Nicola Balkind

Community Leader

Podcatching: How to Listen to Your Favourite Podcasts

By

Podcatching may sound like some sort of faddish adventure sport, like Geocaching. Worry not – it just describes how you choose to download and listen to podcasts.

Some of you may play podcasts directly on the web page where they are posted, you might find them on iTunes and listen on the Apple Podcasts app, or you might use the platform where they are published, for example on SoundCloud.

Or, of course, I might be talking gibberish to you.

Basically, there are an array of apps out there that you can use to listen to podcasts. Since podcasts were born on a mobile platform – the iPod – it’s appropriate that the best way to listen is still on a mobile device. There are a range of available apps, from the default Apple Podcasts app (formerly rolled into iTunes), to app-cum-discovery platform Stitcher, to proprietary apps like This American Life’s that play only one or a collection of specific podcasts.

If you’ve grown sick of your current podcatcher, or just want to start with a cleaner, easier experience, I have a recommendation for you. It’s called Overcast.

 

Overcast

overcast-logo

Overcast is a minimalist podcast listening app. It’s really simple and easy to use, with all the features you could need on a clean interface.

Let’s take a look at a few key items:

 

Subscribing to podcasts

If you’re new to podcasts, it’s likely that you won’t know where to start, or where to go after you’ve found one or two that you like. Overcast uses the iTunes database, so searching is easy.

Overcast also organises popular podcasts into categories which you can browse and select from.

You can also link it up with your Twitter account and it’ll find podcasts that your friends have shared and recommended.

The interface on Overcast lists all your subscriptions in a list with the icon and the podcast name. If you have current episodes, they’ll appear at the top; if you’ve listened to everything you’ve downloaded, they drop to the bottom of the list.

 

Listening

The app also has some great listening features (which you can unlock with a premium account for only ~$5/£3). On quiet podcasts, you can boost the volume, and you can also manipulate the speed.

My favourite feature on the app is smart speed, which cuts down silences to speed up the podcast, but only in dead space. The speed will depend on the presenter, but it keeps things moving a little faster without making it difficult to listen to.

If a specific podcast tends to be quiet, or slow, you can select these effects for every episode of that podcast without having to fiddle with your settings every time.

You can also choose from a few playback options, like setting a sleep timer or choosing to play the next episode when the one you’re hearing ends. The back and forward buttons are also customisable so you can skip forward or back in increments of anything from 7 to 30 seconds at a time.

 

Sharing

As well as taking recommendations from your Twitter account, there are a few easy ways to share on Overcast.

You can recommend an episode to your audience, or use the share settings to post it to your social media accounts. If there’s something you particularly want to share mid-episode, you can also share from a particular moment.

 

Speaking of sharing: for more ways to use Overcast, and some similar options for advanced podcast users – check out CGP Grey’s Recommended Podcast Apps.

 

Looking for some podcasts to listen to now? Don’t forget to check out my other recommendations – Top 5 Business Podcasts, and 2 New Podcasts for Microbusinesses.

Spring Clean Your Content: Part II, Content Mix

By

content mix

 

Welcome to Part II of Spring Cleaning Your Content!

Last week, we looked at the “media mix” – or the type of media you’ll be posting and where to post it.

This week, we’re talking about the “content mix” – how to organise your content strategy and how to keep your content consistent, varied and interesting.

 

Your content should be…

1. Informative

2. Valuable for your readers

3. Community-driven

4. Targeted

Informative content gives your customer a place to go to gather the information they need, whether that’s how to buy your product, how to use it, or just a way to get them involved in your area of expertise. All of this content must add value to your readers’ lives. In time, they’ll build trust in you and, eventually, invest their money in that value.

For those who are already part of your online community, and those who wish to join it. To inform and add value to your customers’ experiences, your content should be accessible and inclusive. That also means it will be targeted towards those who need it most. The more you can niche down, and the more specific you can be, the better.

Remember: online content is not just about sales: it’s providing a valuable resource, or even a place for people to hang out and share their interests. Build their trust, build your brand, and sales will follow.

 

Defining your content mix

Now that we’re familiar with what your content is seeking to accomplish, and which platforms are best suited, it’s time to think about what you’re posting and when.

Your content mix might include…

  • Company news – like a new product or an upcoming event.
  • Industry or customer-related news – e.g. an exciting innovation in your sector, or new technology that’s exciting for your customers.
  • Seasonal posts, holidays and tie-ins – like Spring Cleaning (duh!), a UN day of interest, or a Fashion Week tie-in – whatever is relevant to your business and your audience.
  • Content partnerships – content in collaboration with industry specialists or thought leaders like bloggers. This could include partnered giveaways and other types access to someone important to your audience.

No matter the topic, make sure your content mix is relevant to your audience. You can also include lots of evergreen content that you can share time and time again.

