How to Use YouTube for Your Podcast
Have you ever searched for something on YouTube? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one! As of 2023 according to DemandSage, there are 2.70 billion monthly active users. And even to make that point even further, “YouTube is the second biggest search engine after Google.”
With that many people regularly using the platform and searching for answers it’s a great place for discoverability. Especially if you have a podcast!
As YouTube continues to roll out new changes for podcasting in 2024, now is the time to explore the platform to see if it’s a good fit for your show!
So, today I will be covering how to get started on YouTube, ways you can use YouTube for your podcast, and how to have your audio/video channels work together. Let’s dive in!
Getting Started
First thing first, if you are looking to utilize YouTube for your podcast you need to decide if it’s right for you. So, some things to consider to see if it’s right for you:
Benefits
Great for discoverability
Another platform to share your expertise and knowledge
Can monetize or continue promoting your monetizing efforts (more on that below)
More accessibility - can add closed captions or provide an option for people who prefer video
Cons
Time-consuming - it is another platform so make sure you have the time to manage it
Can also add ads that you don’t want
It is still a competitive platform (I mean there aren’t 2.70 billion users for no reason!)
Now, if you still think it’s right for you here is how you’ll set up your YouTube channel.
First, go to YouTube
Then in the upper right corner, you’ll go to “sign in”
If you already have an account with Google, you can log in with that. Or you can create a new account (for yourself or a business).
After you’ve signed up and signed in, you can set up your YouTube channel on your account. If you need additional support on how to set up your account, check this video from YouTube for a more detailed explanation.
But we aren’t done quite yet! You now will want to optimize your channel to fit your needs. If it’s just for your podcast or your business as a whole you’ll want to name it (SEO in mind), add your description (again SEO in mind) and branding to it including a good profile picture and channel banner.
How to Utilize YouTube
Now that we’ve set up your YouTube Channel, how can you utilize it for your podcast? There are a few different options -
If you do create videos, you can begin uploading them to your channel and list them under the “podcasts” playlist, which will then show up on your channel as a tab!
Again, if you haven’t already you will want to optimize the video titles, descriptions (including a call to action), and ad proper tags to help with search visibility.
2. Or if you don’t do video you can still use your audio on YouTube and you can now upload your RSS directly to the platform. This comes as YouTube is making big new moves in 2024 by removing Google Podcasts (April 2024) are moving over to YouTube Music!
Even more neat is that once you’ve uploaded your podcast through the RSS feed, it will automatically add your new episodes to YouTube just as Apple or Spotify would. The only difference is it will be a static image of the episode cover art.
Here is how you publish episodes from an RSS feed:
First, you’ll go to “create” in the top upper right corner of your channel and then select “new podcast”
From there you will either create a new podcast, set an existing playlist as a podcast (again, if you do videos you can select that), or submit the RSS feed. That’s the option we are picking!
After you’ve selected “submit RSS feed” YouTube will tell you how this works, and you’ll continue to enter the RSS feed (as shown below)
You’ll then verify ownership by adding the code that is sent to the email listed with your RSS feed.
Once verified you’ll be able to upload all your episodes, episodes up to a certain point, or only future episodes.
The best part is that YouTube does all of this, so once you’ve selected what episodes and how you want them to show up (I would start as private so that you can verify all the episodes uploaded properly before going live) then they will do the heavy lifting and turn them into the static image video!
Finally, once they are finished uploading and you’ve reviewed that everything is good to go, take them live and they are ready to go for your audience (and future audience)!
Shorts
Another option is maybe you aren’t ready to fully upload full episodes are videos onto your channel, consider uploading YouTube shorts. These are 60-second are fewer video snippets that can be a great marketing tool for your podcast.
Some ways you can utilize shorts -
upload highlights or video clips from an episode
create audiograms with audio clips from an episode
Your thoughts on the episodes in a 60-second recap
I would recommend keeping your descriptions short, optimizing your titles for searchability, and include a call to action but note that links are not currently clickable.
Connect with your audience
YouTube is also a great place to connect with your audience. Podcasting apps don’t give a ton of room to gather feedback and build relationships with your audience but on YouTube, you can respond to comments, go live to get real-time responses, and get likes (and dislikes) to help you understand your community better.
But remember don’t just leave it and go once uploaded. You need to interact and respond to your community to help build it up.
Ways to Use Both Together
We’ve created our YouTube channel and have an idea of how we are planning to use the channel for the podcast. But here are some ways that you can use your audio podcast and YouTube channel together!
Cross-Promotion with Your Podcast
After you’ve uploaded a new episode you can go to YouTube and promote it over there through shorts.
Mention in your audio episode call to action that you’ve now started uploading over to YouTube as well and to check it out.
Create shorter versions of the episodes and upload them to YouTube, for example, a 5-10 minute snippet that is full of value, and then point to the podcast or the podcast on YouTube.
Monetization Opportunities
You may already be monetizing your show so why not do it on your YouTube channel too? Here are 10 ways that YouTube suggests for monetizing your show.
However, just make sure you know YouTube rules around monetization and that you follow them (we wouldn’t want your account to get disabled or worse!) As they note, “You may include paid product placements, endorsements, sponsorships, or other content that requires disclosure to viewers in your videos. Let us know if you include these by selecting the paid promotion box in your video details.”
Conclusion
Whether you plan on hopping on the YouTube train or not in 2024, I hope these tips help you get an idea of how to set up your account and start giving you inspiration on how you can utilize your podcast and even how to use your podcast and YouTube together.
YouTube has endless possibilities for experimentation and for expanding your reach especially as they continue to roll out new features. So, don’t forget to play around and try new things!
Aleea
