tag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting?p=22RSC Blog2024-03-27T13:21:01-05:00Radio Consultingfalsetag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73733352024-03-27T13:21:01-05:002024-03-27T13:27:37-05:00The Importance Of Off-Air Communication By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/f05e3ba71f5abc11450c32288e26fefe598d7623/original/2149085936.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1335" width="2000" /><p><span>We’ve all probably worked with a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-steps-to-create-a-successful-team-show-by-andy-meadows/5-steps-to-create-a-successful-team-show-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>team show</span></a><span> or two that didn’t get along off the air. On the good days they could fake it while the mics were on but the second they were off an awkward silence fell over the room and a palpable tension filled the entire studio. Then the second their shifts ended they parted ways without a word until returning the next day to suffer through another four hours working alongside a coworker who was forced upon them. It’s not pretty and it’s no way to live, let alone create compelling content on a daily basis that appeals to the masses. After coaching on-air talent for the better part of my life, one of the main things I’ve learned is that the more off-air conversations team shows have the better their on-air conversations will be. However, there is a caveat. It only works well if they’re having purposeful and productive off-air conversations. Here are a few quick tips on ways to do that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span><strong>All team shows should use a show planner.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p><p><span>I have one I use that I share with the shows I coach that incorporates digital as well. You can download the weekly and daily version for free </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/downloads" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>here</span></a><span>. But, each show has to figure out a process that works for them so my show planner may or may not be the right fit. Some shows type everything out, some jot down notes, others use a whiteboard. The main point is to have something written down so everyone involved in the show is on the same page on what content is happening where so they can all prepare for it, effectively tease it and advance that content within the breaks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span><strong>Stay hyper-focused on the show during the show.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p><p><span>For the entirety of the hours shows are live on the air everything should be show related and timely. Any correspondence about duties outside of the show should wait until after the show and the same goes for even show-related things that can wait, upcoming promotions or events for instance. To keep that common distraction from affecting shows sometimes I’ve gone as far as putting a sign on the studio door and setting emails to auto-reply kindly letting others know that they would address it after the show.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span><strong>Be strategic about when to get personal.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p><p><span>Talking about what’s going on in our personal lives off the air is tricky because everything is content (potentially) and so there is a value in it. But, it can easily get away from us. So, generally I suggest talking about that stuff after the show to see if it’s something that can be </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>developed</span></a><span> into on-air content. That’s helpful for multiple reasons, it keeps it from being a during the show distraction and it gives us the room to determine what details need to be embellished and exaggerated to make it more entertaining and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>relatable</span></a><span> to the listener.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span><strong>Don’t reference off-air conversations on-air.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p><p><span>Even though off-air conversations are incredibly important, the listener doesn’t care what we were talking about when the mics weren’t on because they couldn’t hear it. So, there’s no need to mention or reference a prior conversation they weren’t privy to, and eliminating that little unnecessary setup helps our always important economy of words. I know it only shaves off a few seconds but those seconds add up when combined with others and feeling the need to justify why we’re talking about something on air tends to lead to lots of those kinds of unnecessary moments.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Bringing it full circle, shows that find themselves in the awkward silence I described above, or worse yet, spending their time in-between breaks shouting at each other should remember this simple truth. Fighting internally leads to losing externally because we can’t fight the competition when we’re fighting ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? How productive is your off-air communication and what tricks have you used to improve it? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73700022024-03-20T14:29:53-05:002024-03-20T14:29:53-05:00How Many Digital Ads To Run By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/a0a21e197cd80308a5b2c33b8d99f2bf6247a658/original/business-colleagues-looking-at-a-laptop-drobotdean-freepik.