0:00

Does your podcast need video? Listen to find out!

0:10

Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast. I'm Daniel

0:13

J. Lewis. Internet marketers have a new crush on video

0:17

and many podcasters are starting to feel pressured to create video content.

0:22

But do you really need to add video video? If you'd like

0:26

to follow along with the Notes for this episode or share this episode out,

0:29

which would be fantastic for you to do, I'd love for

0:32

you to share this episode with other podcasters. Please go to theaudacitytopodcast.com/needvideo

0:38

or get to the Notes and share them a tap or

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swipe away inside of your podcast app. First, I want to

0:45

start with this premise. Start with audio.

0:48

It's both my recommendation and my assumption for the rest of this

0:52

episode that you start your podcast with only audio.

0:56

I've done a whole episode previously about whether your podcast

1:00

should be in audio or video talking about your whole podcast.

1:04

The link to that is in the Notes for this episode. If you're wondering about

1:07

if you should do an audio podcasting or a video podcast, go listen to that

1:11

episode. Because that's not what I'm talking about here. Not whether you

1:14

should do one or the other, but assuming that you

1:18

are already publishing audio or you're going to be publishing

1:22

audio when you start your podcast, should you also

1:25

add video to that? Or should you just stick

1:29

with only audio? That's what this episode will focus on.

1:33

Assuming you have or will soon have an audio podcasting

1:37

and video would be something in addition to that. So with

1:41

that in mind, think real video. First fake

1:45

video last. Fake video is when the video and I would put

1:49

that in quotation marks because it's fake. Video in my mind is

1:52

really only audio. It might have a static image

1:55

or even an animated waveform or embedded captions,

1:58

but it's still only audio simply with a frame

2:02

rate to it. I've done a whole episode previously about the problems with

2:06

fake video. I have the link to that also in the Notes.

2:09

So go listen to that. I do plan to do a follow up to that

2:12

because there are some things I hadn't thought of at that point, some good follow

2:16

up to share with you. But my main position is still the

2:19

same that fake video just doesn't really perform well. There are

2:23

some cases where you could use it and might want to try it, but everyone

2:26

I see using it is just saying it's not really doing anything

2:30

for us. So I'm not talking about fake video. Consider, for example,

2:34

that even though YouTube has a I would

2:37

call it a fake podcast section now, you still can't

2:41

actually upload an audio file or submit your

2:45

podcast RSS feed regardless of whether it's a video podcast

2:48

or an audio podcasting. So I really think that

2:52

YouTube is confusing the industry by calling these

2:55

things podcasts. They're not podcasts it's basically just a playlist. I really hope that

3:00

YouTube does much more with podcasters in the future, and I would think that it

3:03

would be great if they do. But right now it's not really

3:07

podcasting. What they're doing and most of what they're highlighting

3:11

are good videos, and that's good. And they are

3:15

not fake videos most of the time. Now, you can have a fake video

3:19

channel or a collection, a playlist, and mark that

3:23

as a podcasting. But this episode really isn't about YouTube.

3:26

It's about whether your podcasting needs video at all.

3:30

Furthermore, all the positive metrics are many times higher

3:34

for real video than for fake video. Even in

3:37

some I would call them misreported or misrepresented or misinterpreted.

3:42

Studies surveyed, people confirmed that they prefer to watch

3:45

videos instead of listening to videos. That's what

3:49

I think the survey shows, not people prefer video

3:53

podcasts. No, that was asking the wrong question in their

3:57

survey. But I think it does confirm that people do want to

4:00

watch video. They don't want to listen to video.

4:04

So when we're talking about video, think about making a real video

4:08

first that people can watch. That should

4:12

be your goal. Something people will actually want

4:15

to watch, not have to watch or discover

4:19

that, oh, I don't have to watch this at all. It's just fake video.

4:23

They'll want to watch it because they want to see something.

4:26

Think about that kind of video first. So here are some things to think

4:30

about if you want to add video to your audio podcast.

