People do this in the car, while cooking, cleaning up, exercising and walking the dog. Many complain that there simply isn’t enough time in the day to do it as often as they’d like. Yes, you got it, listening to podcasts is on the rise and now thanks to technology you can listen at anytime, anywhere.
A simple poll on Twitter told me that 63% of the respondents love to listen to podcasts and as a fairly newcomer to the medium I can’t say that I was that surprised.
I’m wondering if it is odd that I am blogging about podcasts, should I not be podcasting about podcasts…..?
The 37% who don’t currently listen to podcasts said that they don’t listen because they don’t have the time, due to some of episodes lasting up to an hour, others said that they just prefer daydreaming.
There was a real mix of people from those who listen to, mainly work related podcasts, to those who avoid work related topics like the plague and go for comedy, film, travel or dare I say it Brexit related casts.
I jotted down almost 20 podcasts suggested by people on Twitter and I’ve put them into some semblance of order to give them a go. Being honest, there were some that I know already won’t suit me, I’m not going to spend my time listening to a football podcast, but I’m willing to try some of the suggestions that wouldn’t normally have made my finger pause on the screen.
We launched our own company podcast last year, we’ve just released episode six (the finale of our first season) and we’ve had some really positive feedback. We’ve also had some very practical feedback, for example, remember to introduce yourselves, people don’t know who you all are, (thanks husband!).
So although I’m fairly new to this here are my top five tips for podcasts
#1 Keep it short
Having listened to a number of podcasts now, I’ve found that the ones that work for me are around 25 minutes long. Many go on for an hour and I find my mind drifting onto other things. I listen when I’m in the car, I’ve tried listening and working, but that doesn’t work. Most of my journeys in the car are around 30 minutes so I can get a podcast in on route to a meeting.
#2 Don’t forget your manners
Each podcast should stand alone, even if it is part of a series, so remember to say who you are and what you intend to cover in that episode (it might help people decide if your topic this time interests them or not). Don’t forget to sign off and say goodbye, after all people have invested their time in listening to what you’ve had to say.
#3 Free flow, no script needed
I’m willing to try some of the suggestions that wouldn’t normally have made my finger pause on the screen.
We launched our own company podcast last year, we’ve just released episode six (the finale of our first season) and we’ve had some really positive feedback. We’ve also had some very practical feedback, for example, remember to introduce yourselves, people don’t know who you all are, (thanks husband!).
A number of comments on my Twitter poll were from people saying that they couldn’t stand the monotony of some podcasts, I think, in my humble opinion, this probably comes from trying to script a podcast or being too prescriptive. We have our topics, we give them some thought separately and then we have a jolly good chat.
#4 Embrace feedback
With our first few episodes, we sent them out to people we know and trust and asked for brutal, honest feedback, we want them to be interesting and for people to want to listen to them. The thing about feedback is, if you’ve asked for it you have to then take it on board. Hopefully our podcast will just continue to get better and better.
#5 Listen to learn
Following the long list of recommendations, I’ve listened to, Eat Sleep Work Repeat, Tiny Giant Jams and Digital Download. By listening I’ve learned a lot. Not just on the subject matter they are discussing or from the guests they have on but I’ve picked up different pointers on the style and pace of podcasts that I like.
Here’s the recommendations I noted down, sorry if I’ve missed any out.
- C U on the air
- Future Proof
- Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat
- Government Digital
- O Behave
- PR for Humans
- PR revolution
- PRCA PRCast
- The Talking Coms
- The International Coms Podcast
- Science of Social Media
- Digital Download
- For Immediate Release
- School of Greatness
- C Suite Podcast
- The school of social media
- We are tiny giant
- TwoShotPod
I’ll be trying out more of the recommended podcasts in the coming weeks and if I find any gems, I’ll share them. In the meantime if you want to give our podcast a go it is available on Apple Play, Soundcloud and various other channels – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pr-oddcast-podcast/id1439734447 – as I said we get better as the episodes go on, although we got the name wrong again, that’s a long story.!
We’re covering topics that interest us in PR and generally chatting about agency life.
Charlotte's Sidekick Blog 