Speaker 0 00:00:06 Hey there and welcome back to the audience podcast. I'm your host this week, Craig Hewitt from Costos, along with Matt, Matt. How's it going? Hey, Craig. Good to hear you. Good to catch up. It's been a few weeks since we've been on the pod together, but uh, yeah, we got some, some fun stuff to chat about this week.
Speaker 1 00:00:21 Podcasting live streaming video. What else extends the success of a typical audio podcast? So we're gonna, we're gonna talk about all that stuff today. We've been doing a lot more of it. I know you've been on more podcasts doing live streaming and video lately.
Speaker 0 00:00:34 You know, I can't think of a podcast I've been on shamefully other than this one that is not live streamed or we're recording video. So I guess, you know, Matt, we should say like a plug to our friends at squad cast, uh, the tool we use for recording these interviews, they're going to be rolling out video recording capability next week. So by the time this episode goes live, squad cast will have video capabilities. And I feel quite certain that we'll start recording video at that point. Maybe that's not the best place to start, but it's an interesting place to start because I think one of the reasons we haven't done video open to this point is the tool we really like for recording our episodes. Hasn't supported video and it's so important to record really good sounding audio for the kind of conventional podcast that we don't want to sacrifice that by using a tool like zoom to record the audio podcast. Is that a fair, fair statement?
Speaker 1 00:01:26 I mean, I remember back in the day before I started here, I would duct tape zoom together with other audio recording devices. Or I would ask the, my guests to record audio independent of the zoom and, you know, at one point using a third service and it was like, let's all join in on zoom and then mute that audio and then just use the audio in another source, but definitely advantageous to add the video layer there because the obvious win is you're going to upload it to YouTube, right? So a lot of people just look at that on paper and they say, well, of course it's a course, that's a win. I'm going to put my YouTube channel there and that'll grow. But listeners and your audience are impacted in different ways. So there's people who love listening to podcasts. There's people who love watching videos, people who hate watching video, you know, but it's, it's your, it's an opportunity to serve your audience and not just looked at it as two crude marketing channels, but you're giving options to people. And hopefully if the scheduling gods work out the episode that comes out after this one or shortly after this one will be with Ross brand and he works for stream yard. So he runs their podcasts and their stream over at stream yard, a tool that we use for streaming through our Facebook group. So it's also going to be great to, to hear sort of the live stream connection, not just a recorded video, but the whole live stream thing, which is a totally different experience for listeners and audience members.
Speaker 0 00:02:48 Yeah. So stream yard is the tool that we use. The few podcasts I've been on lately that have been live-streamed have all been on stream here. I think it's pretty much the go-to because it's so convenient. It's just a couple clicks of a button. You have to kind of authenticate into Facebook and LinkedIn and YouTube, all these places and it, and it pushes out to all those destinations, you know, real time or close to real time, just from one interface. And I think that's a nice thing. Cause you talked to folks, you know, before using stream yarn, they would say the same thing about, you know, duct tape, zoom together with Facebook and then some other way to get on LinkedIn and YouTube and all this stuff. And so suddenly like stream yard makes it really easy. You know, Matt, I have a question for you cause I know you go live on our YouTube channel from time to time from a, like a promotion and a marketing perspective. I know one of the real benefits of live video or live podcasting or live streaming is the, the ability for people to interact with you during the recording. Right? So it would be like someone being in chat right now and asking us a question or clarifying something that we're saying, how do you encourage folks to get in there and kind of participate in your live stream so that they, and you, and the whole audience kind of takes advantage of that, that real-time aspect.
Speaker 1 00:04:00 So in the early days I used to just go live right? And do it live like the famous meme on the internet. That was the, the act of just getting comfortable, being a live streamer and just letting people know, Hey, I'm live, come ask me any questions that you have. I think that nowadays I'm trying to get a little bit smarter about it and using two sort of tactics here would be one, if you're a YouTuber and you're using, let's say YouTube live stream, because I don't think Facebook provides the time of days and the days of the week that people are most watching your shows like YouTube does. So now I'm getting a little bit more precise in saying, okay, let's say for instance, our stats, most people are watching our YouTube channel around noon on Tuesday. I think Tuesday and Thursdays are like our hottest days around the noon-ish time.