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1125" width="2000" /><p><span>In 1896 Marconi was issued the very first patent for a wireless radio device in England. Four years later in 1900, Tesla’s patents were granted in the US, but it wasn’t until the late 1920s that radio broadcasting began to really take hold. So, essentially radio has been around for a hundred years now. In that time through trial and error, and tons of internal arguing, we’ve landed on roughly how many terrestrial ads we can get away with running per stopset and per hour. Because we learned a long time ago that even on a free service there’s a limit to how many ads people will tolerate. To get that balance right the volume of ads has to be in proportion to the amount of entertainment people expect to get in exchange for their time spent listening to those ads. That’s why even after a hundred years we’re still debating it. So, it makes sense that radio stations struggle to figure out how many digital ads to run on their digital assets as well. Here’s a few guidelines I suggest to clients.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Just like terrestrial advertising, the number of ads have to be in proportion to the content and the cost. Free services can get away with larger and slightly more obtrusive ads, but if they massively impact the user experience they’re going to do more harm than good because digital sales are based on very trackable digital stats and those go down if the user experience stinks. For instance, complicated ads that slow down the loading of a website or obtrusive ones that hide any of the content they’re coming to the site for. On station websites groups have a habit of using way too many banner ads in proportion to the amount of clickable, shareable content they create and upload. I get the rationale; it gives you more space to hand over to Google Ads so you’re at least billing something on the website while the local staff tries to sell it. The problem is it’s counter-intuitive because it makes each individual ad less valuable and it also impacts the aforementioned user experience hurting the stats. So, it weakens the very thing groups are trying to sell. Most stations struggle to load between 6 and 8 pieces of original content per week. So, the balance I suggest to my radio clients is never more than two ads per page, but bigger and more valuable ads. One way to supplement that is by doing a few pieces of sponsored content (also called advertorial content) that’s clickable, shareable but attached to or branded with a sponsor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>For station streams I strongly suggest that stations with longer terrestrial stopsets close the gap between themselves and digital competitors by covering some of those spots online with exclusive content (interesting podcast clip, morning show clip or a song). In my experience pre-rolls before a stream should be fifteen seconds or less and video pre-rolls, or mid-rolls, should again be in proportion to the content the viewer is getting. In other words don’t run a thirty second pre-roll going into a sixty second or less video. In-app ads on free station apps are also fine as long as they’re not interfering with the user experience. The same goes for podcasts, don’t get fooled listening to established podcasts front-loaded with lots of ads. New podcasts can’t get away with that, especially if they’re thirty minutes or less.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Currently, I’m doing an internal poll about terrestrial spots on the homepage you might’ve seen that hasn’t gotten a huge response because there’s no incentive and only radio nerds like myself are interested in the topic. In it I ask ‘If you started your station from scratch right now how many minutes per hour of spots would you run?’ So far I’ve had a little over a hundred responses and the most popular answer is 8 minutes, but the extremes are equally split with 29% saying 6 minutes or less and 27% saying 12 minutes or more. So, if we’re still this divided on the terrestrial ads question we’ll likely be debating the digital one for many more years to come, although hopefully not a hundred.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? How many ads are appropriate to run on a radio station’s digital assets? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73666012024-03-13T13:59:30-05:002024-03-13T13:59:30-05:00Dabble & Disappear Managers By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/6c9c8df5f7908d19460640fdfe512e62d53cf436/original/bad-boss-lightfieldstudios-envato-elements.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="3927" width="6982" /><p>Most of the topics I write about are specific to our industry, but this one is pretty universal. However, with staffs shrinking in recent years, it seems to be a little more prevalent in radio now than in other businesses. Which is unfortunate because when this problem exists at a radio group my job of helping them increase their ratings and revenue is particularly challenging. The phenomenon I’m referencing is something I like to call dabble and disappear managers. Which is essentially exactly what it sounds like. Someone in management, usually upper management, who likes to get really involved on a granular level for very short periods of time, stirring everything up. Then walking away and fully disconnecting from the chaos they’ve created while leaving others to clean up their mess. If you fear you are a dabble and disappear manager, or you work with one and are in a position to suggest changes, here are some steps to help mitigate the damage.</p><p>A strong second in command directly under a dabble and disappear style manager is a must for maintaining a healthy corporate environment. Someone who’s opinion and authority they respect enough to allow them to push back and set some reasonable boundaries for the times that the behavior is the most problematic. This person has to report directly to them for this structure to work and have the patience to pick their battles, the experience to know what they’re talking about and likeable enough to earn the respect of their peers.