Who would have thought that in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, a little conferencing app called Zoom would rise in popularity? Nowadays we use Zoom for a lot of things – job meetings and interviews, gathering with friends from all over the world, and even for podcasting!
That's right – Zoom is a great tool to have if you're a podcaster. If you're looking to record a podcast with someone via long distance, Zoom is a nice place to start. Sure, there are other options available, but if you're just starting out in podcasting and looking for a quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive way to get a guest who lives across the country to be on your show, trust us...Zoom is a smart option.
Need some convincing before you make a Zoom account? Below, we have 5 good reasons why you should use Zoom for your long-distance podcast recording.
It's Simple for You (and Others) to Use
Unless you've been living under a rock these last two years, everyone's heard of Zoom. Why? Because it's very easy to use. All you have to do to start chatting with someone is create a link and send it to them. It's even possible to join a Zoom meeting and record with your podcast host even if you don't have a formal account. (However, if the host has restricted joining meetings using authentication profiles, then the participant will need a Zoom account to access the meeting.)
Simply put, Zoom makes newbie guests feel comfortable. It doesn't take a lot of work to set up, and by now, lots of people around the world are familiar with using it.
You Can Record Video for a Vodcast
If you're a person who likes to upload a video recording of your podcast as well as an audio recording, you can use Zoom to film your video conference. Once you're done recording, Zoom will automatically download the video onto your computer.
The only con to video recording on Zoom is that the video quality may not be super crisp. However, if you enable HD recording in your video settings and use a high-quality video camera, you can finesse the footage so that it comes out cleaner. Video recordings from Zoom are fantastic for promoting a podcast episode on social media or for just starting a journey into YouTube vodcasting.
You Can Also Chat via Phone Call
If your guest is not able to use a computer for your Zoom chat, Zoom has a dial-up feature where your guest can call a number and join your call through their phone! The number to call is available when you're sharing the full link to your Zoom chat with your guest.
Keep in mind: the audio quality through a phone call is not as great than if your guest were using the audio from a video chat. But it's nice to have that functionality on hand! It further proves our point that Zoom is very accessible.
More Than One Person Can Join the Chat
If you have a Basic/Free, Pro, or other paid account, you can have up to 100 video participants (including the host) in any of your meetings! Of course, you probably won't be interviewing 100 people at the same time for your podcast. But if you wanted to record an episode where you have more than one long-distance guest in the chat, you can totally do so using Zoom.
Zoom’s free tier used to allow two participants to stay in a meeting for up to 24 hours. But in May 2022, the company announced it would now be limited to 40 minutes. That’s the same restriction that has always applied for anywhere between three and 100 participants. Once that mark has been reached, everyone will be kicked out of the call. It's an annoying thing about Zoom, but it acts as an incentive for people to pay for a subscription. If you're not willing to pay for a subscription, just keep the 40 minute time limit in mind when you're recording.
You Can Use Multitrack Recording
Zoom has an important feature called multitrack recording. Basically, it means that you have the ability to record you and your guest's audio tracks separately instead of both tracks being mushed together in one recording. This is amazing because – for example – if there is a distracting background noise in your guest's audio track while you're talking, you can edit that distracting noise out later thanks to multitrack recording. Your talking will still be preserved while you can cut out that unnecessary sound!
To use multitrack recording, all you have to do is tweak some options in your account settings. Click here for a quick tutorial on how to enable the feature!
Those are five quick and simple reasons why Zoom may be right for you as a podcaster! If you zoomed through this podcasting article, check out more of our guides related to podcasting here. We hope Zoom enhances your next recording experience, and happy podcasting!
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Article Image: Hands type on a laptop keyboard while the laptop screen and a phone nearby show the Zoom logo. (yalcinsonat1 via DepositPhotos.)