Speaker 1 00:04:50 So I'm getting a lot more precise. Like I said, too, when I'm going to go live, it's going to be scheduled and it's going to be around those times. Let's obviously make the biggest impact that we can to make sure that people are there to engage with us. And second, as I just alluded to is scheduling is so important and it's something I still struggle with because we're still like I'm still like working out the kinks of the YouTube stuff here and the Facebook live stream stuff here. So scheduling out ahead of time is one aspect of that and creating a great looking thumbnail again, scheduling it and giving it a chance, like so many things that we talk about giving it a chance to be promoted in a, you know, a week out or two weeks out. We're giving people a chance to say, okay, this is when it's going to happen. Nice looking thumbnail. And then we'll go live at such and such a time. So we're encouraging people to kind of register. And I made a post today in one of our, one of the groups that I'm in, like the webinar is dead long, live the webinar. This is sort of like, this is that same concept. These days like live streaming is just webinars to me these days without registration, without registration. Right. But letting people know that timestamp it, this is when we're going go live, you know? Yeah. And I think
Speaker 0 00:05:58 That, you know, one thing as you're talking through this that it makes me feel, or would make me feel is, is, is kind of like responsible for that time. Like, you've put it out there, Hey, I'm going live at noon on Tuesday. If you don't go live at noon on Tuesday, people are gonna say, what is going on? Like, do you not care? Is this not important to you? If that's the case, it's not important to me either. And I'm going to kind of not pay as much attention to things you say in the future. So I think that, you know, we talk about that a lot with the podcast that like this podcast goes out every Thursday morning, always. Right. And, and, and we've said that. And so like us saying that keeps us honest and kind of responsible for doing that. And I would imagine the same with saying upfront, especially more than a couple of days, like, Hey, next Tuesday, this is going to happen. You gotta make it happen then.
Speaker 1 00:06:42 Yeah, no, it was funny. I'm looking at our calendar right now. Our content calendar for audience and December is pretty booked up. And I did this intentionally because we've been talking about it for a while. I was like, I want to increase the amount of content that goes out on this pot or the more podcasts on this podcast channel. But live streaming is a great way, you know, cause if you're a creator listening to this, now you're like, Oh my God, I'm already like booked up with my podcast. How am I going to like work in live streaming to this whole, this whole affair? Well, number one, you can kill two birds with one stone. You can always turn your live stream into a podcast or double it up, right. Just your podcast is a live stream and you're just republishing it there. But I also feel like live streaming. The expectation is a little bit more raw or unfiltered. So what I'm going to start working in are more live streams without the worry of sketching out the shows like we do now or editing it through Castle's productions like we do. Now, it can just be another piece of content that is a little bit looser to, to create.
Speaker 0 00:07:42 I would guess in my mind that that impacts the type of person that you have on a live stream, or maybe what you talk about on a live stream versus a conventional podcast. If it's more ambitious guests from your perspective like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I got this person on. You might save that for a conventional podcast. But somebody that you know is more kind of at your level, I'll say maybe it would be better suited for a live stream. And maybe like what you're talking about too, would influence that decision of whether you make it a live stream or a podcast.
Speaker 1 00:08:12 Yeah. So at the time that people are listening to this a week in the past, I would have live streamed with Sebastian Rusk. And he's a gentleman that I found on YouTube who has just released a new book about podcasting. And he has a fantastic YouTube channel. He shows people how to do podcasting and whatnot. Uh, but he is somebody who he has great. And I don't want to make this sound like you have to have great equipment, but I am of the mindset these days of look, you have to show up to a podcast and you have to show up to a live stream. So I'm looking at somebody like him saying, well, he's got great equipment. He knows how to handle himself on video. He has a YouTube channel. So like he knows what it's, what it's like. And obviously he knows podcasting.