</p><p>An organizational chart that makes it clear exactly who is responsible for what and who everyone answers to. This is mission critical with a dabble and disappear manager so there’s something documented that the rest of the staff can use to push back. Typically, personality types who struggle with this type of behavior are very resistant to putting anything like an organizational chart in place because they have control issues and fear it will take away some of their control over the organization that they care so much about. But, it’s absolutely necessary to reduce the damage and eventually help curb the behavior enough to allow the company to thrive.</p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows">Self-sufficient employees</a> who care enough about the organization to take the initiative and do the things that are falling through the cracks amidst the chaos. In my experience most successful groups that are struggling with a dabble and disappear manager within their organization are able to do so because of a handful of strong, self-sufficient, go getters acting as the glue that holds the company together. However, if both a strong number two and an organizational chart aren’t also in place, even a full staff of self-sufficient employees won’t be enough to make it all work.</p><p>Most dabble and disappear managers are not particularly bad people, there are just certain personality types that have a tough time finding the proper balance of when and how to get involved. Plus, they tend to also be very passionate about their industry and business. So, the behavior actually stems from a good place. Because of that there’s hope that they’ll recognize the challenges their behavior creates for their companies or be open to someone they trust pointing it out to them so they can work to correct it.</p><p>What do you think? Do you have any experience working with dabble and disappear managers or were you one in the past and, if so, how did you curb the behavior? Comment below or email me at <a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com">Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</a>.</p><p>Pic designed by LightFieldStudios for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://elements.envato.com/">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73628222024-03-06T14:53:26-06:002024-03-07T02:49:12-06:00A Few Ways Radio Could Use Open AI's New Text To Video By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/7841e01dd53dc294897a6ca65b1b4971f6af8292/original/openai-text-to-video-pic-spaceman.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="951" width="1762" /><p><span>A few weeks ago one of the leading A.I. companies, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://openai.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>OpenAI</span></a><span>, created quite a buzz when they released a demo of Sora, their new text-to-video model. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here it is.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HK6y8DAPN_0?si=yMaB4zAa8bBxJflH" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p><p> <span>Believe it or not all of the clips in that video were generated directly by Sora without modification based solely off the prompts that are shown. Understandably most of the concern expressed after the videos release revolved around people using this technology to spread misinformation, which OpenAI says they’re addressing by having ‘red teamers’ and ‘domain experts adversarially’ test ‘the model’. I share everyone’s legitimate concerns, but I’m also excited for how technology like this could level the playing field and allow creatives within the radio industry to produce some pretty amazing video content with a limited budget once this tech is available to the public. Here are a few of the ways I could see radio using text-to-video A.I.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Imagine a morning show talking about going to see the new Dune movie on the air. After the break they spend a few seconds typing in a prompt to generate a video that shows the team members of the show goofing around on one of the planets from the movie. They pull the best sixty seconds of audio from the on-air break, throw it under their new video footage and share it to social media with a link back to the station website to hear the full break. This could work for literally any kind of content the on-air talent talk about, especially silly or weird news stories, and it could happen with a few keystrokes. Pairing this tech with things like </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiocontentpro.com/apply/andy-meadows/ref/7/"><span>Radio Content Pro</span></a><span>, that writes verbatim on-air content in radio speak, could allow on-air talent to create the video footage before they even do the live on-air break (So it’s ready to go almost immediately).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Promotionally text-to-video could be used to quickly create video footage that helps explain or promote on-air contests and promotions to be used at station and partner events in front of large crowds. On the sales front there are tons of applications, easily turning audio spots into video ads for pre-rolls and mid-rolls, creating better spec spots and short station video demos paired to audio composites.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>A few years ago I wrote about how we’ve officially entered </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>The Era of The Content Creator</span></a><span> and that was before A.I. made it’s recent massive leaps forward. My point at the time, which is even more true now, is that people capable of creating their own content from scratch are incredibly valuable now that they’re surrounded with affordable tools to do so daily on a much larger scale. But, only if they </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/make-a-i-your-coworker-instead-of-your-replacement-by-andy-meadows/make-a-i-your-coworker-instead-of-your-replacement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>fully embrace</span></a><span> those tools.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? What are some ways radio could use OpenAI’s new text-to-video technology once it becomes available to the public and are you scared or excited about this kind of new tech? