Hosting a podcast is a great way to position yourself as a knowledgeable expert in your industry.
Not long ago most people would have said "what's a podcast", but in 2019, according to Edison Research, 50% of all US homes are avid podcast listeners - that's over 60 million houses! This is great, BUT what happens if your core audience are part of the other 50%? If they don't listen to podcasts, how are they going to know what they're missing out on? How are you going to reach them and make an impact?
Whilst there are a lot of people not listening to podcasts, you can almost guarantee those people are on social media. So, the solution is simple, you can repurpose your podcast on social media to expand your reach. This allows you to connect with your audience on their preferred social platform through audio snippets, quote graphics, video content and much more.
Read on to find out how you can repurpose a podcast episode on social media.
What is podcast repurposing and why is it so effective?
When you repurpose your podcast content, you're taking a podcast episode and reworking it into something new that can be shared on different social media platforms in a variety of formats.
Repurposing your podcast breathes a new lease of life into your audio content and allows you to reach a much broader audience.
Some of the benefits of podcast repurposing include:
• Reaching a wider audience – by repurposing your podcast on social media, you’ll reach people who might not usually listen to podcasts. You're putting your message in front of them on all the popular social sites rather than waiting and hoping for them to search for your content (or not searching for it at all)
• Driving traffic to your website – by repurposing and sharing your content on social media, you can help boost your organic rankings in the search engine result pages. The more you link back to your web page from authority sites, and the more your content is shared on social media, the more traffic you'll hopefully drive to your site. Google and other search engines will take notice and may place you higher in search results. Whilst social media platforms are not authority sites as such, the more people who see your podcast, the more likely they will link to it on their website.
• Positioning yourself as an expert – by repurposing your podcast on social media, you will start to become known as an expert in your industry as more people will see you discussing the topic you want to be known for. So, the next time they need something related to your offering, who do you think they’re likely to contact?
The Edison Research Podcast Consumer Report 2019 tells us that we simply must repurpose our podcasts - not directly, but this message is there staring at us in the face based on the findings. The survey involved 1,500 Americans aged 12 and up and found that 70% of Americans knew what podcasts are, but 19% have never taken any action to actually listen to one.
So, what’s with the inactivity?
According to the Podcast Consumer Report, 75% of people reported that podcasts simply aren’t for them. However, just because they don’t like podcasts doesn’t mean they won’t love you, your content and your product/services. For more on becoming loved as a podcaster (by those who hate podcasts) read this article.
The great news is, 67% of people discover new podcasts on social media. So, the more repurposing on social media you do, the more people will discover your amazing content.
Let’s take a look at how you can repurpose a podcast on social media:
Create audiograms
Short and engaging video content does exceptionally well on social media. You can post videos on any platform apart from Pinterest. On Facebook and Instagram (don’t forget Stories), and on Instagram there is also IGTV.
Audiograms are audio files that have been converted into a video file. A short section of audio from your podcast episode is combined with an image so you can share it as a video.
To make your audiogram stand out, you need to pair it with an awesome visual design and add moving audio waves to make your audiogram come to life.
Audiograms are best when they are snappy. For Instagram and Facebook, they must be less than 60 seconds long. But it's advised to keep them between 30 and 60 seconds. For Instagram Stories (remember you'll need a vertical template) you should aim for 15 seconds or less.
The purpose of an audiogram is usually to convince people to listen to the full episode. So, you really need to pick an attention-grabbing snippet from your podcast to tease the listener.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a tech-savvy programmer to create your own audiograms. There are lots of handy tools and software that will convert your audio clip into an engaging audiogram.
You can use apps such as Wavve and Headliner – they are both free to use and you can find out exactly how to use these tools on episode 40 of the Content 10x podcast, where I include a handy video tutorial of each one. Many podcast hosts are also starting to add building an audiogram into their features.
Here's an example of an audiogram we created for that episode (For the blog post this appears in a horizontal format but for Instagram, the video would be square and for IGTV it would be in a vertical format):
Audiograms are a great way to pique your audience’s interest in your podcast.
Create short teaser videos
If you video record your podcast episode, this gives you lots more options when it comes to video content.
You may not be able to share the whole video recording on social, but you can edit it into short video teasers. Share these short clips of your video podcast on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
People love to get to know the 'real' person behind the podcast, so don't forget to make the most of your bloopers too!
Top Tip: Remember the video time limits for each social platform: Instagram videos can be up to 60 secs, Twitter caps videos at 140 seconds, LinkedIn allows users to post videos up to 10 minutes long while Facebook allows up to 240 minutes.
