Best practices for content

At Storyboard, we believe it should be easy to get started with audio. In just a few clicks, you’ll be on your way to creating Storyboard allows creators to reach internal audiences with a unique, accessible, and approachable medium.

We’ve seen countless examples of teams that have used audio to transform the way their organization communicates in a way that brings more employees into the conversation. 

Our goal is to help you easily launch your podcast channel and build out an ongoing process to help you continuously provide value for your audience. In this article, we’ll share how to create a content plan that will set you up for success, as well as common content organization questions that we hear from our creator community.

Note: Every audio channel is unique, so keep in mind that what is best for someone else may not be the best fit for you. Experiment with different formats to figure out what works best for both you and your audience.

Sections:

What is a content calendar and how do I create one?

What is the ideal length of an episode?

How often should I be releasing episodes?

-What to do if you can’t release multiple episodes per month

What is the best day of the week to release an episode?

What is the best time of day to release an episode?

What is a podcast content calendar and how do I create one?

A podcast content calendar is a written schedule that plans out when you will record episodes and when they’ll be released.

This schedule offers a great way to plan, organize, and strategize your podcast episodes. When preparing content for your team, it’s important to get ahead of the game and plan out episodes so that you can maintain a steady stream of content without feeling overwhelmed. 

Content calendars can help with:

• Consistency - creating regular content that your audience can tune into 
• Quality - planning ahead instead of scrambling to find a topic last minute
• Engagement - keeping listeners excited about new and upcoming content 

You can also use this calendar to see which content is performing well and repurpose ideas in future episodes in response to your audience’s preferences. Once your listeners see that your podcast is on-time, consistent, and riveting with new ideas, they’ll be more inclined to hit that play button. 

Here’s how to create the perfect content calendar for your company podcast: 

1. Write down an overall subject for your podcast.
   - Select sub-topics that you are interested in talking about.
2. Brainstorm episode ideas related to your subject and sub-topics. 
3. Choose a number of episodes to start with and assign your ideas to each episode. 
   - This will help you batch the content in advance to avoid additional backend work.
4. Add details, such as key points you would like to cover, a description, a title, etc. 
   - You can save this step until after the recording is complete so you know exactly what the episode is about.
5. Download Storyboard’s content calendar template for an easy way to keep track of your podcast content.
6. Assign due dates, podcast hosts, recording times, and more for all episodes. 
   - You can always make changes down the road, but be sure to stay consistent and update any other scheduled episodes as well.
7. Review the calendar and be sure to stay up to day on all future content being released. 

A content calendar will provide a clear outlook of what episodes are in the pipeline and make your content-creating journey much more enjoyable. Keeping track of your ideas will not only help you stay on track, but it will also benefit other creators who are interested in getting involved with the podcast.

What is the ideal length of an episode?

Company podcasts are most effective when they can fit into a pocket of someone’s day, such as walking the dog or commuting to work. We recommend that episodes are no longer than 20 minutes. In fact, most of the top-performing episodes we’ve seen are 10 minutes or less. 

If you’re a Storyboard Pro administrator, you will have access to the Listener Dropoff Report, which provides insights into where your users stop listening to an episode. Administrators use this feature to adjust the length of future episodes based on listener preferences.

How often should I be releasing episodes?

The most successful Storyboard channels post content at least twice a month. To make your channel even more successful, try posting once a week. 

Creating a regular cadence will allow you to get comfortable with releasing content consistently while helping listeners know when to expect an episode from you. The more you can stick to a schedule, the easier it will be to plan for and release episodes. 

Ask your listeners to turn on push notifications so that they are informed of new episodes as they come out. You can do this by using your existing launch communications, or calling out push notifications during the intros and outros of your episodes.

Our biggest piece of advice? Be consistent! If you are releasing content weekly, stick to the same day and time each week. Don’t forget to use your content calendar to hold yourself accountable.

FAQ: I don’t have time to release multiple episodes per month. What should I do?

For creators low on time, we recommend three strategies:

1. Ask if there are others on your team who are interested in creating content on weeks when your main show isn’t running. 
2. Batch your content or host longer recordings that can be broken down into multiple episodes and released at different times. (ex. Take a 30-minute recording and break it into two, 15-minute episodes).
3. Record relevant meetings and repurpose existing video content by converting it into audio.

FAQ: What is the best day of the week to release an episode?

Episodes with the highest engagement on Storyboard are released on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This is the case even for organizations with flexible work schedules (ex. not Monday-Friday). Listeners are most receptive to content released in the middle of the week, as it does not interfere with the distractions of days right before or after a weekend.  

FAQ: What is the best time of day to release an episode?

We understand that work schedules fluctuate and that it can be hard to pick a release time that’s perfect for everyone. With that said, here is what we’ve seen work really well:

• For teams that operate in a small number of time zones and locations, we recommend releasing your episodes between 11 AM-2 PM in the time zone where the majority of your team works. 
  
• For teams that are remotely distributed across several locations and time zones, we recommend releasing episodes at a time when the majority of your team is at work. 
  

Ex. A team will operations in North America and Germany should release their episode at 4 PM German time, or 10 AM in US Eastern Standard Time.

Looking for additional advice? Storyboard enterprise customers have access to a dedicated Customer Success resource who will help you build a customized plan. To learn more, check out our pricing page or contact our team.

Have any questions about content planning best practices? Shoot us a message!