Corporate podcasting isn’t new, but it’s criminally underutilized. And why? It’s one of today’s most effective channels to reach a large audience, deep-dive into complex subjects, and help people digest messages at their own time and their own leisure.
This guide, composed by 3 industry experts, covers absolutely everything you would ever need to start and run your own successful corporate podcast, from A-Z. Spoiler alert: it’s easier than you think, far more fun, and can free up a ton of resources when done well. What are you waiting for?
The best way to start is with business objectives. Your corporate podcast absolutely needs to contribute to business success, and creating a clear link between the two from the start will set you up to succeed. For example: if your business’ strategic priority is “to create more internal Subject Matter Experts (SME)”, a corporate podcast is a clear choice. It’s a medium in which you can interview a pre-existing SME about a complex topic, in an effort to help more people in your organization understand it.
You can. Some services, like Pinecast, allow you to insert a password. Other services, even ones that maybe aren’t oriented 100% for podcasts, allow you to only access the podcast through the right RSS link, so long as Distribution is set to “private”.
No, you absolutely do not. Of course it helps – in a room with soundproofing, acoustic-reflection panels and few windows you will have a better result. The same goes for proper equipment, especially a good microphone – the better the input, the better the output. While a proper microphone is desirable, these can be had for as low as $150. A full studio isn’t necessary in the sense that a completely polished product isn’t always expected nor feasible. The same goes for editing – often the time wasted to polish up the product isn’t worth it to the employees. Our advice: get someone to set up a template in an Audio Workstation (also known as a DAW), and re-use that for every episode.
Our opinion: because they’re convenient. You can put them on during the “monkey-work” phase of your day, where all you need to do is crunch through an excel sheet or email people. Maybe you’re taking a lunch break, or you’re picking up the kids – perfect time to throw it up in your car or on your phone in public transport. A podcast doesn’t require intense listening either – because it’s long format, the main points should be made at the start and the rest is gravy. But that gravy adds rich context that will deepen your listener’s understanding in a way that a blog post never could. You can’t exactly read and drive at the same time, can you?