There are a lot of people out there who are already using ZOOM.us for Podcasting.
But many of them are misinformed. I’ve heard people say things like this…
- Zoom has terrible audio quality
- You can’t record split-tracks using Zoom (I’ve even said this one)
Most of it is said out of sheer ignorance or simply from repeating what they’ve heard from others. I decided it was time to get the straight scoop – straight from the source. ZOOM.
Derek Pando is a Product & International Growth Marketer at Zoom Video Communications and was kind enough to do some research alongside the Zoom tech team and come on the show to explain a few things to me (and you). Before Zoom, Derek worked at LinkedIn helping to build LinkedIn’s famous Sales Navigator. He holds an MBA and political science degree from Brigham Young University.
Grab a pen and paper and take notes on this one.
If you use ZOOM or have considered it, you’re going to learn the BEST ways to optimize it for podcast use. And check below for the video of Derek and I poking around in my ZOOM settings. It should help you find the things we talk about on this episode.
- [1:40] The popularity of Zoom has prompted this episode. Here’s why…
- [3:00] Derek’s history with Zoom and why he enjoys being part of the Zoom team
- [7:03] Ideas for using Zoom for podcasting – including video promos!
- [11:10] Bitrates, Frequencies, and adjustments podcasters can make to improve things
- [18:53] How you can set the platform to “preserve original sound” for better quality audio (see the video for details)
- [25:24] Setting up split-tracks for conversations so you can do better quality audio edits
- [28:11] How to set a co-host in Zoom who has direct access to the audio/video files
- [29:43] A few video hacks for those of you interested in such visual things
- [31:56] Pricing on Zoom.us – including a full-featured FREE plan
- Check out Derek’s personal website, “Tech Waffles”
- Follow Derek on Twitter: @DJPando
- Zoom.us – check out pricing OR set up your own free account
- Zoom’s YouTube channel
Other Goodies Mentioned On This Episode
Get your own custom music: www.PodcastFastTrack.com/music
Subscribe to Podcastification In Your Favorite App or Directory
Not only is ZOOM.us a cool platform to use – it’s apparently a great place to work. That matters to me
Anytime I consider working with a company, I really want to know what the values and culture of the company are like. I don’t want to be supporting someone (a company’s founder, let’s say) if they treat the people who work for them like garbage.
It was cool that as Derek Pando and I began talking about Zoom, he was instantly telling me how great of a place it is to work. In his words, “the culture at Zoom is great.” I wanted to know why, so I asked.
You’d think all companies would be team-friendly – but that’s hardly the case.
Derek says that Zoom’s culture, set by its founder and CEO, Eric Yuan is team-friendly and energizing. Describing Eric, Derek says, “He is just the nicest… he’s a servant leader. He’s got an open door policy. He’s just a great person to work for. His whole philosophy is, ‘Hey, if I make my employees happy, they’re gonna make our customers happy.”
That makes ME happy. My company values mirror what Derek is describing. That feels good – like we are on the right track.
Distance recording for podcasting has come a long way – Zoom is helping us out
I’ve used a lot of video conferencing services in my day – and while Zoom.us is not flawless by any means and doesn’t attain the clear audio quality of Cleanfeed or Zencastr, it’s a VERY good video conferencing service when it comes to audio quality.
When I asked Derek why Zoom’s audio is so much better than other video services he said it’s because from the start, Zoom’s founder made a commitment to improving the VOIP experience on their platform so that Zoom could become a leader in video conferencing. Naturally, none of that diligence was done with podcasters in mind – but you and I both know that if podcasters find a solution for recording distance conversations that is fairly trouble free – and FREE to boot – they are going to use it.
When Derek noticed that podcasters were using the platform he reached out to some of them and chatted with podcasters he knew personally. He wanted to spearhead efforts inside the company to make Zoom’s interface and functionality even better for podcasters. I think they’ve done a lot in that direction.
Be sure you listen to hear the exact details of how podcasters can use the Zoom platform.
Zoom settings – inside the desktop application
How to set your Zoom software to allow original sound from the microphone
Notice the “turn on original sound” button at the top left – you should instruct those on the other side of your conversation to click that button!
Setting the Zoom interface to record in split tracks is easy to do – and makes for easier editing
See the video embed below of Derek walking me through the Zoom settings to ensure that you get everything right!
Pardon this quick note from one of our partners
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