Speaker 1 00:08:54 So that's the minimum that you have to be on this show. Um, but he's somebody who can show up to a live stream. And I, I don't have to teach the technology. I don't have to worry if somebody can or cannot perform on video. And I am getting a little bit more intentional because obviously the audience of audience is the most important asset here. And I want to make sure that the people who are going to show up are ready to deliver to the people, listening to this. It's only fair. So to answer your question, it's like, yeah, we can have people on the audio podcast that are a little timid to be on video and that's perfectly fine. So long as they're hitting the content marks that we need for audio, but video. Yeah. You're, you're going to have to show up a little bit different for the live streams
Speaker 0 00:09:32 Stuff. Yeah. It's interesting to think about the pressure. I think honestly, that a lot of us are under on a daily basis now to be on camera. Right. Even just, if you're not podcasting, even just zoom meetings that all of us are in all day, it seems like, and the expectation is to have video on for most of them. Right. I mean, I like we're on a lot internally we have calls with customers and prospective customers and almost all of them want to have video. And frankly, like it's exhausting sometimes to have to be, you know, kind of on all the time. And I think that, I think it's just something that we're all getting used to is being on camera because may think about like the percentage of like the national or international audience that is ever videoed themselves speaking. Right. It's minuscule. And now like all the sudden we're asking almost everyone to do it. And now we're talking about doing it real time, which is even scarier. I think maybe that's something to talk about is like the downside of, or the risk maybe of, of live streaming is there are no take backs, there's no editing, there's no redos. Does that affect like how you prepare for something, how you interview somebody, how you craft that content. Like when you're going to go live with somebody or live stream at somebody, is your mindset different there versus somewhere else? Like an edited podcast.
Speaker 1 00:10:53 Two interesting things come to mind first is I originally purchased a, a teleprompter, which is a big piece of glass mirrors to my iPad. And I'm using that now or attempting to use that now for some of the video work that I do at youtube.com/ <inaudible>. And you'll be happy to know Craig, as my boss, that I have sunk 16 hours into an eight minute video,
Speaker 0 00:11:19 It'd be the best eight minute video ever. Right.
Speaker 1 00:11:22 It's because I had to learn, I have done everything unscripted sort of just off the cuff, not off the cuff because I know the material and I do outline the material and it's not just a one-take I'm done, but it has never been via a transcript that I've had to write out first. So by the time you're hearing this episode, there'll be a video, the seven tips to promoting your podcast, which you can find on our YouTube channel. So I audibly recorded the episode first using D script. So I sorta just off the cuff, went through all the, dumped it out of my head and built my script. And then I had to break that down into a script. And then suddenly I was thrust to then reading it on my screen. And it was very, very difficult for me to read words that have always been so just much more performative with.
Speaker 1 00:12:10 And I made a tweet. I was like, anybody who ever told me to buy a teleprompter has never sold the car before, because there's a moment in sales or performing where you have to know what you're talking about. And it has to be methodically spoken, but you can do it sound good and not worry about a script. And, um, I feel like I've learned how to do teleprompting and transcripts and scripting. Now I will get better over time. So that was just a long way of getting to live. Streaming is a performance because you're going to do it without this script in front of you, which leads me to my second thing is the types of creators that I watch and ones that I actually hold to high high degree of regard in this space are popular video game streamers, because not only do they have to play a game and be really good, they are also performing to be entertaining, right?
Speaker 1 00:13:01 Like anybody can play a video game in live streaming, but to also be good at that video game, you have to be good. Second. You have to be entertaining for people that can like, who wants to watch to somebody playing a game. Who's just really good, but not saying anything that you then you have to perform, but then there's that third aspect of you also have to interact with chat because that's the only means to connect with somebody. So when I'm doing a live stream, not only do I have my guests, my livestream, I have to watch Facebook. I have to watch YouTube chat. I mean, sure. It's something like a stream yard makes it easier for me to see all this stuff, but you have many pieces in front of you. You're chatting, you're taking questions. You're giving that to the guests. The guests is responding. You're back over here in the chat room, right? So video gamers streamers are doing that. Like at 10 X gaming chatting entertaining. It's a, it's a skill. I don't care what anybody says. You have to be good to be really good in that space. And it's something to watch just to observe as an artist or a creator it's it's worth your time.
Speaker 0 00:13:58 I think there definitely is a continuum of difficulty and content creation. So like audio, video, content creation, right? In a podcast like this with a co-host or when you're interviewing someone that primarily is just audio is the easiest, right? Cause one it's not real time. So you can edit it. Two you've prepared in three, there is another person to talk to the bit of video work and kind of solo audio work I've done for our YouTube channel. And for this podcast is incredibly hard for me. And I've been doing this a while, but the thought of just turning the mic on and speaking for 10 or 15 minutes, much less making, you know, an eight minute video by yourself is incredibly hard for me. And so just like, you know, fair warning, I guess, for people who are thinking about doing that, it's hard. And it sounds like from what you're saying, that like the live streaming and the interactions and all these things that you're considering yeah. The content and the entertainment and the interaction just makes it even more difficult that maybe don't, you know, don't try this at home until you're really ready, right?
