{
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    "title" : "The Content Corner: Should You Be Podcasting? |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The Content Corner: Should You Be Podcasting?",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/04/06/the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The Content Corner: Should You Be Podcasting?","summary" : "Along a somewhat personal journey (that you have chosen to join) to better define the term content,  I’ve stumbled upon the puzzle of podcasts.","date" : "2015-04-06T10:00:34-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"tyrus-manuel" : "Tyrus Manuel"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "podcast" : "Podcast",
            "social-media" : "Social media"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-04-06-the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/04/2015-04-06-the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/04/2015-04-06-the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/04/2015-04-06-the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting.md","slug" : "the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/04/06/the-content-corner-should-you-be-podcasting/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eAlong a somewhat personal journey (that you have chosen to join) to better define the term \u003cstrong\u003econtent,\u003c/strong\u003e I’ve stumbled upon the puzzle of podcasts. Full disclosure: I have never been and most likely will never be a consumer of podcasts, ten years ago or today. I tried several times to listen to “\u003ca href=\"http://serialpodcast.org/\"\u003eSerial\u003c/a\u003e” and my lifestyle just doesn’t seem to allow for the level of concentration that a podcast requires. It’s not music or background noise; you actually have to be able to listen to it and pay attention. I’m lucky to have a pretty short commute to work via public transportation, so there goes one of the more applicable situations. But Serial’s popularity and the launch of Slate’s \u003ca href=\"http://mashable.com/2015/02/25/slate-podcast-network-panoply/\"\u003ePanoply\u003c/a\u003e makes it clear that I am (or am soon to be) an outlier. Podcasts seem poised for a major comeback and have to be part of any content consideration.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/04/525-x-400-Antenna-and-social-networks-jose-martinez-iStock-Thinkstock-ThinkstockPhotos-93477563.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Broadcast antenna with clusters of figures at its base.\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003eJose Martinez, iStock, Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA quick review of the U.S. Government Podcast Directory feels like a snapshot of the state of the podcast genre as a whole. Several agencies continue to provide solid offerings with recent updates alongside broken links to long-forgotten podcast directories or podcasts that stopped being produced in 2009 (most likely the year most agencies really started ramping up their social media presence). But what is the way forward? Is it time for government agencies to brush off their microphones and fire up the ol’ RSS again? Let’s all say it together: “it depends.” And what does it depend on? You guessed it: your \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/03/23/the-content-corner-building-a-content-strategy/\"\u003econtent strategy\u003c/a\u003e and goals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy Bowers, executive producer of Slate’s podcasts, points out some of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/ten_years_in_your_ears/2014/12/podcast_10th_anniversary_slate_s_executive_producer_andy_bowers_on_the_state.html\"\u003ekey characteristics\u003c/a\u003e that should be explored when trying to determine if they are a fit for your strategy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"podcasts-require-time-and-attention\"\u003ePodcasts Require Time and Attention\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTypically, podcasts are a 20-30 minute segment that will require the user’s attention. Keep this in mind when deciding whether your audience typically is willing to invest this much (mainly distraction-free) time on your content. At times we seem to be chopping content into smaller and smaller bits for faster and easier consumption. In some ways, podcasts (like \u003ca href=\"https://www.longform.org/\"\u003elong form\u003c/a\u003e articles) are a step away from this (especially when you combine the two forms, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.longform.org/podcast\"\u003eLongform Podcast\u003c/a\u003e). As a positive, they do not require your user to focus on a screen, like a video does, and they can still impart significant information while a user’s eyes can be used for what are hopefully fairly mindless tasks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"they-dont-do-viral\"\u003eThey Don’t Do Viral\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA great point from Bowers (\u003ca href=\"http://digg.com/originals/why-audio-never-goes-viral\"\u003evia Digg\u003c/a\u003e) points to podcasts’ “anti-viral” nature, especially at a time when social media sharing is a predominant way of finding content.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the main reasons for this viral resistance are the points made above. Podcasts are generally more of a meal rather than the snack of a cat video or some animated gifs. This significantly informs the process of how users will find your content. Podcasts depend on more traditional forms of marketing, such as word of mouth for Serial, or social media promotion that promotes the podcast more directly and doesn’t depend on organic sharing. If you have gotten used to retweets and other viral marketing, you will need to revisit how you promote a podcast series.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"once-people-find-it-they8217re-hooked\"\u003eOnce People Find it, They’re Hooked\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBowers also points out the almost cult-like nature that podcasts can foster, comparing them to “appointment television.” Anyone else had to sit at a dinner party as the only one who hadn’t followed Serial? It can be worse than not watching House of Cards. The devotion to podcasts is one of the reasons that they have been able to quietly continue to \u003ca href=\"http://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/The-Infinite-Dial-2014-from-Edison-Research-and-Triton-Digital.pdf#42\"\u003egrow in popularity (PDF, 468 KB, 61 pages)\u003c/a\u003e despite falling out of the news or public awareness. This level of dedication is extremely attractive to advertisers but can also be very important to your content strategy. As opposed to people who follow or like your content, podcasts provide a captive audience for a much more substantial content experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShould you be podcasting? You’ll have to figure it out for yourself, but your agency should at least remember it is still a viable and useful channel, and its increasing popularity can be an opportunity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou’ve just finished reading the latest article from our Monday column, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/content-strategy/\"\u003eThe Content Corner\u003c/a\u003e. This column focuses on helping solve the main content issues facing digital professionals, including producing enough content and making that content engaging.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}