Community-first Engagement with Podcasting

Whether you’re a swift navigator of change or you would prefer to take change slowly and methodically, you may have noticed a recent shift in media and technology from video content (think primetime talk shows and viral YouTube channels) to audio-only content. Podcasts have claimed a seat at the head of the media table over the past few years, and for very good reasons: they provided a way to keep media seamless during the quarantined years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they subsequently demonstrated that society’s engagement with media has changed significantly.

Engagement evolves with technology, institutions, and communication. As our relationship with video changes in the wake of Tik Tok and other similar video content, attention spans grow shorter and focus dims at the prospect of watching even a six-minute video. Media that focuses on repeated messaging must therefore also change, and podcasting proved itself to be one of the best ways to move with the times.

Tradition is a tricky thing to navigate. If you’re used to certain types of delivery, say a sermon for example, it makes sense to think that you need to replicate the experience of a traditional sermon: a person in a collar or a stole, perhaps holding a bible or sheets of paper, gesturing at a camera just like they’d gesture while preaching in person to a congregation or a crowd. It may feel inadequate to change the way that things we used to only do in person are delivered, whether it’s a sermon or a community class.

While adapting traditions to current realities may be daunting, podcasting truly is an open door when it comes to content development and adaptation. As a podcaster, you can create space for listeners to engage as they choose – sitting down to listen just as they would watch a video, listening as they drive to and from work, or listening as they prepare dinner. There’s more leeway for how you choose to engage authentically too. The audio-only nature of podcasting means you get to record in a collar or in loungewear, at work or at home, when it’s bright and lighting is good or when it’s dark – all while demonstrating to listeners your willingness to adapt to today’s realities.

Learning Forte is intimately familiar with adapting to ever-changing realities, especially when it comes to using tools to enhance communication and engagement. As a hybrid organization, the intersection of media and communication is our arena.

We can help you start your journey with podcasting, make a shift from video to audio content, and more – we want to answer your questions! Join Nia McKenney and Kyle Oliver on Tuesday, May 9th from 1-2 pm Eastern for Learning Live to get tried and true podcasting tips, engage in meaningful discussion, and leave feeling confident about your ability to become a podcaster!

Have you encountered media that are better delivered via podcast than its video predecessors? Do you take advantage of the nature of podcasts, allowing you to listen on your own terms? Share your thoughts and questions in the Learning Hub Commons!

Nia McKenney is a passionate producer, editor, creator, and lover of media and technology. She works, lives, and serves deeply grounded in the values of respect and empathy, and is particularly driven by those values to improve representation and accessibility for people in communities who are not represented in or provided access to privileges and resources to which they are entitled – using media and technical literacy to do so.

Before joining our team, Nia worked as part of the marketing team at Forward Movement, for which she still reads on the Forward Day by Day podcast. She has also worked and grown within the Cincinnati Public Library system (Cincinnati, Ohio), focusing on tech literacy and tutoring for all ages. Nia holds a bachelor’s degree in Music and Spanish Language from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in Music Technology from Indiana University Purdue, with voice as her primary instrument.

Music has always existed at the core of Nia’s existence. She is always singing, always practicing, and always surprised at the absolute purity of musical joy. Any time outside of (and sometimes during!!) work is filled with sounds and singing.