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What You’ll Learn
Blue Ridge Energy promotes its “Unplugged” podcast on streaming audio stations like iHeart Radio and MLB At Bat in an effort to meet potential listeners where they already are. Jacob Puckett describes the approach, as well as his perspective on why “every listen matters.”
Guest Speaker
Jacob PuckettShow Notes
Transcripts have been lightly edited for clarity and readability.
Intro: A production of Pioneer Utility Resources. StoryConnect, helping communicators discover ideas to shape their stories and connect with their customers.
Andy Johns: What are some ways that you can promote your podcast? That’s what we’ll be talking about on this episode of StoryConnect: The Podcast. My name is Andy Johns, your host with Pioneer. And I’m joined on this episode by Jacob Puckett, who is a digital communications manager at Blue Ridge Energy in North Carolina. Jacob, thanks for joining me.
Jacob Puckett: Absolutely. Andy. Thank you for having us. We’re excited to talk about Unplugged and kind of what we do with our podcast to promote it.
Andy Johns: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, we’ve done a few of these, but a podcast about a podcast, it’s a little meta, but it goes along with the ebook that if it’s not out at the time you’re listening to this, it’ll be out shortly, and we’ll include some insights from Jacob in there. But I thought it would be a good conversation to have because to tell the story here. There I was driving from where I live in Tennessee up to Cleveland, Ohio, to go do 4th of July up there and see a Braves game. And, you know, check out the Great Lakes and all that. And I guess because I had been searching and following so many utility podcasts, somewhere along the way when I was listening to a Braves game, and I always enjoy it when I get a chance to work the Braves into these podcasts. But as I’m listening to the MLB at Bat app on my phone between innings, I start getting ads for the Unplugged podcast by Blue Ridge Energy. And of course, because my phone and algorithms knew that I was a, you know, broadband and utility communication nerd, they found me. And so of course I subscribed, but I thought it was a cool way to to promote it and, you know, stumbling across it like that without even looking for it was kind of a cool way. But guess before we get too detailed into the promotion of it, tell us a little bit about Unplugged, kind of what the goals are, what the format is, if folks have not had a chance to listen for themselves.
Jacob Puckett: Well, first, Andy, I guess it’s always nice as a communicator to know that when you put some sort of advertisement out there, the target audience is definitely met. So that made me feel good when you emailed us. But we got started with Unplugged right before Covid actually. It was actually a miracle that we got it started right before Covid because it, you know, played a key role in communications during that crisis, as I’m sure a lot of the podcasts for utilities did during that time. But we started back in November of 2019. We weren’t really sure really how it was going to go. I wasn’t sure how many people would actually be interested in listening to a podcast about their electric cooperative. But we kind of saw a niche that needed to be filled with our communications really. And really that niche was, you have social media, you have print advertisement, radio advertisement, you know, whatever form of media you think of. But there is a set amount of time, a hard set of rules, that you got to follow for how much you can communicate in one, you know, one post or one sound bite. And we just got kind of tired of that. We thought we had a better cooperative story to tell, and it didn’t need a time limit on it. So we said, “Let’s start our own podcast.” And we named it “Unplugged,” and we went from there.
Andy Johns: Awesome. And if I’m looking over some of the topics, you guys have hit solar. You’ve hit, you know, ways to save some money with becoming more efficient. You guys have talked about cyber terrorism, some of that. You’ve also got a three-part series about Hugo’s heroes, which I thought is pretty cool. So tell us a little bit about some of the content. You know, the audience that you’re going after and what you’ve decided to put in the content. Because it looks like you guys have about 30 episodes or so.
Jacob Puckett: Yeah, it’s been a mix of a lot of different content. You know, our focus at the end of the day when we’re trying to figure out what an episode is going to be about is in some ways, yes, I want it to be Blue Ridge focused. I want it to be relevant to our members. But broadly, I want it to be relevant to anybody who’s interested in electric cooperatives or the utility industry in general. So we try to kind of find a balance there with our podcast topics that would be, not only appealing to our members, but broadly appealing to anybody who’s interested in the industry. And that’s kind of how we focused it the last couple of years. Not trying to get too granular into what we specifically do in our area, but also trying to keep it expanded out enough that someone could be interested and might pick it up when they’re listening to it on the road and hear our podcast advertisements. But we’ve done a couple of different things, like you said. I mean, Hugo’s Heroes was one of my favorite recordings we’ve done. We had a couple of our linemen who were around in the late 80s for Hurricane Hugo and for people who are listening to this that are not familiar. That is a benchmark storm for Northwest North Carolina. We’re located in the mountains of North Carolina, so hurricanes are not a typical phenomena here. But we had a hurricane hit South Carolina coastline, and I think it was 1989 or 88. Someone’s going to correct me on that. I wasn’t alive then, so I don’t know. But it ended up tearing a path through our area, and we had no members online during that storm. So it was a tremendous task for our crews to get the power restored. And we told a three-part series story on that. And we’ve talked about cybersecurity, ways to save money. Anything that we feel like could benefit or interest somebody, we’ve tried to hit on it.
