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

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Just like globe chamomile is taking over yards, fields, and alleys of Phoenix right now, the perennial topic and the existential crisis of making the pivot away from audio podcasting to favor video is back!

I’m not surprised. As we struggle through lockdown, video is playing a key element. There seems to be a perfect storm brewing, and much of is pointing straight to online video.

The Podcast Outlook Is Cloudy

The data on podcast consumption during the crisis is mixed, highlighting some uncertainty around download numbers. Depending on your data source, downloads are either up a bit, down a bit, or flat. Listening might be down as well. And we’re pretty confident that when people consume podcasts have shifted.

Because we're not commuting. We're not going to the gym. We're not doing the things we used to do when we used to listen to podcasts.

But Video Seems To Be Booming

Then there’s the impossibility of going through a day without catching a reference to Zoom. Since we can’t leave our houses, online video conferencing apps are everywhere. Chances are you’ve been on one today. You can’t scroll through social media without seeing a group video call screenshot. Heck, even Saturday Night Live was shot via video conferencing tools last week. No wonder Zoom’s MAU (monthly active users) are seeing something like a 200% (or was it 200X?) increase recently.

Add in the launch of Quibi, a much-lauded and finally launched short-form video-based entertainment app. I’m not sure I’d have launched something that audacious in the middle of a pandemic, but it might play out well for them. Qubi, in case you missed the news, is a new form of entertainment creation and delivery -- mobile device only -- that’s backed by Hollywood talent and money.

Top all of that off with a huge uptick in YouTube consumption. I credit a lot of that to the fact that YouTube is integrated on almost every smart TV or whatever device powers that big TV in most living rooms. That makes it very easy to watch YouTube on a big screen TV. In fact, it's a lot easier to watch YouTube on your TV than it is to listen to a podcast on your smart speakers.

So yes, this looks like a perfect storm. These reasons and more seem to indicate it might be time for podcasters to make the switch to video.

But looks can be deceiving.

The 90/10 Rule Of Podcast Videos

Most podcast episodes make for terrible video content that most people don’t want to watch. This isn’t idle speculation on my part. It’s a measurable phenomenon you can test yourself, and I call it the 90/10 Rule Of Video:

90% of viewers are gone before they've watched 10% of the video.

So if you turn your 30-minute podcast episode into a video, most of your viewers will have stopped watching before the three-minute mark. That’s depressing.

I’ve yet to find a consistent exception to this rule. I’ve worked with several podcasters who post video versions of their podcasts’ episodes to YouTube. In every case, they discover a tiny, tiny retention rate when they dig a little deeper into their “view counts”.

I’ve also interfaced with some big video stars and have more than a few friends and acquaintances who’ve made careers out of posting YouTube videos. These people grok YouTube and are rewarded for it. But still, when they post a single-camera video of them sitting at a desk recording a podcast, the 90/12 Rule applies.

When these YouTube stars post a video that’s nothing more than the audio of their podcast playing under some un-moving episode artwork, the 90/10 Rule applies.

When they post the “live recording” video of their podcast -- after all, they made a big investment in video equipment and are recording the podcast episode from the same place they record elements of their video so why not turn on the camera and make that available as well on our YouTube channel -- the 90/10 Rule applies.

You should not be surprised by that. They should not be surprised by that.

Podcast Episodes Make For Crappy Videos

Successful video producers know the importance of making visually-compelling content. With very few (if any) exceptions, an un-moving video shot of one or two people talking is not visually-compelling.

That’s why the podcasters who are successful on YouTube don’t use single-camera un-moving shots. They typically have a three-camera setup, switching from shot-to-shot during the episode to keep it visually engaging for their viewers.

Sure, Twitch stars often have an un-moving camera stuck on their face. But they also have their gameplay on the screen, which provides the compelling-portion of their video content.

Our brains, which are attached to our eyes, need near-constant changes to stay stimulated. Our brains aren't good at watching talking head videos. (Not videos of the Talking Heads, which are all great.)

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. No, getting a second person on camera via Zoom isn’t what I mean by “more”. That’s just two different talking heads, and it’s equally as boring to the visual processing center of our brains.

If you feel compelled to try your hand at video, podcaster, then by all means: go for video! But please do something compelling, interesting and amazing with that video. That's the only way you're going to make video work for you.

Should Video Producers Pivot To Podcasting?

You can help reverse the trend. With so many people trying out new things, you might already know a struggling YouTuber who’s unwilling to make the investment in cameras, switchers, and all of that post-production work that's much harder in the video than in audio. Why don’t you suggest to them that they make the pivot to podcasting? And if having them listen to an episode or twenty of Podcast Pontifications helps you make the case, great!

Share Your Lockdown Stories

I really do want to hear your story of how the novel Coronavirus is impacting your world as a podcaster. Right now, if you can, please record a minute or two where you tell me how your world is impacted by the pandemic. Load the .wav file up on Dropbox, and then shoot me an email with the link to evo@podcastlaunch.pro.

In fact, I will share some stories from other podcasters on tomorrow's episode of yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

Download The Audio FilE

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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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