Can both podcasting and YouTube work for introverted coaches and consultants?
This question comes up regularly, with both clients and new prospects.
My answer is absolutely! Both platforms work well for introverts.
However…the platform you choose to focus on depends on your goals, and there are big pitfalls to getting it wrong
In this post we’ll look at the pros and cons of each platform, 4 reasons for video podcasting even if you don’t intend to grow a YouTube channel, and finish by answering the question, “Can a podcast and YT channel CO-exist?”
—>More of an audio learner? Click HERE to listen to the audio podcast version of this article.
First, let’s look at the advantages that both podcasting and YouTube have over other forms of marketing, especially social media.
Time-shifted – Content can be recorded, edited and then published weeks (or months) later. Unlike real-time content like Facebook live, both podcasting and YouTube allows you to record content in advance on your schedule. It also means you can group recording sessions together, known as “batch recording” to save time.
Optimizable – The final product can be broken down into small pieces and optimized one piece at a time. Every part doesn’t have to be perfect in real time.
In podcasts, for example, you can have a Call-to-Action section – typically called a “mid-roll commercial” – inserted into your episode during the editing process. This allows you to have a perfect call-to-action in your episode without having to deliver it perfectly during the recording.
In YouTube videos, you can add end cards and other call-to-action features on top of a video to increase your channel engagement or send them to your website. Those additions can be changed after the fact and even changed across multiple videos at one time using tools like TubeBuddy.
Long shelf life – Both podcast episodes and YouTube videos get discovered months and years later. They are one of the best forms of “evergreen” content.
Here’s a recent screenshot from the YouTube channel analytics of my first show, Real Estate Uncensored. Some of our original episodes were streamed live on YouTube, and we still livestream one episode a week to both Facebook and YouTube using a tool called Streamyard.
Even though we don’t actively send traffic to our YouTube channel, we still get thousands of views on our content, including hundreds of views a month on videos as old as 2015. Those videos regularly show up in our top 10 or 20 videos of all time because the content is evergreen and the titles match real searches.
Podcasts work much the same way.
Here’s a little secret we learned from launching niche business podcasts for over 5 years.
On the day you release a new episode, only 50-70% of your downloads come from your new episode. So where are the other downloads coming from? Older episodes.
In other words, both podcasting and YouTube content has a long shelf life because people are actively discovering or stumbling upon your older content.
Now that we know all the advantages podcasting and YouTube share over other forms of marketing, let’s look at differences.
Podcasting vs YouTube
Production – Podcasting is all about the audio, which makes it easier to produce. On YouTube you often need both great video and great audio, because it’s become such a competitive environment. On podcasting, if you have great audio, that’s what counts.
As an example of how complex a topic it is, check this out:
There are 4 million searches a month for “video setup for YouTube” and 44 million videos in the search results for that term. That’s why there are so many YouTube channels aimed at helping people with their YouTube video setup. Lots of confused people searching for information.
Then you have products trying to solve that problem, which is how you get contraptions like these:
Podcasting allows you to talk directly into a microphone and focus on your message.
No worrying about looking into the camera or thinking about your hair, lighting and makeup.
Analytics – YouTube has better analytical tools…and it’s not even close. Podcasting has made some strides over the last few years, but podcast stats and optimization tools are far behind YouTube. It’s astonishing what kind of research on YouTube keywords, video titles, tags and video performance you can do with paid tools like TubeBuddy and VidIQ.
Check out these examples:
[insert a couple screenshots from TubeBuddy of the SEO tools, TubeBuddy.com]
The great thing about these tools is that you can use them whether YouTube is your main platform or not. In our podcast production agency, we use TubeBuddy for keyword and episode title research for our podcast clients. So we take advantage of these tools even though our primary focus is their podcast.
Social Proof – Outside of your podcast reviews on Apple Podcast, download stats are private and visible only to you. In fact, Apple doesn’t even release stats on subscribers to podcast hosts (stupid, I know). To this day we can’t know how many subscribers our client’s podcasts have, we can only make an educated guess.
On YouTube, your stats are very public. Video view numbers, channel subscribers, channel views, tags and much more are publicly available, either for free or through paid tools.
Here’s an example from one of the channels I follow:
I can see his total lifetime views, how many videos he’s published overall, views on the videos he’s published in the last 30 days, performance of the channel over that time, and that’s just scratching the surface.
Once you have big numbers, visibility is great because it gives you social proof.
But..if you’re just starting out and you have a small email list and social presence, having all your video view and subscriber numbers public probably aren’t much help (in fact, those numbers may actually hurt).
So for emerging coaches and consultants, podcasting is a better option. With good design, good guests and hyper-targeted content, your podcast establishes your authority quickly, regardless of how many downloads you have.
Style & Personality – Podcasting doesn’t require you to be super comfortable on camera or have a perfect background. If you can have a conversation with someone on Zoom, you can host a podcast. Podcasting also doesn’t require you to be visually extreme, pretending to be something you’re not just to get attention. You don’t need to create outrageous, eye-catching thumbnails with over-the-top facial expressions like you often see on YouTube.
Podcasting is a more relaxed, thoughtful medium. It’s about connecting with the audience, not yelling at them. Podcasting is also a “secondary medium” which is a fancy term for “people do other stuff while listening to you.”
