Media Strategy Insight From An Unsuspecting Source

One of the most important podcasts that you should be tuning into each week is Word on Fire by the Auxillary Bishop of the Los Angeles California Roman Catholic Archdiocese.  Bishop Robert Barron.

Wait? What?

Yes, you read that correctly, Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire podcast is a must listen if you care even the littlest bit about getting your media strategy right. Why? Because the simply produced, yet powerfully engaging twenty minutes that is put out on a weekly schedule offers up one of the best examples of the unapologetic sharing of a message to a naturally cynical audience.

To be fair the majority of listeners to The Word on Fire are most likely predisposed to want to hear what Bishop Barron has to say, but there are many in his audience that finds the message he has to share suspect. Why should this latter point matter? Becuase in our age, the audience we seek to connect with are overwhelmed with information, and inherently on the lookout for some hidden selling agenda. The only antidote for the information overload and natural skepticism is to deliver with mastery and sincerity. Barron’s Word On Fire does both.

The challenge here is to set aside whatever you may feel about the topic of religion in general or specifically the Catholic Church. And sure that might be hard to do, but if you can see your way clear of that, at least as long as your reading this post, you will gain some very valuable perspective that you can and should begin to apply to your media strategies.

First, consider the stated mission of Bishop Barron’s Word On Fire organization:

The Word On Fire Catholic Ministry is dedicated to the mission of evangelization using media both old and new to share the faith on every continent and to facilitate an encounter with Christ and His Church.

A tall task, but one that pulls no punches. The Ministry has a message, and they want that message to reach the corners of the world. And they intend to leverage every media platform available to do it. Now consider the world into which this message is being delivered. A world decidedly less open to the idea at the heart of the Word On Fire mission, and a world that is not too far removed from the sting of a global sex abuse scandal. In other words, there ain’t too many out there looking to buy what Word On Fire and Bishop Barron is selling.

Ok, so far we have a big message and a hostile audience. What would you do? Would you seek some softer hook to gently connect with your audience to gain their approval? Would you adjust your message in a way that mimicked that which your identified audience cares about? Or would you increase the level of authenticity and transparency of your message in an effort to simply empower your audience to make a decision that is right not for you but for them?

Bishop Barron’s Word On Fire podcast does exactly the latter. It serves the audience very simple and accessible ideas that somehow stay completely true to the very rich essence of what is being discussed. Each episode is chock full of references and anecdotal examples that offer the listener a very clear experience of the human side of the topic being discussed.

There is much to be learned from the show that can be easily applied to your media strategy. Here are the four elements of the Word On Fire Podcast to keep in mind.

Remain Topic Disciplined. No matter the topic, whether an episode is covering the latest blockbuster film or some current event, the discussion is always offered in the context of how it can be read in the light of the faith Bishop Barron wants to share. You need to know what your core is, and to work to always bring your conversation back to that central theme. With one important caveat. Don’t force it. If some ancillary topic does not match up, then don’t try to make it match up.

Own the Narrative: One thing that makes Bishop Barron so accessible is that he frequently speaks in anecdotes and stories. This makes headier topics easier to wrap your head around. Everyone has plenty of stories to tell. Start boning up on your own and your ability to tell them.

Make the Case: Bishop Barron is unapologetic. He does the show to make a bold case for the faith that he had dedicated his life to, and he always tries to make a clear case for what he feels is the only logical response. Agreement. What is our objective? Are you sold on your own idea, can you make a strong case for it and make it clear to your listeners that the only logical response is to agree with you?

Be Over Prepared: Bishop Barron comes armed with years of education, and he shares that knowledge effortlessly. Can we do the same? Can we share every facet of what we are covering and provide every angle for consideration?

This podcast is a winner, even if you have no appetite for the subject matter you owe it to yourself to check it out in order to get some great podcast production ideas, and media strategy insight.

Hesitant to believe that or use this podcast as a learning ground? Well, try this episode on the Bishops experience of using social media. he covers everything from format to handling comment trolls.