Andy Johns: That’s cool. And I did fact check us here. So you’re right. It was 1989.
Jacob Puckett: Okay. Perfect.
Andy Johns: I’ve vaguely remember it. I was living in Florida at the time. And so hurricanes are a big deal. So I vaguely remember Hurricane Hugo. But I think that’s really cool approach to kind of to do some of that storytelling and go back in time. And you’ve got the people that lived through it that were there. And whether it’s a storm, whether it’s hurricane, some other event, you know, I love the idea of folks doing that, finding something in the history that really it’s an interesting story, but it also helps tell the values and the commitment of the staff that I know you guys still have today. So what has – it looks like most of your episodes are kind of that 15 to 20 minute range. Has that been kind of an intentional choice that you feel like that’s the time that folks have to listen to it?
Jacob Puckett: We feel like 15 to 20 minutes was just long enough to keep people interested without, you know, losing too many listeners. And to some degree, we’ve tested around going to closer to ten minutes. I think that’s kind of been the sweet spot for us when we’re recording our podcasts. I think we have interesting topics, but I think one thing that bugs me – I’m an avid podcast listener. I mean, and I’m sure you are too, just even outside our industry. I like to get to the point, cut the fluff, and I like a podcast that’s loose, but also like a podcast that kind of gets to the content I’m wanting to hear pretty quickly and wraps it up. I love to hear it when I’m walking my dog, you know, doing some chores around the house or something like that. So we were trying to think about what kind of tasks people might be doing when they’re listening to a podcast and how could we fill that normal time gap for those.
Andy Johns: Yep, a lot of folks driving, but a lot of folks, like you said, going on a walk, doing the dishes, doing laundry. It’s funny, I have an electric lawn mower. And if I’m paying attention and doing well, I can mow the whole yard on one charge. But if I’ve got a good podcast going where I’m really listening to it, I’ll walk slower when I mow, and then I have to change out the battery halfway through. So yeah, I’m right there with you. So getting into the promotion of it, you know, that’s where I ran across you guys. And obviously, you know, I think there are 3.1 million podcasts out there, is what the latest stat is. So, you know, you can’t necessarily rely on somebody just opening up the store. And I wonder if my electric co-op has a podcast; I’ll search for it. You know, what are some of the ways that you guys have kind of spread the word about the good work you guys are doing on Unplugged?
Jacob Puckett: Well, I think it really just starts with we got excited about our own podcast. You know, I think co-ops in general have a beautiful and great story to tell. I mean, we’ve all got a history that spans decades, almost a century for most, and it’s a great story to tell. But how do you get it out there? And we started out doing the traditional mediums first. Did a little bit of print advertisement just to initially promote the podcast, but we knew that probably wasn’t the best segment to try to hit. And then obviously we did what most people probably do, which is focus on advertisements in social media, and that works to a degree. We certainly saw a bump the first couple of days, but we were like, “How do we get someone interested in the podcast in general?” Because each podcast episode you’re promoting may or may not have a topic that’s actually relevant to that person listening to it or wanting listening to it, or want to listen to it, I should say. So how do you expand the podcast out? How do you kind of fish them into it, and how do they see, “Oh, there’s Hugo’s Heroes is on here.” Or there’s information about cybersecurity. So I mean, that may attract someone, for example, in IT who has nothing to do with an electric cooperative, maybe hadn’t cared about electric cooperative before. They may be interested in that episode.
Jacob Puckett: So how do we expose that to them? And we just thought about it, and we said, “Well, hey, maybe we should just promote the podcast where people are listening to podcasts.” So kind of just getting back to the simplicity of it there. We partnered with Adams Publishing, has done a fantastic job helping us out with getting these podcast episodes and really the show as a whole promoted in an audio format. So that’s how we got to this point, and that’s really been our biggest hit. And then I was going to add too, recently, I know this is a little daunting for some folks because, you know, guests are not always comfortable doing this. And then you also have to factor in, I guess, the extra work that goes with it. But over the last year, we made the decision that we’re going to film our podcast episodes. Because I don’t think on social media there’s any better podcast promotion than being able to clip parts of your podcast, show someone a visual of the podcast, and then draw them in that way. So it’s kind of two fronts. We’ve been mostly focused on social, but expanding that out so people can hear our podcast advertisements on iHeart Radio, anywhere else they’re listening to podcasts in the zip code area or based on their interest like you. That’s been the best way for us to get our podcasts out there.
