Essential Audio Gear for Podcasters and Online Content Creators
The rising trend of online content creation
There is a growing trend in the digital content space that’s taking over and it’s worth diving into from a marketing perspective: the world of audio. When it comes to achieving success with content marketing, online content creation plays a very important role.
We are going to talk about audio-specific content marketing which should be in every content creators marketing plan for many foreseeable years to come. In this resource article, we're going to highlight the various audio gear used by both amateurs and professionals and how you can incorporate them into your own content marketing to augment your audio/video efforts.
Podcasts, YouTube videos, twitch game streaming, etc. are some of the more popular platforms to place your content. They have massive amounts of daily users, quality metrics and analytics, and low barriers for entry in which driven content creators can grow and expand their audience. Never before has there been a way to reach so many, for such little investment.
Types of online content creation
Podcasts
Podcasts are one of the most popular audio content types available for listeners. According to podcastinsights.com, as of April 2020, there are more than 1,000,000 active podcasts and over 30 million podcast episodes floating around the internet. Some of the more popular podcasts have millions of listeners that tune in on a daily or weekly basis. And because there are so many different types of podcasts covering a wide range of topics, there is also a wide range of people who tune in.
What has likely helped podcast growth is the fact that we can 'tune in' on a schedule that fits with our daily life. Need to do some gardening work? Flip on your favorite podcast app and learn from expert gardeners at the same time. This is great for people who want to stay engaged and up-to-date with various subjects and find that listening to podcasts is easier than dedicating hours to reading, since they can do it while commuting, working out, cleaning, or running errands.
Recommended Gear for Podcasting
Tip: podcasting audio content about your company's services is a great low-cost advertising option.
Video
For sure, video is another best way to engage and interact with your audience, build long-term relationships, and generate strong customer loyalty. Interactive video contents bring a lot of attention in various social media platforms. People find it more interesting and entertaining as compared to static content.
Visuals attract people easily and therefore they share it with others on social media sites. This video element will enhance the reach of your business amongst target audiences and potential clients by having proper gear.
Just how popular are audio podcasts?
Audio podcast statistics
Based on the latest research on audio habits and podcasting from The Infinite Dial 2020 study, Podcast awareness and listening continue to rise as illustrated in the graph below
% of Americans who have ever listened to a podcast: 2017-2020
75% of Americans are Now Familiar with Podcasting - This is approximately 212 million people and an increase of more than 10 million in one year.
55% of Americans Have Listened to a Podcast - This is up from 51% in 2019 and indicates that roughly three-quarters of the people who are familiar with podcasts have listened to one.
Podcast listeners have grown 37.5% in the past three years
In 2017, 40% of Americans 12 or older had listened to a podcast, compared to 55% in 2020. The number of people who listen to podcasts is about the same as the number of people on Twitter and the average podcast fan listens to five shows a week.
Video content creation statistics
Now let us talk about another type of online content creation – Video. There is no doubt that Video continues to be one of the most effective elements in a digital content creation. The good reason – people find videos more engaging, memorable, and popular than other type of content.
Nearly half of the marketers are making YouTube video a priority as video gets results. Based on the statistics by CMI(Content Marketing Institute), 72% of B2B marketers and 76% of B2C use video.
Also based on Cisco statistic report, by 2021 video will represent 82% of all internet traffic.
Low Barrier to Entry & Benefits of Podcasts
High quality audio : At its most basic level, podcasting can be nearly as simple as making a phone call. Most people have smartphone to record with decent voice recorders and uploaded. Though this is realistic, it is limited. Sometimes with poor sound audio, it could be distracting, unsettling, and gives away a reason to avoid it. Perfect your recording with proper equipment and try the techniques to capture clearer audio you sit behind the mic
Can be done remotely : Today, and likely for years after COVID-19 has left us, more and more people will be working from home. This will result in fewer in-person meetings where industry discussions and collaboration so often takes place. Podcast interviews can happen anywhere, without ever needing to have two people in the same physical location, and there are many reasonably priced editing software and tools available to create high-quality audio remotely.
Reach a captive audience : Most people in the US and other developed countries have access to smartphone and wireless internet now, giving them the ability to subscribe and listen to your voice content. Most importantly, they only need their ears to experience your message. No longer does someone need to search the internet for a trusted expert in their field, subscribe to their blog and dedicate time to reading industry posts. Instead, they can listen to their podcasts while doing other menial tasks. In an environment where they can't consume visual material, on-demand audio is perfect
Building relationships: Choosing the podcasting route helps to build a deep and lasting relationship with your audience over time as it allows for the speaker’s emotional nuance. This being on a regular, predictable basis feels more like listening to a friend than simply listening to a lecture.
