You may have heard the buzz about a podcast called ‘Serial’. It’s being talked about on Newsnight, in the Guardian, the New York Times and on Buzzfeed. Already it’s a cult classic, and despite only having put out 9 episodes so far is top of the iTunes download chart, with over a million people listening worldwide. It centres around the conviction of Adnan Syed, the man arrested, tried and convicted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. It’s pretty much single-handedly leading to a resurgence of interest in podcasts.
As a medium, they’re are a great way of telling a story. Someone subscribes to the podcast channel, and every time a new episode is released it automatically pops up in their download folder, or, as is happening more often, on their phone. Podcasts mean people can listen to radio on demand - in the same way BBC iPlayer and Netflix have changed how people watch TV.
If you’re thinking about doing a podcast, there are a few things to bear in mind. Have you got an easy way to reach your audience? ‘Serial’ is a spin off of the uber-successful ‘This American Life’ podcast, so instantly had listeners. Do you have a big enough following on social media or the channels internally to create an audience?
And do you have a story to tell? A one-off podcast will never really be that effective. But they’re great if you’ve got plenty to shout about - success stories, interviews with business or thought leaders, sharing expertise or advice on how to be successful at different stages of application. In the same way you’d do with any content planning, come up with a schedule for the next few months and plot out what stories you could put out.
Whatever story you choose to tell, podcasts can be a great way to give people a more in depth and personal look at your organisation, culture and people.