But just because some social channels offer longer video uploads, doesn’t mean you should! If you want people to actually watch your teaser videos, I recommend keeping them below 60 seconds long.
Video teasers are easy for viewers to digest, especially those who prefer to consume visual content. Remember, if you are producing a teaser for Instagram stories, make sure that it’s in vertical form. To find out how to turn a horizontal video into a vertical format, click here.
I recommend burning captions/subtitles onto your video content for social media. People often watch video on social media with no sound on, so subtitles make all the difference.
These short video teasers can be shared on any of the social platforms and it’s always best to share your repurposed content in as many places as possible, but it's important to respect the platform.
Create Quote visuals
Creating impactful visuals can be a quick and simple way to repurpose a podcast on social media. Quote images can be super bright and fun to capture attention on a visual heavy platform like Instagram.
However, it's not a good idea to just simply use the same visual over and over again. Each social platform requires different dimensions which affect how an image will appear in the feeds and previews etc.
You don't need to be a graphic designer, or hire one, why not start by using a site like Canva.
These are the optimum dimensions for images on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn:
- Instagram story dimensions: 1080px by 1920px
- Instagram square dimensions: 1080px by 1080px
- Facebook and LinkedIn image dimensions: 1200px by 630px
- Twitter image dimensions (max): 1024px by 512px
Here's an example we created for episode 36 of the podcast - Epic Podcast Repurposing:
If you have a guest on your podcast, it’s a good idea to pick out an important or inspirational quote made by your guest and turn it into an eye-catching visual. Ask your guest to share the content to their own social accounts reaching an even wider audience!
It doesn’t always have to be a quote…why not ask a question?
Questions are great for engagement on all social platforms. People love to interact and give their opinion if you ask them something clear and simple. Plus, if it’s a topic your audience wants to hear more about, they might just check out your podcast.
If you write an engaging post to go along with your quote visual, more people are likely to react and comment.
Create video trailers
Yes, your podcast is worthy of a video trailer, they aren’t only for the movies! Video trailers tend to be longer than teaser videos, around 3-4 minutes, making them perfect for social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, which allow (and even prefer) lengthier video content.
Video trailers give viewers more of an insight into what your podcast is about and spark their curiosity. It’s important to take the key points from your podcast and include them in the trailer.
You could choose 3 or 4 stand out clips and add them together. This audio can be accompanied by slides which highlight some of the main talking points and keep the visuals stimulating for the viewer. Make sure they look professional and people won’t be able to resist listening to the rest of the podcast.
Here’s an example of a video trailer we created for our client, Chris Ducker:
Create a video announcing your latest episode
You could also consider recording a separate trailer video where you talk to the camera about your podcast episode. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy video by any means. A short video where you talk about the topic of the episode and what listeners can expect to learn from it is all you need.
The purpose of this video is to create some buzz around the episode. It’s also a great way to add a personal touch to your social media feed and your audience may be more inclined to engage with your content since it is so personal.
Release your video on social media on the day your podcast launches to direct the viewer to listen in.
Here's one I recorded for episode 91 of the podcast:
Oh, and make sure to burn captions on your video trailers too as most people browsing social sites watch videos with the sound off!
Write engaging social copy
The written content that you include beneath or above a social post is incredibly important. A lot of people will scan your post and conclude whether or not they want to listen to your podcast episode. So, give them a reason to hit play!
Don’t forget to let readers know where they can find your podcast. And, make sure that what you’re writing is relevant to the content you’re sharing. So, if you’re posting a teaser clip from your latest podcast episode, let people know!
Writing engaging copy that speaks to your audience and evokes a sense of emotion is a great way to get people to listen to your podcast.
Now it’s time for a few platform-specific podcast repurposing tips!
Instagram is a marketing powerhouse and is the perfect place to share repurposed visual content from your podcast. With 500 million people using Instagram Stories every day and videos increasing by 80% year-on-year, repurposing content on Instagram is a must if you know you have an audience there.
Furthermore, the Podcast Consumer Report found that 65% of podcast listeners use a smartphone or tablet. Instagram is built for small-screen devices, so it's the ideal way to market your podcast to the largest possible audience on the small screen.
From images to audio and short videos, Instagram gives you the flexibility to repurpose the same content into different formats.
You can engage with your audience on Instagram Stories about your podcast episode and even give them some exclusive behind the scenes content that they won’t find anywhere else. You can also run polls, ask questions and come up with new, creative ways to repurpose your podcast and encourage your audience to engage with your content.
Keep in mind that when it comes to posting repurposed audiograms and videos on the platform, you cannot add a clickable link to an Instagram post. So, remember to include the URL to your blog post on the image as well as in the copy and maybe consider adding a link in your bio.
