Description
Podcasts are audio recordings that can be shared and downloaded through the internet. Over the past decade, podcasting has become an increasingly popular form of media, most likely due to the low technical bar for entry and the improvement of technology. Now with just your smartphone, you can potentially record, edit, and upload a podcast in a single sitting. It has never been easier to start a podcast, and even if it seems like there might be a podcast on every subject, if you can think of a unique approach to explain what you are interested in, or if you can think of a new way to present these ideas, you might just develop a community around your show. A podcast can give you a direct line to your audience, albeit primarily a one-way conversation, but podcasts can be downloaded directly onto peoples phones and immediately listened to, or sent or email or shared on social media. Due to its simplicity, this format can be incredibly versatile and cheap to produce.
Target Audience
- Adult citizens
- Teenagers
You can do it with all those groups, but we did it with professionals from different fields like public engagement or the cultural and creative sector.
Benefits
Benefits
If done well, podcasts can be an effective method of disseminating information and sharing stories of those who are passionate about a subject. It is a medium that is downloaded onto a person’s smart device and can be listened to whenever and wherever the audience wants to. In addition to this, the nature of audio content allows for dissemination while doing other activities. Making it one of the easiest formats of science communication for a person to fit into their schedule. Although it may seem that this format does not allow for much audience participation if a podcast is crafted with care, opportunities for a listener to contribute can be integrated into a podcast and through this, a real sense of community spirit can be cultivated. (Quintana, D.S. and Heathers, J.A., 2020. How podcasts can benefit scientific communities. Trends in cognitive sciences.)
Preparations
Although some podcasters might decide to spend some money at the beginning to obtain some better quality hardware and software, it is not at all necessary to start with.
A podcast can be recorded, edited and uploaded directly from a smart device. However, with podcasting having good audio quality is very important. So it is recommended that you use a microphone or voice recording device to record your interviews. Having a microphone that plugs into your computer, or a recording device with a memory card is most likely the easiest way to record and transfer your files to a personal computer.
Before you record, you should do some basic planning, ask yourself what do you want your podcast to be about? How are you going to get this message across to your audience? What limitations and opportunities are available to you? How long do you want each episode to be? Depending on the answer to these questions, you may need to plan accordingly.
After you have recorded your first podcast, will probably need to edit the audio, and potentially add some additional material. This can easily be done with audio editing software, free options are available which will work for both beginners and veteran podcasters, such as Audacity.
If you intend to include music or other assets, be sure that you have permission to include it and you credit the creator.
Free music can be found here (but do read the terms of service):https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
When you are happy with your first episode, you need to upload it so people can find it.
There are a number of online platforms that allow you to upload audio for free, such as SoundCloud, but these usually lack some functionality that makes podcasts so easily accessible. So if you intend for your podcast to be widely listened to, you may need to use a podcast hosting website. Some of these are free to use (with limitations) such as Podbean, others may use a subscription-based payment model. Through these, you should be able to connect your podcast to the major podcast libraries.
When your podcast is online, you need to share it with your audience, and then start thinking about the next episode.
Comments
There are many different types of the podcast, covering many topics. So there is massive scope for what your podcast could be. You may want to interview guests, or have a regular panel of hosts discussing something they find interesting, tell audio stories, or take part in guided meditations. Although it might seem like you are slightly limited by the audio format, there is a wide variety of show types you could try, and if needed you can always produce complementary worksheets or videos if required. Although this can reduce the effectiveness of the podcast format as a standalone piece of media.
