Visual Branding for your Podcast: Is it really that important?!

So you’re starting a podcast, friend, I am so proud of you! That’s a big undertaking. Believe me I know, because I not only help other people just like you launch their podcasts with the help of my podcast expert buddies at Podcast Power Academy, but I’m launching my own podcast in September of 2021! The laundry list of things to get done is longer than Hermione’s essay on the importance of using human hair in a  polyjuice potion!  (And we all know she has a lot to say on the subject ?) One of the top things on the list of to-dos is definitely your podcast visual branding (i.e. logo, cover art, episode covers, etc.) and one of the questions I get a lot is, “Is a podcast’s visual branding really that important? Podcasts are all audio!” Well, the short answer is YES. Your visual branding for your podcast is VITAL. But I’m guessing you’re here for a much longer answer than that, so keep reading and learn just why your podcast visual branding is a MUST on your podcast to do list.

Visuals are all about grabbing your audience’s attention.

Unless your future audience is finding an audiogram on IG or TikTok odds are that they are SEEING what your podcast is about long before they actually get to hear all your signature sound identity. When that ideal listener is scrolling on google podcast or spotify, they are scrolling Cover Art, not sound bites. So getting the intent behind your podcast through the visual graphics is really important.

When working 1:1 with future podcasters, we spend A LOT of time talking about the emotions of their podcast and how they want to help the listener. 

• Is this a dark and mysterious true crime podcast? 
• Are you keeping hard topics like social justice engaging for an audience that just doesn’t get it yet? 
• Are you helping people find a shed of sunshine during a dark time in their life? 
• Is this a way to help people find a community who have been the “black sheep” their whole lives?

Whatever your topic, whatever your emotions, when you start looking at colors, fonts, and graphics those emotions need to be present. So how do you communicate those emotions? With fonts and colors!

Speaking with Fonts

When it comes to fonts, their thickness, details and spacing can communicate a lot.  Serif typically means to lean towards more traditional while serif leans more modern. Thin fonts give the idea of luxury and elegance while chunkier fonts are more casual and playful. Playing with spacing can change a lot too! If you take a medium thickness font and smush it together, you’ll get a more casual brand, while if you take the same font and space out the letters well refined and sophisticated it is!

Here are some examples of the same font used multiple ways:

Colors have meaning:

Let’s be real, colors carry A LOT of energy. They can boost it or take it a way in a heartbeat and most certainly set the tone for what you’re walking into. I always encourage people to think about how the colors carry subliminal meaning into branding. A great example of this would be conveying POWER: red and yellow are great for this but while yellow is empowering and uplifting, red tends to be more dominant and individualized. 

Another way of incorporating color to affect the mood is if you are talking about hard subjects in a comical or empowering way, you should keep to bright and vibrant colors so people can anticipate that you will be taking a different approach.

Need help finding the perfect shade of something? I love having people go to Pantone’s website to find the colors that speak to them most!

When it comes to Pinterest & IG, visuals for your podcast are a must.

For a lot of podcasters, their audience LIVES on Pinterest and IG; two platforms that are entirely based on visuals. Communicating your sound through visuals will speak to this niche and gain you more devoted listeners in the long run. 

So what should you do? Repurpose your graphics for multiple platforms. 

Square Graphics: 

I highly suggest repurposing your cover art as an Instagram post. But don’t forget to create some variations of it to keep things fresh for posts across multiple days.  Quote graphics are great for audiences that like to share ideas or need to process written information. 

Tall Graphics: 

I like to make multipurpose graphics whenever possible, and because IG has more sizing restrictions than Pinterest, I design everything as a Story and just utilize the graphics on both platforms. Be sure to leave room at the top and bottom for navigation buttons!  Oh, FYI pins don’t have a min or max height so get creative if you really want to stand out! Infographics always get people engaged.

Audiograms

We are seeing great success with using audiograms in stories, reels AND on Pinterest. The eye is more attracted to things that move so USE that. Headliner offers both free and premium offerings and has tons of ways to not only create the audiogram but make it on brand at the same time.  Just be sure to hashtag the shit out of those reels!

See?! Visual Branding for your podcast IS important.

You and I both know that launching your podcast will be amazing and the information you have to share is going to help people. So get out there and make it happen, but before you launch take a moment to look at your visual branding and reflect on if it is perfectly capturing your ideal audience and preparing them for the information ahead.  You can always reach out if you are feeling stuck to get an idea or two!

P.S. If you want to start a podcast, but are realizing there is WAY more to it than you originally thought, join me and my Podcast Power Academy buddies for our next LIVE Q&A. REGISTER HERE!