Making a podcast isn’t new. It’s a trend that appeared over the past years and it seems that it’s here to stay, at least for now. Have you ever thought of making your own podcast? If not, it’s about time you do! And we are not talking about one for your external target audience. Because while a podcast is a good way to reach out to and engage with your (potential) customers, it’s definitely at least as good to engage with your very own employees. Still wondering if it’s the right thing to do? Here’s why you really need to start your own podcast for internal communication purposes!
Why You Should Start Your Own Podcast for Internal Communication
10 September 2021
Internal CommunicationMaking a podcast isn’t new. It’s a trend that appeared over the past years and it seems that it’s here to stay, at least for now. Have you ever thought of making your own podcast? If not, it’s about time you do! And we are not talking about one for your external target audience. Because while a podcast is a good way to reach out to and engage with your (potential) customers, it’s definitely at least just as good to engage with your very own employees. Still wondering if it’s the right thing to do? Here’s why you really need to start your own podcast for internal communication purposes!
Podcasts are pretty popular, especially since we all started to work from home over a year ago. After all, it’s an easy way to keep up with what is happening in the world, in a certain field of business or with your favorite celebrities. And it’s great to learn new things. You can listen to them while working, in the car or on the train. And they are easily accessible, whenever you have the time to listen to them. Especially younger generations love listening to podcasts: According to Statista, almost 50 percent of the Millennials in the US and Canada listen to podcasts at least weekly. And in total, there are over 2 million active podcasts worldwide! That’s quite a lot! And that’s exactly why more and more companies start their very own internal podcast.
After all, it’s not only a great way to stay informed about what’s happening in the world, but also ideal to keep employees informed about what’s happening within a company. And to share insights they’d never get otherwise. In a time that is all about employee engagement, it’s only logical that companies slowly start using podcasts internally, too. You can talk about what’s going on internally, focus on personal and professional grow, let employees take the spotlight with interviews and get them to share their insights and lessons learned in a light-hearted way. Of course, you could do all that on the intranet, too. But let’s face it, we all know you’d probably not reach as many people as you do with a podcast.
Why podcasts are perfect for internal communication purposes
Podcasts are easy to consume and, unlike an internal newsletter, don’t require the full attention of the employees. You can listen to a podcast while working, taking a walk during your break or even during a workout after work. You don’t need to drop anything to listen to it, and you can do it whenever you like. At the same time, a podcast is way more personal than a newsletter or a post on the intranet. Simply because hearing a (familiar) voice has a different effect on the human brain than reading letters from a screen. Sounds logical, doesn’t it? At the same time, podcasts are relatively easy and cheap to produce. With a little bit of research, there is no need for technical support or expensive equipment when you first want to get started, it’s all there, on the internet, most of it for free.
5 tips to start your own internal podcast
If you are still doubting if and how you should start your very own internal podcast to engage with your employees, we’ve got five tips for you to get started and make your internal podcast a huge success!
Think about a good concept! Just as always in internal communication (or communication in general, for that matter), it’s all about sending out the right message. Think about the purpose of your podcast, for example employee engagement. And think about your target audience: What do they want and need to hear? What is interesting for them? If you only talk about the things that keeps the management team busy, it might get boring for a big part of the workforce.
Set the right tone of voice. You probably don’t want your podcast to be too serious, as one of the advantages of spoken word is that it’s easier to bring humor across than in written. However, you also don’t want to make a comedy show. Choose a tone of voice that matches the expectations of your target audience and the message you are trying to deliver. After all, if done correctly, the podcast will enable your employees to identify with the company (even better).
It’s all about the mix. Yes, an internal podcast is a great way to keep your employees informed about everything they need to know. But that’s not the only interesting thing you can share to keep them engaged. Think about interviewing colleagues about their daily work, insights on certain topics, personal tips or lessons learned. What does your target audience want to hear? What keeps them busy? A podcast is also the ideal way to put somebody in the spotlight or could substitute an internal presentation if done correctly. There are so many options, don’t limit yourself too much!
Time is an important factor. A podcast shouldn’t be too long. Therefore, it’s important to get to the point quickly without leaving out important bridges to make it easier for your listeners to follow. Try to stick to a certain time limit, to not make the episodes too long. And keep that time limit in mind while recording, as otherwise you might need to spend hours on editing and cutting the raw material. Believe us, we’ve been there ourselves!
Make the podcast available on different platforms. When publishing a podcast, you usually need a podcast host before you can make the podcast available on streaming platforms such as Spotify or Apple Podcast. Think about the right medium and make sure employees can listen to your podcast on whatever platform they prefer. That increases the chances of them regularly listening to it significantly. But also make sure to integrate your podcast in other means of internal communication, such as your internal newsletter or the intranet. Because before they can listen to it, your employees need to know that your brand-new internal podcast exists!
Internal podcasts to communicate change
An internal podcast is not only ideal to keep your employees engaged in everyday business. It’s also a great way to communicate change internally. After all, it gives you the opportunity to highlight different points of view on the change project, communicate everything about the process and inform employees about what is expected from them. And all of that in an engaging way. Either as part of an existing internal podcast, or as a new one that is set up specifically to communicate change internally. It will certainly help you to get your message across and make your change management project happen, we promise.
OutsideIn, the podcast on internal communication by Funk-e
Obviously, we wouldn’t be Funk-e if we hadn’t tried what we preach, first. Although we didn’t make a podcast for our own internal communication, we made one about internal communication for the outside world. OutsideIn, which is available on Spotify and other streaming platforms as of September 10, 2021, is all about how we can use the lessons learned in external communication to bring internal communication to the next level. Make sure to follow our channel to never miss a single episode!Struggeling with internal communication or communicating change internally? Get in touch! We are happy to help!our partners
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