Local radio has one major advantage over all other forms of traditional media and even emerging new media, radio has personality. Well programmed local radio stations create a vibe and take on a persona that tends to evoke strong feelings and emotions from their listeners. Anyone who’s been responsible for presiding over the format flip of a beloved heritage station can certainly testify to that. People are passionate about their favorite radio stations and over time they form a deep bond with them that doesn’t break easily. 

But with cutbacks and tightly screwed down formats is it still possible to create stations with such strong personalities? I would argue that it is. As long as we take every opportunity possible to inject that personality. Even staying tight and bright outside of mornings a good on-air personality can find ways to interject a little engagement, entertainment and sizzle into their breaks. Plus, strategically placed imaging that’s regularly updated and well written can supplement that and so can entertaining commercials, fun promotions and conversational social posts. 

If you want to succeed it’s vitally important that you establish a station with personality. When you break it down there are only so many possible formats and potential hit songs you can play if you want any hope of winning the ratings game. So, typically it’s what happens between those hit songs that sets winning stations apart from losing stations. 

What’s your station’s personality score? Answer these ten questions to find out. 

(On a scale of 1 to 10) 

How much personality does your morning show have? 

How much personality does your air staff have in other day parts? 

How much personality is in your recorded imaging? 

How much personality do your on-air promotions have? 

How much personality do your commercials have? 

How much personality does your music have? 

How much personality does your station website have? 

How much personality do your station social feeds have? 

How much personality does your station app have? 

How much personality do your on-site promotions have? 

If you scored a 90 or above congratulations! If your station scored 75 or above, good work, but hopefully you’ve identified some areas to focus on improving. Don’t be depressed if you scored less than that, there are more tools than ever to help you find creative and affordable ways to add personality to your station. 

When you have the time, try taking the same test for some of the other stations in your market to see how you stack up. If you’d like you can even fill out the form below to have me tune in and give you an unbiased, outside opinion on your station’s personality score. 

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