June Webmasters Meeting Details:

Date:                                     Thursday, June 6th

Time:                                    2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (30 minutes of extra time if needed)

Location:                             Graduate Student Center (211-A W. Cameron Ave.)

Presenter(s):                    Brandon Bieltz from University Communication and Winifred Metz from the Undergraduate Library’s Media Resources Center.

Presentation Topic:     Our June Webmasters session will be devoted to podcasts and best practices when creating them. You will also learn about equipment, resources, and studio space available to the UNC community.

Presentations and links:

Meeting Recap and Notes:

Part 1: Well Said Podcast

How it was launched – pitched by Brandon as

  • Cheap
  • Quick and high quality (turned out NOT to be quick – 15 minutes took about six hours of work)
  • A way to reach new audiences (audience turned out to be exactly the same as before)
  • An additional asset to add to the current strategy
  • A way to highlight university experts – a way to create/demonstrate news readiness

Initial Plan

  • TIP: Get high quality equipment for best sound
  • Used soundbox and cheap condenser microphones
  • Laptop computer
  • Created a regular schedule so people know what to expect
  • Needed several episodes before launch
  • Hosting in SoundCloud (there are better options out there, BlueBerry)
  • Published on several platforms (Stitcher, iTunes, SoundCloud)

Early Stages

  • Practiced audio editing by watching YouTube videos
  • Created bad audio situations (test episodes) that would need editing to practice solutions
  • First podcast was Bubba Cunningham – 1 week before NCAA tourney. – easy to sell

Challenges

  • No space (mobile technology came in handy, but no podcast was the same because locations changed every time)
  • Can fit all equipment needed into a milk-crate if needed
  • Promoting a podcast is a nightmare (took a lot of trial and error to figure it out)

Things learned

  • Algorithms ignore you unless/until you have several podcasts published
  • Needed more defined goals to base growth off of
  • Thought the podcast could “talk” to everybody, but ended up focusing on UNC students, faculty, staff, etc.
  • First season had 2,659 listeners – increased by 94% by making changes
  • Went from interviewing to storytelling (scriptwriting, sound effects, music – this increased production time to approx 12 hrs)
  • If you can’t explain why this will benefit you, then it’s probably not worth it
  • The first season will be bad, you have to be willing to stick it out to get it up and going
  • Went from a team of 1 to a team of 4 to sustain and grow the podcast, with a significant increase in the financial investment

Part 2: MRC Overview

  • Focuses on faculty and students, but also supports staff when time permits
  • Is an Adobe partner so software is used/supported
  • Has a suite of audio/video editing stations
  • Has a podcast studio for audio capture with mixer and multiple microphones – users bring their own laptops
  • Has audio/video equipment available for checkout (recommend that you reserve equipment weeks in advance)
  • Mid-range quality on technology with a blend of old (dependable) and new
  • Provide skillful tech classes
  • Provide tutorials and guides to help with developing and producing audio/video/digital design products
  • Has an online podcast storyboard template to walk users through the development process
  • Provide in-person help with story arc and digital story creation
  • Can visit their website to learn more about equipment, trainings, support, etc. and to make reservations or appointments: https://library.unc.edu/house/mrc/

Questions and Answers

How long is the basic podcast training?

Winifred: It takes about 2.5 hours for us to train you from conceptualization to creation.

Equipment recommendations? 

Winifred and Brandon: Use directional microphones. You get what you pay for.

How do you target audiences?

Brandon: We use targeted marketing based on interests and age level. We use Facebook to target specific groups by topic.

Do you use cover art?

Brandon: Cover art is very important, students said they often choose podcasts based on cover art

Do you use sound dampening?

Brandon: No we remove excess sound in post production. Egg crate type foam can make a big difference.

Do you use scripts?

Brandon: No I refer to an outline in my notebook. The guest does not use a script.

Do you ever have problems with verbal tics?

Brandon: Biggest problem is when speakers “roll” through sentences without breaks. We ask them to repeat themselves slowly and carefully.