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://openai.com/"><span>OpenAI</span></a><span>’s Sora.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73586472024-02-28T08:42:10-06:002024-02-29T16:46:41-06:00How Local Revenue Can Save Radio By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/2ce2037e2bdfb3f11457e115f7fa12ab6d367457/original/2149160929.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1039" width="1500" /><p><span>A few weeks ago I read about how </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/08/not-a-viable-business-anymore-bell-media-selling-45-radio-stations-amid-layoffs/"><span>Bell Media was selling 45</span></a><span> of their radio stations in the UK amid another round of layoffs. In an interview with The Canadian Press Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcomson explained the sale by saying that radio is “not a viable business anymore.” As someone who makes a living working with radio stations that was certainly a frightening statement to read. We can brush it aside by saying to ourselves that it’s just the opinion of one executive in the middle of managing a crisis. But, we all know that it’s an opinion shared by many outside of our industry and even a few others within radio. I’ve been accused of being an optimist before, but I firmly believe that radio is still a viable business because of the local revenue that’s available for stations that are </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/built-to-last-by-andy-meadows/built-to-last-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>strategically built</span></a><span> to get their share of it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span><strong>Here’s the main reason why.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Many of the larger groups made the determination years ago that terrestrial radio was dying so they slashed their costs as much as possible at the local level, letting leases expire, laying off most or all of the local staff and supplementing that with syndicated shows and a handful of network talent leveraged across all their markets. Even if you didn’t personally sit in closed door meetings with them it was pretty clear what their plan was. They were essentially just using their terrestrial stations to point to their digital assets and build those up while bundling all of their network inventory to chase national revenue instead of local revenue. While the first part of that plan worked to an extent, helping to create some strong digital brands, the second part back-fired as national revenue began to dry up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Fortunately, this has created an opening for broadcasters willing to invest at the local level. Putting someone in place </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/being-a-leader-in-2024-by-andy-meadows/being-a-leader-in-2024-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>capable of managing</span></a><span> a locally driven radio station (even if that person has to be regional to make the numbers work). Installing reliable equipment that’s remotely controllable and monitorable. Hiring as much local on-air talent as their budget will allow, while of course being strategic with it, there’s still only room for talent that actually </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>add value</span></a><span>. Supplementing that with part-timers, out of market voicetrackers that are willing to participate in digital content and syndicated shows that are live and interactive. Then creating content, contests and promotions that generate buzz and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>force</span></a><span> all of the programming staff to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-most-interactive-station-in-the-world-by-andy-meadows/the-most-interactive-station-in-the-world-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>interact</span></a><span> with the local audience constantly on the air, online and on-site. Finally, supporting all of that local programming and promotions with a couple of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/most-important-trait-for-a-seller-by-andy-meadows/most-important-trait-for-a-seller-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>sales people</span></a><span> who are willing to meet face-to-face with local business owners and establish the relationships necessary to put them into custom advertising campaigns tailor made to help achieve their goals. Plus, look for ways to tap into some regional ad dollars, that also still exist, by tying in other stations within the company, outside of the company or through outside partnerships.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Stations that do all of that will find that radio is not only a viable business in 2024 but will continue to be for years to come. It’s by no means an easy task, but luckily there are a lot more tools and resources available to radio stations than there were just a few years ago. Investing wisely in those tools and resources makes it possible for groups to breathe life into their stations at the local level while staying within a budget and slowly rebuilding their operations. Shameless plug, all of this is of course a lot easier with the right </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/why-pay-a-consultant-by-andy-meadows/why-pay-a-consultant-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>consultant</span></a><span> by your side.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73547912024-02-21T08:47:09-06:002024-02-21T13:12:00-06:00Make A.I. Your Coworker Instead of Your Replacement By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/1ba64e50cb571665e10fa3833e873dbead50efbf/original/person-using-ai-tool-job.