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Podcast listenership, at least for now, is another victim of the coronavirus pandemic. But a time will come when daily commutes are once again prime time for podcasts – and smart organizations can use the current moment to strengthen their audio storytelling efforts.

In fact, some difficulties imposed on the working world by COVID-19 provide opportunities for organizations to shine (or, at least, regroup) when it comes to podcasting. Here’s a quick list of our recommendations.

Effectively Plan Content Around the Story of the Moment

For podcasts that have been around for a while, now is the time to look back through the archives and resurface episodes that might be particularly resonant amid the pandemic – perhaps about topics like telemedicine or the consolidation of rural hospitals. It’s a good idea to do a bit of recasting or updating to explain the rerelease, but that can be done without changing much of the original content.

Other pieces of audio content produced by your organization, notably webinars about COVID-19, might work for your podcast series. Under normal circumstances, audio quality could make that a nonstarter. But given the need to get compelling information to key audiences, an edited version of a webinar might work well, or well enough.

In fact, audio that’s a little rougher around the edges than normal might be appropriate right now, and to a point, listeners will understand.

Be Willing to Reconsider Format – at Least Temporarily

Given how quickly things are moving amid COVID-19, throwing out your podcast rulebook might make sense – at least to a point. For instance, series typically try to produce episodes of similar lengths, often around the time of the average American commute (25 minutes). But, as noted, fewer listeners are commuting, so consider shorter episodes to keep up with breaking news and points of view..

And while multitasking is common for podcast listening, it likely is even more so now, particularly for busy working parents. That means techniques that we always advise for hosts – flagging key points, summarizing when appropriate – are more helpful. Releasing full transcripts of episodes, which is always a good idea, could help listeners catch up on their favorite podcasts in front of their laptops instead of on the train.

The Benefits of (Effective) Remote Recording

If you’re a regular podcast listener, you know that recordings are often conducted with participants in multiple locations. But it probably happens more than you realize. Smart podcast producers combine high-end software, insightful guidance for participants and professional editors to create episodes that are near studio quality – even when the studio is a web browser.

In addition to the best practices listed above, in our experience we’ve found preparation is key – making sure hosts and guests know what they need (a quiet room, a strong internet connection, etc.) well before the “tape” starts rolling.

And who knows? Maybe guests who were pipedreams six weeks ago can be convinced to record a quick interview now that they’re stuck at home. Certainly, booking podcast guests has become generally easier, and with much of the world getting a crash course in communicating over Zoom or Teams, it’s hard to imagine that anyone would find the requirements of a remote podcast recording daunting.

Time to Regroup?

Finally, with listenership down, now might be the time for a series to regroup and plan for calmer days, especially for series with niche focuses that have nothing or little to do with COVID-19. That process starts by looking at downloads and other analytics to assess content focuses and distribution strategies. Other feedback, like reviews on iTunes, might be extremely valuable.

Podcasts have steadily grown in popularity for years, and they were especially impactful for busy decision-makers. That can still be the case amid COVID-19 – and it will definitely be the case when some semblance of normalcy returns.

Make good use of this current pause and your audience will come back even hungrier for your perspectives and guidance.

Return to COVID-19 Resources for Communicators

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To rise above the noise, just be quiet.

We’re all inundated with screaming headlines, relentless statistics and endless so-called thought leadership. Most of it, particularly the thought leadership, is shoved in our faces with little thought for what we need to know, what’s worrying us, or what questions we wish someone would answer.

Outside of global pandemics, we like to say that true thought leadership, the kind of content that builds authority, has four attributes: relevance, urgency, novelty and utility. But at this point we’ll assume that anything you’re publishing related to COVID-19 is relevant (the crisis effects everybody) and urgent (it’s a crisis). The insights that will rise above the noise during the crisis are the ones that are new and useful. 

Learning From Crises Past

To a degree it’s always been that way. I was a college reporter in the days and weeks after 9/11, and an editor around the 2008 financial crisis, and I still remember the urgency we all felt to go find novel stories our readers needed to hear.

