OK, so you’ve been podcasting for awhile and now you’re thinking about adding video into the mix. YouTube is the second-largest search engine, after all, and another way for people to discover you. But how much extra work is this going to be?

On Podcasting Step by Step, my friend Andrea Jones is back to talk about

• who should and shouldn’t add video into their podcast production;

• different types of video content for different audiences; and

• how to look and sound great on camera, and more. 

Andrea is founder of the Savvy Social School, host of the Savvy Social podcast, and the go-to expert for all things social media. In our discussion, she also talks about how we can repurpose the video we create so we are not constantly reinventing the wheel when it comes to content creation. 

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Recording video for remote podcast interviews

Andrea likes to keep things simple for her show. She records her interviews via Zoom and then sends the video to her editor. Top tip: if you want to cut down on production time, intro your guest at the beginning of the actual interview rather than doing it later.

If you’re editing your own video, I highly recommend Descript for both audio and video editing — no existing video skills required. I record my remote interviews via Squadcast (partner link) which doesn’t offer video yet but that is coming.

Recording video for solo episodes

Andrea recommends natural light and recording on your phone. If you’ve got an iPhone, try the Shure MV88, which plugs right into it.

Lights, camera, action

No natural light? No problem. You can fake it with the following lights:

• Neewer Camera Photo Video Lighting Kit (this is a ring light, so be careful if you have glasses because it will reflect)

• Neewer® 700W Professional Photography 24"x24"/60x60cm Softbox with E27 Socket Light Lighting Kit

Should your ‘Live’ videos be repurposed as a podcast?

For the most part, Andrea says that the different content you create should stay in its lane. She likes live video, but the experience can be annoying for your viewers if they show up and you don’t talk to them because you’re recording your podcast.

Or, if you do talk to them, that conversation will be annoying for your podcast listeners if you use the same audio. A possible alternative: Chat with the people who show up live, then say you can’t talk to them for X number of minutes while you record your show but to stick around because you’ll answer questions.

This is something for you to play around. Live video recording your show might work great for you, or you might find it really distracting.

Should you put the whole video of your podcast episode on YouTube?

Andrea has two different content buckets on her channel.

“The first bucket is purely designed for people who've never heard of me before, to find me. And in those videos, I talk a lot about making sure they subscribe, making sure they download a freebie of some sort or comment below, because I really want to get to know them,” she says.

“And then I have the podcast videos, which are more for the people who have been watching for a while. They already are familiar with my content. And so for me, to put those types of videos up, it's a specific type of person, and it's a specific purpose in that person's experience. Not a lot of people will find the podcast and then sit there and watch a 30-minute video if they've just found me for the first time. So I'm typically gearing those two- to five-minute videos for those purposes.”

Are you about to launch your podcast and are looking for a media host? Buzzsprout is my top recommendation. As a listener to Podcasting Step by Step, you can try it for free and get a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan using my partner link.

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