In today’s blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of incorporating video into your podcast and discuss various ways to integrate video into your podcasting workflow. Video can be a great tool to establish trust with your audience, strengthen your connection, and expand your podcast’s reach.
I recently spoke about this at the All Women Rock Women Podcasting Summit but I wanted to share it with you guys too!
The benefits of incorporating video into your podcast
Incorporating video into your podcast can be a great addition to your strategy. Check out some of the benefits.
Develop trust and authority
When your audience can see your facial expressions and body language, it fosters a sense of trust. Video allows you to showcase your authenticity, build authority, and establish a stronger connection with your listeners.
Deepen the connection with your audience
Communication goes beyond words, and video enables you to create a more personal and authentic bond with your audience. People are naturally drawn to faces, and incorporating video into your podcast taps into this inclination, enhancing the overall listening experience.
You have content to promote and play with
Video content can be repurposed across various platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. By utilising video snippets from your podcast, you can engage with your audience on different channels and attract new listeners.
Reach a larger audience
With over 2 billion active users, YouTube provides an opportunity to expose your podcast to a vast and diverse audience. Furthermore, YouTube has prioritised podcasting as part of its 2023 strategy, making it an ideal platform to expand your reach as a podcaster. Additionally, Spotify now supports video podcasts and they recently announced that video podcasting is catching on.
Read more about the pros and cons of video podcasting.
Ways to incorporate video into your podcast
There is no one size fits all way to incorporate video into your podcast. We automatically might think of having a video podcast on YouTube, or sharing video snippets on social media but actually there are so many different ways to incorporate video into your podcast.
Recording video interviews
Consider recording your podcast interviews on video to capture the visual interaction between you and your guests. This adds depth and personality to the conversation, and you can share these video interviews on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo to attract a wider audience.
Create video highlights
Select interesting or compelling segments from your podcast and convert them into short video clips. Share these clips on your podcast socials and your website if you have one to capture attention and entice potential listeners to explore your full podcast episodes.
Remember to always mention which episode the snippet is from and either link the full episode in the post or let your audience know the link is in your bio.
Produce video-specific episodes
Rather than simply adding visuals to your existing audio episodes, create episodes specifically designed for video. This allows you to experiment with visual storytelling, use video editing techniques and create visually engaging segments tailored for video.
Livestream your podcast
This is such a fun way to incorporate video into your podcast. You can use YouTube Live, Facebook/Instagram Live or Twitch to broadcast your podcast recording live. This adds an interactive element to the podcasting process. Your audience can engage in real time and you could even have competitions or audience segments.
A live podcast can be a great option to mark a milestone or have some sort of special event such as a first birthday party for the podcast or an event for a sponsor.
Add visual elements
Incorporate visuals into your podcast by using screen sharing or displaying relevant images, graphs, or videos during your audio recording. This is particularly useful for fact-heavy podcasts, enabling you to enhance explanations and provide visual aids for better understanding.
Create video tutorials or demonstrations
If your podcast revolves around teaching or demonstrating a specific skill, consider creating video tutorials or demonstrations alongside your audio content. This allows your audience to visually follow along and grasp the concepts or steps more effectively.
Tips for creating great video content
Incorporating video into your podcast does mean you have a little bit more tech to think about but once you get everything set up well once, you’ve got most of the work done. Follow these tips to ensure your video content is top quality.
Camera
A phone camera is usually sufficient, especially iPhones and Samsungs. Do a test run and see how your phone does. If you do want to invest in a camera the Sony Alpha A6600 or Panasonic LUMIX FZ80K are popular choices for podcasters.
Tripod
A tripod is a great addition to your podcasting accessories but if you’re not ready to commit just yet you can make a DIY tripod. You can tape your phone to the wall, prop a phone or camera up with books or use other things in your house.
Lighting
Ensure your video is well-lit. A ring light alone works well but if you would like to step it up a notch you can do three-point lighting. This involves a key light 45 degrees from the camera and in front of the subject, a fill light on the opposite side of the camera to fill the shadows caused by the key light and a backlight which is a dim background light used to make the subject stand out from the background.
Audio quality
High-quality audio is always going to be so important in podcasting, whether you use video or not. Make sure you have no electrical or background noises, the room is filled with soft furnishings to prevent echo and you’ve sound checked your mic.
Read more about sounding your best on your podcast.
Background
Pay attention to your background to avoid distractions or anything that may detract from the viewing experience.This could be anything moving around, anything around your head that looks strange or things you might not want your audience to see, like laundry drying.
Adding video to your podcast
Incorporating video into your podcast can deepen your connection with your audience, expand your reach, and provide additional content to promote across various platforms. Whether you choose to record video interviews, create video-specific episodes or leverage live streaming, video opens up new possibilities to engage with your listeners. Take imperfect action, experiment with different approaches, and enjoy the process of integrating video into your podcasting journey.
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