Give them video (and audio)

It appears people would rather watch a video than listen to a podcast (even a 4 minute one). This is not a revelation, but it is a result I’ve seen in practice. I’ve been making audio podcasts for clients for nearly two years now, and in that time I’ve spent a lot of hours thinking about this service:

The reason behind this post is a conversation I had with a client in which we were discussing podcasting activities and anecdotal evidence (conversations and observations) about its performance…its disappointing performance. And so there are two parts to wheat I want to say in this post:

1. To discuss the impact on the social media activities for organisations and businesses

2. To reflect on the relevance of my audio/speech production skills

Impact on Social Media Activities for Organisations and Businesses

Looking back at the content I’ve made over the past two years, I can make the following observations:

• Organisations and businesses often become enthusiastic about producing their own audio podcasts
• That enthusiasm often doesn’t translate into huge listening figures
• Disappointment at listening stats leads to doubts over podcasting strategies
• Video is usually always more popular than audio podcasting
• Facebook audiences prefer video to audio, though hardcore followers will consume everything
• An educational audio podcast with advice about mastitis in dairy herds gets lots of listeners because it’s useful
• A daft video with a cat can get huge responses in viewer numbers
• An accessible and concise audio podcast interview with an important person in the world of dance can ‘bomb’
• Photos have the advantage over audio and video in that they can be ‘consumed’ in an office and no-one will know
• Duration for video and audio works when it is short: 4 mins is long, 3 mins is good, 2 mins is better

So, what does this mean for content production activities? Anecdotal evidence (from observation and conversation) points to video – it’s what people want. They appear to be much less interested in audio content. (NOTE: By ‘audio content’ I don’t include music itself.) How can we provide more video?

The solution has many levels: internet users want more video => So record more video => Businesses and organisations WILL have content worth being filmed (it just requires a producer to help them develop it),  so film it => Train staff to use simple video equipment => Find time in their schedules to do this filming => Film so that little of no editing is required => Go from filming to uploading in one move (skip editing).

This is a well-viewed route, but not-so-well-travelled one. This route is the one on which companies and organisations often get bogged down. I’ve had clients in the past which aren’t able to implement a sustainable content creation strategy and find themselves stuck in limbo. And that’s despite considerable managerial commitment.

If management are supportive (and the two clients for whom I currently podcast have wholly supportive management teams), then teams should proceed with podcasting because it will lead them to new avenues for reaching audiences and spreading messages. And if you develop structures and skills for podcasting, then you’re well-placed for moving into other platforms – namely video and live streaming. This is a learning journey and it should be fun. I read somewhere on the web recently that we now have to stop talking about social media – that term’s become old hat because we live in a social world.

My Audio/Speech Production Skills

If the future has so much video…what about audio?

I have a friend who makes the same comment to me each year about the potential in niche internet ‘radio’ shows for business sectors. By shows I mean podcasts. I’ve always agreed with this person’s belief in that potential, but over the past 6 months I’ve become less sure about audio as a thriving platform.

I’m following developments in the renewable energy sector as a potential market for my video work. And from the beginning I thought the sector is ripe for a weekly podcast: The Renewable Energy Show. I still think it’s a strong idea, but for two main reasons I think that the success of such a project – in audio form – is questionable

• It appears no-one has yet done it with any panache (there are some shows out there, but they consist mostly of one person reading news articles)
• The availability and proliferation of free online video streaming platforms seems poised to take the Renewable Energy Show idea beyond audio, straight to video

Since TV overtook radio, the picture medium has always had popular attention over its audio only rival. I worked in the speech radio industry for 9 years and I know that to be the case. Most people have never heard a BBC radio speech programme. Most of those that have heard a BBC radio programme, will know music radio – not speech.

I produced 4 webcasts of political hustings for the ScotlandVotes.Com website in the run up to the recent Scottish Parliamentary elections, and in that time I learned a lot about video streaming, webcasting, live streaming…there are so many names, but you know what I’m talking about. These are all free services (put up with the adverts and you get a global audience for your video). The technology works quite well, and when mobile upload/steaming charges drop significantly (not sure when that’ll happen) and when the data pipe required to carry all this video content is opened up, then audio really is in trouble. I mean why give audio when you can give video? (I know, I’m an audio fan…I’m just being realistic).

The good thing about audio is that you can listen and do other things at the same time. That;s one of its key strengths. That’s what those who want to produce niche, radio-type audio programming online should focus upon. So, here are my suggestions for those who believe audio-only content has a future in the social media marketplace:

• Make content specialised – to attract the niche audience
• Present content in an appropriate manner – a good presenter will keep people coming back
• Create authority – listeners will appreciate that you know what you’re talking about
• Be consistent and regular – goes without saying
• Be creative – surprise your listeners, break stories, tell them things they don’t know
• Make your product a not-to-be-missed service
• Exploit the fact that listeners can do other things while listening

Reading back over this little list, reminds me of countless meetings I sat in on during my time at the BBC. That tells me we’re all in the same boat – we’re all chasing the same bunch of ears.

Conclusions

As for my radio production skills… You know, ever since I moved out of newspapers and into the world of broadcasting (at the end of the 1990s), media companies have been restructuring their activities, their output, their production workflows, their staffing, their business models etc to cope with the digitally-converged world. I don’t think radio producers are called that at the BBC anymore, I think they’re maybe called ‘content producers’. Similarly with TV personnel.

I’m letting go of my fondly held memories of making speech radio programmes and embracing a new world as a content producer. After all, what’s audio production, but one half of video production. And both of those are media project management.