It only takes a moment
As podcast enthusiasts, we share links to podcasts on RadioPublic all the time. We also find ourselves pointing our friends to specific moments in episodes regularly–encouraging them to press play on the whole episode is one thing, and with a specific starting point, it’s an even easier ask to start listening right here in this episode.
We also know that this is a benefit for all podcast listeners who love to spread podcast episodes to the people around them. Rather than sending a link, the recipient pressing play, and hoping they’ll find their way to the right spot, we’ve got a different idea: simplifying the number of steps between linking and listening. For the first time, you can now direct someone to hear a podcast starting at a specific timestamp.
How does it work? A listener starts playing an episode and then presses share, and the link they share includes the exact playhead position. (Missed it by a second or two? You can adjust the timestamp within the sharing modal, too.) By simply selecting the checkbox “Start episode at” the listener can share just the right moment in a podcast.
Can we make sharing second nature?
With the new timestamp creation, we also redesigned our entire sharing view on the web. Sharing is essential to broadening a podcast’s reach, whether it’s one-on-one via email or SMS or to lots of people across social networks. Spreading podcasts from an existing listener to a potential listener is beneficial for podcasters and listeners alike.
But sharing a podcast can be kind of a pain. There are lots of questions: Are you sharing a specific episode or the entire show, and can you start listening immediately? Do you just copy and paste the URL? Is there a better way to do this?
We think yes.
We sought out to improve upon our own design. Sharing was initially part of our player drawer, revealing an option while listening to an episode to share on social media or grab a link to an embed player. This, however, relied on a particular precursory action: a listener had to already be listening to share this episode, which ultimately limited spreading podcasts all over the web.
Now, we’ve upgraded sharing functionality into the masthead of shows and episodes. Every show and every episode will always have a large share button that will help the listener pass the show along. We’ve included personal sharing via SMS, one-to-one sharing via email, and across social networks. We’ve also included a preview so you can see what you’ll be receiving and a quick way to copy the link to the show or episode.
Some details we don’t want you to miss…
Simply creating the first timestamp sharing feature and updating our sharing options are a cause for celebration, but wait, there’s still more: we’ve also designed some ways that we believe will be incredibly helpful for listeners as they share podcasts–and improves listening experiences everywhere.
Need the episode on your phone?
Imagine you’re working on your computer and your phone isn’t nearby to search for a show or enter a URL so you can grab the right podcast episode. A quick way to get the show to your phone is to use our share modal’s SMS option: enter your phone number and we’ll text a link to the episode so you can listen later.
Want to share an episode via email?
Send a podcast to yourself or to a friend by typing an email address in the To field.
Embed your podcast anywhere
We’ve also added a super easy way to grab the embed code you need to get a podcast onto any webpage. Tap to share, then navigate to the embed section and choose where. We’ve already handled the hard work for you on Medium and WordPress (hurray!), but if you want to embed a podcast elsewhere, we’ve got you covered with the HTML embed code.
