How can B2b brands adapt to YouTube podcast dominance?
YouTube just announced it reached 1 billion monthly podcast users.
Hi, It’s George from Orama, a virtual podcast and video studio for brands.
I’ve been busy re-launching my Investment Management podcast; it’s a great way to test out how boring B2B topics can find their audience, and I pushed it to the limits by talking about pensions infrastructure; it turned out to be a very popular episode.
The whole show is also working (just passed 1,000 YouTube and email subscribers in the same week).
We’ve also revamped our clip production - sleeker and more animated.
I’ve got a lot to share about that, but it will be for another post.
Today, I want to talk about YouTube’s announcement: Drop the mic: Celebrating 1 billion monthly podcast users on YouTube
As a podcast producer, podcaster, and someone who's been involved in managing corporate YouTube channels for over a decade, I'll share a few thoughts on the announcements.
Analysis of the announcement
First, a bit of caution: over the years I’ve seen quite a few “1 Billion” milestones from YouTube. Even if I don’t doubt the facts, it’s great PR. It could have more to do with the fact that YouTube is eating the media world than that podcasts are growing on YouTube.
Either way, forward-looking B2B brands will find ways to take advantage of the opportunity while the industry is still solely focused on LinkedIn.
By the way, this announcement is not a surprise; it's in line with what I hear every day and what I observed a year ago at The Podcast Show:
Here are a few highlights:
The keyword is monthly.
➡️ It's not a one-off phenomenon; people tune in to YouTube for podcasts
YouTube is "the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the U.S."
➡️ It's a global phenomenon even if the stats are for the US; the podcasts I monitor (from the UK) reach a lot more people on YouTube than on audio platforms
YouTube says it has developed its "podcast product experience."
➡️ This is YouTube parlance to say they have figured out a way to hook podcast audiences better than other platforms (suggest to them the right stuff at the right time) . I see it on my podcast; the share of views from "suggested videos" is increasing, and people are watching/listening longer.
"Watchtime" (the time spent on YouTube) not views, is the key metric
➡️Podcasts are the perfect hack—instead of engineering MrBeast-style videos to keep them watching, you can do it with low production costs and engaging conversations.
How to adapt for brands
The nature of brand podcasts has evolved; here’s a very simplified timeline:
Audio recordings
We’re recording the video anyway, so we might as well post it
Video is important for discoverability of audio podcasts
Podcasts are video-first, but you can listen to them
Podcasts are YouTube channels that also work in video
The strategy has to evolve as well.
If you podcast for fun, you still do not need video. But if you podcast for a business, it needs to be a YouTube channel that people can also listen to.
And YouTube is not easy, but if you improve every episode and post consistently, you will find success.
The evolution of YouTube can show you where this is heading: It used to be enough to “Vlog” from a bedroom (these videos look a lot like the average Zoom recording of B2B podcasts), but now every wannabe YouTuber looks like a pro. You need to think of the video experience and adapt the production.
YouTube only mentions its superstar Creators, but the opportunity for B2B technical niche topics is huge because of the Watchtime factor. It takes a lot of skills to keep the audience watching entertainment. But if they’re interested in your B2B conversations, they will watch longer and your content will be bumped up.
The people who are interested in your technical topic are already on YouTube.
If you bring in the conversation on the platform—the YouTube Algorithm will help them find you! (Again, I see it on my investment management channel—I thought I'd make the 'brave' choice to have detailed conversations about the pension system 😴, even if they flopped; instead, they got thousands of views in a month.)
If you want to discuss your podcast/YouTube strategy or need help producing your brand podcast on YouTube, DMs are open.
My Investing & Investment Management channels
Investorama - Separating Investment Facts from Financial Fiction (YouTube)
Investology - Re-Think Investment Management (YouTube)
For B2B Brands, Marketers & Podcasters
Orama (my business): helps brands grow with podcasts & videos