Less expensive : Voice/Audio gear for online content creation may be perceived as expensive, and it certainly can be; however it does not need to be. Not every content creator needs an expensive budget to reach and impact their audience, there are ways to align budgets with the result. So, the barriers to podcast entry are actually lower than expected.
Low barrier to entry : Traditional forms of media like broadcast television is a high barrier of entry because of high capital costs for recording equipment, streaming devices, and website hosting (not to mention advertising). Whereas for podcasting, uploading audio files to various existing platforms using right tools and software, more content can be produced to attract listeners at lower marginal costs. So overall, there is a low barrier to entry in the podcasting world: All you need are right tools and software to attract listeners at lower marginal costs.
Audio podcasts & content creation: where to start
On the journey of getting your audio content started, you might face a few curveballs on your way. You might not be sure how and where to get started and things to look out for. In this resource page, we can help you with the tools to prepare for the podcast, use it for your own content and efficiently find a way to attract audience.
Audio/Video gear
We have compiled the ultimate list of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones for recording audio, so you can get started now and get creative!
Headphones
SHURE AONIC 50 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
AONIC 50 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones deliver a wonderful audio experience suitable for those seeking an accurate sound signature. Click here to learn more.
Shure SRH440 Professional Studio Headphones
The SRH440's closed-back, circumaural design rests comfortably over the ears and reduces background noise while it's enhanced frequency response delivers accurate audio across an extended range for reliable monitoring and mixing. Click here to learn more.
AKG K371 Professional Studio Headphones
AKG K371 Professional Studio Headphones deliver a deeper bass and higher with a stunning frequency response of 5 Hz to 40 kHz. Click here to learn more.
K361-BT Professional Bluetooth® Studio Headphones
K361-BT Professional Studio Headphones are precision-engineered to reproduce natural, balanced audio in exceptional detail, so you can make more confident decisions when you’re mixing and editing &endash; all without getting caught up in wires. Click here to learn more.
Quality microphone
Whether it’s broadcast, podcast or recording, voices need to be handled with care. When purified and polished, every detail has more impact. Quality microphones are required to capture smooth, warm vocals that connect the speaker to the listener.
Check out our top recommendations for making professional sounding audio
Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone
The SM7B dynamic microphone has a smooth, flat, wide-range frequency response appropriate for broadcast, podcast or recording studio. If your desire is to sound like an on-air radio personality, this is the mic to get. Click here to learn more.
Audio Mixers
Once you have headphone and mic, then what is next? Though there are multiple computer programs available to record stereo or multitrack audio for your podcast, it is good to dig into details as how do you get audio into your computer?
With the traditional signal route of microphones – mixer – computer audio interface – software, it would be nice to save this complexity and money by using a mixer with a computer audio interface built-in.
The Soundcraft Mixer Series comes with a USB interface that you can connect directly to your computer. It works natively on Macs, and PC users just need to install a driver. When connected, select the mixer as the audio driver in your software’s interface, and signal will be available to patch to your recording channels.
Below are the ranges of Soundcraft Notepad Mixer series that you can choose from.
Notepad-5
Notepad-5 Small-format Analog Mixing Console with USB I/O. Click here to learn more.
Notepad-8FX
Small-format Analog Mixing Console with USB I/O and Lexicon Effects. Click here to learn more.
Notepad-12FX
Small-format Analog Mixing Console with USB I/O and Lexicon Effects. Click here to learn more.
Signature 10
The Signature 10 is a high-performance 10-Input small format analogue mixers with onboard effects. Click here to learn more.
Signature 12
The signature 12 is a high-performance 12-Input small format analogue mixers with onboard effects. Click here to learn more.
Signature 16
The Signature 16 is a high-performance 16-input small format analogue mixer with onboard effects. Click here to learn more.
Editing software to create a quality podcast
There are unnecessary portions while creating a podcast, such as awkward pauses, rambling noise, interruptions in calls with guest. Irrelevant/repeated information, flubs such as “Um” , “Ah”, “you know” etc . needs to be removed to give a clear and more concise conversation. To create a quality podcast, you could look into recording and editing software such as Adacity and Ableton (packaged with the AKG podcaster essentials kit). The editing process helps to shape the overall listener experience.
The better and more professional your podcasts sounds, the more likely your audience would see it as an asset to share and spread them.
AKG All-in-One Podcaster Kit
Includes AKG Lyra USB microphone, AKG K371 headphones, Ableton© Live 10 Lite audio production software, free Berklee Online introductory recording course and all interconnecting cables. Click here to learn more.
Have questions about any of these products for audio content creation? Looking for a product but can't find it? Chat with us M-F 8am-5pm EST, or EMAIL US your quote for a quick response.