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>There are two distinct camps forming in our industry, those who despise A.I. and want nothing to do with it and those who are excited about A.I. I’m in the latter camp, however I am concerned for how it will impact our industries most precious resource, local employees. I also worry that while further automating our radio stations may be a good short-term solution for struggling broadcasters, it’s likely a bad long-term solution collectively for our entire industry. That why I strongly encourage all radio employees to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>embrace A.I.</span></a><span> now and make it their coworker so it doesn’t end up being their replacement. Not doing so could have dire consequences as this technology advances faster than anyone anticipated. Here are some of the employees in immediate danger if they don’t learn to make A.I. work for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Any on-air talent that rips and reads from a prep service without </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>adding anything</span></a><span> to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/personalize-and-localize-by-andy-meadows/personalize-and-localize-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>personalize and localize</span></a><span> their content is doomed. It doesn’t matter how good their voices are or how natural their delivery is, and I say this as a guy who’s proud of both his pipes and delivery. On air personalities who don’t add to their content add very little </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>value</span></a><span> to their stations, so most groups have slashed their pay so much that many have already left the industry. The second A.I. voices sound natural enough to pass off as a real radio on-air talent, any remaining rip and read DJs will be let go across the board.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>However, the technology won’t stop there. Even good talent who truly are on-air personalities that add to their content with their own angles and a couple sellable daily features aren’t safe if they refuse to participate in creating </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/digital-can-t-be-an-afterthought-by-andy-meadows/digital-can-t-be-an-afterthought-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>digital content</span></a><span>. Sadly, there are still plenty of talent who believe all of the digital stuff should be left to someone else in the building so they can solely focus on the on-air product. That works for a handful of the big, syndicated shows, but in truth a lot of those big names do more behind the scenes than people realize. Plus, none of them started out with an enormous staff to handle all of their social and web content. Initially, they had to do most of those tasks themselves before they got big enough to delegate it. Ironically, talent starting off now can replicate that large staff by using A.I. technology to help them write, record and produce more daily content. Talent that don’t participate in digital won’t make it through the end of this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What’s left of our admin staffs are in danger of being paired down even further soon because of A.I. technology regardless of what department they work in. However, employees who familiarize themselves with the technology so they know it better than their bosses will be safe for years to come. Long term, even middle managers, production, marketing, and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/most-important-trait-for-a-seller-by-andy-meadows/most-important-trait-for-a-seller-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>sales people</span></a><span> should be concerned. All of those positions will eventually be scaled back. The strongest handful of each will be supplemented by A.I. to make them more efficient, but luckily there’s still plenty of time for these employees to learn to use the technology.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>To be clear, I’m not saying any of these things are good ideas. Like I said at the top, I think local employees are our strongest resource and our best protection against digital only competitors. That’s because local revenue is declining slower than national revenue and getting a large slice of that local revenue requires local employees. So, I’m writing this to warn people who truly love radio and want to stay in this industry going forward and are willing to put in the work to do so. At TAB this year in Austin I heard a great line from another presenter second hand because our panels were happening at the same time. She said, ‘Make A.I. work for you or you’ll work for A.I.’ That statement sums it up perfectly. I wish I’d caught her name so I could credit her for it, but unfortunately I’d had an old fashioned or two (or three) and the details are a little fuzzy. But she’s right. Virtually all of us are in danger of being replaced by A.I., but the last ones standing will most certainly be the ones who embrace the technology and learn to make it work for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>One very creative and radio specific use of this emerging technology I’ve been very impressed with is Tracy Johnson’s new A.I. powered prep service, Radio Content Pro. They spent a year getting the prompts right and it shows. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen so far. Even though it just launched, I’ve had a couple clients sign up for it already and it’s been an absolute game changer for them. Here’s my </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiocontentpro.com/apply/andy-meadows/ref/7/" target="_blank"><span>affiliate link</span></a><span> in case you want to check it out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73513472024-02-14T15:52:09-06:002024-02-15T09:50:27-06:00Why New Heights Is a Top Podcast By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/b3991116c0ec4094c39091b5d8cbfea3f3931543/original/empty-home-production-studio-with-professional-podcasting-tools-recording-sound-streaming-sites-entertainment-show-live-broadcasting-from-cozy-location-living-room-decorated-with-purple-lights.