The Yin and Yang of Podcast Security and Accessibility

Beauty is in the options. Leaders are adopting everything from live audio podcasts to video on demand to help their teams learn and communicate faster. And the choices you make regarding distributing and publishing these types of media might differ according to your circumstances, goals and target audience.

It’s no secret that in the year 2020, a mobile-first experience with any program is key to engagement and accessibility. However, to be truly modern, your media management system needs options - like the ability to share within the environments your employees work in day-in and day-out. uStudio’s media platform is designed with this in mind. Our out-of-box media applications and analytics plug in easily to your existing infrastructure, while our platform is available for companies who need a full-stack solution.

Just like Yin and Yang, these two opposite paths of podcast distribution (external vs a private app) can actually be complementary and benefit each other. On one far end of the spectrum is the closed solution of the uStudio Enterprise Podcasting App, and on the far end of the opposite spectrum would be an embedded piece of media on a public site or public RSS feed, made possible through our media management Hub. The content you are producing should dictate which path you follow, along with the variability of your audience and their ability to access the content.

How Secure Is Your Podcast Content? 

The type of podcast content you are producing will help to determine which path to take. If your content shares sensitive or proprietary company information, you definitely should not be blasting your podcasts to Spotify or on the homepage of your website.

For example, in a marketing podcast like a customer stories show, the content is intended for unrestricted access so that employees, clients, prospects and anyone else can consume this media and be inspired to invest in your company. This is an example of a great piece of audio to share publicly, as well as privately, and embed in the additional systems you have access to. For example, through an integration, sales people can distribute videos to prospective customers directly from salesforce.

However, for internal all hands meetings, the sensitive nature of the content demands restriction to only employees. For management training, it may be necessary to restrict access even a step further, just to a particular set of internal users. uStudio’s enterprise podcast application meets the most stringent IT requirements and has grouping capabilities to only reach the internal users you would like it to - whether that’s according to department, seniority, location or more. With our secure podcast platform, we go beyond the password to protect the embedded media players, as well as the stream itself, to ensure they are only playable when initialized inside of the location for which they were intended.

What Level of Accessibility Do You Need? 

How easily would you like your audience to reach your content? By embedding your media on a public site or public RSS feed, it is offered in more places and therefore can be argued it is easier to access. If you are considering embedding your media in the systems your employees are already expected to work in everyday, like Salesforce, intranets and more, they might be more inclined to click on the content. Note that no matter the route you choose, we do offer embed restrictions that prevent media content from loading unless the player is being accessed in an approved environment.

However, also remember the accessibility features already present inside our podcast app. Many external systems are not available offline or convenient to access over a mobile device. If you are sharing secure media you hope employees view when traveling or at home, an in-app experience is the way to go - this way they can download, plug into their bluetooth speakers, and more, all while your messages stay safe. The uStudio app works on any device, no matter your location.

Even if you are set on distributing your media through the uStudio app-only, there are still ways to securely promote your new content in the systems your employees already know and use. With our promotional embeds, podcast administrators can promote their podcast episodes with a visually appealing preview. Clicking anywhere on the promotional embed will direct the user to the podcast mobile app or web app, depending on what device they are using.

Finding the balance between security requirements and business objectives can be challenging, but we are here to help. We partner with our customers to identify the best security configuration for their unique needs by leveraging a multi-tier approach to securing media delivery. It’s the Yin and Yang of private podcasting!