Audio and Video Podcast Production – Let’s Talk

Let’s talk about Audio and Video Podcast Production

Our love of podcasting actually began in radio, with involvement in BBC local radio and independent local radio 25  years ago. Back then podcasting hadn’t been invented but we were involved in hundreds of hours of broadcasting across multiple radio stations in the UK. Be it interviewing someone in a glider over Hampshire to speaking with emergency services and covering the Farnborough Airshow, the variety was huge.

With this in mind, when the podcasting boom hit around ten years ago we were well placed to offered podcasting services. While this work is only a fraction of our work compared to video production, it is rewarding to return to a medium that we know well and have great experience in. We’d already been doing audio only work as a sideline to our main video production business, but podcasting gave us an opportunity to get back fully into audio production.

Today many of our podcasts are ‘white label’ for agencies. This is where an agency comes to us and asks us to produce a podcast for their client under their name. This is rewarding work as we get to work with some of the largest companies in the world. But in most cases this means, unlike most of our video work, we don’t get any credit.

Podcasting In 2025

When podcasting first began it was audio only, but today we have both audio and video podcast production being required. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and Media2u is uniquely placed to produce both.

Audio podcasts are best thought of as a traditional radio programme that can be listened to on the move or in the background. The ability for the listener to do another task while listening has always been the advantage of radio. It is not an all consuming product and the listener can engage while carrying out another task.

Video podcasts are best thought of as a television chat show. This may seen an old fashioned analogy, but you have hosts and you have guests. You are on camera and it is far harder to tightly edit video in the way it is audio. With audio, every ‘er’ or ‘um’ can be seamlessly edited out. Not so with video, unless you can cut to something else for the vision.

This changes the dynamic and video also demands that the presenters and guests need to be able to work on camera. Not everyone can do this and appear natural.

Is it a good idea?

The fact is, many companies want to do a podcast because they think it’s a good idea. They’ve heard or seen something they like and they want to replicate it. Many of these organisations will go on to produce their podcast, it will never find an audience and after a few months it will be abandoned as ‘it didn’t work’.

Many podcasts are destined to fail before they have even begun. There is no structure, no plan and no idea what is required to both find and engage the intended audience. In this cluttered multimedia age ‘broadcast and they will come’ no longer works. You are competing against thousands of other podcasts as well as other media. After an initial burst of enthusiasm, many podcasts become less regular as that enthusiasm wanes. Building an audience takes time, effort and know how. Some podcasts may get lucky but by definition, you only ever hear of the success stories.

The audience

Who is your audience? Who are you aiming at? Can you build a picture of them? Many podcast creators forget this part.

Who are these people? How will they find you? How do you meet their needs? You need to target your audience.

You might decide that your audience are 30 something professional woman doing business in the South of England. What do their days look like? How will they view or watch? A big play is being made on video podcasts at the moment and as attractive as they are, do a busy audience want something they can consume while out running or on the train instead? These are decisions you should take before you begin.

This blog post from Radio King gives a basic explanation of how a target audience is defined for radio stations. It’s not that different for a podcast and offers food for thought.

Once you have identified who your potential audience are you need to alert them to your existence. This could be via a marketing campaign, social media, trade magazines etc. You can have the best product in the world but if nobody knows you exist you may as well be broadcasting into the void! What media do these people already consume? How can you compete for a slice of their time?

Audio and Video Podcast Production is a long journey

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Podcasting requires you to be regular and persistent with your output. Over time you should see an upward curve as you build your audience. The more you build, the more word will spread. Listeners who come onboard a year into your podcast can go back and listen to the older ones. So while you may struggle for traction in the early days, people will discover the older podcasts once they have subscribed.

Growth will happen but you must play the long game. I am afraid the only instant hits you hear about in podcasting are hosted by celebrities or have massive marketing budgets. One of the biggest podcast players are Global Media and it’s no coincidence they also control a large part of ‘open space’ advertising in the UK. Simply put, they have the facility to promote the podcasts they produce to a huge audience.

How Media2u Can Help

Are you interested in audio and video podcast production? We offer a full podcasting consultancy and production service built on our 25 years experience of broadcast audio as well as our video production. We can create a broadcast quality studio setup in nearly any location and can also offer facilities to record video as well. This means we can come to your office and produce your podcast on-site. We are also offer remote facilities for guests who are not able to attend in person. Contact us to discuss how we can help you produce and launch your own podcast series.