4:34

Video costs more. It takes more time to prepare, more expensive

4:37

gear, and more time and resources to produce even halfway

4:41

decent video. With audio only, you need only a microphone,

4:45

a way to record it, and a quiet space. That's pretty much

4:49

it. You can edit audio really easily and people

4:53

won't even notice that you edited audio. There have already been

4:56

several moments in this audio podcast episode

5:00

that have been edited out by my producer, John Buchinis, and you

5:03

wouldn't even know it. Now, if you were watching the video version,

5:07

which I'm not recording a video version right now, but if you were watching the

5:10

video, you would see the edit points. You would see me

5:13

jump cut or something like that. It would be obvious to

5:16

you that it was edited. But listening to only the

5:20

audio, you have no idea when and where my previous

5:23

edits were in what I've recorded so far, or what you're about

5:27

to hear. You won't know it because it's so easy to cover up,

5:30

it's so easy to edit and produce when you're focusing on

5:34

only audio. With video, however, you need that stuff.

5:38

The microphone, a way to record it, a quiet space, plus a camera

5:42

and lighting. Also, you might need a completely different microphone

5:46

that works better for video and a completely different audio editing

5:50

app or multiple apps that are designed for editing the

5:53

video. Then you need stuff to make the video actually

5:57

interesting and worth watching instead of merely hearing.

6:02

After that. Hosting the video costs more.

6:05

Someone has to pay for that bandwidth. Don't think,

6:09

oh, it's free to host my video here or there. No, someone is

6:12

paying for that bandwidth. Either you pay for it with money, or you and

6:16

your audience pay for it with ads and whatever kind of tracking,

6:20

privacy, compromise, inconvenience or anything like that, that comes with that.

6:25

Consuming video also costs more. People can't watch video in as

6:28

many places as they can listen to audio. Consider driving, mowing the

6:32

yard, operating heavy machinery, working a job, and more. Audio can easily

6:36

be consumed in these places, but video can't or shouldn't

6:40

be. I actually recently got some IPX Seven waterproof

6:44

earbuds so I can listen to podcasts in the shower. And if you're

6:48

interested in the same earbuds that I got, then I

6:51

have a link to that. It will be an affiliate link that I earn commissions

6:54

from in the notes for this episode. But I'm pretty happy with the earbuds I

6:57

got and they were pretty inexpensive when I got them on sale too. Link is

7:00

in the notes if you're interested, but I recently got these waterproof earbuds to

7:04

listen to podcasts in the shower. But there's no way in

7:08

the world I'm putting my iPhone or my iPad

7:12

in the shower to watch a podcasting through shampoo in my eyes, I'm just

7:16

not doing that. But I can listen to podcasts in that context.

7:20

I listen to podcasts in all kinds of contexts and I cannot watch video

7:24

in those same contexts. So video costs

7:27

more. But on the plus side, video can actually

7:31

be lazy in a good way.

7:34

While high quality video requires a good microphone, good lighting,

7:38

and a good camera, I've observed that many people are actually much

7:41

more forgiving of some lower quality production in

7:45

video and that's some don't think that means you can

7:48

get away with the absolute cheapest, worst sounding audio in

7:52

your video or anything like that. Some lower quality,

7:55

for example, look at how many people simply record with

7:59

their smartphone in selfie mode and how few people complain

8:03

about the non studio sound or look. But this

8:06

comes with a huge caveat. Listen to my recent episode

8:10

about debunking that myth. It's not hurting their podcast,

8:14

so don't think, well, it's not hurting their growth because they're recording

8:18

cheaply and in selfie mode and not using studio equipment or anything like that.

8:21

Just because it's working for someone doesn't mean

8:25

it should go without improvement. Just because it's working for them

8:28

doesn't mean it's the cause for their success. Consider if those selfie

8:32

style videos actually used better microphones.

8:35

Wouldn't you appreciate being able to hear the person better? Or consider

8:39

if some of those videos had some better lighting. And I'm not talking

8:42

all the time about studio lighting. Sometimes it might just be

8:46

facing a window on a sunny day. So you get some nice sunlight

8:50

coming in and you get a much better lit video, if that's

8:53

a possibility. Or positioning yourself relative to your lights a little bit

8:57

better so you don't have lights behind you and then you look like a

9:01

black shadow in the camera or anything like that. There are certain things

9:04

that you can do with that, but you don't have to go for that

9:08

studio look. Nonetheless, I think some of the forgiveness

9:12

for subpar quality is because video gives far

9:16

more context to communicate the message.

9:19

We have facial expressions, body language,

9:21

imagery, lower thirds and other enhancements,

9:24

and even simply seeing the words spoken

9:28

instead of only hearing them. Like that quote from the movie.

