Podcasting Tips
Podcasts have been an area of massive online growth for several years now and everyone from Barack Obama to Billy, the guy who works in your local chipshop, seems to have one. Their popularity shows no signs of waning. With the software and hardware being so easily available they’re simpler than ever to create.
The question is, now you’ve got all your equipment, what exactly is it going to sound like?
I think the key to any successful podcast is to both entertain AND inform your target audience. Far too many people go straight for the information jugular. If you’re trying to communicate new security protocols to your employees do you really have to read them the 60 page updated document from start to finish?
If you want to inform people, you’ve got to engage people. And to do that you need to entertain them.
Here’s a few best practice tips.
1 ) Podcasts are the wrong medium to deliver intricate details. That’s what documents are for. Aim to get across the key points and takeaways that you want them to know.
2 ) A scripted podcast will sound just that. A naturalistic delivery will sound a lot more authentic, and authenticity is everything. One way to get around this is to interview your expert. Establish what you want to get from them and create a set of questions.
3 ) Don’t try and record sections in one continuous take. Editing can remove most major mistakes but also remember, small pauses, stutters etc help to create a more naturalistic podcast.
4 ) Record somewhere quiet unless the enviroment is a key factor to the podcast.
5 ) One person talking continuously for 30 minutes is not interesting. Use a variety of speakers to ensure there’s enough variety to the voices to ensure the listener doesn’t nod off. The best person to host the podcast isn’t always the most knowledgeable.
6 ) Listening to and incorporating viewer feedback makes for a more effective podcast.
7 ) A regular podcast will create an anticipated piece of communication.
8 ) You need to think carefully about what your audience wants rather than just what you want to tell them.
9 ) The length depends on the format and content, but generally the podcast should be between 20-30 minutes.
10 ) The main options for a podcast are news broadcast style, roundtable discussion, documentary style and magazine format show.
Personally I listen to the Guardian’s Tech & Media podcasts, Marketing over Coffee, 6 Music Adam & Joe podcast and a 6 Music Tom Robinson Introducing podcast. With the exception of the 6 Music podcasts, which are purely for entertainment, the majority of podcasts I listen to are primarily informed roundtable discussion shows. They’re conversations you can imagine hearing in a cafe but they allow, and insist on listener involvement through emailing them, commenting on items, posting on the blogs or articles. An effective podcast needs to not be a closed world for the listener.
keith
on June 20th, 2009
Thanks – interesting post.
I’ve noticed that over time, my taste in podcasts has changed. Like many people, I started with BBC podcasts, but now listen to quite a wide range including TWIT, BOL, pods and blogs from the BBC, digital planet, tech weekly from the Guardian etc. Last week on a long journey, I realised that I enjoyed the round table discussion-style of things like TWIT and BOL much more than the broadcast style of the BBC and other mainstream media. I guess it is a matter of taste, but I think you’re right in that the main difference is that while they may all be informative, the round table discussions tend to be much more entertaining.