Of course, we were always looking for those stories. And on an intellectual level we understood that our reporting and editorial judgment mattered. But in the wake of global calamity, with lives and livelihoods in the balance, that understanding became visceral. You could feel the weight of the crisis in the almost-desperate search for stories that nobody else had told, in the ferocity of the conversations about what our readers needed to know.  

And the only way to get at those new and useful stories was to go talk to people. And more importantly, to listen.

How to Listen Today

There are a bunch of different ways to listen, and now is a good time to employ them all. The first, most obvious and most literal is calling clients, prospects and others who’re in the audience you want to reach and just asking them what’s keeping them up at night, what questions they’re asking, what problems have them perplexed.

My guess is most practitioners are already doing that. We recently worked with an attorney to publish a smart perspective on the coming battles between businesses and their insurance companies – an article she could only write because she’d been listening to her clients.

But as valuable as that kind of listening can be, we have to tread carefully as well. We risk producing insights that are too narrow – the last person you talked to doesn’t necessarily have the same problems and questions as their peers the world over.

So it also makes sense to listen in the aggregate, using data tools to see what your audiences want to know. SEO data can help you home in on utility by telling you what questions the audience is asking. Media-research tools can show you what’s already been said, so you know where the novelty lies.

If you don’t have the tools, or don’t know how to use them, a simple Google search on the topic you want to write about can tell you how much has already been said, who’s said it and how well. If the first page of search results reveals a litany of others saying what you wanted to say, your choices are either to advance the conversation or move on and start a different one.

In the first few weeks of the COVID-19 crisis (which already feels like nine months ago), it may have made sense to just run and gun with your content, to get the insights flowing quickly, knowing your clients and prospects were desperate for information.

Now that just about everybody has done that, the flow of insights has turned into a raging, deafening river of noise. The worst thing any of us can in our communications is add to that noise.

But if we can just be still for a few moments and listen to the people we’re trying to reach, we can find out what information they need, what would help them get through this. If we can provide it, they’ll have no trouble hearing us above the noise.

Return to COVID-19 Resources for Communicators

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Scenario planning doesn’t need to be complicated, even in the toughest, unexpected moments

For business leaders and communications professionals working through the COVID-19 crisis, scenario planning has never been more important. But it’s also not all that difficult.

Adapted from military intelligence, the original scenario-planning method recognizes that many factors can combine in complex ways to create surprising outcomes. This often includes things that can be extremely difficult to predict, and such thinking is meant to help organizations prepare for otherwise unforeseen but profound shifts in the social, political or economic landscape.

If that sounds complicated, it doesn’t need to be. And for the less sweeping, but still consequential, crises that are likely to come your way, you can’t afford it to be.

Even if you’ve been through sophisticated scenario planning, unexpected events can still challenge your business and require you to think through and communicate decisions that you had not previously contemplated. Customers, employees and other stakeholders will turn to you, as a leader in your organization, in these pivotal moments for reassuring guidance, useful information, or a deserved explanation.

What would you say if an internal investigation uncovers malfeasance, or if it doesn’t? How do we announce the outcome of a lawsuit, whichever way it goes? How do we communicate the loss of operations or revenue resulting from the current pandemic? And most significantly, how would you communicate the loss of an employee’s life?

Issues like these need your hands-on management even while you are doing everything else that is part of your day-to-day job. That’s another reason why this process can’t be complicated. You need a fast, efficient method for thinking through the problem at hand and how you will respond to it. You need the comfort of knowing that you’ll have something to say when all eyes turn to you, even if you don’t have all the information or are waiting for another shoe to drop.

By asking the following questions, you and your management team should emerge after a few quick hours with a solid, proactive framework to address any of the possible outcomes of your looming crisis, preventing you from scrambling to catch up when it does finally hit.

  • Objective – How do you want your organization to be perceived once the situation is resolved?
  • Messages – What three things are most important for your audience to hear regardless of the outcome?
  • Outcomes – What are all the possible outcomes of the crisis you are contemplating?
  • Audience – Who will be impacted by these outcomes, and how? And who might be interested in these outcomes, but not impacted?
  • Statement – What must we say to these audiences to achieve our objective?

