Content Marketers — Put Down The Video Camera. Here Are My Top 10 Reasons Audio Blows Away Video

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If I see another video of an accountant waxing eloquently about the benefits of a Roth IRA in front of a green screened bookcase, I will slit my wrists with my cellphone. If you work in the professional services and use video to share “thought leadership” please do us all a favor and stop. Video should be a lot more show than tell. And if what you’re saying is not visually interesting then use text or audio to deliver your message.

I know that sometimes video goes viral and I know that audio rarely goes viral. (Unless you’re Alec Baldwin berating your daughter). Well here’s another reality check — B2B videos almost never go viral (unless you’re Gary Vaynerchuk). And static videos of you droning on about a dry business topic never ever goes viral. So stop it. Please.

But “YouTube is the second largest search engine,” so you’d be a fool not to distribute your content there, right? I’m not saying not to post on YouTube, I’m saying to stop posting videos featuring you talking. You’d be better served if you used a good audio clip as a soundtrack and put visually interesting elements around that and post that on YouTube rather than putting your phone on a tripod and trying to say something smart in front of it.

I’m biased I’m in the audio business. I admit it. But I’ve heard a lot more authentic and powerful stories in my studio than I’ve seen good business videos. I’ve seen with my own eyes, people tense up when a video camera is pointed at them. When you are uncomfortable and self-conscious it is difficult to share your story. Not everyone can do video well, leave it to the professional actors.

Here are my Top Ten reasons you should use audio as the engine to drive your content marketing strategy instead of video.

1. It’s easier and more affordable to produce good audio than good video. Audio is more affordable and simpler to execute. Video has more moving parts and requires more resources if you want to do it right.
2. Everyone looks good on radio. The sound of your voice conveys your true personality, your passion and your intelligence more effectively. Most people look awkward on video because they aren’t photogenic.
3. Audio is comfortable — authentic conversations organically happen naturally. Within minutes people forget they are being recorded on audio and loosen up which creates “real” moments and powerful thought leadership.
4. Audio is fun — video is stressful. A lot of people get self-conscious on video so they can’t deliver their best thought leadership.
5. Audio produces more usable, re-purposable content per minute than video will because people relax and share stories more easily.
6. Audio is the most cost effective engine for content marketing because the content you capture can easily be re-purposed into blog posts, tweets, articles, white papers and video.
7. You can listen to audio when you commute, exercise, walk the dog and work. Video requires your undivided attention. If you want to argue that video can also be listened to during the same activities as I just mentioned then why go through all the expense and effort to shoot video- just record audio?
8. Audio can be longer and contain more information. Video has to be quick because people’s attention span for watching videos is short. People will listen longer because they are doing activities that last for 30–60 minutes intervals like commuting or working out.
9. Audio is more intimate. You can close your eyes but you can’t close your ears. Listening to someone share a story is a great way to create a deep personal connection and convey your trustworthiness to prospective clients.
10. Video is by definition a visual medium. It has to be more show than tell. If the only visually compelling thing on the screen is someone talking then I’d seriously rethink your video strategy. Use audio as the soundtrack for interesting visual elements instead of a talking head rambling on and on.

Business RadioX amplifies the voice of business in local markets around the country by sharing unscripted stories every single day. If you are using video for your content marketing please consider switching to our live radio / podcast platform. We are actively looking for Sponsors who share our pro business values and want to use audio as the engine to drive their content marketing so they too can build more relationships with people that matter.

Thanks for reading! :) If you enjoyed it, hit that heart button below. Would mean a lot to me and it helps other people see the story. FYI: this article originally appeared on my LinkedIn page.