Audio is one of the most powerful ways of communicating effectively on many levels. Additionally, some people in leadership positions may feel most comfortable addressing their audiences with the spoken word when delivering messages of great importance.

The new medium of Podcasting has clear advantages over prior methods of delivering audio messages. Podcasts are audio messages recorded as digital files and delivered as enclosures (similar to email’s attachments) in RSS feeds. They can be downloaded at any time and listened to on either a desktop computer or on any of the now ubiquitous portable media players like an iPod. Many organizations are finding that podcasts can also serve as means of regularly communicating personally with your audience. Whether for frequent or infrequent communication, podcasts can always be delivered in your secure RSS feeds behind the firewall.

Every posting to your Blogsite has a field available for easy upload of an enclosed podcast.

Other methods of delivering an audio message to a large number of people include integrating an automated message into the organization’s voice mail system, uploading a digital file onto a static web page that people must visit and download from, or making attendance at a physical meeting mandatory when a key message is to be delivered. Using a voice mail system to broadcast a message is obtrusive and often unwelcome, and static web pages are uncompelling and inconvenient.

While face-to-face communication will always be an important part of life, there are many circumstances in which it is not the best method of ensuring that audiences listen closely and integrate the message into their minds.

Advantages to using Podcasts for internal communication include:

• Podcasts are delivered directly to RSS feed subscribers.
• Click-through rates can be tracked to monitor rates of consumption.
• Podcasts can be listened to in the time and place of the listener’s choosing, often at the gym or during a commute, so that maximum attention is available for absorption.
• People enjoy listening to messages delivered as podcasts.
• Many podcast listeners synch their media players with their podcast subscriptions, so new audio files are automatically loaded onto their iPods or similar devices.
• While subscription rates in every other media industry are slowing or declining, digital media consumption in general and podcast consumption in particular is rapidly expanding.

Podcasts are just one more way that new digital media can help make communication more efficient and effective.