How communicators can use Alexa’s ‘Flash Briefings’

Flash Briefings is a service offered by Amazon for their Alexa and Echo customers.

Is it a play for some of the podcast market? It’s interesting to watch and certainly other smart home companies will follow.

The briefing is a rundown of audio segments that users can customize with content (called “skills”) that different organizations or people create. Every day, they can ask Alexa to play their briefing, and the service will play that day’s new audio segments.

It’s your very own customized news report.

Local news organizations, professional communities, historians, economists, celebrities— anyone can create a “skill” that is relevant to their interests and the interests of their communities.

As a communications professional, it’s time to seriously consider creating your own Alexa Skill, either for the company or for your client’s organizations. They are a great way to keep your organization relevant, engage your audience and get your content into the same space as organizations such as CNN, NPR and the BBC.

Rules of the road

You can create updates for your Flash Briefing as often as you want, however daily tends to work the best because of the consistency nature of it. That could be a drain on your time and creative energy.