There are some other things that should be considered during scenario planning:

  • The best spokesperson is the person who has the best relationship with your audience, and you may need more than one if you are addressing multiple audiences.
  • The best channel for your spokesperson – a press release, letter, a phone call, an email or tweet, etc. – is the one your audience expects you to use most often or is required by your regulator, if you have one.
  • Murphy’s Law dictates that the members of your team who need to greenlight any statement before it is issued are usually the ones who can’t be reached. Identify alternate parties who can conduct the necessary reviews in a pinch.
  • There may be third parties who will stand up and support your statement, so think about who they may be.
  • Finally, when you’ve communicated your initial decision or response to the crisis, you may have to work through a separate scenario plan if the crisis continues to unfold.

This process works. We’ve used it a lot and know from experience that business leaders who can pause and think though the several possible outcomes of a pivotal moment and how it impacts their key stakeholders will be in a much stronger position to achieve their business objectives. 

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Just like you, we are actively monitoring the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our team has quickly acclimated to a new way of working while staying locked on addressing our clients’ most pressing needs. Here you will find a toolkit of resources that may prove useful as you grapple with the unprecedented challenges we’re all facing.

A New Research Method for a Changing World

Without the ability to bring a group of experts together and amid the chaos of the abrupt work-from-home transition, we needed a new approach to help corporate America reduce employee burnout, attract talent and build healthier organizations.

Adapting to Remote Work? Your Company’s Values May Be the Reason Why

COVID-19 and the subsequent stay-at-home orders brought confusion and frustration, but it also taught us that even as businesses evolve, corporate values should always ring true – both inside and outside the office.   

How an Improvisational Mindset Helps You Communicate in a Crisis

If these latest crises have shown us anything it’s that there’s no one way to plan for everything. Instead, the sudden lockdown and the pressure organizations felt to respond to recent events underscore why today’s communicators need an improvisational mindset

The Problem with Client Alerts – and How to Fix Them

Most GCs don’t find client alerts useful. Making them better may be easier than you think.

Actionable Research During Times Of Uncertainty

In our latest video installment, we explore a few different nimble and flexible approaches to research that help professional services organizations demonstrate true subject matter authority and drive door opening conversations for client development during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

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For Authorities With Unique Expertise, It’s Time to Engage

Authorities are back. And not just the kind who order you to stay home and wash your hands a lot. I’m talking about true subject matter authorities – those experts who have the knowledge and experience to help us make sense of what’s happening.

Podcasting Strategies During Shelter In Place

Podcast listenership, at least for now, is another victim of the coronavirus pandemic. But a time will come when daily commutes are once again prime time for podcasts — and smart organizations can use the current moment to strengthen their audio storytelling efforts.

Reality of Work From Home Offers Opportunities in Research

Maintaining a willingness to explore creative approaches to research in a time of unprecedented constraints can empower your organization to emerge from this period in a position of strength.

Journalists Become Essential in a Crisis – But COVID-19 May Cost Them Their Jobs

While journalism has never been more important, the media business has rarely been so unstable, as publishers begin to feel the impact of an economy on lockdown.

WEBINAR: Resources for Nonprofits (& Others) Who Want to Tell Their COVID-19 Story

Amid this unprecedented crisis, reporters crave access and new stories to tell. Yet many think connecting with reporters is some mystical process that only people “in the know” can master.

The Eight Hats of Crisis Leadership

Through formal and informal conversations, we’ve discovered that a leader must play not one but several different roles in a leadership position, if they want to inspire lieutenants to do their best work.

Remember: This Is a Health and Human Crisis Above All

As we navigate one of the most fluid and uncertain health and economic crises of our lifetime, firm leaders face a multitude of issues around their most precious commodity: their talent. While every situation is different, so too are the considerations for reducing professional and staff-related costs and the process for communicating those decisions.

Want Your Voice to Stand Out in a Crisis? Be Still and Listen

If we can just be still for a few moments and listen to the people we’re trying to reach, we can find out what information they need and what would help them get through this. If we can provide that, they’ll have no trouble hearing us above the noise.

