Should You Start a YouTube Channel or a Podcast? A Guide for Business Owners
Deciding whether to start a podcast or YouTube channel isn't just about choosing a content format—it's about aligning your long-form content strategy with your specific business goals. Let's break down this "age-old question" and help you determine which platform will serve your business objectives best.
Understanding Your Marketing Goals: Podcast vs. YouTube Channel
The first question you need to ask yourself is straightforward: What are your primary marketing goals? Your answer will significantly influence whether you should start a podcast or YouTube channel.
YouTube: Your Top-of-Funnel Lead Generation Machine
If you're looking to generate new leads and expand your audience, YouTube offers distinct advantages that make it particularly effective as a lead generation tool:
Functions as a search engine, helping potential clients find you organically
Allows people who don't know you yet to discover your content
Serves as an excellent top-of-funnel strategy to bring new prospects into your ecosystem
Helps users find solutions to problems they're actively searching for
YouTube's strength lies in its ability to connect you with people who are searching for answers but haven't discovered you or your business yet. By creating optimized content that addresses these searches, you position yourself to capture new leads that can flow into your sales funnels.
Podcasting: Your Audience Nurturing Tool
Podcasting serves a different purpose in your marketing strategy:
Works best as a middle to bottom-of-funnel tool
Excels at nurturing relationships with people who already know you
Helps close sales with prospects who are familiar with your services
Allows prospects to learn more about you and why they should work with you now
Podcasts are particularly effective when someone already knows who you are and what you offer. They provide a deeper connection and help prospects make the final decision to work with you. This makes podcasting more suitable for audience nurturing rather than audience building.
When Should You Start a Podcast vs. a YouTube Channel?
Understanding the timing of when to introduce each platform into your marketing mix is crucial for success.
Start with YouTube When:
You don't yet have a top-of-funnel strategy
You need to generate new leads
You're looking to be discovered by people searching for solutions
You want a platform that can eventually serve all funnel stages
YouTube can function across your entire marketing funnel, making it an excellent starting point for many businesses. It can help you generate leads while also nurturing existing prospects.
Start with Podcasting When:
You already have effective top-of-funnel strategies (like Pinterest, blogging, or existing social media)
Your email list is growing, but you need better nurturing
You want to deepen relationships with existing prospects
You're looking to improve conversion rates of people already in your funnel
It's important to note that starting with podcasting without a top-of-funnel strategy is "marketing on hard mode." Many business owners make this mistake and struggle to generate leads because podcasting isn't optimized for discovery—it's designed for nurturing.
Integrating Both Platforms into Your Marketing Strategy
The ideal approach is to understand how these platforms work together in your overall marketing ecosystem:
Use YouTube to attract new leads through search-optimized content
Direct YouTube viewers to opt into your lead magnets
Nurture these leads with podcast content that helps them connect with you more deeply
Guide nurtured leads toward conversion
YouTube and podcasting aren't competitors—they're complementary tools that serve different purposes in your marketing strategy. Understanding their respective roles helps you implement them at the right time for maximum effectiveness.
Key Takeaway: Start a podcast or YouTube channel based on your current marketing needs—YouTube for lead generation and podcasting for audience nurturing.
The decision shouldn't be based on personal preference alone, but rather on what your business needs most right now. If you lack a top-of-funnel strategy, start with YouTube. If you already have leads flowing in but need help converting them, a podcast might be your next best step.
