For businesses and content creators, how we create, distribute, and track our content evolves with technology. This is especially true for podcasts, which continue to surge in popularity. There are several factors to consider when deciding whether to use audio or video for your podcast. This blog post will explore the pros and cons of audio and video podcasts.
The Rise of Digital Audio
The rise of digital audio can be tailored to many different contexts and ways to consume content. Gone are the days when families had only one option: gather around the radio to hear fireside chats through analog media. Nowadays, it’s easy for people to consume audio in a context that suits their needs. This is why digital audio has become so popular.
They can listen on a smartphone, computer, tablet, while in transit, etc. They can stream it online or download it for offline listening. Even more powerful is how audio consumption can be tailored to many different contexts. For example, a person can start a podcast on a smart speaker during breakfast, continue listening on the trip to work, and finish during their gym workout. In addition, digital audio allows you to listen in when and where you want without worrying about transporting equipment around you.
The Use of Video in Podcasting
As digital audio continues to establish itself as a main source of content consumption amongst consumers, the question of using video to compliment this medium arises. At first, someone would think to add video podcasts because people are catching onto the many benefits of this strategy. However, there are significant differences between visual and audio engagement. Unlike audio, video requires a level of focused attention and energy. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t meet the listener where they’re at.
Furthermore, multiple empirical studies report that hearing is a more vital sense than vision. Therefore, when deciding whether to use audio or video for your podcast strategy, it is crucial to consider the differences between the two. Audio podcasts are easy to customize and engage with, but video podcasts require more attention and energy. Additionally, hearing is a more vital sense than vision, so audio may be a more practical option.
Using Video for Marketing
Just because somebody chooses audio as the main form of content creation and distribution, doesn’t mean they should abandon video. In fact, using videos for promotional purposes can be used successfully to grow a podcast. Videos are also more shareable than text, meaning they will reach a wider audience.
For example, making a short-form video of your host talking about your podcast can be easily shared on social media.
Tapping into Video through Live Streaming
A live stream is a popular option for podcasters looking to build a deeper and more loyal connection with their audience. Live streaming can be achieved with or without video, and is similar to a live radio broadcast where the podcast content is presented live to an audience who are tuned in as the podcast is being recorded. Live Streaming has become very popular in recent years because it’s easy to connect, engage and interact with a live, regular, audience. In addition, a community makes it easier to monetize. However, live streaming should never replace a traditional podcast because, as mentioned earlier, the stream doesn’t meet the listener where they are at.
Although it comes with more challenges and technical dependencies, having a video element to a live stream can add a different level of engagement for your audience, as well as give you promotional material for other marketing material. A live stream can act as a multi-use piece of content to connect with live video and audio audiences, as well as reach your regular podcast audience through the normal channels of distribution after the event has ended. This gives you multiple channels of audience engagement, multiple channels for advertisers, and multiple forms of reaching your audience.
Why Audio is More Engaging
Because audio does not require visual components, it doesn’t run the risk of interrupting the flow of a podcast, making listening much more flexible and often easier than consuming video content.
Podcasts are the ultimate form of flexible form of media. They can be used in different contexts and with different lifestyles. For example, podcasts are perfect while eating lunch on a picnic table or listening on the beach. There are also fewer restrictions on when and where you can share your podcast than there are with video content. For example, in a car, there would be no issue with listening to audio content while driving, which would not necessarily be possible with video podcasting.
For advertisers, there is the appeal of higher retention and engagement that comes with audio content. Creative and compelling audio ads convert higher than video ads. This shows that people are more captivated by audio, providing a better conversion opportunity. This also speaks to the benefits of contextual targeting and matching between audio ads and content, meeting your audience where they’re at.
Using Audio for Marketing
A robust amount of options can be used with audio in an effective marketing podcast strategy. Like video marketing, a podcast can be broken into audiograms, uploaded to social media platforms into small snippets, and uploaded to various social media platforms.
The Backtracks Player is readily transferable across social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Medium, and others. It’s also easy to share audio content on these networks and a given sound segment without actually editing it. Finally, using pixels, Backtracks Attribution can enable you to keep an eye on and cautiously optimize your audio marketing and advertising strategies, tactics, and marketing messages. Audio is a great way to reach your audience through marketing. Using platforms such as Backtracks, you can easily share your content across various social media networks. In addition, the use of pixels allows you to track and optimize your audio marketing strategy.
In a Nutshell
While it seems like an overused platitude, sometimes less is more. As the use of audio and video in podcasting becomes more popular, it is vital to understand the differences between the two strategies. While video podcasts have their benefits, and different forms of short-form video can be used for valuable promotional material, they require more focused attention and energy. Additionally, multiple studies have shown that hearing is a more vital sense than vision, and audio content and advertisements are more effective and engaging than video content and advertisements. For these reasons, audio podcasts may be a more effective podcast strategy for reaching,engaging, and converting listeners.
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Backtracks audio analytics, audience engagement, and advertising technology works across all audio destinations, forms of audio communication (live stream or pre-recorded), as well as across promotional channels for social media content distribution. Explore Backtracks today!
