An internal communications podcast is the audio/video tool that offers more engagement opportunities for your employees. Whether you use it for company wide training or to highlight employee success stories, we’ve got five tips that will help you optimize and integrate your podcast at every step.
1. Don’t be afraid to start recording your internal communications podcast, but assess your recording methods.
The first step to recording an engaging internal communications podcast is to actually record the podcast. Zane Ewton, a communications consultant with Arizona Public Service, offers this advice, “Just get started. It won’t be good at first, but you will get better with each episode.”
However, the decisions made before you record form the shape of your podcast. This is where you decide what microphones and recording software to use, the organization of the content in your podcast (such as if you would want your podcast to be interview-based or just centered around one or more hosts), and how you’d like to set up your recording space or mobile recording setup.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve created a whole guide to help you record a quality podcast. This guide breaks down hardware and software, and also gives you tips for editing, microphone etiquette, and recording remote guests and co-hosts. While there’s no need to be an audio expert, some basic setup can go a long way to making your internal communications podcast enjoyable to your listeners.
2. Pick the team to handle podcast production and decide on roles.
Your internal communications podcast will play a big role in educating and informing your people. But to make it work, it’s imperative that you have designated employees own aspects of producing the content. Consider how the content planning, recording, production and promotion will be managed, as well as how this will integrate with current roles. Podbean’s collaboration tools make it easy to assign different production roles. Look at how your podcast can build on current programming and goals. Make sure to involve key decision-makers so you don’t find the project floundering.
Donna Papacosta from Ragan Communications recommends that you make sure to include your IT department in podcast talks. She notes that they can give insight into the security of the content, as well as address ownership concerns for content production. While they’re not in charge of your internal communications, it’s important to hear their concerns and address them. Podbean makes keeping your content secure easy and worry-free. You can learn more about our security measures and SSO login integration here.
3. Create engaging, targeted content that’s relevant to your employees.
Your company already has a lot to manage, and likely has multiple means of communications. Podcasting can be an engaging way of keeping employees informed and updated. Many companies specifically find them beneficial for efficiency, if done right. You’ll want to tailor your podcast to the needs of your employees, both in its formatting and its content.
Some questions you should ask yourself are:
• “How long do I want my employees to spend listening to each podcast episode?”
• “Will this be supplementing or replacing a communications channel?”
• “Do I already have content ready for podcast content creation?”
• “Which teams will need access to this content?”
By keeping your content targeted, you also keep your episodes concise and impactful. There’s no rule about how long podcasts should be, but employees don’t want to feel they’re wasting time. Long-winded content will cause employees to skip around or tune out, leading to them being more likely to miss important information. Brainstorm how to present information in an engaging way, so that employees immediately see the value of your podcast(s).
4. Promote your podcast internally.
How do you get buy-in from your employees to tune in to your internal communications podcast? You want them to utilize the podcast and return to it as an ongoing resource, which means building awareness and excitement about it.
Push notifications and email notifications work as reminders that your content is now live. You can also take advantage of employee login pages or announcements on your company’s intranet homepage. By displaying updates and clips to places that employees have to check every day, you increase visibility and make podcasts accessible with just a click.
Set the tone and vibe for your internal communications podcast by creating in-person events for it. Throw a launch party for your first episode, and use signage around employee breakrooms to increase awareness in places that employees spend time. You can even utilize employee involvement by including certain employees as ambassadors and spokespeople for the podcast.
Follow-up strategies also increase your employees’ engagement with your podcast. Ask for feedback or include information mentioned in the podcast during meetings to emphasize and integrate the content. The podcast shouldn’t be an island in itself, but an important part of your company’s communications strategy.
Mobility also increases the likelihood of awareness and interaction with your podcast. Podbean gives you the chance to build a custom white-label app just for your company and your private podcasts, letting your employees access the podcast while on-the-go but making sure it’s as secure as possible.
5. Get your employees involved as both contributors and guests of your podcast.
We’ve spoken before about the benefits of including employees in creating internal communications podcasts. By involving employees, you let them take on leadership roles and responsibilities so you can accomplish more while moderating their progress and content.
Zane Ewton found success in taking advantage of the widespread nature of his company’s internal podcast to highlight employees around the state. Ewton, who helps run his company’s internal communications podcast, says that one of his favorite episodes is one they did with an employee whose parents had been with the company before him. “His love for his work and his community just jumped out,” he says, and points to this as why their podcast is so engaging. James Ellis, a speaker and podcaster, notes the same thing: “If you tell the stories of employees and what they are doing and how they are changing things, that creates a connection that increases the likelihood someone will listen.”
By using your internal communications podcast in this manner, you put the focus on employees and further inspire them to exceed expectations and put their best work forward.
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Your internal communications podcast can be one of your most engaging communications tools. These tips will help you build it up into the tool everyone in your company looks forward to using. Check out our use case interview with Marty from VMWare and learn how their team implements internal communications podcasts in the workplace.
Find out more about Podbean’s Enterprise Solutions for internal communications podcasts and contact us to get a demo.
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