Podcasts. They’re growing in numbers and it feels like just about everyone has one to promote.
In fact, iTunes alone features more than 550,000 active podcasts and over 18.5 million episodes spanning more that 100 languages.
People love podcasts because they can be consumed whilst doing other things: walking the dog, doing the housework or working out at the gym.
But increasingly, podcasters are choosing to add complimentary video content to their offering which can be viewed in addition to or instead of using a podcast app.
Want to know why? Read on…
Reach the hearing impaired
We mentioned the importance of providing inclusive content in our blog post Why You Need Subtitles.
Offering a video version of your podcast episodes means that you can include subtitles for the hearing impaired.
This means that you can reach people who aren’t being catered for.
A noble job if you ask us.
Create extra paid-for content
More and more podcasters are adopting a subscription service in addition to ads to create sustainable revenue for their business.
One way to attract paying customers is to offer special content which can only be accessed through a monthly payment scheme such as Patreon.
Along with exclusive episodes you can add extra video content (such as bloopers and extended cuts) to the special perks offered to your mega fans.
Reach more people
Although podcasts are big business, there are still 37% of people who don’t even know what the word means.
YouTube on the other hand, is one of the most popular websites the world over.
Uploading each episode as a video means you can reach people who would never find you otherwise because they simply don’t use podcasts.
YouTube acts like a search engine too, so people are more likely to stumble across your video by typing in search terms related to the topics you cover.
Increased engagement
There is currently no way for podcasters to directly communicate with their audience except through other social media platforms.
According to statistics, YouTube is twenty times more engaged that Facebook, and this is great for building camaraderie and community in the comments section.
You can also use this as a quick and easy way to talk to your audience and even create polls to get feedback on what to post next.
FREE GUIDE: 5 Types of Video to Improve Your Business
Increase shareabilty
You don’t need to upload your entire recording to make use of your video content.
Simple select a few clips that are particularly funny or intriguing and share them on social media.
As we know, video is 12 times more shareable than text and images alone.
