StoryQuest Blog

Today, if you Google “Podcasting” you’ll get 24,000,000 results. That’s a lot of talk, training, selling and explaining about something that most people have heard about but many don’t understand. The problem is that most of the talk about Podcasting concerns the least critical element of the equation, namely technology, and ignores the most important aspects. This article will look at the critical non-technical issues required to produce not just enterprise learning podcasts, but any type of mobile learning.

When the first moving pictures were introduced, film directors were so enamored with the new technology that they filmed just about any old thing. Early films were of airplanes taking off, trains colliding, girls dancing, or troops marching. It wasn’t until the dust settled many years later that directors began to use cinematography, music and narrative to tell the stories that would capture America’s imagination and build the motion picture industry.

In a similar fashion, when it comes to enterprise mobile learning, there is a lot more to think about than just mobile enabling content. Understanding the demands of this new type of user is critical. Mobile learners are on the go, often intermixing work and personal time, un-monitored and inundated with more content and messaging than ever before. This situation demands not just new technology, but a new approach to creating learning for this audience. With successful mobile learning comes different rules, objectives, dangers and opportunities that must be considered. Below is a brief list of the most important ones to weigh when you direct your first production. They focus on podcasting, but these concepts apply to producing any mobile learning program.

Compelling Content
Content is still king. The technology might be sexy but if the content is bland, longwinded or unreliable, it’s never going to be consumed. The messages you create needs to be comprised of the specific information your people need to hear and want to listen to. To keep users attention in a mobile setting we find it helps to:

• Use narrative. Stories are the oldest and most reliable means to share knowledge. They bundle your message, context and narrative into efficient and effective packages. Stories also help make longer content more acceptable (take note how the audio book industry is booming – people will make time for content when it is engaging).
• Use multiple voices. Particularly with audio, since there is no visual variety, you need to create it audibly.
• Brevity and depth. Sometimes mobile users want information fast. But other times mobility offers more time to consume, consider and digest content. Making content that is dense but also provides depth into topics is a good fit for mobile workers.

Leverage Technology
Employ the most trusted technology available. There are many tools and technologies available. We recommend you start from the users perspective and work backward. What device will they use, how will they access content, how will you provide that content? Focus on the user experience first, and don’t assume everyone knows how to use these tools. If you are podcasting, teach them the “what”, “how” and “why” of podcasting. We use iTunes as our podcasting client, WordPress for posting and FeedBurner for RSS.

Drive Use
Launching a podcast campaign inside your organization is as tricky and involved as marketing any internal program. Senior management will need to be involved to help promote the program repeatedly. It’s also important to remind users that you’re out there and make sure to share success stories, reactions and insights to build a buzz. Some of the most effective enterprise successes have treated their podcasts like a new product launch – everyone in the company hears about it until it’s a part of the culture.

Measure Results
Along with selling internally is the importance placed on measuring results. Nothing will help gain adoption, further investment and enthusiasm than hard numbers. Use FeedBurner, web statistics and online surveys to track the use of the program and gather stories from the field to learn how well your efforts are impacting sales.

Most important of all is the emphasis that must be placed on a campaign mentality. A successful enterprise learning program requires excellent implementation and support if it is to be successful. Once your people have established the habit of consuming high quality content with these new tools, you will be able to communicate, educate and drive performance better than ever before, and save your budget and your people time along the way.

Tim Keelan, president of StoryQuest, is an expert on learning enablement in the enterprise environment. Tim’s clients include Lucent, Keane, RSA, and Miller Heiman. Tim can be reached at 888-263-6976. To learn more about how you can empower learning in your organization using cutting edge technology and advanced behavioral theory, visit us on the web at www.StoryQuest.us