PP295 - Don't Panic And Pivot Your Podcast To Video During The Pandemic

Evo Terra: [00:00:00] Would people prefer a video version of your podcast? Do your listeners want to become Watchers? Is video the growth hack you've been looking for to grow your podcast in a word? No. And here's why.

[00:00:21] Hello and welcome to another podcast. Pontifications with me, Evo. Tara. This is a perennial topic that like the globe, we cam a meal that is taking over everywhere in Phoenix right now. Back once again. And that perennial topic is video and the existential crisis podcasters face. Should I make a pivot to video.

[00:00:50] As I said at the beginning, no, and here's why. It kind of looks that way though. I mean, I get it. If you look at the information that is flooding us right now under this pandemic, under the lockdown, which we all face, it sure looks like the signs are pointing towards a pivot to video, maybe even a perfect storm, if you will.

[00:01:14] Of things happening in the world that say, you know, maybe, maybe video is better. And here's what I mean by that. Perfect storm. I mean, we've got data that shows uncertainty when it comes to podcast. Download numbers and podcasts, listening, depending on who you read and what data you look at, podcasting is either up a little bit down, a little bit or flat.

[00:01:40] We've noticed big shifts in how people listen when downloads happen. There's a lot of uncertainty that comes with the fact that we're not commuting anymore. We're not going to the gym. We're not in the places where we used to listen to a lot. So a couple of that with the fact that it's impossible to not see a zoom call, zoom, the online video conferencing software or tools like zoom.

[00:02:09] You can't miss it. It's in the news because it got privacy problems. It's got, it's in the news because they've had a 200% increase in usage. It's just crazy. I mean, zoom is everywhere. We're seeing it Saturday night live. Does the whole thing be a zone? So that's everyone. That's all video stuff. Then you've got Quimby Kirby, that has been much lauded and finally launched during the pandemic.

[00:02:31] remind me never to launch a media property in the middle of a pandemic, but they did. And it's content that is video based content, short form, video based content that you can only get on your mobile device funded by huge, huge dollars in the entertainment industry and huge stars in the entertainment field.

[00:02:51] And then there's the reality that, look, people are stuck at home. YouTube is integrated on almost every smart TV or whatever devices you have plugged into your TV. So it's pretty easy to watch YouTube on your TV. In fact, it's a lot easier to watch YouTube on your TV than it is to listen to a podcast on your TV or even your smart speakers.

[00:03:14] So again, it looks like this is the perfect storm. All of these reasons seem to be, and they're not. They seem to be telling us podcasters, it's time to switch to video. It's time to make bets switch again, don't do it. That's not, it's not the right decision to make. I want you to first remember the 90 10 rule of video.

[00:03:42] The 92 no, no, not the 80 20 rule. The 90 10 rule, and here's the 90 10 rule of video. 90% of viewers are gone before they've watched 10% of video. So if you've got a 30 minute long podcast that you want to convert to a video, most of your audience will not be watching. By the time the three minute Mark rolls around.

[00:04:14] That's not just speculation on my part that's backed up by lots and lots of information when I go poke around, when people give me access to their video channels and it's what I find now, there are of course, plenty of videos that break the rule. The 90 10 rule of video is really only for talking head videos.

[00:04:37] Where a podcast or even a video person just sits behind a microphone and a camera doesn't move too much in this camera. Certainly doesn't move. People. Stop watching that stuff really quickly. Even from big, big, big video stars. I have talked to some friends of mine who have made their careers in YouTube.

[00:04:59] It is their only job to be YouTube stars and they do great on YouTube. These same friends of mine have decided to also to do a podcast, an audio podcast, but they figured, Hey, we've got this big investment in all this video equipment. We're recording it from our studio. Let's turn the camera on and record us as we're doing the podcast, and we'll make that available as well on our YouTube channel.

[00:05:26] You know what? They see 90 10 rule for those episodes, those talking head only episodes. Even established YouTube stars. See 90% of their viewers stop watching before 10 minutes of their talking head video is over. You see, successful video channels and successful video producers know they have to provide more than just one person's staring at a camera talking.

[00:06:00] You have to have a three camera switching thing at a minimum. If you're a Twitch star, then your head is down in the bottom and you're watching. People are watching you play the video games. You were doing interviews out on the street, you're switching, you're moving, you're making compelling video content.

[00:06:16] Our eyes and our brains, which are attached to the eyes, need that constant motion changing. Our brains aren't good. At watching talking head videos. Don't get me wrong, I love the talking edge. They, we just don't want a single head shot. It's not worth it. So if you're thinking of making the pivot to video, please understand you have to do something more than stare at a camera and talk about your show.

[00:06:49] You have to do something more. Then get you and your guests on a zoom call and record that and put it out. People, by and large, don't want to watch that for any length of time. They don't want to waste time watching something they could just listen to. So if you're going to go for video, go for video, do something compelling, interesting and amazing.

[00:07:18] That's the only way you're going to make video works. You want to make that pivot, make it, but it's a hard, hard pivot to make. You'd be doing a lot more work than you're doing today. So my ask for you today is the opposite of that. Why don't we reverse the trend? I mean, I, I think we should go out and I think you should go and I'm asking you to go out and find a struggling utuber.

[00:07:42] And get them to make the switch to podcasting. Maybe they're unwilling to make the investment in cameras and switchers and doing all of that post-production work that's harder in the video world. Obviously go to them and say, you should do a podcast, and the way you should get started on podcasts, or the way she started thinking about making a podcast is go check out podcast.

[00:08:01] Pontifications that would be great. Yeah. Tell him about the show. Maybe that will spur them into making. You know, give them some thoughts about the future of podcasting. Maybe you'll push them over to our side. Remember also that I want your story of how the novel coronavirus is impacting your world as a podcaster.

[00:08:21] Please sit down and record a minute, maybe two minutes worth of audio, and just tell me how your world is impacted by this, but end up on Dropbox and then shoot me an email. evo@podcastlaunched.pro. In fact, I will share some stories from other podcasters on tomorrow's episode of yet another podcast.

[00:08:41] Pontifications cheers.

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