A marketer and two PR pros at the University of Connecticut decided to leverage their journalism and storytelling backgrounds with a wide-ranging institutional podcast, without sounding institutional. Here's how and what we've learned.

1. Slay It by Ear
Building a Better University Podcast
UConn – University Communications
#heweb19 | #COM9
Julie Bartucca
Kenneth Best
Tom Breen

3. “The UConn 360 podcast is indeed
the best UConn podcast in the
known universe, hands down.”
-Apple Podcasts review
“To me, it was a thinly
researched, poorly presented
piece of shoddy journalism.”
- An unhappy alum
• Launched Feb. 2018
• 43 episodes
• 11,500 downloads

4. 4

5. The quest
Creating a podcast that ...
• Elevates the brand without feeling like marketing
• Engages key audiences
• Tells UConn’s story in a new way
• Provides a peek into lesser-known areas

6. Getting blessings from the king
and queen
• Expertise
• Freedom
• Variety
• Benefits

7. Setting forth
MAKE A PLAN

8. • Make a plan, but stay nimble
○ Weekly > Biweekly
○ Slickly produced segments > Q&As
• What tasks will you need to perform?
○ Reporting
○ Recording
○ Editing
○ Uploading
○ Promoting
Setting forth

9. The Knight The Wizard The Facilitator of Sorts
Choose your heroic role

10. Provisions for the journey

11. Provisions for the journey

12. • Behringer Xenyx X 1222 USB 16-channel mixer
• Heil Pro 20 microphones (4) with 6-foot XLR cables
• Atlas desktop mic stands (4)
• AKG 4-channel amplifier headphone box
• Good headphones (AKG K 92 and Sennheiser DH 380 pro)
• Zoom H2n portable recorder
with accessory kit
• Mini Mac computer
• Comrex audio-to IP link for
connection to radio stations
Total spent = ~$1400
Provisions for the journey

13. • Editing - Audacity
• Hosting - Podbean ($108/year)
• Website - uconn.edu/uconn360-podcast
• Music - Universal Production Music subscription
• Logo - in-house graphic designer
• Twitter @UConnPodcast
Provisions for the journey

14. Beware: Dragons! Ogres! Bad audio!

15. Bad audio

16. Institutional voice

17. Crossing the line

18. Spending too much time
having fun on the podcast

19. Not knowing your limits

20. Homogeneous voices and topics

21. To avoid bad interviews:
• Prepare
• Be quiet
• Full sentences
• Open questions, active listening
• Think inverted pyramid
• Remember you’ll have to edit this later, Julie
• Is there something you wish I asked?
Interviewing flubs

22. Obsessing over every breath you take

23. • Content that works in many different venues
○ WHUS student radio
○ UConn Today posts
○ Social, newsletters
• Faculty promotion/Media relations
• Awards!
• Praise/positive feedback/engagement
Slaying the dragon

24. • Always be promoting – social, digital and bus ads, WHUS
• Metrics
• Guarding against burnout
• Accessibility
• The future
Happily ever after … (or is it?)

25. Slay those
dragons
Make that
podcast
25

26. The end
Tom Breen
tom.breen@uconn.edu
@tjbreen
Kenneth Best
kenneth.best@uconn.edu
Julie Bartucca
julie.bartucca@uconn.edu
@juliebartucca
uconn.edu/uconn360-podcast
@uconnpodcast