Hey there, I'm Devin!
Most of the time you can catch me deep in the world of internal comms at Workshop (yes, the Happy Mondays folks!), and while I love AI, there are just some comms questions that need a human who really gets it… that’s me!
Hi Devin! I’ve just signed up for the Benchmark webinar, and I was wondering if you have any benchmarking on internal podcasts. I know every company is different, but I’m struggling to show ROI.
Yay! So so glad! It’s truly one of my favorite webinars we do all year. Can’t wait to see you there đŸ™‚
Now, to your actual question haha. Here’s the slightly frustrating truth: there really isn’t a ton of benchmark data out there on internal podcasts. And it’s not because nobody’s making them, because plenty of teams are! I think the real issue is that everyone’s still sort of figuring out what’s even most important to track. So if you’ve been feeling like you’re flying a little blind, I promise it’s not just you.
Over the past two years at Workshop, I’ve kept it pretty simple. I look at three things: the open rate on the episode announcement email, the click rate on the link to the episode, and total plays once people actually get there. That’s it… for now at least! Are there more sophisticated things I could be measuring? Definitely. But those three give me a clear enough picture of whether people are hearing about the episode, interested enough to click, and then actually listening. And if one of those numbers is low, it usually tells me exactly where the drop-off is happening (which is half the battle, honestly).
But here’s the part I’d really want you to hold onto, especially when you’re making the ROI case: plays aren’t the whole story. Some of the most valuable things an internal podcast can do will never show up in a play count. I’ve genuinely watched episodes improve how people understand (and feel a part of!) our culture, our product, the why behind a big decision, which is super important at a startup. That kind of understanding is the actual goal… the plays are just the doorway to it. So when you talk ROI, don’t be shy about pairing the hard numbers with the “softer” signals: what people quote back to you or bring up casually, the requests for more of “X”, episodes inspiring deeper conversations…
So track the simple stuff consistently, tell the qualitative story loudly, and if you have any follow ups, please bring it to the webinar. I’d love to dig into this even more with you live. See ya there!