Speaker 1 00:15:04 Yeah. Yeah. I mean, definitely, you know, getting all your ducks in a row before that, but you know, a benefit too is there's, there's nothing wrong with starting fumbling nuts, not looking the best on, you know, not having the best lighting setup or camera setup or whatever, as long as you're, you're, you're willing to, you know, you have to improve it. Maybe you're working to that goal, you're working to improve, et cetera, et cetera. A huge benefit though, especially with something like a stream yard is you can be in two major or many major platforms at once, but two primarily YouTube and Facebook at the same time. Simulcasting right. So huge benefit. Right. And they bring the chat rooms together. So it is a fantastic tool and an opportunity to produce it. There.
Speaker 0 00:15:44 You've mentioned gear and kind of set up a couple of times for folks who are like, I totally can do this. I'm ready. I'm ready to jump in. Like from a gear perspective, what is on your short list of things that you need to kind of get above that bar of acceptable in terms of quality and kind of how, how you look and how things are perceived by your audience?
Speaker 1 00:16:05 Yeah. So, I mean, on our YouTube channel, again, I just did a podcast equipment guide and that'll be all the audio side of the house, but I also mentioned lights or lighting in that, in that guide as well for video, the number one thing to make a good video is good. Audio start with that. Right? So in as long as you have great audio, people still tune into the video, but if you really want to up your game without spending a whole ton of money at this, a great place to start is to get a USB web camera and don't put it on top of your, your laptop or your computer, get a little tripod, affordable tripod and set it off of your desk because what happens is number one, you can get a better angle with a tripod. You can position it, you know, down and looking down at you or on the side of you or something like that, which makes all the difference in the world.
Speaker 1 00:16:53 And generally a USB web camera is going to be better than even your max built-in web camera. Cause they're still terrible. Believe it or not. The major thing that it does is it stops. A lot of people will like me. Like when I'm talking, I'm animated, I'm hitting my desk a lot or moving my desk or moving around. And it doesn't shake because it's detached from, from your, from your computer and from your desk, which sounds minor. But it goes a long way. And just like how people perceive the video and it's not, you know, jumbly and stuff like that. If you really want to step it up, like right now, Craig, I have a cam link 4k adapter, and that plugs into a DSLR camera. There's many thousands of dollars invested in what you're looking at right now. I'm not saying people have to go to this degree, but you can get a good use DSLR camera, a mirrorless camera more.
Speaker 1 00:17:42 So if you search for a camera that has a clean 4k output, this is getting into the weeds here. But if you search for something with a queen 4k output, it takes all the stuff that's on your camera's screen. Like, you know what settings you're in the autofocus square, all that stuff. And you can pipe it through that cam link 4k adapter, which is about a hundred dollars. And then most platforms these days are going to support that connection. And that'll make you sound, that'll make you look really good. But even before the camera lighting, right, a good light facing yourself, a natural light through a window. So I would say invest in good audio first good lighting next. And then the camera. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:18:18 And in my much more limited experience that that's absolutely the, the cases you'll have good. I have good audio already. I've gotten good light recently. And it makes all the difference. You know, the background of like what's behind you when you're filming is important too. So, you know, as you're able to kind of orient your desk or be in a cool looking space where there's interesting looking stuff behind you, that makes a lot of difference too. I think that's not gear, but that's just kind of a settings consideration that you might want to think about before you get started. And yeah, I use a webcam. I have an external webcam. It is on top of my computer, but I typically stand when I do video too. So it's right at eye level. So I don't bang the desk.
