In case you have decided to start a podcast of your own, there does raise a question as to where you should upload it. Many platforms are offering the option to upload podcasts like Spotify, iTunes, Google, and more. In this case, one wonders if YouTube itself is also a platform worthy of uploading podcasts.
Podcasts are mainly audio files that people record to allow audiences to listen to. YouTube, no doubt, is a platform, primarily for videos, so there is a debate whether or not one should upload an audio file on a platform for videos. But then again, one must consider the statistics of how many people cater to YouTube as their sole application for entertainment, information, and more. Since YouTube has a user-friendly interface and gets updated quickly, it provides a better chance of interaction with the audiences globally.
No doubt, YouTube is a site that is accessible to millions of audience, which is in easy access of all people around the globe. This enables one to give maximum coverage and attract maximum audiences.
Here are a few pros and cons of uploading podcasts on YouTube.
Pros Of YouTube
Content Protection
YouTube provides protection to your content, helping you to maintain your copyrights and terms of conditions. In case you worry people may steal and forward your work, they even keep the option of not allowing your work to be downloaded. Similarly, you accept their terms of the agreement, and they prevent your work from being plagiarized or stolen, giving a win situation for you.
Data statistics
This is definitely an important thing when you have just started working as a podcaster. Statistics helps you understand and view how many people saw your work in a certain amount of time. It also tells you the number of people who subscribed to your work and responded positively or negatively to the content you published. It helps you understand the number of audiences you have reached.
Comments
The option that YouTube gives that viewers can comment on the work you post will provide you with a better understanding of what are your strengths and weaknesses. It helps you understand what your audience requires from you. Similarly, you can read what people want from you, and you can podcast on demand.
User-friendliness
YouTube is one of the most user-friendly website providing easy access and viewing capability to all ages and people of all nations. With the fact that it upgrades itself, time to time is also a plus point.
Monetization
It’s hard to find sponsors when it comes to podcasts. YouTube allows you to have maximum sponsors and advertisements as long as there are views, and there is a chance of getting views.
Maximum audience
Since YouTube is an extensive and globally common application, you can tap into the lives of various, multiple, and many viewers allowing you to reach a vast and maximized audience. People tap into YouTube to enter a different number of topics and genres; hence the ac accessibility of your podcast is quite simple and easy to viewers.
Expansion
Certain countries do not have the option to listen to podcasts, or their firewalls are such that they don’t get the opportunity to. Many states don’t give access to podcast sites too. YouTube is one surefire way to reach and target these audiences and to develop the habit of listening to podcasts. This way, you can expand your audio in places where the concept of a mere podcast being downloaded is also scarce.
Cons Of YouTube
Control over your videos
In case you have put any copyrighted material in your podcast YouTube flags it with continent ID. This gives them control over your video and thus they can take down or even take the money you received from monetization. As long as you do not use any copyrighted material like music or even audio from TV and movies you will usually e fine.
Limited monetization
In case your product is not in compliance with their terms or standards, they will ban it anytime and do not like it if you monetize your product without giving them share as well. So be careful about that! YouTube makes sure it gets its shares and will also not like it if you only put partial clippers of your podcast on YouTube, giving the link of your site in the information box. This will definitely be a major downer.
Audience Disappointment
Every time a person will click onto your podcast expecting a video (as YouTube is a video platform), it will be a disappointment to them to see there is no video leading to a negative response. Almost like the boy who cried wolf, you too are crying wolf by posting audio on a video platform. Even if you do upload a fake video, chances are many people will get upset and leave without properly listening to your podcast. This will affect your likes as well as your retention stats.
Retention Stats
Then again, the extensive views you get might not really be what you think they are. Many people will see your podcast only to leave it a while later when they discover it’s a fake video, a podcast, and not what they wanted.
This means you aren’t precisely attracting a broad audience the way you thought you were. Noting that in your title or information below the video that it is an audio file will help users know what to expect and help with retention.
Platform Abuse
YouTube is a video-based platform giving an opportunity for videos and vlogging a chance to flourish. Similarly, YouTube invests and pays in videos almost a whopping 46% while podcasts make a mere 22% percent.
This is quite a challenge, and similarly talking ethically, the question does arise that should you be publishing audio files onto a platform meant for videos?
There is a lot to debate when considering publishing your podcast on a platform like YouTube. It has its pros, and it has its cons that need to be considered. If you already have a successfully growing podcast site and want to expand it more by uploading it on YouTube, that too can be considered. So keeping in mind both sides of this platform, you should decide whether YouTube is the platform for you or not. It all depends on your content and positioning yourself in terms of reach to your potential audience.