PodMov Daily: Thursday, January 16

Episode 122: Your Thursday Podthoughts

Facebook's Podcast Groups: Far Beyond the Episodes

Podcast groups aren’t just about podcasts, observes Taylor Lorenz of The New York Times. “Fans of popular shows are converging on Facebook to talk about what they hear, and pretty much everything else too.”

Lorenz explores the deep bonds formed through podcast groups, far beyond dissection of episodes. Danielle Desir, the founder of Women of Color Podcasters, told Lorenz that due to the “one-directional” experience of podcasts “a lot of listeners are looking to continue the conversation and interject with their thoughts.”

Whether a show has devoted subgroups for intense discussion (in one case “clustered by region, interests and goals”) or a 15-person circle, these platforms “remain an incredibly effective way to keep existing fans engaged, bring new listeners into the fold and even forge friendships.”

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Broccoli Content: The Innovative UK Venture's First Release

The London-based production company Broccoli Content was announced in October as Sony Music’s joint venture with producer Renay Richardson. At the time, Hot Pod’s Caroline Crampton noted the “exciting” formation and now sees it as “one of the big 2019 developments for U.K. podcasting.”

Crampton spoke to Richardson and Diyora Shadijanova, the host of Broccoli’s first podcast, about the company’s origins and future plans. On the newly launched Your Broccoli Weekly, Shadijanova leads “opinionated conversation, backed up by guests’ substantial knowledge of their subjects.”

It’s a “flagship show,” explains Richardson, that embodies the company’s bold, serious approach. Young British professionals will determine the outcome of Broccoli’s fresh and honest style.

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Change It Up: Meaningful Work in Podcasting and Media

For many podcasters the principle often attributed to Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” is essential to their work. “Every year, journalists write, record and film stories, and things change because of it,” writes Kristen Hare in Poynter.

The same can absolutely be said for podcasters. Hare details how communicators in all media can find effective, meaningful focus. “Listen to your readers” and “ask why” aren’t just narrative suggestions. Jennifer Brett, a multiplatform journalist and digital coach with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, told Hare:

“Social media proficiency, digital savvy and investigative skills are great tools for finding and sharing important stories, but […] a low-tech approach is often the key to finding and owning stories that are unique, exclusive and meaningful to your community.”

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Happy Thursday, readers, and thanks to those participating in this month’s 28-Day Challenge sponsored by Acast Open.

The community team is at it again, planning another fresh, free podcast-launching session just in time for spring.

Sign up now through March 3 to see what a boost can do for you.

Cheers,

Team PM

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Here's what else is going on:

• Big cats: The footwear company Puma, one of the first advertising partners to test Spotify’s new SAI advertising technology, says that “results were major.” Host-read ads on Jemele Hill Is Unbothered suggest powerful improvement in recall.

• Positive angle: According to Rob Walch, “in all likelihood your show is doing a lot better than you think.” Libsyn’s database numbers determine that a podcast with over 130 downloads after 30 days is doing “better than half the shows out there.”

• Send up: The Daily Show Podcast Universe, a new podcast from Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, will be “a five-part miniseries with the main objective of parodying other popular podcasts” from Slow Burn to Pod Save America.

• Extra credit: At the University of Southern California this week five podcast industry experts, including PRX Chief Content Officer John Barth, spoke on a panel about the “challenges of finding an audience and launching an independent podcast.”