Which is better for my business’s needs?
As your business has grown, you’ve no doubt come to appreciate the value of content marketing. You’re writing blog posts, posting on social media, sending a newsletter, embarking on email campaigns.
But now you might be ready to incorporate content that integrates audio and visual elements. Two main types that fit the bill are podcasts and webinars.
What’s the difference and which one would work best for you? Read on to learn the unique advantages and limitations of both podcasts and webinars.
Podcasts and Webinars — what’s the difference?
The main difference between podcasts and webinars is that the former is recorded and then released, while the latter is typically live. But in the Venn diagram of the two, there’s a lot of overlap.
They both can be recorded and distributed using both audio and video. In the past, podcasts were generally limited to audio, but through YouTube, websites, and internal distribution avenues, video accompaniment to the audio track is becoming increasingly popular.
Even the ability to use slides, graphs, and diagrams, which used to be the purview of webinars, can be added to podcasts in post-production.
And webinars can be recorded and used as an, albeit lower quality, podcast episode.
However, the spontaneity of audience participation and the raw footage that comes from that type of unpredictability is generally better left to webinars.
For more control of the messaging and the end product, podcasts are the way to go.
Let’s take a deeper dive to compare the good, the bad, and the ugly of each medium.
Webinars
The good
Great for live audience interaction
This is probably the biggest real benefit webinars have over podcasts — if you’re into that sort of thing.
With audience Q&A and live interaction you have the benefit of connecting with your audience, a forum for your audience to give feedback and suggestions, and real time data on audience engagement, rather than relying solely on metrics.
Useful in Education
The format of having a presenter, their visual aids, and the ability for audience members to ask questions makes this a great option for classes and instruction.
You can include visual aids
A lot of people are visual learners, meaning they need to not only read about or listen to someone describe how something works — they need to see it demonstrated.
In webinars, it’s easy to cue up slides or supplemental videos. In the past, this might have been a disadvantage for podcasts. But as you’ll see, the future of corporate podcasting is changing by expanding to include video and visual aids in post-production.
The bad
You have a much, much smaller audience
Basically, it’s just whoever your company markets to and who also accepts the webinar invitation.
Of course, most businesses make their webinars available after the fact by posting it on their website or on YouTube. But then, they are essentially left with an unpolished podcast.
Which segues nicely to our next point.
There’s no post-production editing
No do-overs, no second takes, no scrubbing out technical difficulties — and A LOT more pressure on the presenter. You get one shot.
And humans go on tangents, put their foot in their mouth, have water go down the wrong pipe, etc. Add in the element of audience participation, and you could be left with something quite messy and maybe best left to its moment, rather than posted for others to endure watch at a later time.
So much prep
We’re not going to lie — a lot of work also goes into producing podcasts. But a lot of that work is in post-production.
Conversely, because webinars are live events, a lot of prep has to be done to make sure they’re well-attended and go off without a hitch. The pre-event promotion begins at least a month in advance, followed by the reminders (people are busy). Then there’s the platform to consider, location, lighting, equipment, yadda yadda.
And if any of these things go wrong, what happens to the event you’ve been promoting? We’ll give you one guess.
Podcasts
The Good
Podcasts are popular — and getting more so
People love podcasts because, unlike text or even video, podcasts can be consumed anywhere: while you’re doing yardwork, pumping iron, even driving. And the numbers reflect their popularity.
According to Statista, 82.7 million Americans listened to podcasts in 2021. Compare that to 46.1 million listeners in 2017, just four years before. They anticipate over 100 million listeners in 2024. Studies also show that of these users, 40% tune into at least one podcast monthly.
Needless to say, the audience for podcasts is on a rapid upward trend.
Evergreen content
Because you have absolute control of the final product, you can ensure that your corporate podcast episode content is relevant now… and will remain so.
This means that it becomes not only an ongoing resource that adds value to your audience’s lives, but it also becomes a passive website traffic generator. In short, it keeps working for you long after you’ve hit the “stop recording” button.
Additional outlets through podcast apps
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher — take your pick.
If you’re smart about descriptions and tags, listeners can discover your podcast easily on any platform. This Is especially helpful if you’ve created an outward-facing corporate podcast.
It gives your public an easier way to find your content. Once your listeners find you, they can download your show and listen when and where they like.
This puts your company’s name in their ears and keeps it on their minds.
Podcasts are pre-recorded
This means second (and tenth) takes and do-overs until you get it just right. And this means that the ambulance siren blaring past can be edited out.
This means complete control of the message and the final product.
So much less work
Especially if you hire a turnkey podcast production company!
You, of course, need to have a topic, an idea of who you’d like to invite on as guests, and some background knowledge about them and their work. After that, you can take your list of questions and start recording. Or if you’re a maverick, let the conversation unfold organically.
Most of the sorcery happens in post-production – from audio/video editing, content collateral, and distribution.
The Bad
Full disclosure: founding_media is a podcast production company, so our take may be slightly biased here. But we believe that for every “bad” thing about podcasting, there is an opportunity. Read on to see what we mean.
Podcasts are only audio
True, this used to be the case. And it’s true that most people listen to the audio-only version of podcasts.
But when producing a corporate podcast, or any other type, you are by no means limited to audio. We offer audio+video packages that allow you to publish on both traditional audio-only podcast platforms and with video on YouTube, your website, or through your company’s intranet.
This means that with podcasts, you have either option. With webinars, you’re really limited to video.
Podcasts aren’t a live event
We admit, with podcasts there isn’t typically the opportunity for live listener interaction. All of your listener engagement will have to come after the fact or through other avenues, like social media or comment threads.
But maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Live audience participation has one serious drawback – you can’t control what audience members say. This means they could seriously compromise the quality and message of your webinar.
In order to mitigate this risk — and make content that is on-brand and evergreen — it’s much more advantageous to host a planned, curated podcast. That way you control the message and won’t have to scrap the recording you’ve spent valuable company resources producing.
