Five ways to use intranet podcasts

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Five ways to use intranet podcasts

Podcasts may be the latest technology to create a buzz in the corporate comms world but they're simply a modern, hi-tech adaptation of a rather old notion - distributing audiocassettes to sales staff. The main difference, observes Shel Holtz, technology expert and author of Top 10 New technologies for Internal Communicators, is that audiocassettes are encumbered by cost and a time lag. But Podcasting resolves both these issues: "Sales staff can get new audio content as soon as it has been recorded and uploaded, listening today to material recorded yesterday and, consequently, delivering the latest information to clients and customers."

At its core, a podcast is an audio file. But unlike the old-style audio files, with a podcast, you can subscribe to the audio in advance. Thereafter, each new installment or episode can be delivered to your computer. Most podcast listeners listen to podcasts away from their computers. So the internet - or intranet - becomes merely the delivery channel for content.

So what kind of podcasts might a company produce for intranet consumption? According to Holtz, communicators haven't even begun scratching the surface of internal podcasting's potential. He suggests the following:

1. The CEO's podcast: Any senior leader can become the leadership voice of the organization, talking candidly and openly with employees about issues of the day.

2. A weekly newscast: A pair of hosts could review company news, conduct interviews, and talk about company issues on a weekly basis. Even employees who don't read a word of text communication could stay up to date by listening, assuming the show was engaging and entertaining enough.

3. Speeches: Employees could subscribe to get executive speeches.

4. Departmental updates: Any department could record a podcast, providing an update into the goings-on within that unit. Only those employees with a real interest in such updates would subscribe, but those employees would get useful information and stay in touch with the department's progress and activities.

5. Speciality podcasts: Organizations that employ large numbers of specialists could deliver content aimed at those specialists (e.g., engineers, chemists, IT staff).

Source: Top 10 New Technologies for Internal Communicators is a new report by Shel Holtz published by Melcrum Publishing.

Blogged on 11:13 PM

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