Strategic Audio Distribution

Audio
Tactic

This guide will provide practical tips on how to get your audio published on the Internet, and how to use existing distribution channels to reach audiences that will appreciate it most. Examples are also provided of nonprofits who incorporate this technology into their advocacy work.

The human voice is powerful. It can be spontaneous, intimate and engaging. It can make people separated by thousands of miles feel as if they were in the same room. It can express more than mere content, but also context, feeling, passion. Until recently, though, voice was usually restricted to local, personal reach. Only those few people with access to expensive media tools were able to hear and distribute audio to a global audience.

Today technology makes it easier not only to record and edit audio, but also distribute it throughout the world using new technologies like blogs and podcasts.

Strategic audio distribution case study: Practical Action – Peru

In Peru digital audio distribution techniques have been used to deliver targeted messages to farmers in their local languages.

Users subscribe for free to the service and automatically receive regular updates. To make each podcast more accessible to the wider farming community, local information centres with internet connections make audio CDs or copy the files onto digital audio players, which enable farmers to listen at a time convenient to their schedule.

They are also able to rewind and replay the parts of the information they might at first not understand. The podcasts are also broadcast on radio, offering the opportunity for people with traditional receivers to hear the same information. It was this mix of old and new technology that contributed largely to the success of this project. Read the full article

Blogs are personal or collectively managed websites which are simple to create and update. As access to broadband Internet, free hosting and distribution of large files have increased, attaching audio files to these blog posts has become a viable way to distribute audio content.

Podcasts

A Podcast is a way to subscribe to audio content published online. By creating a podcast feed people can subscribe to user get updated every time you publish a new episode. It's like subscribing to a newspaper and having it delivered to your door instead of having to remember to go to the shops to buy it. People can listen to your show on their computer or on an mp3 player.

Factors to Consider

Defining and developing your audience
One of the biggest advantages of distributing audio through the Internet is that your audience can be widespread yet segmented. Remember that an audience of ten people that understand what you mean can often be better than thousands of people who don’t have a clue.

Establishing an editorial focus with specific content boundaries can help with this goal. An audio blog or podcast is a great way to provide ongoing status reports, to build an audience and engage potential collaborators.

What makes a good podcast?

Susie Emmett, communication specialist in radio and new media, has written a Q&A for ICT Update on what makes a good podcast.

"It’s often the simple things, like humour or real life stories. People like listening to others talking about their own lives and situations. If they’ve got a good idea or something has worked, then people want to hear about it. If something has gone wrong then they like to hear about that too."

Read the full article.

Outreach
Podcasts are a good tool for outreach. A podcast or audioblog post can be re-transmitted in community radio stations, used in conferences or debates, becoming a useful resource for others and reach further networks and contexts.

There are plenty of services that will publish your audio programme for free. If you want a more customized solution, you can register an Internet domain (your own Internet address) and use free and open source software such as Wordpress to publish the files on your own web server.

Describing your content
Be sure to add a text description to every audio file you upload, and if possible tag it (categorise it) accordingly. Audio files are not as yet indexable or easily searchable through the Internet. Having an easy to find text description of every file you upload makes it more likely that new listeners will be interested in them.

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Strategic Audio Distribution View Revisions Audio Tactic This guide will provide practical tips on how to get your audio published on the Internet, and how to use existing distribution channels to reach audiences that will appreciate it most. Examples are also provided of nonprofits who incorporate this technology into their advocacy work. The human voice is powerful. It can be spontaneous, intimate and engaging. It can make people separated by thousands of miles feel as if they were in the same room. It can express more than mere content, but also context, feeling, passion. Until recently, though, voice was usually restricted to local, personal reach. Only those few people with access to expensive media tools were able to hear and distribute audio to a global audience. Today technology makes it easier not only to record and edit audio, but also distribute it throughout the world using new technologies like blogs and podcasts. Strategic audio distribution case study: Practical Action – Peru In Peru digital audio distribution techniques have been used to deliver targeted messages to farmers in their local languages. Users subscribe for free to the service and automatically receive regular updates. To make each podcast more accessible to the wider farming community, local information centres with internet connections make audio CDs or copy the files onto digital audio players, which enable farmers to listen at a time convenient to their schedule. They are also able to rewind and replay the parts of the information they might at first not understand. The podcasts are also broadcast on radio, offering the opportunity for people with traditional receivers to hear the same information. It was this mix of old and new technology that contributed largely to the success of this project. Read the full article Blogs are personal or collectively managed websites which are simple to create and update. As access to broadband Internet, free hosting and distribution of large files have increased, attaching audio files to these blog posts has become a viable way to distribute audio content. Podcasts A Podcast is a way to subscribe to audio content published online. By creating a podcast feed people can subscribe to user get updated every time you publish a new episode. It's like subscribing to a newspaper and having it delivered to your door instead of having to remember to go to the shops to buy it. People can listen to your show on their computer or on an mp3 player. Factors to Consider Defining and developing your audience One of the biggest advantages of distributing audio through the Internet is that your audience can be widespread yet segmented. Remember that an audience of ten people that understand what you mean can often be better than thousands of people who don’t have a clue. Establishing an editorial focus with specific content boundaries can help with this goal. An audio blog or podcast is a great way to provide ongoing status reports, to build an audience and engage potential collaborators. What makes a good podcast? Susie Emmett, communication specialist in radio and new media, has written a Q&A for ICT Update on what makes a good podcast. "It’s often the simple things, like humour or real life stories. People like listening to others talking about their own lives and situations. If they’ve got a good idea or something has worked, then people want to hear about it. If something has gone wrong then they like to hear about that too." Read the full article. Outreach Podcasts are a good tool for outreach. A podcast or audioblog post can be re-transmitted in community radio stations, used in conferences or debates, becoming a useful resource for others and reach further networks and contexts. There are plenty of services that will publish your audio programme for free. If you want a more customized solution, you can register an Internet domain (your own Internet address) and use free and open source software such as Wordpress to publish the files on your own web server. Describing your content Be sure to add a text description to every audio file you upload, and if possible tag it (categorise it) accordingly. Audio files are not as yet indexable or easily searchable through the Internet. Having an easy to find text description of every file you upload makes it more likely that new listeners will be interested in them. Open licensing Promoting your podcast Links & resources Open licensing › » Printer-friendly version Login to post comments	Audio Audio strategy Integrating audio with other content Checklist Hardware resources Steps to great audio Common problems Glossary Links & resources Audacity Audio distribution Open licensing Promoting your podcast Links & resources Record & edit a 2 minute interview Use podcasting systems Choosing a Podcasting System Publicising your podcast Copy a CD to remix it Edit your audio file information OurMedia VLC for audio Songbird [Podcasting with WordPress] Other toolkits