Faculty of Health and Life Science's podcasting service
Podcasting, sometimes known as radio-on-demand, is a hugely important and growing area of media. With the continual growth of audiences and low/no barriers to creators or consumers, podcasting should be considered a key area for disseminating research, sharing discussions, and more.
It can work on a local level – directed at a particular course or cohort – or distributed worldwide at the click of a button. The podcasting market is growing at a CAGR of 27.6%*, and now is an excellent time to make podcasts part of your teaching and learning toolkit.
Anyone can create podcasts with the simplest of equipment – your mobile phone, for example – but for the best results and the biggest impact, utilising dedicated equipment and the skills of specialists will make your content really stand out. The CEDS podcast production team will help you to plan, record, edit and distribute your work and support you with marketing your show and gathering back useful statistics on listenership and reach. They can create original music and sound design to support more creative endeavours or ensure clarity and pace for traditional speech to content.
Audiences love podcasts because they are on-demand. You can choose when and how to listen to them and fit them around your daily routine. If you’ve got something you want to share, then a podcast could be the right way.
Recording your podcast
Creating a podcast can be as simple as opening the voice notes function on your phone, recording your content, and then uploading it via a podcast app.
For quality purposes, at least some specialist equipment is required. Depending on the format your podcast is taking, there are a variety of solutions to recording. For example, supplement online platforms such as Zoom and Teams with quality microphones, dedicated recording studios, or remote-recording equipment for capturing recordings in classrooms, conferences, or anywhere while out and about.
Higher-quality content helps create more listener commitment and engagement; working with experienced podcast producers will help you achieve this.
Hosting your podcast
There are a wide range of hosting options for podcasts, many of which are available for free. When planning your podcast, you’ll need to consider the frequency and length of the episodes you intend to create, whether there is a need for very high-resolution audio and what sort of statistics you’d like to receive back from the show.
For podcast-style material created for sharing ‘locally’ to classes, cohorts or colleagues, your audio episodes can be produced as files to share easily within your VLE-based learning resources or on webpages.
Getting analytical information
All podcast hosts will offer some form of statistical data for your content. Statistics will usually tell you how many people are listening, where they are in the world, and what devices or services they use to listen.
Paid hosting platforms or dedicated podcast analytic services will collect further analytical information, potentially breaking your listenership into demographic groups and letting you know exactly how much of an episode they’ve listened to.
They can also collect the completion rate and how many dedicated followers you have.