Smarter Conversations: Writing With Authority

In the age of information overload, connecting with an audience requires knowing exactly what they want – and how to give it to them.

Download Our Guide to Writing With AuthorityDownload

What We’re Seeing: Insights on the COVID-19 Marketing Communications Landscape

How can PR/Marketing maintain demand for services NOW and drive demand for services LATER? Guided by these questions, what are the best paths forward to navigate the COVID-19 crisis?

Leading a Professional Services Organization Through Uncertainty

Professional services leaders are facing unique communications challenges and opportunities during this uncertain time.

Scenario Planning for Business Leaders Amid COVID-19

For business leaders and communications professionals working through the COVID-19 crisis, scenario planning has never been more important. But it’s also not all that difficult.

As our insights evolve along with the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve also gathered some relevant perspectives from our archives:

Why Data-Driven Content Strategy Matters to Professional Services

Given the pandemic information overload and uncertainty ahead, how do we find out what clients and key audiences are really looking for? Where do they need the most help right now?

Research Reports Are Valuable — If You Can Find Them

Research is more valuable and trusted than ever. “The sudden outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by a new coronavirus, is proving to the world every day the important role research plays in the response to global health emergencies.” — STAT

Beyond the Buzzword: How to Create Actual Thought Leadership

How do you get your authority position to stand out during times of rampant noise?

What the C-Suite Wants: Useful Content, Curated

What is the C-suite really looking to get out of their COVID-19 content? What do they need most from content right now?

How Credible Sources, Education and Innovation Can Curb Fake News

We believe that true authorities have a responsibility to participate skillfully in the ongoing conversation. With audiences heavily relying on outside information during these uncertain times, it’s imperative to communicate in an effort to combat disinformation.

We’re here to help and would welcome a chat to discuss what we’re learning as this extraordinary situation unfolds.

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How to communicate difficult news with empathy and grace

As professional services organizations navigate one of the most fluid and uncertain health and economic crises of our lifetime, firm leaders face a multitude of complex and interconnected issues around their most precious commodity: their talent.

Given the pandemic’s impact on virtually every business and industry, from neighborhood coffee shops to global conglomerates, professional services organizations – trailing indicators of the macro economy – are exploring all options to preserve cash and bolster their financial positions.

Some of those options are the same as in any sudden downturn. But in this case, firm leaders must also grapple with the fact that this is a health and human crisis – not just a financial one. It’s not only their coworker’s livelihoods at stake – it’s their lives.

So unfortunately, looking back to learn from previous downturns has limited utility. Those in the trenches during the dot-com crash of 2000, the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001 or the great recession of 2007-2009 know the conversation around staff reductions today is much different.

Further complicating matters, mental health and wellness were major issues before COVID-19 kicked professional anxiety into a new gear – and firms are reluctant to part ways with talent whom they may want to rehire in a few months’ time.

While every firm’s situation and circumstances are different, so too are the considerations for reducing professional and staff-related costs – and, equally important, the process for communicating those decisions.

Whether you’ve already communicated the measures your firm has taken to reduce staff-related costs or are in the midst of advising leadership on how to communicate an imminent move, it’s worth reiterating: this is a health and human crisis. Before you say or do anything, consider how your actions might be perceived by those who are suffering or close to those suffering.

Here are additional points to keep in mind when communicating with internal and external audiences:

(1) Don’t be afraid to share what you learned from the past or how this is different

  • Professional services firm leaders we’ve spoken to have acknowledged mistakes they made during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. They should acknowledge those to their teams as well – and show how those lessons are informing decisions this time around.
  • Still, no one was prepared for this type of event and we’re all learning as we go. Humility signals authenticity and breeds trust.

(2) Prepare your leaders to be in front

  • Leaders can provide vision, hope and inspiration during a time of crisis. Help them seize the moment by openly, regularly expressing empathy with the needs and concerns of different stakeholders.
  • Embrace transparency around the business impact of the crisis and the steps your firm is taking – and pivots you’re making – to successfully maneuver through it.