9:32

Slightly changed though. Are you seeing the words that are coming out of my

9:35

mouth? You can understand people a little bit

9:39

better, even if you're not good at reading lips. It is easier to understand

9:43

people when you can see them speaking instead of only

9:48

hearing them speak. So please don't think that adding video to

9:51

your workflow means going all out on a video studio with professional

9:55

lights, professional cameras and all of that stuff. It could

10:00

simply be selfie style video from your smartphone. Just please

10:04

don't let that video record horizontally flipped backward.

10:08

Now, whether it's vertical or horizontal video, I think

10:11

really depends on the context that will be consumed and published.

10:14

But what I'm talking about is where everything to your viewer is backwards,

10:19

basically, as if the mirror was recording you.

10:22

That's what it shouldn't look like. I always think that looks really cheap.

10:25

Why do people do that? Why does everything have to look backwards? Why does it

10:29

have to look like you're driving in Britain on the right side of the car

10:32

when you're actually in America driving on the left side of the car? Can you

10:36

tell I'm passionate about this? I almost get more frustrated by this now

10:40

than vertical video, since a lot of video is consumed on vertical devices

10:44

now. But that's what you need to think about. Where is your video going to

10:47

be consumed? If it's going to be consumed primarily on a vertical

10:50

device, then vertical video is fine, but you have to decide

10:55

where is your audience going to consume the video?

10:58

But that still doesn't require major production. That's just

11:01

a simple setting or how you use the camera or the app.

11:05

So video can actually be lazy in a good way. It doesn't

11:09

have to be expensive. Video can also be in more

11:13

places, while the podcast ecosystem is mostly

11:17

audio. Although video podcasts have existed from the beginning

11:21

and were actually quite popular before this little thing called

11:25

YouTube came along and shook up the industry completely

11:28

on the video side, publishing video offers even

11:32

more opportunities to get your message out than only in

11:36

audio. Just like audio, podcasting allows your content to

11:39

be places written content can't be.

11:43

Video allows your content to be places that audio can't

11:46

be or doesn't work well, like YouTube,

11:50

Instagram, TikTok, and more. These are places where

11:54

real video is best, and audio

11:58

or fake video just doesn't work quite as well or doesn't

12:02

work at all. Video also tends to be more shareable.

12:05

I think a huge part of this is because of how easy social networks actually

12:09

make it to share videos. For example, dropping a YouTube

12:13

link on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mastodon or other places

12:17

will automatically display a preview of the video and even embed

12:21

the video so it can be played right there without leaving whatever

12:25

context the audience is in at that moment. Whether it's on a web page,

12:29

in an app, in a social app, on Facebook, on Twitter,

12:33

in the video consumption app. But the same platforms have not

12:36

made it so easy or attractive for audio. The sharing

12:40

experience is superior with video. I think the

12:44

consumption experience with a shared video is also easier. This is

12:48

not only because of that easy embedding that I just talked about, but also

12:51

because some video can be enjoyed without actually

12:55

hearing anything. This could be because the

12:58

words appear in the video, or even simply because a

13:02

picture is worth 1000 words and the visual communicates effectively

13:06

without words at all. Consider, for example, all the animated Gifs

13:10

people share as reactions. Many of those don't even have

13:13

words on them. They don't need words, just a simple, short little

13:17

clip from something. It's basically video. Even though it's technically an

13:21

animated GIF, it's an excerpt from a video, and it might not even need

13:25

words. Or maybe it needs only one or two words to display,

13:28

and that communicates the point. Try to get that kind of virality

13:33

with audio. You're not going to get it.

13:36

And when you're considering what to do for video, keep in mind

13:39

that your video can be completely different from your audio.

13:43

One fairly easy approach to publishing video is to simply turn

13:47

on the camera while you record your audio. You could live,

13:50

stream or publish the video when you publish your

13:53

audio. This style is often called talking head, because that's

13:57

really all people see your head talking,

14:00

and that can be fine. It's certainly much better than fake video.

14:04

A challenge you'll probably face with talking head video is

14:07

ensuring the experience is still great for your

14:11

primary audience. And since I'm basing this episode

14:14

on the assumption that you already publish an audio podcast or that's

14:17

what you're intending to do, your primary audience will probably

14:21

be only listening, not watching.

14:24

So you have to remember that your listening audience can't see

14:28

what you see or what your cohost sees. If you have a remote cohost

14:31

on video or in person, you'll have to include extra descriptions

14:35

or outright exclude some content in

14:38

order to not alienate the majority of your audience. An easy way to

14:42

think about this is to replace the word this with some kind

14:46

of description whenever the this refers

14:50

to something visual like I could hold something right now in my hand and

14:54

I say I have really been enjoying this. I like

14:57

the sound of this too and I like how it feels in

15:00

my hand. I like the look of this. I like how this goes all

15:04

the way to the edge right here. Do you have any idea what I'm talking

15:08

about? Now maybe some of you will. I'm talking about a speed cube.

