Podcast Movement 2021: Highlights for Podcasters
Tony Morelan
Sr. Developer Evangelist
In March of 2020, I was fortunate to attend what many refer to as the last in-person conference just before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. The conference was Podfest, held in Orlando, Florida. Podfest proved to be my crash-course introduction into the world of podcasting and helped me launch our podcast, POW! Samsung Developer Program.
Little did I know at that time, it would be a pandemic-filled crazy 17 months before I found myself at an in-person conference again. Surprisingly, it would be another podcasting conference, Podcast Movement in Nashville, Tennessee. For four days I immersed myself back into the world of podcasting, with a slightly different objective than my first podcasting conference. Not only was I attending to improve my knowledge and skill as a podcaster, but with the launch of the new Samsung Podcast Platform, I would also be networking with many industry professionals to promote Samsung’s new service.
During the conference, I attended over 20 sessions, multiple keynotes, countless meetings, and of course… networking parties!
Highlights from Podcast Movement 2021
Tom Webster of Edison Research
Day one highlight of the conference was a powerful keynote presentation on the current state of podcasting from Tom Webster, industry specialist on the usage of technology, new media and social networking. He not only talked about how the pandemic affected listening trends during the past year, but how research showed the importance of expanding your audience through social media and YouTube.
The Podcast Makeover 30 Second Challenge
One of the most insightful sessions was given by a panel of experts who collectively reviewed the first 30 seconds of podcasts. 30 seconds is all a podcaster has to entice their audience to continue listening. Conference attendees would submit their show for the panel to discuss, critique, and ultimately decide if they in fact would continue listening based on how effective the first 30 seconds were.
The panel included:
- Seth Resler, Digital Dot Connector
- Bobby Bones, iHeart Media
- Elaina Smith, Cumulus
- Shannon Cason, Shannon Cason’s Homemade Stories
Interviewing To Get The Most From Your Guest
With 11 years of experience and over 685 episodes as a producer and host, Christine Blackburn has interviewed some of the biggest names in show business, including Larry King, Sugar Ray Leonard, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Kevin Nealon. Christine has used her podcast show, Story Worthy, as a platform for guests to share stories with a positive message. Her top tip for conducting a great interview was that the host should really not talk too much. A little “dead air” is a good thing and often leads to the guest expanding on their response.
Vocal Rx: Practical Tips for a Healthy & Dynamic Voice
Clara Harris gave one of the most valuable sessions of the conference – how to take care of your voice. Now that I have hosted 20 episodes of the Pow! Samsung Developer Program podcast, I can definitely tell when my voice is sounding good or is just a little off. Clara’s session was a cross between a human biology class and yoga, explaining how our voice is produced and what we can do to prepare and maintain healthy vocal cords.
Networking and Fun!
In between sessions, I found plenty of time to network with fellow podcasters, meet reps from many of the top companies that serve the podcast community, and explore the Expo floor to look for the best free t-shirt and maybe learn a thing or two along the way.
High points were picking up a sweet new mic from the good people at Electro-Voice, a scrumptious breakfast hosted by my friends at SquadCast, and exciting conversations with Tom at Buzzsprout related to our new Samsung Podcast Platform service. Oh ya, and the best free t-shirt giveaway goes to Buzzsprout, who not only chose an ethically produced shirt, but delivered the absolutely best design and comfort!
These are just a few of the amazing highlights I experienced during Podcast Movement 2021. For those that missed out, you can still register to attend the virtual version of Podcast Movement and watch over 200 recorded sessions.
Bring Your Podcast to Samsung Devices
Are you a podcaster and want to grow your listening audience? Register for a free publisher account and bring your podcast to Samsung devices. All you need is your RSS feed to get started.
With the launch of the new Samsung Podcasts listening platform, podcasters are able to reach a vastly growing audience. Available exclusively on Samsung devices, Samsung Podcasts enable creators to reach engaged listeners.
