New habits, new priorities, new media.
The last few years have been tough. (To say the very least.)
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all faced a lot of big changes… some voluntary, some not so much.
While many of these changes have been devastating, others came from — or at least landed us in — a more positive place.
These are changes born from new priorities. Changes that are here to stay.
No matter how you look it it, the bottom line is that we are living, thinking, and behaving differently… for better or for worse
So, what does this mean for brands like yours? It means that if you want to connect, communicate and market like a pro, you should be tailoring your approach to our new habits, new attitudes and new lives.
There are a few ways you can climb this mountain but — as you might have already guessed — we think the branded podcast is a perfect fit.
Here’s why…
We continue to telecommute
First off, we’re still working from home and loving it, right?! Everyone at JAR is, anyway — and we plan to keep it that way.
But don’t take our word for it. Let’s explore the stats…
One recent study from Pew Research surveyed over 10,000 US citizens to determine how COVID has impacted today’s workforce.
It showed that, among folks able to do their job from home…
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59% telecommute all or most of the time
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18% telecommute sometimes
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And only 22% rarely or never work from home
Remote work has also become commonplace in Canada — and not just here at JAR. In fact, only half of folks working from home at the end of 2021 expected to return to office this year.
What’s more, a whopping 88% of the same demographic say they’re enjoying remote work, and they’re certainly not alone…
A recent study from Buffer investigated how folks everywhere feel about their telecommute.
It surveyed more than 2,000 workers all around the world, including a wide array of racial and cultural identities, physical ability levels, and professional backgrounds.
The results showed that…
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97% would recommend remote work to others
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61% report a “very positive” experience of remote work
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And 97% want to stay (at least partially) remote for the rest of their career
It also showed that many organizations plan to make remote work more accessible moving forward.
While only 49% say they are currently fully remote, 56% want to move toward this structure.
So, how does this pertain to the branded podcast? Let’s break it down.
A culture of telecommuting leaves more room for things like…
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Lunch-time dog walks
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Workday soundtracks
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And exploring our personal interests
Clearly, shifts like this create the perfect storm for longform content that works for multitaskers — but that’s not all.
While working from home comes with some major perks, it also means we have less social connection and fewer opportunities for peer-to-peer learning built into each day.
With its substance and humanity, a well-planned branded podcast (or internal podcast) can help remedy both of these problems.
An exceptional show has the power to…
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Elicit authentic emotion
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Foster a sense of kinship
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Translate humor and authenticity
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And teach listeners valuable skills
In other words, high quality and audience-appropriate content really can shrink the gaps left in our lives by a new era of (sometimes isolating) remote work.
We prioritize work-life balance
The pandemic has also prompted a lot of us to reassess our priorities, with many folks changing or leaving jobs in a favor of a more sustainable, balanced lifestyle.
With this shift comes the time, energy, and opportunity to dive deeper into personal interests, build skills, create community, and expand our minds.
Longform content really shines in this context — and can help with all of the above.
A great podcast might empower its audience to…
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Join a community of like-minded peers
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Dive deeper into a personal interest
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Or explore a new topic or career path
And the beauty of the podcast is that it makes it easier than ever to optimize and enrich our free time.
Our days of constant grind, back-to-back meetings, and absolute burnout may have lent themselves well to a three-minute Instagram scroll on a workplace toilet, granted…
But new habits and new perspectives make room for something more substantial when it comes to our content — and our lives.
Many of us have reevaluated what matters to us, what we want from our days, and how we use our time.
As brands, our content, strategy, and approach to community building should absolutely reflect that.
A perfect fit
The bottom line is that the world has undergone some serious changes and many of us (with the privilege to do so) have decided to change alongside it.
There has been so much hurt over the last few years — and it’s still going — but from the turmoil has sprung some light.
We love to see real people…
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Optimizing their time
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Building better habits
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Reframing what matters
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Living and working differently
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And consuming with greater intention
Ultimately, we hope to see folks everywhere using great content to get them closer to their very best lives — and we believe that an exceptional podcast can help them do just that.
If you’re considering a podcast for your audience, reach out to the team at JAR.