That’s a very good thing, because people stick around and listen to 20, 30, 40 minutes of your content. Good luck getting that kind of engagement on YouTube. So podcasting being a slower, more thoughtful medium is great for building long-term relationships with your audience.
Growth Potential – YouTube is great for people discovering your content through search, and the optimization tools make it even easier to find the right search terms. Podcasting spreads primarily through word-of-mouth, amplified by social media.
On my first show, Real Estate Uncensored, our first year we broadcast all our episodes live on YouTube first, then edited and released them as podcast episodes. We got a big push from YouTube because live Google Hangouts were the “new thing.” That momentum eventually ran out (and doesn’t exist anymore from what i can tell) but we capitalized on that for a while, putting 4000+ people into our email list. We did this by promoting a good lead magnet opt-in from our videos, and YouTube put our videos in the recommendations and search results.
So the YouTube growth potential is great…IF you are talking about tactical subjects that get good search traffic in niches with low competition.
If you’re talking about strategic concepts like mindset, or any topic that people don’t know to search for, podcasting is your best bet. Podcasts are where people are looking for more strategic content on bigger, broader topics.
So that begs the question, if podcasting is superior to YouTube in most ways, where does YouTube fit in?
We publish Highlight clips from our client’s podcast on YouTube, focusing on 2-3 minute clips that are highly search-able, while keeping full episodes Unlisted and embedded in their website. It’s not a full-blown, YouTube channel growth strategy, but it allows thor clients to get some of the benefits of YouTube while still getting all the benefits of podcasting.
If you’re already recording podcast episodes on Zoom (like we recommend), here are the pros of publishing video versions of your podcast…
- Starting with a video version makes everything else easier and more compelling
- Video feeds everything else in our podcast promo system, from authentic screenshots for promo emails, to Highlight Clips for YouTube and social media
- Video helps you build deeper relationships with guests
- Publishing the video version on your website helps your website visitors build a deeper connection with you (best if you’re selling something you personally deliver, like coaching or in person consulting)
Having a YouTube channel works great if you’re streaming your podcast episodes live, as you can use tools like Streamyard to broadcast to Facebook and YouTube simultaneously. It’s not a full YouTube strategy, but allows you to get some of the benefits of YouTube with a fraction of the work.
Now for the flip side, here are the cons of publishing video versions of your podcast on YouTube…
- Long videos that get lower average view time typically hurts your YouTube channel performance, making it harder to get traction. This is the biggest risk.
- YouTube is extremely competitive – Videos that aren’t specifically created for YouTube have a harder time competing with videos specifically created and edited for YouTube
- New channels need traffic to grow and get served up in recommendations or search results – that means dividing some of your calls-to-action from your podcast or your website and sending them to YouTube – splitting your traffic in multiple places and
potentially diluting your power in any one platform
Keep in mind that no matter what platform you choose, native content outperforms everything else. In other words, created specifically for a platform beats repackaged content every time. That being said, my view is YES, podcasting and YouTube can co-exist.
So can a podcast and YouTube channel co-exist?
Yes and here are a few tips to making them work together…
Publish tactical content on YouTube, strategic content on your podcast.
This approach allows you to create short, tactical videos for YouTube, where people are searching for that type of content, and keep your strategy content for your podcast where people have longer attention spans.
Based on my experience with clients and my own podcasts, this gives you the best opportunity for growth on YouTube. New people find your YouTube channel by searching for tactical content, but your videos point them to your podcast (where they get more strategic content) and your website (where they can hire you).
Keep your long podcast videos Unlisted. Embed video versions of your podcast on your website, encouraging people to share links there and not directly to YouTube. This doesn’t work for every market, and some of our clients have us publish their full episodes publicly and it works for them, but mostly they have established channels already, and they’re willing to take the hit on their engagement numbers in exchange for full episodes being available on their YouTube channel.
Don’t launch a podcast and new YouTube channel at the same time. This splits your traffic between two channels, and creates the potential for confusion. Focus on one at a time so you can focus all your calls-to-action on one platform at a time. I recommend launching a podcast first, then you can choose to add a full YouTube growth strategy in the future by creating short, tactical videos for YouTube. Depending on length and style, that content might be repackaged into short, “quick-hit” solo podcast episodes.
Whatever platform you decide on, focus on ONE platform above everything else.
Any content you create can be repackaged for another platform, but odds are, it’s not going to beat the content your competition is creating just for that platform.
So if you launch a podcast, and you choose to publish full episodes or clips on YouTube, focus on your podcast downloads, not video views on your YouTube channel. You’ll just drive yourself nuts and split your focus.
You can’t optimize for growth on 2 completely different platforms.
Focus on one platform, and let the other platform be a supplement. A bonus.
In my experience, it’s much easier to run a successful podcast than a YouTube channel.
So if you’re an emerging coach or consultant – especially an introvert – I highly recommend launching a podcast.
Make it your primary platform, the centerpiece for your entire marketing system.
And you can still get some of the benefits of YouTube without dividing your focus and driving yourself crazy over video view numbers.
If you’d like to explore launching a podcast with our agency, click here.
Want all of our tools and templates to do it yourself? Check out the MicroFamous FastTrack here.