15:12

Did you know that? Could you have figured that out just by what I said?

15:15

How I described it with that little bit of sound from moving it around in

15:20

my hands? Maybe someone who's super familiar with Speed Cubes

15:23

would be like ah, that's music to my ears. Do that again please.

15:26

Oh, I love that sound. Now, you probably had no idea

15:30

why I was talking about, but if instead, if I say this

15:34

speed cube is really nice. I love how the color goes all

15:38

the way to the edge of each side. And I love how

15:41

smoothly it turns whenever I turn it in my hands and how

15:45

it snaps into place with the magnets that are inside. That kind of thing.

15:48

You see, why I'm doing there is I'm describing it so that as you listen

15:52

you can visualize what I'm talking about or understand what

15:56

I'm talking about. But I'm also not describing it in a way that if

16:00

you are watching, you feel like I'm being over excessive

16:03

with my descriptions. I'm a big fan of the Adventures and Odyssey audio

16:07

drama for kids and I grew up listening to that. Their early

16:11

episodes, everything I think was really good but their

16:14

early episodes really showed that the storytellers did not know

16:18

how to audibly paint. I remember

16:21

certain episodes even where like a kid would say wow,

16:24

it's a ship with big sails and flags and everything and two

16:28

mess and he's describing it to himself

16:33

as an exclamation in order for you to know what he's

16:36

actually seeing. That was, I would say, kind of a lazy or

16:40

the wrong approach to doing it. That's not the kind of thing you have to

16:43

do but you should describe things in a way so that your audio

16:47

listeners know what you're talking about or can follow along

16:51

at least to some degree. But also you're not making your watching

16:55

viewers feel like you're being overdescriptive

16:58

but that's for doing the exact same content

17:03

in simply different formats, audio format and video format.

17:06

But don't think you have to do your entire episode

17:10

in talking head style or with a fancy video studio.

17:13

Yes, you could make video snippets of smaller sections

17:18

or you could rerecord some of the same information but

17:22

present it in a different way. And this is the most important part

17:25

focused primarily on the viewing experience because you

17:29

would be publishing those rerecorded sections in

17:33

video. You would be publishing them primarily to be watched

17:37

and probably on video dominant platforms YouTube,

17:40

Instagram, TikTok, whatever. So you can then

17:44

focus how you talk in those things and where

17:47

in your audio episode you might talk about something for ten minutes in your

17:51

little video snippet. You could talk about it for 1

17:54

minute or two minutes instead and really summarize it and present it

17:58

in a different way, in a way that's more shareable and more enjoyable

18:02

in video, even if it's simply selfie style.

18:06

So maybe the wheels in your head have been turning since you've listened to this

18:09

loony young man and you're thinking about different

18:12

ways, or you're looking for different ways that you could start adding

18:16

video to your audio podcasting. Here's a list of eight

18:20

ways, and I'd love for you to comment on this episode with some other ideas

18:24

as well. Number one live stream. If you can go live

18:28

at a consistent time, this can be a great way to engage your audience in

18:32

real time and enable them to build community

18:35

with each other. Going live is less about building a new audience

18:39

and more about deepening the relationship you have with your existing

18:43

audience. Number two record talking

18:47

heads. Yeah, it's not as exciting, but some people like watching

18:51

you talk instead of only listening. Number three

18:54

create snippets. Snippets can be very short video excerpts

18:58

of your content. These are best when they include

19:01

the words on the screen, but please display phrases

19:06

at a time or lines at a time, not word

19:10

by word, highlighted, revealed, anything like that.

19:13

I really think it's best when you display a whole phrase not necessarily the whole

19:17

sentence, but like the portions of the sentence, so people can read at

19:21

their own pace if they're watching the video on mute, which many people do.

19:25

And this kind of approach can actually work well as fake

19:28

video because these kinds of videos are so short.

19:33

Number four respond to Comments you can make videos sharing

19:36

and replying to comments or questions you receive, either in response

19:40

to episodes you already published or general questions

19:44

related to your niche. I receive a lot of questions about podcasting

19:47

via email, Twitter and such. I could make videos to answer these either videos

19:51

directed specifically toward that person, but viewable for

19:55

my whole audience, or answering these questions in general for

19:58

anyone else who has these kinds of questions. That's kind of what I do with

20:02

the podcast anyway. Number five show behind the scenes.

