Podcasts – downloadable audio files people can listen to on their computers, iPods or other mp3 players – are a fun, innovative way to communicate with employees (and potential future employees).
Today, I’m going to give you a few ideas on how you might use podcasts, and then show you how to create your own.
Why create podcasts?
Here’s a short list of innovative ways to use podcasts:
- Post them on your website as part of your Employer Branding Program. Discuss topics relevant to your industry as a way to woo top talent to your career site. Share career tips. Interview internal and external industry or profession experts. Don’t just talk about your organization – teach other people how to be better.
- Replace (or supplement) your boring company newsletter with a podcast. You can still publish a print version if you want, but employees may enjoy the option of listening to company news on the road.
- Create a “Meet an Employee” or “Meet a Department” series so employees can learn about new people or functions within the organization. Interview new employees, internal experts, department heads and project leads. Increase everyone’s knowledge of the organization, its departments and its people.
- Create podcast training programs employees can listen to at their leisure. Use internal experts or interview people from outside the company.
How to create podcasts
Creating audio podcasts is, as they say in Boston, wicked easy.
1. Download and install Audacity
It’s free. You can find it here.
You’ll also need to download the LAME MP3 Encoder from the Optional Downloads Section. Save the file somewhere on your computer (I recommend saving it to the Audacity program file) – you’ll need it for later.
2. Record your podcast
Audacity usually automatically detects your microphone settings. To record your podcast, just open the program, click the big red record button, and start talking. You’ll see the sound waves from your recording. If you mess up, you can actually stop the program and start recording where you left off – just click where you want to start recording again.
3. Save your recording
I recommend you save every podcast as both an mp3 and an Audacity project file, in case you decide you want to go back and make changes to the recording later. To save the project, click “File > Save” Project As. Select the location where you want to save the file, give it a name, and click “Save.”
To save as an mp3, click “File > Export as MP3.” The first time you do this, you will have to locate the LAME MP3 Encoder file you saved earlier. Select the location where you want to save the file, give it a name, and click “Save.” The file will export as an mp3.
4. Share it
Once you’ve created the podcast, you’ll need to host it somewhere that people can download it.
If you’re using for employer branding purposes, you’ll want to host it on your company website to people can download it externally. If it’s intended for employees only, upload the file to a shared drive or your company intranet.
5. There is no step 5
That’s it. It’s really that simple!
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Chris, these are great tips and do show how easy it is to create podcasts and use them for a myriad of reasons. One thing I would suggest to anyone using podcasts for ‘official’ company information and communication is to get the podcasts transcribed and have the transcripts easily accessible. I work with and teach many deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and I am very sensitive to the issues around accessibility. I think many of us forget that community when preparing and utilizing multimedia tools. Great post, and I think you are doing a fantastic job on the blog.
@Steve Boese – That’s a great tip! I think there a lot of people who aren’t hearing impaired who appreciate transcription as well. Some people just prefer to read instead of listen. Thanks!