Video podcasts - are they worth it?

Let's start with some stats:

46% of podcast listeners in the United States stated that they prefer to watch podcasts.

Comparatively, 42% of podcast listeners preferred to listen to podcasts.

Hence, around 17% of podcast hosts prefer recording podcast episodes in audio and video formats.

Source: WARC, Morning Consult, Backlinko.

Approximately 32% of all podcast listeners on all the platforms prefer listening to video podcasts compared to 26% of people who prefer listening to audio podcasts.

51% of the listeners enjoy physical expressions and the reactions of the hosts as well as the guests. Meanwhile, 50% of video podcast listeners stated that video podcasts help them focus.

As a result, video podcasts have gained more popularity compared to audio podcasts.

Source: WARC, Morning Consult


Are video podcasts right for you?

So it would seem the stats suggest video pods are the way to go, but what if your content doesn't really 'need' video? We often ask new clients for the reasons they are choosing video and many admit they're simply following the trend!

While we're happy to produce video pods, there are cost implications; visuals require a cameraman (if studio or location) as well as an audio engineer and video editing simply takes longer.

What's the alternative?

We think there's a compromise here; we believe that you should make your podcast available is as many places as possible, even YouTube for audio only.

So, we can create widescreen slates with your chosen logo and text along with images of contributors to accompany the audio - we can even add an animated voice waveform so that there is a visual element to your audio pod. See example below:

Spotify is a great place to host video and audio pods as it allows listeners/viewers to toggle between audio and video. Creating a YouTube channel will broaden your pod's availability and the SEO benefits of Google (YouTube's owners). YouTube also offers the options to enable captions (not always accurate!).

From YouTube, you can of course embed the pod into your website which adds another opportunity for viewers/listeners to find your content.
So you'd be utilising the benefits of video podcasting without actually producing any 'video'.

In conclusion...

Make sure you're choosing video for the right reasons. If you have visuals that are integral to the content then that obviously becomes a major factor. Similarly, if you have guests will a certain profile that would elevate your pod, video will serve you well.

But do consider audio podcasts with 'video' created from stills and episode specific information/images. And always make your pods available on all major platforms - and on your website, if possible.