Andy Johns: Cool. And I know it was interesting to me because I know it would be tempting if I was doing it just to do, you know, build a real strong geo fence around the area and say, we’re only going to advertise to our membership, to our service territory, whatever. But you guys made the decision to open it up for other folks. Like you said, there may be folks that are not necessarily members who are interested in and logging in. Tell me a little bit about that and just the decision, you know, why does a co-op want folks that aren’t their members to hear their story? What are some of the advantages there that went into that decision?
Jacob Puckett: You know, I think it comes down to the fact of something I was hinting on earlier there is that we have a beautiful story to tell. Every co-op has a great story. And I just don’t think good storytelling should be limited to a certain audience. I think should get that out there and tell that story. Just because you’re not a Blue Ridge member doesn’t mean you can’t listen to our podcast, appreciate the content, and then fall in love with the cooperative business model, fall in love with what utilities do, gain appreciation for linemen and the folks who are keeping the power on every day. If there’s an opportunity for us to spread that good word, we’re going to take it. And I think that’s just a good way for everyone to look at it, because cooperatives have, you know, built these rural communities into what they are today, and telling that story is an important piece of our history.
Andy Johns: It sounds like when you guys are working with the agency you mentioned, I don’t know how much you get into the tactics on deciding those digital ads, but you said iHeartRadio. You know, I heard it on the MLB At Bat app. Do you know some of the other places? Is it kind of like you buy a package for online streaming audio, and it goes to all the different platforms, or how deep do you get into the tactics there in terms of deciding, you know, whether search terms or behaviors or what? Who are the folks you’re looking for? How did you find me? And, you know, who are the folks that you’re looking for?
Jacob Puckett: Yeah, there’s a couple things that go into it. As far as the platforms go, iHeartRadio, Pandora, most of the podcasting apps, although if you’re listening, if you catch one of our advertisements on a podcast, more than likely you’re within our zip codes. So you certainly caught the interest based algorithm side of things, which is how we also push that out. I mean, we look at it from two vantage points here, is we want to push this out obviously to our members so that is zip code based targeting. But then we also push out based on interest. So that’s how we’ve essentially pushed this out on the podcast advertising or the audio streaming advertising. And like I said, I’ve heard folks say, they’ve heard it on a podcast, but they’ve also heard on like iHeartRadio, Pandora, basically any of the areas where you can stream audio, that’s where we’re trying to be just to catch everybody. Because I know everybody has a different, you know, I listen to Spotify personally. I don’t listen to as much iHeartRadio, but a lot of people love iHeartRadio. Or if you’re listening to SiriusXM or something like that, any of these online platforms, there are so many of them you can take advantage of and get your story out there on. And usually when you’re doing these audio podcasts, it’s pretty much blanketed across all of those platforms and networks. So it’s not like you’re having to buy into or purposely select just one, and then you have to go through a process for another. So that’s something to keep in mind. If you’re listening to this and you’re thinking about audio advertisements, you think it might be a fit for you or your cooperative or utility. That’s one way to look at it, too. It’s not a, you have to pick each platform out. You get all the platforms usually included in these packages.
Andy Johns: Yeah. And I think that goes into a basic, you know, kind of tenant of marketing right now. Especially as splintered as the market is, meet people where they are. You know a member magazine is valuable, social media is valuable, podcasts are valuable, but why would you spend a whole lot of time and effort trying to make somebody who likes to consume stuff in print, getting them to do the podcast? I think meeting people where they are sounds like a big part of what you guys are doing on the social on the podcast side. And I think that only makes sense, especially as splintered, like you said, is everybody’s got their own platform and everything there.
Jacob Puckett: Yeah, I think that’s a big part of it as well. You know, cooperatives are unique in the sense that we’re not selling a physical product, you know, that’s going to come in the mail and show up to someone’s door that has, oh, you know, we would want to promote this to 25-35 year olds or 55-70 year olds. I mean, if you have electricity with us, you could be any age. And having to meet those audiences requires you to take a step back every now and then and see what’s the most balanced approach and how do we reach out to them. And that’s kind of the approach we’ve taken.
Andy Johns: Getting back into some of the basics of the podcast. You guys there set up – I always like to talk about everybody’s setup, and I just had probably 2 or 3 more questions. But so what did it take for you guys to get started? Do you guys have a room or a little mini studio where you guys do the recording? Let’s talk through just a little bit about – without geeking out too much over gear – what kind of stuff did it take for you all to get started?