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>I understand why some would look at the success of Jason and Travis Kelce’s sports podcast </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.newheightshow.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><i><span>New Heights</span></i></a><span> and assume that it’s only successful because the younger brother is dating a pop superstar, they’re two future NFL hall-of-famers and the older one starred in a documentary last season while the younger one stars in seemingly every other TV commercial. I’m not here to argue that all of those things haven’t created a ton of buzz that drives eyes and ears to their weekly show. But, all of that stuff only helps to get people to tune in or watch one or maybe two times. When listening to the show with a discerning ear it’s clear that the Kelce brothers are doing a lot of things right and that’s why the show has become the #1 sports </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>podcast</span></a><span> weeks running and one of the top overall podcasts in the world right now. Here are a few of those things they’re doing well and some lessons we can learn from them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Well </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/why-roles-are-so-important-by-andy-meadows/why-roles-are-so-important-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>defined roles</span></a><span>. Whether by design or just because of their family dynamic, from the onset they followed the first rule of establishing a successful </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7339559/5-steps-to-create-a-successful-team-show-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>team show</span></a><span>, defining and understanding their roles. Jason is the host of the show, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>plans</span></a><span> most of it out, leads the majority of the content, keeps the show focused throughout and still manages to be his loveable, funny self. Travis is the co-host helping to move content forward without derailing while interjecting funny comments and his incredibly likeable personality. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>They’ve stolen a page from radio and included features and benchmarks. Also, from the onset they incorporated regular features that they do at roughly the same time in every show creating structure, adding an anchor of familiarity for the regular listener and giving multiple sponsors something to own. These named segments also tend to generate a handful of bite size clips perfect for sharing on social.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>They relate to a wide range of people. Both of them are very comfortable in their own skin and come across as real, genuine people and that’s something everyone can relate to. Plus, they’re at different stages in their life, Jason is a family man who can talk about parenting and marriage while Travis is of course dating one of the world’s most famous people. It also doesn’t hurt that Jason’s wife (who joins them occasionally) seems to be a down to Earth, cool mom that’s very funny in her own right. All of this allows them to relate in one way or another to virtually anyone who chooses to listen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>They talk about way more than football. It’s easy for two veteran athletes to fall into the trap of talking about the minutia of the sport they’re clearly experts in. But, getting that granular would only appeal to a very small percentage of podcast audiences who are really into football. While they do recap their games, that’s only a small portion of the show and they typically do those recaps in a way that everyone listening can understand. Now that they’re aware many Swiftie’s have started listening they’ve also added a ‘No Dumb Questions’ segment where fans can ask them even the most basic of Football questions without getting ridiculed. But, overall the Kelce’s do a great job talking about broader, more mass appeal topics that anyone, regardless of their profession, can relate to. Because of this their show is more inclusive than exclusive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Since they’re brothers who appear to be good friends as well, they obviously have a lot of chemistry baked in and therefore they play off each other very well. That dynamic is a lot tougher to create with strangers or even people who have known each other for years but never worked together on a regular basis. That’s why it’s mission critical for team shows to spend a lot of time with each other initially in and outside of the studio so they can fast track the process of getting to know each other and build that chemistry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>They’re tailor made (no pun intended) for social media. They present themselves well, come across as in the know, their funny and create multiple organic moments within each show that are easy to turn into bite size clips to be used as reels (which is what seems to be working the best right now). This is hands down the fastest way to grow a podcast and would also work well for growing any new team show on the radio. Plus, it’s significantly easier than it used to be with some of the new AI tools that can turn any long form show into these shorter clips within seconds with little adjustment, if any, before posting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>As a life-long broadcaster I admit that I’m a little jealous when I see someone move into what I perceive as my territory and find success. But, rather than assuming they found that success because of the head start their fame afforded them I try and set my pride aside so I can review their show with an unbiased opinion. Which was especially hard in this circumstance because Jason Kelce is an Eagle and therefore a sworn enemy of this tortured Cowboy fan. However, after consuming multiple episodes it’s very clear to me that they know exactly what they’re doing and we could all learn something from their show about what’s working right now with broad audiences.