20:06

People often like getting a peek into what things are like on

20:10

your side of the production, and you could show that with some video

20:13

in addition to your audio podcast. Number six repurpose

20:17

your information. Perhaps the best approach is when you can

20:21

share the same information in your podcasting,

20:24

but segmented and shorter, so you're not merely cutting

20:28

content from your audio podcasting into snippets, but recording

20:31

an all new presentation of the same information.

20:35

This can be a great way to cross promote the episode from which you're getting

20:38

the information and still leveraging the platform

20:42

that you're on with the video to build your authority and influence while

20:47

also promoting your podcast. So in your podcast you might

20:50

talk about it for ten minutes in your video, you talk about it for 30

20:53

seconds to a minute, and in the video you can say listen to

20:56

this episode. And if you're able to include the link somehow in the video that

21:00

they can tap on, then they can then get that link to the episode

21:03

and you can point them to it saying listen to this episode. For more details

21:07

about this number seven special content I

21:10

have both a YouTube channel and a video podcasting.

21:14

Like an actual video actual podcast.

21:18

It is a feed in podcast apps that support video.

21:21

But the only times I publish to those channels lately is

21:25

when I have something I need to show instead of

21:29

merely tell. For example, my on the floor interviews

21:32

from conferences like Podcasting movement or product reviews,

21:35

tool demonstrations or tutorials that have to be

21:39

seen not only heard and number eight other

21:43

updates your audience would enjoy. Imagine many of the same things you

21:47

would post on Twitter or Facebook, but in video form

21:52

that could be short lived. Video form like on Instagram,

21:55

how you can post the stories that then disappear after a certain amount of

21:59

time. They could be videos that stay there for forever. It's up to

22:02

you. But other kinds of updates like that, if they're relevant

22:06

to why people are following you, might be really interesting to

22:10

your followers. So here's the big takeaway to this. I've given

22:13

you some things to think about from both sides of this and really I want

22:16

you to focus on your audio first. That's where the majority

22:19

of your audience will come from. But when you're trying to consider this question

22:24

do you need video? Here's my basic answer

22:27

don't stress. You don't need video.

22:32

Yes, video presents all kinds of new opportunities

22:35

and new potential, but you don't have to do it.

22:39

So don't stress yourself out if you don't want to do video. Even though

22:42

everyone is saying, oh, video is where it's at, a phrase that

22:46

I hate, especially in the Midwest, they say that unnecessary

22:49

at so much around here. You don't have to jump on to video

22:53

just because everyone is saying video is great. Video is the next best

22:57

thing. Video, video, video, video. Right now,

23:00

for myself as a full time daddy, the only time I can work is

23:04

when my son is in school or he's sleeping like he is

23:07

right now while I'm recording this episode. So I have fewer hours now to run

23:11

my business and develop my products than I had before. Thus,

23:15

I simply don't have the margin to create video

23:18

right now, or at least not very many videos, even though I want to.

23:22

And for several reasons, I don't think it's actually

23:25

costing me a lot of opportunity because I'm

23:29

already so present in other ways, like in this podcast and

23:32

on Twitter and such, and that's what I'm able to do well

23:36

right now. So if you can do video well and consistently,

23:41

then go ahead and do it and promote it there. Or if you just want

23:44

to experiment with it, go ahead, try it. See how it goes.

23:47

See how you feel about it and the amount of work it makes for

23:51

you. Do you enjoy the process? Do you enjoy the rewards?

23:54

Whatever kind of extra engagement you get, do you see it making a difference?

23:58

You don't have to do video, but if you

24:01

want to try video along with your audio podcasting. I hope this

24:04

episode has given you some ideas and maybe even relieved some

24:08

mental stress for you to move forward or keep

24:11

focusing on what you do best. Please share this episode out with other podcasters

24:16

whom you think would benefit from this. Go to theaudacitytopodcast.com/needvideo

24:21

or get the notes and the share links a tap or swipe away

24:25

inside of your podcast app. Now that I've given you some of the guts

24:28

and taught you some of the tools, it's time for you to go start and

24:32

grow your own podcast for passion and profit.

24:35

I'm Daniel J Lewis. From The Audacity to Podcast. Please follow me