Jacob Puckett: Yeah, I’ll do my best to not geek out too much, but I do love this part. Because what I love about podcasting is I get a lot of questions sometimes about, “Well, how much money, or how much effort do you have to put in and get started?” And the honest answer to that is pretty minimal. I mean, you don’t have to have a huge budget. You don’t have to have really huge tech background either to pull it off. I mean, you could even, if you want to, pull off a decent podcast with a voice memos on your iPhone and a decent recording software. But the way we started out is we have a room, a podcast recording room, a little space that we’re blessed to have here in our building. And I’ve enhanced that space to try to add a couple backdrops to kind of make it look not so boring. Obviously, just a table three mics, usually two, but sometimes we use three, depending on what the conversation is. And it goes into a I think it’s an H6 handy recorder. We love that thing. I can’t recommend it any more. I mean, you could get a larger mixer, but if you’re someone who is not super tech savvy or maybe you haven’t had a lot of experience in the past working with the audio components of technology, I can’t recommend that more. Because you can just plug the mics into it. You can handle recording and which mics you want on all from one little tiny device that you can take with you anywhere.
Andy Johns: It’s pretty amazing.
Jacob Puckett: Yeah, you can also do field interviews with it as well. If you’re out with line technicians, you’re doing some kind of project where you’re not in the office. But anyways, we went with that, and it records it obviously on an SD card. Bring that back into the lab here, as I call it, or really just my desk, my little conclave and record the podcast that way. And I did mention that we started doing the video side of the podcast, oh, about a year ago. And I really want to reiterate people, like if you’re thinking about doing that, do it. It is so worth it, and it’s really not that much harder. I have a camera that goes towards the guest, and I have a camera that shoots towards me. And really I just pull both of those at the end, and then overlay the actual good audio from our mics on top of it. And boom, super promotable. You can throw it on YouTube and open up the window for an entirely new audience, which has been great for us as well. And you can also clip that and promote it on social media and share it on the Interwebs wherever you want.
Andy Johns: Yeah, I think it was last year, YouTube became the number one platform for people to consume podcasts. And, you know, we started recording about half of the, about half of the podcast that we do, we’ve recorded on video and throw them up there. But yeah, and then like you said, the social media value of it too. The last question I have for you. What are some of the things maybe that whether it’s surprised you, or something you learned over the way, but what kind of advice might you have for somebody who’s where you were in 2019? Somebody who’s thinking, hey, we ought to get into podcasts, or maybe we ought to start this. Maybe this is a good channel for us. Before they start their show, or maybe they’re just starting, what kind of advice do you have for somebody who’s in those shoes?
Jacob Puckett: I think, one of the biggest pieces of advice I would have is just to be patient with the podcast because it does start slow. You’re trying to build an audience. Like you said, there are so many podcasts out there, and just be easy on yourself while you’re trying to promote it. But keep in mind that from an electric cooperative perspective at least, every listen is significant. So if you imagine you have a 15 minute podcast, long form audio like that, I mean, that is one member who just listened to almost like a mini annual meeting for 15 minutes. I mean, you can’t beat that kind of one-on-one time with a member. And the more and more that grows, the more and more advocates you’re building in your community. The more and more people who understand your job and the challenges that you face. So don’t get so caught up in the numbers and feeling like you have to hit some kind of arbitrary threshold for the amount of people listening to it. Keep in mind that you’re getting good long form content out there to people who can vouch for you, be advocates for you in the community, and be there to support you as the co-op continues forward doing all the things that we do.
Andy Johns: That’s a very good perspective. I appreciate that, and I appreciate you sharing the insights there. So thanks for bringing that up. And I think it’s the kind of thing that we’re seeing more and more folks in the utility space getting into podcasts. And it sounds like you guys are well ahead of the game, and I think that’s good insight to share with everybody. So, Jacob, thanks for being on.
Jacob Puckett: Absolutely, Andy. Thank you for having me. And if anybody wants to give us a listen, we’re on YouTube and pretty much every podcasting platform. Just search “Unplugged Blue Ridge Energy.”
Andy Johns: There you go. He is Jacob Puckett, the digital communications manager at Blue Ridge Energy. I’m Andy Johns, your host with Pioneer. And until we talk again, keep telling your story.
Outro: StoryConnect is produced by Pioneer Utility Resources, a communications cooperative that is built to share your story. StoryConnect is engineered by Lucas Smith of Lucky Sound Studio.