1. Podcast review
Charlotte
23 July 2019

2. What we’ll cover 11am-12.30pm Introductions
What stories do we want to tell and how best can we tell them?
12.30pm-1pm
How can we reach more people and grow our audience?
1pm-2pm
Lunch
Charlotte

3. What stories do we want to tell and how best can we tell them?
Charlotte
1 min – think of a community business story you’ve come across. What was the most exciting thing about it? Who told it to you?

4. Podcast origins Charlotte
The case for community control essay – May 2018
To show the breadth and depth of the community business sector, including how diverse the businesses and people are, through powerful storytelling
To inspire people to get involved or stay involved in community business
To share best practice / ideas between community businesses
To highlight the benefits community businesses bring to a local area and local people
To signpost to Power to Change funding and support, and other sector support

5. Objectives Diversity of sector through powerful storytelling
Inspire people to get involved
Spread good ideas
Highlight transformative power of community business
Signpost to Power to Change funding and support
Charlotte
The case for community control essay – May 2018
To show the breadth and depth of the community business sector, including how diverse the businesses and people are, through powerful storytelling
To inspire people to get involved or stay involved in community business
To share best practice / ideas between community businesses
To highlight the benefits community businesses bring to a local area and local people
To signpost to Power to Change funding and support, and other sector support

6. What have we achieved in a year?
12 monthly episodes featuring 28 community businesses
Over 130 people from communities have had their say and shared their stories
Around 65% have been women, despite our concerns that we would be hearing from a lot of men. 
Curtis / Simon

7. What are the restrictions of current podcast?
CJ/SJ Post it notes

8. Restrictions
Having lots of different voices makes it confusing and can only get the surface of the story
Lack of full long-term editorial calendar and social media plan
The story sometimes feels very local and doesn’t link enough to national/global challenges facing all communities
Not synced enough to Power to Change comms strategy
Currently the host takes up a lot of air time explaining things. Not an interview format
Timings can be tricky to fit with Power to Change funding windows
Hard to get in touch with community businesses sometimes as ppl volunteer/work part-time/don’t check s
Production and expense costs are higher than expected (circa £7,000 per episode). Due to travelling to interviews and more editing time to cut down so many interviews.
Each episode is a different community sector –finite format and feels disjointed sometimes
Tips section always feel like an add-on and repetitive

9. How is the current format meeting our objectives?
Curtis / Simon – post-its 5mins facilitation
Diversity of sector through powerful storytelling
Inspire people to get involved
Spread good ideas
Highlight transformative power of community business
Signpost to Power to Change funding and support

10. What’s good
Great mix of diverse voices – 65% women. Managers, beneficiaries, volunteers, local people, Power to Change staff,…represents the community
Promotes Power to Change funding programmes
Inspiring stories of change
Good brand
Good introduction to community businesses and the wider context they sit in
Gives community business leaders a platform, engages PTC grantees
Opportunity to promote Power to Change’s priority places and sectors

11. How are others using podcasts?
Curtis / Simon

12. What have we learnt? 38 minutes average length of a podcast
Length doesn’t matter as long as content is engaging enough
Personal stories are inspiring
Sharing personal experiences, memories and knowledge is really interesting for audiences
Marketing matters
Behind the scenes content of the show being produced, paid social, getting the interviewee to launch with us, getting more of the team to support it are all essential to growing our audience, awards
Bring the podcast to the people
Live events are a great opportunity to capture content and have a shared experience recording the podcast
Hosts drive the show
A good host gets involved in interviews and promoting the podcast.

13. What different format/content could solve the restrictions of current podcast?
Curtis/ Simon – facilitating 5mins post-its >outputs
Themes – finite number of sectors / restricting link with PTC news
Host role / commitment / availability
Interviewees – too many voices / unpredictable interviews / long edit process
Production costs - £5000 production cost + circa £4000 expenses/ episode
Production timeline – ways of working, newsletter link, process

14. Format options
1 rotating host, 1 rotating CB leader – one interviews the other and then interviewee becomes host in next episode with new community business leader
1 host, 2 CB leaders – interview that delves into one community business and motivations of people to get into it/effect on their lives
1 host, 3 panellists – interview about a topic?
Trailer – vox pops from different ppl at CB so we keep breadth of voices ‘what does this CB mean to you?’
Mini-series within the series e.g. focusing just on community energy or just one CB?
Be more flexible on format. Create extra content around main shows
Ideas
Content options
What motivates people to become involved in community business? Turning point and journey of one or two people
Local actions, wider change
Best day/worst day as a community business leader
What I did this week/day in the life
The story of a community business starting up

15. Ideas Production What we won’t include in the show anymore
Have a long-term editorial and marketing calendar
Involve community businesses in the production of the show more
Involve the research and development team
Involve sector partners
What we won’t include in the show anymore
Tips from a community business
A Power to Change person promoting a programme – can be done in show notes
Lots of different voices – too confusing
A host that is just a narrator

16. How can we reach more people and grow our audience?

17. Who is listening and who do we want to reach?
Charlotte / Curtis/Simon

18. Listenership Currently very low figures
Need to get all at Power to Change to listen to the shows + sector partners, grantees etc.
Want all potential applicants to listen to it
4 ages of community business:
Young people looking for work experience/sense of community
New parents
Empty nesters
Olderpreneurs

19. How are we promoting it? Sophie 1468 total page views of CB Fix
45 clicks in newsletter for libraries (trailer

20. 1468 total page views of CB Fix pages on website
Marketing so far
1468 total page views of CB Fix pages on website
45 clicks in newsletter for libraries (trailer+episode), followed by wellbeing episode (18) and leisure centres (15)
13 Tweets about community shares episode – impressions, 43 clicks
3 Facebook posts with 628 impressions
216 views of transcripts

21. What else can we do to market it and grow our audience?
Curtis / Simon - 5mins Post-it notes
Change release schedule?
Paid social advertising
Ads on other podcasts
Guests on other podcasts

22. Marketing ideas Recording live podcasts
Behind the scenes content of the show being produced – instastories / photos on twitter/FB
Paid social ads
Launching an episode live at the community business
Entering Awards
Featuring on other blogs
Being more consistent on social promotion
Host marketing on social

23. Next steps