A podcast is a radio-like format combined with the flexibility and convenience that modern technology has to offer.
You can hear your favorite podcasts anywhere and anytime you want – in your car, during workouts, or at home after a long day’s work.
The podcast industry is huge with nearly 2 million podcasts online with nearly 50 million episodes created so far. The COVID pandemic has only increased the audience’s interest in podcasts.
Nowadays, everybody is using podcasts. Entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, activists, and small and big businesses – seeking more eyeballs or asking the audience to lend them their ears with creative content.
But, the growing competition in every genre or niche has made people turn to video marketing which is the best marketing tool at present. The following are some of the methods you can use to promote your podcast.
Using Video Content to Promote Your Podcast
Regardless of your industry, the goal of increasing viewership (or listeners) must be the fulcrum around which every decision should revolve.
Here are ideas that will draw more listeners and viewers to your podcast.
Use Video Teasers to Generate Interest
First, let’s adopt the organic way to boost traffic. Similar to movie trailers, short teasers will help generate interest in your latest podcast episodes. Teasers will give a preview of the content and influence the audience to watch the full episode.
If it’s a medical podcast, use the bit that talks of the viewers’ pain points. Suppose the episode is about the environment, social topic, or real story, then use the scenes that inspire or emotionally connect with people.
Equally effective are moments that generate controversy and topics that spawn a lot of debate in the comment section or social media.
You can also use sections of the episode that deal with a heated debate between the host and the guest. Such teasers will make the audience take sides which is sure to cause a buzz on social platforms.
It’s possible to create teasers that capture attention without resorting to sensationalism and controversy.
For example, invite an expert who can discuss trending topics such as how to deal with long COVID, ways people can reduce their carbon footprint without changing lifestyles, how 2D animation services can boost small businesses, etc.
Bear in mind to keep the teaser short; preferably, less than 60 seconds long. Short videos are accepted on all social media platforms.
A 50-second teaser provides enough content insight to generate interest but not enough to reduce the value of the full episode.
Finally, the current social media generation has a short attention span. Short teasers will hold the attention of the viewers.
Use Gated Content to Increase Subscribers
The marketing suite from Hubspot or Hubspot alternatives will allow you to find, attract, and nurture leads for your podcast.
The best way to use these marketing tools with video is to create gated content. In this, a video is given access only after the user shares the email address, location details, or subscription credentials.
Podcasters can use the information to nurture the lead, provide personalized content, or pitch exclusive offers.
While using gated content, always make the exchange of information for personal details a fair one. Provide your audience with in-depth valuable content so that the subscribers flock to your podcast channel again and again.
It’s a lot easier to create gated content if you’re using a third-party podcast hosting service. There are many free and paid podcast platforms.
Many of these hosting services provide tools and expert support to create gated content (subscription-only content, bonus content, etc.).
Customize the Videos to Suit the Social Media Platform
You may promote your podcast with short teaser videos or video ads on one or multiple platforms. This is a decision you must take after considering several factors including the demography of the target audience, the most popular social media channel your audience uses, etc.
If you decide to promote on multiple social media platforms then customize the video dimensions to match the requirements of the platforms.
Whether horizontal, vertical, or square, a video editor can change the aspect ratio without altering the quality of the video.
Also optimize the videos to achieve a higher ranking on Google, YouTube, and other platforms. If you want to focus on podcast production alone, then delegate the task of promoting your podcast to video marketing agencies.
Adapt the Video Clip to the Audience
Youngsters may prefer short videos that are witty, fun, and exciting, whereas, a more mature audience will look for serious content in the videos. Personalize the video teaser that’ll resonate with the demography of your target audience.
You can generate interest in the topic by creating a social media poll to go with the teaser. In addition to attracting attention, polls can boost engagement with the audience.
Always include subtitles for podcast teasers. For one, most social media users consume videos without sound. Not many would use a headphone or unmute just to understand a 55-second video.
You can use audio-to-text converter tools to generate subtitles. The same software can be used to generate transcripts of podcasts or even create blogs for content marketing.
Social media users receive hundreds or more videos on their timelines. Whether to watch a video or not is a split-second decision. You can use custom thumbnails to attract attention.
The thumbnail to use may vary from platform to platform. Create multiple custom thumbnails during video production to reduce workload later.
Entertain the Audience with Behind-the-Scenes Content
This marketing strategy is particularly effective in the case of celebrity guests. Celebrity news and gossip columns in newspapers are hugely popular because people want to know the person behind the celebrity image.
The fun behind-the-scenes banter between the host and the guest will indeed draw the attention of the audience.
After obtaining the guest’s permission, you can use the clip on social media platforms to capture more eyeballs and create interest for your podcast.
The behind-the-scenes videos can be about anything. It could be about how you prepare for the show, a discussion on the questions to ask, or background research about the guest.
You could also compile hilarious, awkward, emotional, or inspirational moments from the show and use the same to promote the podcast.
Append a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA) to All Your Marketing Videos
Whether yours is an educational podcast or business-related, one of your main objectives must be to generate leads. Nurturing leads is crucial to converting one-time podcast users to long-term subscribers or prospects to paying customers.
Podcasters new to marketing can start using lead generation tools. The right tool will help you capture leads, collect valuable data, cut down your workload through marketing automation, help you build forms, support email marketing, etc.
While lead generation software will take care of most of your marketing needs, there is one element that needs your special attention. It’s no surprise that a clear and effective CTA should be included in all your marketing videos.
You need to communicate what you want the audience to do after watching the video. There is a number of actions a viewer can take. You need a CTA to guide the viewers in a particular direction or they may not take any action at all.
Final Thoughts
Surveys predict that by the end of 2023 the size of podcast listeners will increase to 160 million. The podcast is fast becoming mainstream and now is the time to expand your reach. Our little guide will help you leverage the power of video marketing to grow your podcast.
Author bio:
Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video editing services to marketing agencies, video production studios and brands all over the globe. You can catch up with him on his blog or on LinkedIn.
