the other hand, well, now we’re bringing a camera into the mix and we can see everything. So at the very least, we need a proper backdrop. We might need some proper lighting, the camera itself is our laptop’s camera adequate or are you doing a high-quality camera and if you went to video, you made that leap and it looked bad. Well, now you’ve got a lot more judgment, especially, let’s say, you’re a professional business and the lighting is really dark, that’s shadowy, you’re in your kitchen, that’s a big deal for someone that’s trying to look professional. So that was a big consideration and often a deterrent for people to not bother with video. But that has changed and, as I said, people’s opinions have changed, I think, in the last number of years, because not only are they more accepting of those different environments now people are just kind of used to doing Zoom meetings and seeing people in different environments. They’re not judging as harshly.

But technology has also improved. The cameras in laptops even can be a whole lot better. Also, we’ve got a lot of technology now that can easily replace your background and it looks pretty good. You know you don’t really like when you have a really bad green screen. In the past they were hard to set up. You had to have a green literal green curtain behind you and proper lighting to get it to work. Now it can just trace your face right out and you don’t need to have any special equipment set up and it can remove your background, it can blur it, it can add something else there your logo. So a lot of those downsides in regards to video are totally gone.

Something else too more editing cost and time. That’s even not like it used to be. It’s not as expensive to edit video. It works better if you don’t need detailed video editing, but it doesn’t need to be too complicated. In the audio realm it is still favorable to do detailed editing there and not in video, For example, taking out filler words like ums. Well, in audio only, no one knows anything for the most part that an edit was made. It can sound completely invisible video. On the other hand, if they’re staring at you the whole time and you’re cutting out sentences and ums. Well, the video is going to jump in sync with those edits and it can look odd.

That’s another thing, though people are kind of used to that these days. It’s kind of the style now to have bad video editing and choppy videos, so there’s an argument to be made there as well. But I still I’m not personally a fan of that. I think it’s kind of annoying, especially in long form content. Just my opinion. But if you can record a nice cohesive video episode in a fairly steady manner where it’s good all the way through, you don’t need to do a whole lot of chopping to it. That will serve you best in terms of video.

If you find you are a person that needs to make a lot of edits or you need to restart a whole lot of times or very detailed content editing, that could be a bit more of an issue for you in the video realm. So in any case, video. These days it’s a lot easier to do a decent looking video. You don’t need professional lighting and multiple camera angles, all that kind of stuff. It’s much easier and acceptable to do it on a lower budget and still get decent results. So not like it was years ago. That was much more off-putting to people considering going down the road of video with their podcast. So we’ve covered the downsides of doing video along with your podcast.

Now let’s talk about the upsides. First of all, possible more engagement on YouTube, where there is a massive potential audience. You definitely want to be on YouTube, as I said at the beginning of the show. However, audio only may have a more limited reach. At least you’re available. But if you really want to see the benefits of being on YouTube and putting your content out there, you’re likely going to need actual video footage. Now there’s data to suggest as well that video improves trust faster, and that may be more important than ever, as we see AI expanding at an alarming rate and people maybe becoming more wary of what is actually real and what’s not, although AI is quickly becoming able to generate very lifelike video as well. So perhaps soon even just being on video won’t be enough, but in the meantime, as I mentioned, there is some data to show that video can build trust faster than just audio alone.

Next, video is great for social media content, and I love this about podcasting, because you record your podcast, you’re done with that, and then you have a team and they can take that and make a bunch of clips for all your different social media platforms. So you just have to focus on making the episode. All of a sudden, you’ve got weeks and months worth of content for Facebook, linkedin, instagram, tiktok whatever platforms it is that you use, just like that. If you’re not recording video, well then you’re missing out on that opportunity, and in a moment I’ll talk about how you can still do these video clips but not have to publish a full-length video also with the video clips. If you’re making that kind of content and putting it out on social media, it’s great content to give the guests. It’s more shareable. They like seeing their face. Their audience wants to see their face. Now they’ve got a real cool piece of content they would be much more likely to share. And then, of course, that exposes you to their audience, who are likely to come then and discover your content and follow you.

And finally, there is data to suggest that a large portion of listeners both existing and people who are just discovering podcasts now like having a video component. Not just that they use YouTube’s app to consume the content, but they actually like having the video component. Now, for some people, they like audio. They don’t want to see it. They’re listening in their car, they’re listening on the go. Video aspect to a podcast means nothing to them. You can still be on YouTube with the video and people don’t have to sit and watch it. Remember, they can just play it on their phone, still, just like any other podcast platform. So there’s no real downside in that regard. You have the option there for both people. Some just like to use the YouTube app to organize and listen to their podcasts, even if they don’t visually watch them. But to restate this point, there is data to suggest that a huge number of people do like that video component. So when you add that, you’re helping cater to those people and enjoying your increased view and listener count because of that. Okay.

