Podcast platform Sounder has expanded its range of service with the launch of Sounder Plus, which bundles seven features:
- Videobites — Creators can transform episodes into transcription-powered video clips,
enabling them to connect and engage with audiences on video-first storytelling platforms
such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Snap, and LinkedIn. - Automatic Distribution to YouTube — Creators can automatically publish all future
episodes to YouTube, helping their podcasts reach new audiences. In the last year, 43%
of podcast listeners said they listened to a podcast on YouTube, representing fertile
ground for audience growth. - Episode Description Analysis — Sounder Plus analyzes every episode and recommends
the best keywords to include in episode descriptions, helping creators increase podcast
podcast discovery and engagement. - RSS Feed Keyword Suggestions — Sounder Plus guides creators to add keywords to the
RSS feed for every episode. Since podcast directories and apps use RSS feeds to better
understand audio content, these keyword suggestions will help creators increase content
discovery. - Social Media Tagging Tips — Sounder Plus uses AI to suggest relevant tags creators can
use for each episode, driving increased reach. discovery, and engagement on social
platforms. - Sounder Player Theming — Creators can customize the design of the Sounder Player,
choosing from one of 10 pre-created themes or design their own, controlling their overall
visual brand experience. - Organizations — Sounder Plus allows podcasters to manage their content together in
one secure workspace with a team up to five, eliminating the need to share logins.
We were particularly interested in the two video features, which seem to edge into spaces occupied by other platforms. Sounder Co-founder and CEO Kal Amin told us: “As a part of our research and development process, we spend a lot of time engaging with the podcasting community. One feature they continuously ask for is a simple audio visualization product to enhance their audio content so they can connect with users on social media. Using Sounder’s proprietary transcription technology, Videobites enable creators to seamlessly select, edit and publish video clips of their episode content to any social media platform.”
We speculated that Sounder might be stepping into a competitive position with Headliner, which also offers video clips. Amin graciously replied: “Headliner has an amazing product, and our Videobites feature provides a different solution that is part of a comprehensive growth toolkit within the Sounder platform.”
Automatic distribution to YouTube is a valuable feature in our opinion, as the behemoth video platform has shown to be useful in growing podcast audiences, yet is often not used by podcasters. Kal Amin replied, carefully noting that Sounder is not in the video recording business: “We leverage the same Videobites technology to automatically post episode-long video clips to YouTube, adding a visual layer to the podcast content. This creates a seamless connection for creators–the moment a creator publishes an episode on Sounder it will be uploaded to YouTube. We haven’t developed a podcast or video recording product and have no plans to do so on our roadmap.”
.