Sure, YouTube is a video platform, and is thus primarily centered on visible content material. Nevertheless it’s additionally seeing drastic development in podcast listening, as extra podcasters look to host video variations of their episodes within the app.
At the moment, YouTube has introduced that podcasts now see over a billion month-to-month lively viewers within the app each month, which is a large quantity of engagement for a primarily audio format.
YouTube’s audio solely listening expertise (for Premium subscribers), mixed with the rising variety of movie star–led podcasts, which embody partaking video components, have seen increasingly folks turning to the platform for the most recent pod content material, and have helped drive an entire new engagement phase within the app.
As defined by YouTube:
“Podcasts with video are greater than only a pattern, they meet audiences the place they’re: on YouTube. We’ve particularly developed our podcast product expertise to make it simpler for followers to search out podcasts they love, uncover new ones, and watch (or pay attention) wherever they need. We’ve additionally added increasingly podcasters into our income sharing program, the YouTube Associate Program.”
That, YouTube says, has now helped to make its platform the most often used service for listening to podcasts within the U.S.
“Our distinctive search and suggestions assist folks uncover their subsequent favourite podcast. Podcasts on YouTube and YouTube Music are additionally in all places our customers are, even TVs. Final 12 months, viewers watched over 400M hours of podcasts month-to-month on lounge units.”
It does appear considerably counter intuitive, that YouTube, the main video platform, can be driving such important audio engagement. However once more, with many celebrities and creators leaning into podcasts as a secondary connection stream, together with many YouTube stars, the format does align with the platform’s broader posting strategy.
Which may additionally open up extra alternatives for advertisers.
You’ll be able to place advertisements in YouTube podcasts through Google Advertisements, whilst you may additionally look to associate with related creators for product endorsements and reside reads.
Given the attain potential, which may be price contemplating, and there’s a spread of choices for tapping into podcast content material, and connecting with that viewers.
Positively, a billion viewers/listeners is worthy of notice, and could possibly be one other consideration in your broader outreach.