So with the pros and cons in mind of adding video to your podcast, let’s start to wrap up here with some final thoughts to bring that all together. First of all, something I alluded to you can do the full length video recording with your guest or, if it’s a solo podcast, on your own and not publish that version, the video version, but you can use it on social media. That’s what we do so. The podcast that gets released to the public is audio only, even on YouTube, but I have the video footage and that’s what we use for our social media promotion clips. So it’s a lot cooler for the guests to see themselves. They love to share it rather than just having the graphic, and it’s great.

If you’re not really comfortable with the idea of the full video episode being out in public at this point, maybe your mind will change later, but that’s how I felt. Just because if I want to make a certain edit and it doesn’t look good on video, or maybe your guest is yelling at their kid on mute on the interview while you’re talking and you don’t want your followers and viewers to be able to see that you got ignored little things like that maybe you can call it real. But whatever the case, I’m just throwing examples out there as to why you may be uncomfortable sharing the full-length video, but you might still want those recordings for social media. There are some benefits there and you can totally do that. Another is it’s just easy to record video these days on virtually any platform and people seem more open to it as well.

Back years ago it was a lot more common to do audio only. Maybe there wasn’t as much bandwidth. Different platforms just didn’t handle video as well or didn’t offer it. As I mentioned, you didn’t have a backdrop you could see whatever was behind a person. All of that has changed. It’s so much easier to record. People are so much more used to it, and getting your face out there is important as well, you know. To go back to what I just mentioned about social media clips, when we started this podcast, if you go back and look at the very early days on Instagram, it was going to be audio only and it was all audio, and I quickly realized that, yeah, you know that’s not that great, because you’re in business, you’re trying to brand yourself, trying to get people to recognize you. You need your face to be on social media. I’ve struggled with that over the years, but Maybe you can make things work without it. However, I think it’s a lot more beneficial to have your face there. Same goes with posting video grams, video clips of just your guest. Then all your followers are only ever seeing your guest and not you, and really we want them to see you. We want them to remember that you’re the go-to person for whatever it is that you do so, hiding in the background, being forgotten about, not as good. I think there’s more mileage to be gained out of putting yourself out there Now.

Back at the beginning I mentioned the debate over what is a podcast and how. I’m just interested in maximizing our business leads and revenue through the podcast and then also the offshoots that make sense. So I don’t care if it’s classified as a podcast or a show or whatever, based on where it’s uploaded or if there’s audio or video or not. Podcast or a show or whatever, based on where it’s uploaded or if there’s audio or video or not. But I like that. I can just do the podcast. It’s one thing to focus on. Then all those video clips come from that. Once I’m done, I’m hands off. My team handles the rest. They’re up on social media for weeks. We’ve got weeks worth of content and I personally find them maybe you as well. I just find this a whole lot easier to do, say, bounce ideas off a guest or to prep for a solo episode like this.

People accept the lower quality more too, but I’m just not really a fan of sitting and recording video content like a YouTuber. I’m not a YouTuber. I personally prefer the podcast format more and using that on social media, rather than sitting down and making a 60 second Instagram story or whatever the case. It’s not really my thing, so it’s pretty much a given. These days we have to create and share some sort of content, whatever that is.

Video is a huge part of that, and if you’re not doing video, you can probably still get by, but you’re definitely leaving a lot on the table. So you’ve got the possibility to do it as a podcaster, and you know podcasting is a great trust builder as well. So you’ve got that on its own as a trust builder, and then you also get the social content from it. Plus, you can be on YouTube. So there’s a whole bunch of things that comes from just doing a podcast itself. That’s what I like, and maximizing that is a great way to increase the ROI on your time.

It’s been interesting to watch this whole thing evolve, because we were hearing for a long time about the shift to video and then people were more interested in getting their content on YouTube, and now we’re at a place where the attention spans are really small. So even people who don’t have the patience to listen to a full podcast episode, well, they want to hear from you and enjoy it more, perhaps in bite-sized clips. So there’s all sorts of reasons why you should be doing this. But yeah, I mean, that’s it. Here we are. We heard the predictions, we knew it was coming. Video is here.

Podcasting, of course, it’s a massive thing Audio only, podcast, plenty of listeners, totally cool. But I’m all about getting the best results for my time and to me. I see adding a video component to my podcast as part of that. Join us again next time on Profits Through Podcasting, for more tips on how to turn your podcast into a lead and revenue generation machine for your business. And if you’re ready to let a team of professionals handle your entire podcast production workflow so you can focus on the most important tasks in your business, visit eastcoaststudiocom. Slash apply.