4 reasons video is the most engaging way to promote your podcast

The popularity of video content is undeniable.

We’ve seen social media platforms adjust algorithms to push video content to their users, and video continues to take priority, as seen with the growth of platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and the addition of video sharing on WhatsApp. 

As a brand with a podcast, using video is imperative to reaching new audiences and strengthening brand awareness and loyalty.

In this post, we’ll take a look at four reasons video is so important to your podcast marketing mix and how Headliner can help you create perfectly optimized custom videos to promote your podcast on social media. 

1. Video continues to rule the social landscape

Video continues to become a meaningful and necessary part of the digital marketing world. According to Threecolts.com, in 2022 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. And we haven’t seen the tip of the video iceberg yet. Cisco predicts that by end of 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic--15 times higher than it was in 2017.

As podcasters, video provides an extremely effective tool to connect with listeners (and potential listeners) on multiple levels. The viewer can see, hear, and read (assuming there are captions) all at the same time. Now, if only we had Smell-O-Vision…

MotionCue’s survey The Video Marketing Landscape in 2020 found that 70% of people believe that video is the number one form of brand communication that keeps brands on top of their minds.

Luckily, just as the importance and impact of video has increased, so has the access and ease of creating video content. Creators no longer need years of experience to create successful videos, thanks to an abundance of online tools and software.

2. Video makes an impact quickly

In the digital space, including social media, catching the user’s attention and keeping your messaging short and sweet is no longer a suggestion--it’s vital--and video is the fastest way to make a connection. 

In 2000, the average person’s attention span was 12 seconds. About 15 years later, it dropped to eight seconds, as reported by a Microsoft study.

Just by looking at the latest social media trends (TikTok, Instagram Reels, etc.), we see that even the largest digital companies in the world understand the importance of video and the ever-shortening attention span. 

But video can help you break the attention span barrier by conveying your message extremely quickly and efficiently. According to Forrester Research, one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.

3. Video allows you to convey audio visually

In podcasting, creating content is just half the battle. You must market your show and episodes to your existing listenership and attract new listeners to continue to create. As an audio medium, there’s little opportunity to share your podcast on social media without help, which is where Headliner comes in. Videos made with Headliner give you tons of options to visually convey your audio and make it stand out on social. 

Waveforms

Waveforms are popular because they immediately signal that audio is playing. Headliner currently offers 13 unique waveform patterns that are fully customizable. 

Waveforms are extremely important as a surprisingly large amount of video on social media is watched without sound. According to a study conducted by Verizon Media & Publicis Media, 69% of users viewed videos without sound in public places, and even 25% viewed video without sound in private.

Captions

Just as with waveforms, captions offer an immediate indication of audio and increase comprehension and retention. According to an article published by the US National Library of Medicine: “More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video.”

Animations

Animations add some extra eye-catching flair to your videos, and they’re just plain cool. Headliner offers many templates that include animations, or you can upload video files of your own, as well as music tracks, images, GIFs, and more.

4. Video reinforces your podcast brand

Faces = Connection

Your listeners, new and old, want to connect with the voices they hear every episode. Using images or video clips of you and your podcast guest in your video, you continue to strengthen the connection and increase brand loyalty between you and your audience. 

Logos/Cover Art

Before adding video to your podcast marketing mix, your cover art was one of the strongest branding assets you had to use on social media. Your fans instantly recognize your cover art when they’re scanning through their preferred platforms. They are a great addition to your videos and only help reinforce your podcast brand. 

Brand Colors

Brand colors are one of those branding items that don’t seem that important but stick with you. They also play into the instant recognition factor while a listener scans through social or chosen podcast app. Most elements of Headliner videos are color customizable, including waveforms, captions, and other text, progress bars, background colors, and more! 

How to Create an Audiogram With Headliner in 10 Easy Steps

1. Head over to Headliner.app and choose Sign Up in the top-right corner. Don’t worry--there’s a free option.

2. Provide a little information about you and your podcast, and you’ll be directed to the editor dashboard.

3. We recommend starting with the Audiogram Wizard for your first video.

4. First: either upload your audio or search for your podcast by name, or RSS feed, or Descript link, and we’ll pull in your catalog. Then you choose the episode you’d like to make a video for, and Headliner loads your audio.

5. Second: you’ll choose the clip of the episode you’d like to include in your video. The default is 10 minutes, but you can customize the length or use the time limit selector if you have a specific social channel you’ll be using this for.
6. At this point, you’ll be able to choose to turn on transcription and choose the language. Remember, free users only have 10 minutes a month of transcription, so you may want to play around with a couple of videos before adding captions. 

7. Step three: you’ll be prompted to choose the aspect ratio for your video so it will fit perfectly in the social channel of your choice.

8. Step four: customize until your heart’s content! Here you can add waveforms, additional text, and images, progress bars, etc. At this point, you have the option to export your video as is or open the advanced editor.

9. If you choose to open the advanced editor, you can add additional media and further customize. 

10. Export! Voila, a perfectly optimized, custom podcast promotional video will be delivered to your inbox.

For more in-depth instructions and a video on how to use the Audiogram Wizard, check out this post.

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Headliner is the easiest way for podcasters and media companies to promote new and existing audio content on social media. Thousands of podcasters and the world’s largest media companies rely on Headliner to create shareable videos, reduce video production costs, increase content discovery and engagement, and win on social media. Founded in 2018, the company is headquartered in New York City. Learn more at https://www.headliner.app/.