(3) Remember that prospective talent remains an important stakeholder

  • Current employees are the priority. But remember that you were in a pitched battle for talent leading up to the crisis – and you could be again soon. So be sure that your vision and values are clear in every single communication.
  • Emphasize the steps your firm is taking to preserve its financial strength and resilience.

(4) Stress a “leaders eat last” message

  • Now is not the time to be modest; if leaders and owners are making sacrifices to bolster their firms, that should be communicated to all employees.

(5) Be up front about hard staffing decisions

  • Be clear and coherent with impacted employees. The right thing is to treat them with compassion; if they are, they’ll tell others – their friends in the company and even prospective employees.
  • If your firm can provide severance, make sure to let employees know that you did. While providing details surrounding severance packages may not be your organization’s norm, this crisis is different. Transparency now will pay dividends later.  

It’s worth repeating our central theme – this crisis is about people, not numbers. Professional services firms need to keep this front and center in their decision-making when it comes to communications or otherwise.

Return to COVID-19 Resources for Communicators

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With Covid-19’s full effects still bearing down on us, professional services providers might be tempted to stand pat on critical business initiatives. But those initiatives could help them weather an economic downturn — and prepare them for when some semblance of normalcy returns.

Put simply, waiting is not a strategy right now.

Organizations can still do a lot thoughtfully and strategically, particularly in areas that can work quite well with so many Americans working from home over the coming weeks and months.

Research Surveys in the Time of Covid-19

When they’re not trying to concentrate with screaming kids in the next room or investing in noise-canceling headphones, American workers are taking more video conferences than ever before. That is out of necessity, but it also means that those workers are growing more comfortable with online communication platforms.

With this somewhat-captive audience there is an opportunity to conduct online surveys – surveys that can teach us a lot about the topic of the moment. Over the past two months, Greentarget has developed several Covid-19 surveys related to topics or trends relevant to services our clients offer. We have successfully surveyed about Covid-19’s implications for employment issues, cybersecurity issues and CMS changes, among other topics. The best surveys ask not only what has happened and how that has impacted business but also explore near-term plans and where future challenges are expected.

Staying focused is crucial to produce a newsworthy piece of quantitative research. This is not the time for wide-ranging questionnaires that will take weeks to analyze. Audiences are hungry for trusted voices to provide actionable advice in the near-term.

Don’t Forget About Qualitative Research

Qualitative research – frequently conducted through electronic channels in the best of times — is another way to provide insights. It can refresh thought leadership that was published prior to the pandemic as key audiences can weigh in on how perceptions may have changed, or to what extent those previous insights look different to them.

To do this, Greentarget deploys an online focus group, with respondents similar to the original survey respondents. Participants can comment on past findings and can elaborate on what that specifically means to their business. We often focus on whether respondents expect a return to normalcy or a completely new normal.

That was the approach for a project Greentarget partnered on with GreenHouse::Innovation and Amsterdam-based Learn Adapt Build (LAB). Since early this year, the three groups had planned the Work, Wellness & Space Summit in Chicago, scheduled for April 23. The 20 confirmed participants included leaders across commercial real estate, architecture, construction, commercial healthcare, big pharma and wellness consultancies.

Their discussion was intended to start a longer-term wellness initiative, called Space::The Immediate Frontier, organized around a pressing need to uncover a healthier relationship between wellness, work and space is possible, with the holistic employee experience at its center. But by late March, it was clear the format needed to change.

Rather than rescheduling, the partner groups opted to engage key stakeholders in the initiative through remote interviews about the specific business challenges. These interviews will build momentum leading up to the summit, while allowing Greentarget to take the pulse of key leaders about how they process the twists and turns that the pandemic has brought to their respective industries and how they each approach this very relevant topic.

Maintaining a willingness to explore creative approaches to research in a time of unprecedented constraints can empower your organization to emerge from this period in a position of strength. A compelling perspective rooted in audience empathy will keep you a step ahead of competitors and tuned into what is truly most important to your clients.

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