“Because believe me, Google will not send [the random Googler) nowhere, and if they can’t send them to your show because it’s not on YouTube, then they will send them to your colleague or competitor who is.”
~Andrea Klunder, Your Podcast Boss
Hey Andrea… episodes are where I directly answer questions from our vast community of professionals who podcast.
Today I am answering a question that I have gotten from not one, not two, but many a podcaster in some way shape or form “How do I leverage my video for my podcast?” and it’s near cousin “Should my podcast be on YouTube?”
I’m going to start with the 2nd one. Should my podcast be on YouTube? Yes.
If you know anything about me you know I don’t love stats & numbers. They don’t mean anything to this theater kid’s anecdotal brain — BUT suffice to say the stat show a LOT of people use YouTube every day. WAY more people than listen to podcasts. Also, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine, after Google. Because well, they are basically the same.
Keyword search in Google and YouTube = Awesome!!!
Keyword search in most podcast apps…. wah wah wah wah…
Why wouldn’t you want to do everything in your power to make you podcast and by extension your brand and yourself as searchable ie. findable as humanly or algorithmically possible?
Well, time, resources, energy, effort is finite and it’s hard to be able to do all the things that you could do to that end within you particular set of constraints.
So HOW you go about putting your show on YouTube is maybe the better and indeed more nuanced question.
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Article Continued
“Life’s too short and there are too many options out there to do business marketing tactics that feel boring or even dreadful.“
Andrea Klunder
Most reputable podcast hosting companies have a easy way of at the very least turning your mp3 podcast audio file into a video file, using your cover art as a static image, layering the audio over the top and pushing it to your YouTube channel. Our preferred podcast host Libsyn certain offers this in their social media integrations at the $20/month level and above. (*And if you’re still shopping for a podcast host, you can use the promo code ENVY for your first month free and they send us a small little thank you check for our referral.)
The BARE MINIMUM is to check with your podcast host to see if you can do this — and of course make sure you have a claimed YouTube channel with a proper description, banner image, etc. And if your hosting company does not offer this integration.. hey maybe consider switching… but even still you can set it up with a 3rd party service like Headliner — another company we L-O-V_E.
Are all the millions and billions of people on YouTube going to listen to your full length podcast episodes with a static image on your channel?
Absolutely not.
Like I said… this is the bare minimum. And at the very least if your episode titles are already juicy full of SEO-worthy keywords for your desired areas of expertise and authority domains, then yeah! It’s a great way for a random Google-r or YouTube consumer who is looking for the content or information you provide who doesn’t know you exist to stumble upon your show for the first time and if your channel and episode descriptions are well written at least now they KNOW where to find your podcast for more!
Because believe me, Google will not send them nowhere and if they can’t send them to your show because it’s not on YouTube, they will send them to your colleague or competitor who is.
Now in terms of doing MORE than the bare minimum — How do I leverage video for my podcast?
YES. The social media god (or demons) want you to put video on your channel or page or profile. And they will reward you for doing it often, consistently and in a way that makes people linger longer.
And so incorporating a video strategy — whether it be on YouTube or elsewhere is not altogether a terrible idea IF you have the bandwidth and resources for it. The great news is that it doesn’t necessarily have to look like recording full length interviews on SquadCast (another of our fave service providers) or Zoom or streaming them live like on StreamYard (what I used to live stream this recording) and then publishing your boring face talking to your guest’s face with mediocre sound quality.
As mentioned on a recent episode with social media pro Lauren Ramsey, CEO of Betsy Bash, your social media audience can be an extension of your podcast audience — summed up together into “your audience” — and growing your audience on any of your favorite platforms and channels is good for the overall health and wellness of your podcast.
Here are a few things to consider…
One: DO have a strategy first! You don’t have time to through spaghetti randomly at the wall.
Two: DO give your strategy enough time to track results vs effort vs enjoyability. Life’s too short and there are too many options out there to do business marketing tactics that feel boring or even dreadful. If you HATE being on camera, don’t be on camera!
Three: Find some other folks who are using video in a way that is fun, inspiring, refreshing, interesting to you… and try something similar. Don’t steal their content, but be inspired by their approach! Do you like moving text & caption with audio over the top? Do you like animations? Do enjoy action videos of people’s hands & feet doing things without ever seeing their faces. Could you make videos of meditative nature scenes with your voice over the top? Or do you love the raw and ready interactive nature of a livestream?
This is your call to action to consider how YOU might find a fun and useful way to leverage video for your podcast! AND your permission to get creative, resist getting stuck in a tiny box making a video version of your interviews… unless that’s what really lights you up!
This post includes affiliate links for services we use and recommend. We may receive service credit or compensation for referring you to their service.
Find out how The Creative Bash can help you decode social media platform trends and design effective and authentic podcast content!
If you LOVE the idea of picking my brain about your favorite podcasting curiosities, mysteries, and conundrums… please don’t “Pick your brain” is such a gross phrase and if you ask me if you can do it… I will say no thanks.
BUT if you send me an email that starts with Hey Andrea… I probably won’t be able to resist and if I think it’s a question our audience can learn from, I’ll give it a go on a future episode of Podcast Envy.
Email me and put Podcast Envy in the subject line. You may just get a shout out for your show, along with an answer to your question or a little validation for your idea on a future episode.
Peace, love, and podcasting!
Andrea
Mentioned in this Episode
PE097: Social Media + Podcasting with Lauren Ramsey
Connect with me
Email andrea@thecreativeimpostor.com
Instagram: @thecreativeimpostor
LinkedIn: @andreaklunder (I only accept connections from people I actually know, so include a message to say you’re a Podcast Envy listener.)
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