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Have you listened to ‘New Heights’ and if so, what are they doing right or wrong? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>Pic designed by DC Studio for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73476422024-02-07T16:28:34-06:002024-02-07T16:28:34-06:00Built To Last By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/dab163637aff844096f1231da0c549f1ca3af36a/original/hourglass-with-sand-middle-word-sand-it.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>As we continue to bounce back from a global pandemic, adjust to life-changing technologies and struggle to keep our old media platform relevant in a new digital age, it’s easy to understand why many groups are taking drastic measures to cut cost. For a few years now we’ve been an industry in survival mode filled with radio groups doing whatever they can to keep their doors open and transmitters on for another year. But, how can we change the dynamic so we’re not just surviving but thriving in 2024 and beyond? I believe the best way for radio to do that is to begin structuring our radio groups for what radio will look like tomorrow instead of what it still kind of looks like today. Here are some thoughts on how we can do that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Smaller staffs</span></a><span> that are better compensated, well rounded and forward thinking. To be employed in radio at the local level now employees have to be </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>full service</span></a><span>, capable of doing a little bit of everything while being really good at one or two things. Spreading our thin budgets out amongst a bunch of low paid employees who may love what they do, but don’t add any real value, isn’t the right answer for today or the future. Continuing to do that for longer than they should forces groups to completely automate after it’s too late to identify and retrain our strongest staff members.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Make our stations more </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-most-interactive-station-in-the-world-by-andy-meadows/the-most-interactive-station-in-the-world-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>interactive</span></a><span>. Put in minimum engagement requirements and rewards for any remaining local staff to encourage them to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/you-can-t-over-engage-by-andy-meadows/you-can-t-over-engage-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>engage</span></a><span> with listeners across every platform their station is on daily. Then, supplement that with technology to allow the station to continue interacting during unmanned hours as well. We should also use all of that to collect information that helps our stations regionalize and localize our formats so they’re not exactly the same as digital and out of market competitors. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Embrace freelancers, remote workers, outside resources and artificial intelligence. Independent groups that don’t have the luxury of corporate programming resources to leverage talent from their other markets, should fill that gap through partnerships with on-air talent who have home studios, freelance content creators, companies like mine and A.I. to retain a competitive edge. There are already AI powered prep services like Radio Content Pro that are essentially like having a radio-specific writers’ room that works 24/7/365 and soon AI voices will sound natural enough to pass off as human and cover unmanned dayparts (And eventually, I’m assuming, even interact with the audience).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Keep our local buildings but shrink our footprints. Totally abandoning our local presence will crush any hope we have of keeping local ad dollars (which admittedly are still shrinking) and growing local digital dollars (which will continue to rise). A better idea is to pair down our offices and studios as much as possible allowing some employees to work remotely from home and turning our on-air and production studios into audio/video podcast studios that can be rented out when they’re not in use. This is also a good way to identify local content creators who might be able to contribute to the station at a reasonable cost.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Don’t give up on the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/getting-younger-people-into-radio-by-andy-meadows/getting-younger-people-into-radio-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>younger generation</span></a><span>. If we continue the trend of moving more and more stations to recurrent/gold based formats to ‘fish where the fish are’ we’ll just continue to fight over shrinking audiences. Young people will listen to the radio but only if we give them an experience they’re more accustomed to. That includes shorter stopsets, watching TikTok/Spotify/YouTube to determine what songs to add instead of basing it off what other stations add by looking at MediaBase and talking about the things that are relevant to younger demos by engaging with them and listening to what they have to say.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Finally, we have to adjust our sales model to make it more digital friendly. The old model of talking to a potential advertiser, setting up a meeting with them to assess their needs and their budget, coming back to the station to figure out a custom solution that works for them, setting up a follow up meeting to pitch that solution, will reach a lower percentage of advertisers every year. We have to supplement that with an easy way to purchase advertising that’s similar to the experience ad buyers get when they advertise on digital and social platforms that’s transparent and allows buyers to purchase without speaking with anyone if that’s what they prefer. However, that model only works when paired with someone local for the advertiser to talk to if and when there’s a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? How are you building your radio group or station to last? