218: Is Video Necessary for Podcasting?

One of the biggest misconceptions that I see people assuming is that adding video automatically creates more reach.

As if the camera itself is somehow this secret ingredient.

But video is not a strategy.

It is a format.

And if you don't have an actual strategy behind that format, you're often creating a lot more work for yourself and very less reward.

So think about it this way.

You can record a fantastic podcast just in audio, upload the exact same file to YouTube, and technically have a video podcast.

Okay, well, there's technicalities in there that you actually have to have like a video file, but you get what I'm saying.

That does not automatically mean that YouTube is going to promote it.

It doesn't mean that you'll gain subscribers or reach a new audience because podcasting and YouTube have two very different functions.

And this is something that I have to explain to clients all the time.

And it's because the podcasting industry is making it confusing.

Podcasting and YouTubing are not the same thing.

You have the podcast listeners that are out there that consume content on the go, and then you have YouTube viewers who often behave very differently.

There are people who consume podcasts while driving or walking, working out, cleaning their house or sitting on the plane.

They're choosing content based on the conversation.

YouTube viewers are often making a completely different decision.

They're choosing content based on search behavior, thumbnails, titles, recommendations, watch time, retention.

In other words, a great podcast doesn't automatically become a great YouTube video.

And a successful YouTube channel does not automatically become a successful podcast, okay? They are connected, but they are not identical.

If your goal is significant YouTube growth, then you need a YouTube strategy.

And that means understanding search behavior, thumbnails, titles, viewer retention, audience expectations, platform-specific content.

Simply uploading your podcast episodes and hoping for viral growth usually isn't enough.

Now, let me kind of caveat everything I just said, because I do think there is a world in which there's a happy medium of like, you don't have to put a ton of effort into YouTube, but you can still be there for the searchability and for the let me just be on YouTube to be there because people listen there.

That's totally fine.