Order videos

Extreme engagement: Your audience can do more than listen

Manoush Zomorodi discusses her podcast 'Note to Self' and demonstrates how she has built a loyal following.

Manoush is the host of WNYC’s podcast ‘Note To Self’ in New York and
has learnt a lot of lessons through that. She says that having
conversations with audiences is the start of them giving back. It’s a
circular feedback loop from thereon in – the ‘Virtuous Cycle of
Content.’

Manoush encouraged us to remember that our best thoughts come to us
when we are bored – when we’re staring out the window, having a shower
and basically not staring at our phones. If we let our minds wander
then we have a chance to start thinking differently and clearly. We
light up a part of our brain called ‘default mode’.

Manoush did some research into this with the help of her audience. She
found that they spent two hours a day on their phone. She gave them a
morning challenge every day for five days – like single-tasking or
deleting Candy Crush and Instagram. And they managed to shave off six
minutes of 'tech time' every day. But more than that, they had great
stories – about sleeping better, making more eye contact and feeling
more like themselves.

'To get more of your audience involved in your content, think about
what your audience needs and how you can be the solution to that.'

She also connected with her audience for her most recent project -
‘The Privacy Paradox’ - all about the risk to our identity and data.
Audience stories inform the content, which informs the audience’s
stories. 70% said that they are ready to push for digital rights
protection.