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Did you know a vodcast (also known as a vidcast, video podcast, or videocast) is a great way to market yourself and your brand?
If you’re interested in creating content for your existing (or target) audience, a vodcast is an excellent solution. Vodcasts come in easily digestible and shareable formats, making you that much more likely to build an audience—and even go viral—on social media.
In this post, we’ll walk you through what a vodcast is, what makes it different from a podcast, and how to start one of your very own.
First: What Does Vodcasting Mean?
The term “vodcast” is short for “Video-On-Demand-cast.” In the simplest terms, it’s easiest to think of a vodcast as the video version of a podcast.
In most cases, vodcasting refers to the practice of taking video of a podcast recording session—but a vodcast can be any kind of podcast with video elements.
Vodcasters are typically podcasters experimenting with adding video to their standard audio content. The creator might take their standard audio podcast and add animation, slides, or even a visualization of the audio feed.
Rather than focusing entirely on the audio quality, vodcasters concentrate on producing high-quality video content as well.
One common technique is using a video camera to record themselves while recording their regular podcast episode. That way, they have a regular audio file that they can upload to their podcast host, but they also have a video file that they can upload to YouTube, social media, or their website.
What Is the Difference Between a Podcast and a Vodcast?
As you can probably already guess, there is very little difference between a podcast and a vodcast.
Podcasts are audio shows that have been around since 2004. There are many types of podcasts, from educational content to news and comedy to audio dramas and narrative nonfiction podcasts.
The only limit is each creator’s imagination.
Podcasts are so popular because they’re a convenient form of on-demand audio media. Listeners don’t have to toggle between radio stations or carry bulky CD players; now, they simply subscribe to shows that interest them and listen from the convenience of their smartphones.
But as podcasts gain in popularity—at the time of writing, it’s estimated that there are at least 850,000 active podcasts available today—it gets trickier to stand out. That’s where vodcasting (or vlogging) comes in.
Vodcasts are essentially more versatile podcasts. Creators can still upload the audio files to their podcast host and continue appearing on podcast listening apps—but they can also publish video recordings of their show to video-friendly platforms like YouTube and social media.
Your target listeners don’t have to depend on television programming schedules to watch content that interests them. Instead, they can watch on their phones, computers, or another type of portable video player at their convenience.
After all, the more content channel preferences you appeal to, the more opportunities for a broader and more diverse audience!
What Are the Benefits of a Vodcast?
Video podcasts come with all the benefits of podcasting, but with the added versatility and potential benefits of using video.
Creating a podcast is a great way to use content marketing to build an audience, increase your authority in your field of expertise, and develop a relationship of trust with your target customers.
Content marketing works by educating your audience in something that interests them to keep returning to your content for the value it provides. Eventually, they come to trust you as an expert in your niche, and when the time is right, they’ll be more likely to buy from you (if you’re a business) or buy from the brands advertising with you (if you use podcast sponsorships to monetize your show).
And even if your end goal isn’t to gain customers or monetize your content, a podcast can be a highly effective way to build your personal brand and find a rich and fulfilling community around your show.
And to all this, a vodcast adds something even more beneficial: video.
Because video content is highly popular and audiences find it easier to engage with video, you’ll be able to build an even stronger bond with your target audience. Your content will also be more versatile if you add video components.
All the popular podcast directories (like Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts) pull new episodes and download them to your subscribers’ mobile devices. Typically, podcasts are distributed by uploading them to your podcast host. This content distribution method is fast, convenient, and free for your audience—making it an extremely effective content channel.
But what if you could do that and take advantage of other wildly popular content channels like YouTube?
After all, YouTube is the second most popular social media platform with billions of views daily. That’s a huge potential audience just waiting to experience your content!
And since most online media is optimized for video, you’ll have a lot more flexibility if you create a vodcast. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram prioritize video over other forms of content.
You won’t get far by uploading audio clips from your latest podcast episode—but if you cut your vodcast into bite-sized clips for social media, you’ll have ready-made marketing content for your show. Easy-peasy!
How Do You Make a Vodcast?
While getting into the video media creation game may sound intimidating, making a vodcast isn’t as difficult as you think.
Thankfully, there’s equipment and software available today to help beginners create studio-quality video content—even on a budget. And if you’re already a podcaster, you likely already have most of the equipment and know-how needed to transition your show into a first-rate video podcast for your subscribers.
At a minimum, you’ll need:
- A microphone
- Headphones
- Video camera (one per participant)
- Studio lights (one per participant)
- An aesthetically pleasing and quiet recording space
And, of course, hardware isn’t all you’ll need. A great vodcast requires high-quality recording and editing software.
Sure, if your budget is tight, you can get by with a basic video conferencing app like Skype or Zoom—but your audience cares about video and audio quality. They can hear (and see) the difference between grainy, amateurish content and studio-quality video media.
If you’re already using Riverside.fm to record podcasts, you know that it automatically records video for your remote interviews at a professional level. Each participant’s audio and video feed is recorded locally to their device, meaning your finished product is crystal-clear regardless of internet connection.
Riverside is an affordable, easy-to-use option that’s made to be flexible enough to record both audio and video podcasts. It also comes with a text-based Video Editor that automatically stitches together the separately recorded audio/video tracks for a polished finished product. Riverside uses Ai transcriptions to make your video editing as easy as editing a text-document.
Once you have your setup, record your podcast as you usually would—only with video, too. That way, you can publish your content (either in full-length form or broken down into clips) to as many channels as you like, including:
- Traditional podcast hosting platforms
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Instagram Reels
For more tips and a step-by-step guide on starting a video podcast, check out our article: Video Podcast: How to Start a Podcast with Video in 5 Steps.
Vodcast FAQs
What Is the Purpose of a Vodcast?
Vodcasts are a step beyond podcasting. The purpose of a vodcast is to create exciting and/or entertaining video content for audiences to enjoy, usually to build an audience or a brand.
How Long Should a Vodcast Be?
Your vodcast should be as long as it needs to be, to be valuable—and no longer. A good range to shoot for is between 20-60 minutes.
But if you’re posting to social media, it’s better to break your episode up into digestible (2-5 minute) clips. You can do this at the tap of a button using Riverside's Magic Clips.
Are Vodcasts Live?
Vodcasts are not necessarily live. Most commonly, they’re videos of a podcast hosts’ recording sessions.
But some hosts like to live stream their podcasts and vodcasts—in which case, it’s helpful to use software like Riverside, which comes with live streaming capabilities.
With Riverside, you can live stream with up to 1000 audience members, but you can also choose to push your vodcast to YouTube, Facebook, and any custom RTMP platform. Try it for yourself and start vodcasting on Riverside!
What Makes a Good Vodcast?
A great vodcast is similar to a great podcast. Audiences are so drawn to podcasts because of their convenience, variety, and on-demand nature—and of course, because they provide valuable content.
Podcasts and vodcasts are excellent forms of content marketing. If you provide valuable content that your audience wants to return to repeatedly, they’ll build trust in you as an expert in your niche.
And because audiences are more likely to relate to and engage with video, it’ll be even easier to build a bond with your target audience—and stand out from the regular podcasting competition—with a vodcast.
