The FrancoFiles Podcast
The FrancoFiles Podcast is a storytelling platform produced by my colleagues and I at the French Embassy in the US. It features exclusive interviews and seeks to take every Francophile in the U.S. on a transatlantic rendez-vous with notable French and American guests. On the platform, experts talk firsthand about their experiences with collaborations and cultural crossovers between these two oldest allies. From the pre-revolutionary era to today’s modern tech movement, FrancoFiles explores the ever-evolving relationship between France and the US.
My Role
As part of my role on the social media team at the French Embassy in the U.S., I promoted and produced the FrancoFiles Podcast. In workload, this meant pitching potential guests on a weekly basis, researching institutions and individuals for upcoming interviews and creating daily social media content to draw in potential listeners and to provide context that may not have been covered in the episode.
​
When I started at the Embassy, I jumped in with my colleagues to begin a second season with a rebranded look and sound. To boost outreach, I took the initiative to drive the creation of social media for the podcast, creating and growing a Twitter and an Instagram account. On top of my normal duties for the @Franceintheus social media, I invested the time in the @francofilespod brand by following accounts, interacting with followers and other podcasts and producing a high volume of content to drive engagement on our fresh page. Today, our Twitter has passed over 400 followers, and our Instagram is at over 800.
What I Have Learned
The theme of the FrancoFiles Podcast is extremely broad, as it can include any individual or institution with a Franco-American tie. Our guests are historians, entrepreneurs, authors, chefs and even space experts. In writing on each of these people, my appreciation for the connection between France and the US has deepened immensely. As a bibliophile, I knew that I would appreciate the episode on the American Library in Paris, and as a lover of community spaces, I was not surprised to enjoy writing on the Villa San Francisco. What I did not expect was to become absolutely invested and enamored with subjects that had never appealed to me before–like the French Tech scene or the world's largest startup campus in Paris. Now, I find myself reading and checking in on Kat Borlongan and the nonprofit of Roxanne Varza, and I am so glad that is part of my Franco-American experience.
​
On a more professional level, I can see how my graphic design and promotional skills have evolved. With the help of tools like Canva and a continued evolution of my writing, I feel that I have improved in producing images and slices of a story that give just enough information to draw in a potential listener. As well, I have grown in my confidence as a writer to master new topics and ideas. As I said, many themes on the podcast were new to me, but with effective research and quick learning, I became fluent in communicating the terms and ideas.
