52% Of Employees want their C-suite to communicate via podcast
BUSINESSES struggling to communicate with employees in a post-pandemic hybrid working environment need to embrace podcasting, with 52 percent of Brits reporting that they wish their C-suite team used audio in their internal communications.
Despite an explosion in podcasting over the last decade less than 30 percent of businesses use it as one of their employee engagement techniques.
While brands were quick to adapt to podcast sponsorship and even long-form consumer content production, few have utilised podcasting when it comes to communicating with their staff and internal stakeholders.
The findings were revealed in the latest trends report from global strategic podcast agency 4DC which showed that podcast listeners consume a massive 33 percent of news content via podcasts – demonstrating that podcast media relations need to be an integral part of any modern internal communication and press office function.
The research polled 3,353 respondents and showed that the pandemic has shifted both the needs and habits of people when it comes to audio.
Peter Mitchell, co-founder of 4DC, said: “This report shows that people are thirsty for knowledge and that nearly half of podcast listeners are actively seeking to learn new things. There is a huge opportunity to curate learning journeys for information-hungry listeners and that includes your own staff.
“With disparate global workforces and a ‘work anywhere, anytime’ culture it’s essential that businesses recognise how valuable audio can be for them as a comms channel. With a podcast you can be at your desk, in your car, on your commute, walking the dog, or even exercising while catching up on the strategy and news from your own business.
“Podcasting isn’t just a fad – it’s here to stay. It’s time for businesses to recognise that it’s an effective and proven comms channel that should be in the mix for anyone looking to engage with their target audiences – internally and externally.”
In fact, 62 percent of respondents trust podcasts over other media formats, inching slightly ahead of TV and radio and steaming well ahead of online news in the trust index.
Two-thirds of Brits now regularly listen to podcasts with a quarter listening weekly. News podcasts have seen the most significant growth in the last 24 months, accounting for 20 percent of the audience share but only 8 percent of podcasts produced.
Other trends revealed by the report were that listeners were now more likely to want to hear from a specialist or even an ‘everyday person’ than a celebrity and that the professionalism of the production is more important than five-star reviews or a familiar presenter.
The report also showed that the presenter ‘in-read’ has fallen out of favour with listeners now preferring a short 30-second advert over sponsorship or a host reading a scripted promo.
Peter Mitchell, co-founder of 4DC, said: “Podcasting is the most effective way of building a loyal relationship with your target audience. But strategy is key - there needs to be an investment of time and money and businesses need to recognise that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
“Podcasting and audio have delivered exceptional ROI for brands that have taken it seriously and listened to their audience as the format has experienced an explosion of growth and evolved as much in ten years as radio has in the last 50.
“But so many marketing, PR and comms professionals see it as an add on rather than a core component of brand building and engaging with key audiences. It’s time that this changed. We need to give the platform the respect it deserves.”
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Under embargo until 00.01 Thursday 28th April 2022
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