Speaker 1 00:18:57 Gotcha. When we're not on the video and that does so you can't see it. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. What about all these little micro well called micro video platforms? So I know Twitter just came out with fleets. We've just had, we've had Instagram stories for a while. Of course, Facebook and Instagram. I mean, it's, it's the same thing at this point, but what are your thoughts on, on producing video there? Have you spent any time, you know, analyzing this stuff or know anyone else in our space that's successful with that stuff? Yeah,
Speaker 0 00:19:29 Absolutely. Absolutely. I think this goes to put your content where your audience already is. It's kind of like we say with like, where should you distribute your podcast? You should distribute your podcast where people listen to other podcasts for marketing your show and kind of getting, I'll say, multimedia out to your audience is go where they already are. And I think depending on your audience, that is a different platform in almost every, in almost every scenario. Right? So if you're a really techie audience, maybe that's Twitter, if you're, you know, a food blogger at that might be Instagram or Pinterest, if you are kind of a lifestyle person, maybe that's Instagram stories. I don't know who is Tik TOK. Uh, I, it, Sam too, I don't think toxo, like, I don't know what kind of persona really kind of aligns well there, but I think generally like, you know, where your, your audience hangs out. And I think we try to create content for where our target audience hangs out. And I think that's the, that's the lesson or the kind of guiding light that folks should, should try to, to abide by.
Speaker 1 00:20:29 I know LinkedIn has a live streaming platform too now, so I'm just waiting for LinkedIn to have like LinkedIn stories, which I'm sure it will be just around the corner
Speaker 0 00:20:39 And a bucket of fun. Right? I mean, who wants to watch me work for two minutes? Yeah, no one, I mean, I think I it's right. All these platforms are running the same playbook, right? They're all giving the people on the platform, different ways to consume content in different ways to engage with their audience. Long form, short form, text memes and pictures, video. It's just a little of everything so that you can create the content that your audience really likes. And I think that's a really good lesson for us also to kind of take to heart, right. Is like give the people what they want
Speaker 1 00:21:12 And look at at the end of the day, like all of this stuff live streaming video on demand, which is, you know, recorded video, sending it up to YouTube, Facebook, et cetera, fleets, Instagram stories. You know, Greg, obviously I talked a lot of people every day. That's I want more downloads. I want to grow my podcasts. I want to grow my audience. It doesn't end at just creating the podcast in the video. That would be going up later today to watch in the future. It's if you only have time, you know, if you came to me and you said, Hey, I'm a Castle's customer. I'm going to put out an episode every week and this, you know, it's going to be a stretch for me. It's going to be a pretty big investment to get an every week, put out an episode, I'd say, cut your strategy in half, do two episodes a month and spend the other two weeks creating that supportive content.
Speaker 1 00:21:58 Whether it's like clips for YouTube clips for Instagram, live streaming, talking about your podcast episode, you know, fleeting talking about who your guests was and just promoting the heck out of your podcast. The podcast, I, I feel audio podcasts will still cement the relationship with the listener, with your, with your audience, with your brand. And also it's you own that content. You know, when you're hosting a podcast here at Castillo's that audio file, that's yours, that's your content, the stories, the fleets, the live streams, that's all on YouTube and Facebooks and Instagrams platforms. You're not getting that back. In fact, they disappear, you know, some of these things, they disappear. So make the best content. You can, 50% of the time and turn it into a podcast and own it, you know, on dose. And then the other 50% of the time promote it, create that supportive content, do that IgE stream or whatever, and get people to tune in and secure them as a, as a long-term audience listener.
Speaker 0 00:22:54 And I know we're going to be talking about kind of, we're coming up on the one year anniversary of this podcast. And I can tell you for certain, that a lot has changed in the promotion department of this show. And I bet when we go back and look at the audience like metrics, we will see that correlate pretty heavily with, you know, when we were just creating content quote, we had a certain amount of listenership. And once we started promoting it more and engaging more around the podcast, that changed. So it'll be interesting to chat to that. On the next episode, I have a bunch of
Speaker 1 00:23:27 Clips that I pulled from that too. You might be interesting to hear what you said.
Speaker 0 00:23:30 No. Yeah. Look forward to it.
Speaker 1 00:23:35 All right. So I think that wraps up everything that we have to say today about live streaming and funneling it all back to podcasting. If you ever have any questions about starting your podcast, shoot me an email,
[email protected] check out our podcast greater. So if you're new to podcasting and you want to grab some resources, et cetera, et cetera, go to castles.com/podcast greater, and you can sign up for our private podcast. She teaches you all about how to, how to start a podcast with our podcasting blueprint. We'll see you in the next episode.