You may emphasise one of these content types over others, but as a general rule you should talk about yourself in a minority of posts. I like to use the 80:20 rule – so roughly only one in five posts will be about my own products and services, while the rest provide things like news, relevant but fun content, or guest blogs.

 

Content themes

We’ve talked about planning your content calendar before, and these tips still apply.

As long-time readers might have realised, I have a themed content mix in place here on nicolabalkind.com. Most of my posts share knowledge and advice, with the occasional post about a relevant event or a piece of industry news. I post once per week, and these tend to fall under the following categories:

  • Social Media and Content – practical guides like the one you’re reading, or like this post.
  • Microbusiness Interest – sharing resources that have helped me, or posting about topics around small businesses.
  • Recommendations – like tools, apps, and processes.
  • Notebook or Links posts – sharing the best industry-related posts I’ve read each month.

As I hinted above, the goal is to create a healthy mix of content that provides value, teaches your audience something new, and shares what you’re doing without boring them.

For more tips on varied content on social media, take a look at my tips for content curation.

 

Your turn

How do you keep your content varied and interesting for your readers? I’d love to hear your plans in the comments, or you can email me or tweet me anytime @robotnic.

Spring Clean Your Content: Part I, Media Mix

By

Media Mix

Trends change quickly and it’s easy to get in a rut with your content strategy. What better time to clean up your content than in Spring?

Before we dive into defining your content mix, first it is important to understand the type of media you’ll be posting and where to post it.

Today I want to help you take a look at your offering, give you a summary of trends in digital media, and suggest some ways to Spring clean your content. Next week, we’ll talk about the content mix and how to organise your own.

So, let’s learn about your options – or as I like to call it, the “media mix”.

 

Media Mix

Let’s talk about the media mix. We’re thinking about the types of media you can post, primarily text, images, video and audio, and how they’re best placed across digital platforms.

 

Blog Updates

If you’re still blogging – and I hope you are – text and images are probably your primary tools.

Words are always well-supported by pictures. They give your reader a sense of expectation, frame what’s to come, and illustrate your arguments.

Blogs are also important because they are a home for your content that you control. As we’ll discuss more below, every social media platform wants to keep you on-site, so linking out to other places is becoming less effective. The trouble is that you never know when a social media site will crash, go out of style, or even disappear.

Your blog is your home, and it’s an ideal place for your content to live. If you post a video to YouTube or a podcast to SoundCloud, it’s easy to embed these on your home blog. It gives your audience a central place to go where they can always find your latest news and updates. Don’t underestimate it!

As we’ve talked about previously, the same goes for email. Meet your audience where they’re at, get their email address, and keep them up-to-date with links back to your best content.

 

Social Media Updates

Updating your social media pages used to mean posting some text and maybe a link on Twitter or Facebook. Now, things are far more visual.

Currently, two of the fastest-growing platforms are Instagram and Snapchat – both visual, image and video-based platforms with massive young audiences. Not to mention Tumblr, a hugely visual platform and community which, arguably, focuses more on sharing and curating content than creating it. Users still create here, but it tends towards remixing and repurposing extant content from elsewhere (i.e. TV, YouTube videos, new memes).

Meanwhile, Twitter added images and Facebook also favours visual content that keeps users on-site.

My point? Social media still has a strong basis in text, but visual media is taking over.

 

Video

Let’s talk about dedicated video content. Video is one of the most rapidly-changing dynamics online these past fea years. Industry leaders have been heralding its moment for years now.

While YouTube launched 10 years ago and is credited with democratising video, it’s not until the past year or so that we’ve seen more platforms embrace video. Twitter launched Vine and Instagram added video capabilities around the same time; meanwhile Facebook favours auto-play and Twitter has now added a 30-second video option.

These are important changes as they keep users on-site. We can now post video directly on these social platforms – we publish the content directly to social, rather than publicising links and asking our users to follow them. The imperative to leave Twitter or Facebook and follow a link to YouTube has been weakened, so it’s time to start creating video content that’s fit for your chosen platform or platforms.

 

Audio

Audio content has great potential, and some sea changes have taken place of late – not least the massive success of Serial, which exploded the audience and appetite for podcasts.

Podcasts, micropodcasts and even audio clips shared on social media are an intimate way to connect with your audience. The direct voice-to-earbud delivery is unparalleled in this regard. Audio also occupies a different space in people’s lives: you’re reaching them while they’re out and about, walking, driving, doing daily tasks or even sleeping.

 

Next week we’ll look into defining your content mix.

Til then, what are the trends that you’ve seen in digital multimedia? What are you trying to achieve in your content strategy, and do you need help in going about it?

Drop me a comment below, tweet me @robotnic, or email me.

Subscribe to my newsletter

Categories