Another great thing about repurposing your podcast onto Instagram is you can take full advantage of hashtags!
Hashtags are a great way to get found on Instagram and if you follow some simple rules when adding them to your posts they will expand your reach and increase your visibility.
You can find out the dos and don'ts of using hashtags on Instagram here.
It seems like everyone is on Facebook. It currently has around 1.49 billion daily active users with six new profiles being created every second.
So, how do you stand-out on such an over-saturated platform? And, how can you compete for attention over all those dramatic status updates, cute kitten videos and memes
The answer is simple – Facebook Live!
Facebook has announced that Facebook Live videos receive 10 times more engagement than regular videos on a newsfeed. It’s clear that people love to watch live videos, so why not repurpose your podcast episode into a Facebook live video?
To do this, all you have to do is either record your podcast episode as a live video (and later repurposing the audio into a podcast) or use your podcast script as a guideline for talking points throughout your live video.
Another way to leverage Facebook Live is to follow up on the release of your podcast with a live Q&A session. This gives listeners a chance to catch you on a different medium and allows them to continue the discussion, ask questions and learn even more about issues or points you raised in your original podcast episode.
You can also repurpose your Facebook live videos into many different formats. To find out more, have a listen to episode 7 of the podcast, where I reveal 4 Clever Ways to Repurpose Your Facebook Live Videos.
Twitter is home to over 261 million users. With so many people tweeting every day, it can be hard to think of ways to make your content stand out.
On top of that, podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media, so you want to make sure you're producing great content, consistently that's going to make an impact on the platform.
The teaser videos, audiograms and quote visuals mentioned earlier in this post are all perfect for Twitter too! There's a character limit to your tweets though, but you can let your repurposed content do the talking with a short sharp introduction and a link to your podcast page.
Plus, there are some fun platform specific, podcast repurposing techniques.
One such technique is repurposing your podcast episode into a fun and engaging Twitter Chat. A Twitter Chat is when a group of people discuss one topic by using a designated hashtag. These chats need to be scheduled and tend to last around an hour. You’ll obviously need to let your audience know when the chat is taking place and what the designated hashtag is.
If you do these chats weekly around the time when your podcast is released, your audience will grow to look forward to these chats. It’s the perfect way to share your knowledge from the podcast and interact with your audience in real-time.
Twitter Chats are great because you build an engaged community and if you remain consistent with your weekly chats related to your podcast, it won’t be long before you establish yourself as a visible leader in your industry.
Twitter, in general, is a great place to establish your personality and interact with your audience or potential clients.
There is also the opportunity to post multiple tweets in one day, or even one hour! On a lot of other social platforms, you will want to restrict the amount of times you post as it can be off putting to people (we all know that one person who posts to Instagram 5 times a day!).
You can tweet quotes, anecdotes or points made in your podcast quickly and easily. You can ask questions and start debates, run polls and tag your guests or people who you think might enjoy a particular episode. This is a great thing to do in the run-up to your podcast going live, it’s definitely going to stir-up some excitement and increase your engagement!
A lot of people tend to forget about LinkedIn when repurposing their content and sharing their podcast on social media. However, that’s where most of your customers and influential industry experts reside!
In fact, two professionals join LinkedIn every single second. That’s a lot of potential professional ears that could be listening to your podcast!
On top of that, podcast listeners tend to lend themselves to more of a professional lifestyle. They are 45% more likely to have a college degree and 68% more likely to be postgraduates. Essentially, podcast lovers will be hanging out on LinkedIn.
Uploading videos on LinkedIn has proved to be incredibly popular. Videos on LinkedIn always tend to have a wide reach and high engagement. So, you definitely don’t want to be ignoring LinkedIn!
Just remember, you are marketing to a different, more professional audience so try to market the podcast as an educational tool.
That's not to say your post has to be boring! It just means the copy you share along with the post should appeal to the more professional audience. Maybe there's a slightly different angle you could promote, or you should remove the 17 emojis you included when you posted to Instagram?
It's always important to consider who will be consuming your content and the best way to make listening to your podcast seem like a valuable use of their time.
Conclusion
I know repurposing a podcast on social media can sound like a lot of work but don't let it overwhelm you. To begin with, keep it fairly straightforward by repurposing your podcast in a couple of different ways and sharing it across social media. Remember, consistency is key and you should aim to repurpose every single podcast you do. Yes, it does require extra work but it really does go a long way, getting more eyes and ears on your content!
Hopefully, this article has inspired you to start repurposing your podcast. If it all sounds like too much work that you don't have time for, let us take care of it for you! Repurposing podcasts is our most popular service so you would most certainly be in good hands!