Audiograms vs. Podcast Transcripts vs. Video Podcast Clips: Which Format Is More Engaging?

As podcasting has grown in popularity in the last few years, so has competition within the industry. That’s why creating a solid podcast brand and finding powerful ways to connect with your audience has never been more important. Especially when it comes to social media.

While experimenting with different formats can bring diversity to your social media strategy, not all content formats are created equal.  

In today’s post, we’ll help you choose which content format is best for your podcast marketing strategy.

We’ll analyze:

• What are podcast transcripts and when to use them
• Why you shouldn’t only create podcast transcripts
• Why short podcast videos are helping creators thrive on social media
• How to choose which format is best for your show

Let’s get rolling!

Podcast Transcripts: What They Are & How to Use Them

As the name suggests, a podcast transcript is a written version of your episode. You can use written versions of your show to:

• Repurpose episodes on social media
• Create blog content as part of your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy

But the most exciting use of transcripts has to do with video. Basically, you can take an episode highlight, transcribe it, combine it with that moment’s audio snippet, and create an audiogram.

Audiograms may be the most engaging content format for marketing an audio-only podcast.

Following TikTok’s footsteps, most social media platforms nowadays are favoring video content. Therefore, it’s likely that a sneak peek of your latest episode in the form of a high-quality video, will be more effective at garnering your audience's attention than a short transcript or a still image.

Thus, aside from using transcripts to boost your SEO or bring some text into your content mix, we highly recommend creating audiograms.

All in all, implementing audiograms can help you:

• Engage more existing and potential listeners.
• Boost your social media presence.
• Drive more traffic to your show.
• Repurpose your podcast’s content across marketing channels in a cost-effective way.
• Offer your audience enjoyable content beyond audio.

The Power of Video Podcasting

For a couple of years, some radio shows have been combining crystal-clear audio with the ability to see the host and guests in real-time. And some of the largest podcasts out there have adopted this format too.

In a nutshell, video podcasts (or vodcasts) are shows that go beyond audio and provide video as well. These shows’ social media marketing strategy usually involves taking clips from the episodes and distributing them across platforms. And it works.

Here’s why:

A Strong First Impression

According to a Microsoft study, nowadays, the average person’s attention span is as short as 8 seconds. Hence, you only have 8 seconds to get your potential listeners on the hook and encourage them to stop scrolling and engage. Videos showing human faces are especially good at that.

Short Videos Are Easy to Repurpose

Short videos can be implemented on most social media platforms, with equal success.

But don’t take our word for it. There are stats to back it up:

• Instagram Reels receive 22% more engagement than regular Instagram posts and Stories (Planthat, 2022)
• YouTube Shorts receive 15 billion views every day (Youtube, 2022)

Short Videos Are Easy to Produce

Sometimes, creating an engaging video for social media is as simple as:

1. Opening your video editor of choice
2. Selecting a highlight
3. Cutting out the rest of the video
4. Adjusting the image ratio so the video matches your target platform’s standards
5. Exporting your video

Short Videos vs. Transcripts vs. Podcast Audiograms: Which Format’s Best for You?

As you already know, the best way to attract listeners to your marketing channels is by creating appealing and shareable videos, whether clips from your vodcast or audiograms. Nonetheless, it’s worth diving a little deeper into what each format has to offer.

Why You Should Create Short Podcast Videos

Creating short videos from episode highlights is very simple for those already recording videos for their show.

If that’s your case, you should definitely make use of this format.

Short podcast clips:

• Result in high engagement rates
• Are very easy and cost-efficient to produce
• If leveraged correctly, can give potential listeners a memorable first impression of your show

Why You Should Create Podcast Audiograms

If you’re not a vodcast creator, audiograms are the way to go. Audiograms give podcasters with audio-only shows the ability to compete with video creators.

Audiograms offer:

• An inexpensive and scalable way to share your episode’s best moments
• Quick production cycles (especially if you’re using the right tools)
• The ability to turn audio-only podcasts into engaging videos
• On-screen transcriptions, which make your podcast more accessible

Should You Create Podcast Transcripts?

With so much focus on video, you may be wondering if transcribing your episodes is worth it at all. This may surprise you, but the answer is yes.

Transcribing your podcast episodes can help you:

• Rank on Google
• Become discoverable for people who don’t listen to podcasts
• Connect with disabled users, who may not consume audio content at all

This is especially the case if you add some extra value to the transcription, and format it as a blog post.

Key Takeaways

Ideally, every format would have a place in your marketing strategy. But it all depends on:

• How fast do you want to see results
• Which platforms matter the most to you
• Your podcast’s format
• Your podcast’s audience

For instance, if you’re looking to engage with a young audience fast, we recommend you focus on social media videos. But, if you’re looking to build your podcast into a B2B brand, and you’re interested in long-term results, you should definitely look into SEO-optimized transcripts too.

Engage Your Audience with Stunning Audiograms

Short videos are one of the most powerful formats out there. So, whether you’re recording a vodcast or sticking to audio, adding short videos to your strategy can be your key to social media success.

Audiotease lets you create professional audiograms and video transcripts straight from your browser. Its drag-and-drop intuitive editor doesn't require any design skills. Plus, Audiotease provides multiple export sizes to make sure that all your videos are well-optimized across marketing channels.

Stand out and attract new listeners with powerful audiograms. Start creating with Audiotease today, for free.