Excerpt from: Podcasting at Work: 25 Questions to Ask Before Starting

Much of the growth of podcasting in recent years has been driven by audio podcasts. 

Apple Podcasts and Spotify are audio-first platforms, but a growing number of shows are producing video for sharing on YouTube and social platforms. 

There are tradeoffs to this approach though: video increases cost and the participants might not feel as comfortable with lights and cameras involved. 

That said, visuals are key to online sharing, and being on more platforms can increase reach.

We generally say, video is nice to have, but not essential. It could supercharge your podcast promotion efforts though, so here are three options for incorporating video into your podcast (one of which doesn’t even involve recording video!):

All-In On Video:

If you have the budget and your participants are comfortable with video, go for it! By starting with video recorded in a studio or remotely, it’s possible to get the best of both audio and video podcasting. 

Generally we’d then produce a less-edited video version (since video cuts are harder to hide than in audio-only), and a more highly edited audio version of the same episode. These can then be released on audio-first platforms like Apple Podcasts, as well as video-first platforms like YouTube.

One drawback to this approach is that because video demands more of our attention, you may see viewer retention decrease on longer content compared to the audio version. Basically, people can multitask more easily while listening to audio content, so they tend to stick around longer. But with video, it’s easier to gain high levels of engagement on short content (TikTok anyone?), which is why we love the next two options.

The Hybrid Video:

With this approach, you still record the whole podcast as both high-quality audio and video, same as above - but instead of releasing the whole thing as a 30-minute video, you use the video to create highlight clips that help to promote the full audio podcast.

This way you can take full advantage of the power of video on social media, plus:

• Surface those amazing hidden-gem moments are otherwise buried 19-minutes into the episode.

• Increase engagement on your video channels using shorter videos.

• Give yourself multiple pieces of content to promote rather than just one.

• Drive the most engaged members of your audience to deepen their connection to your content by subscribing to the full audio podcast.

The Not-Really-A-Video Video:

This last option is great if you don’t have the resources to record video podcasts at all, but still want a flashy moving picture to promote on social media.

In this scenario you record an audio-only podcast, and then create visuals for social sharing using photos, images, and something called an audiogram. We’ll dive into audiograms a little more in question #23, but essentially they’re an eye-catching way of sharing audio clips on social media featuring animated waveforms and captions.

And there you have it - three ways to include video in your podcast, if you choose to!