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>Pic designed by <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73437062024-01-31T15:51:28-06:002024-01-31T15:52:14-06:00Yes You Should Talk About Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/3221a9a77714faa73b2b7bbed8b1f733ada81e18/original/4840638.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>One question every on-air personality should consistently ask themselves is this, ‘What is everyone within our market, and our station’s demo, talking about today?’ There are days where answering that question is hard and then there are days like today where that question is pretty easy to answer. The big story for the next two weeks, provided a world war doesn’t break out, is Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce going back to the Super Bowl. We all know that. It’s obvious tuning into any show on TV regardless of their demo or opening up any social feed regardless of our friend group. Yet, lots of radio on-air personalities refuse to talk about it. Here are a few of the reasons why talent fall into that trap and why it’s a huge mistake.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>“We’re not a sports talk station so we don’t talk about sports.” This one should be obvious. A) Even non-sports fans watch the Super Bowl and nobody’s asking personalities on music stations to break down the ins and outs of the game, but they should certainly talk about the major storylines associated with a game upwards of 60% of the American population watches. B) This is not a sports story, it’s a love story and everyone (even men) like love stories whether they admit it or not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>“We don’t even play Taylor Swift’s music so it doesn’t </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/fitting-the-format-by-andy-meadows/fitting-the-format-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>fit our format</span></a><span>.” This isn’t a music story about a new single or a new album. It’s a story about arguably the most famous person in the world right now, if she’s not number one she’s certainly in the top 5. Plus, Travis was already a pretty famous person himself, future hall of fame tight end with two Super Bowl rings already and he and his brother Jason have the most popular sports podcast in the world right now. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that he’s dating the aforementioned biggest star in the world, but it’s also a very well-done podcast featuring two personable, funny people that play off each other well. It also helps that they talk about a lot more than just football.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>“Sure that’s what the young people are talking about but our demo is older, they don’t care about this.” As a married man in his mid-forties now I can assure you that middle aged people and above absolutely live vicariously through the adventures of the young. Hence why Saltburn is so popular right now. Plus, regardless of our age we can all </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>relate to</span></a><span> a story of two people falling in love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>“Nobody around here cares about the Super Bowl unless the (insert local or regional team name here) are in it.” If we were talking about a midseason matchup between a couple of out-of-town teams then I would get that argument. When we’re talking about the Super Bowl this is simply not true. It’s the standard excuse talent make when they don’t want to talk about something. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>“Everybody’s talking about that so people are tired of hearing about it.” This is an incredibly dangerous way of thinking for on-air personalities. But, unfortunately that’s the contrarian view a lot of on-air talent naturally share. This business attracts people, myself included if I’m not careful, who tend to avoid the movies, shows, music, books, comedians, etc. that everyone else likes because it’s not cool to like the same things everyone else does, it’s lame. That approach often leads talent to only choose topics they are </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>personality interested in</span></a><span>, making for a show only people </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>very similar to them listen to</span></a><span> (giving them a passionate but small cult following). I’ve been at this since birth and I’ve never seen a personality win by consistently avoiding the big thing </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>everyone is talking about</span></a><span> that day. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Winning personalities instead develop their own unique angle to approach that big topic from to create content only they can do that targets their specific audience. Without putting too much thought into it, here’s an engagement angle for this topic. Travis Kelce called Taylor ‘sweetie’ during the post-game celebration Sunday after the Chiefs defeated the Ravens, causing a buzz online and a debate about whether that’s romantic or cheesy, where does ‘Sweetie’ rank and what’s your least favorite pet name a partner has ever had for you?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Did you talk about Swift and Kelce this week and if so what was your angle? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Pic designed by pikisuperstar for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73395592024-01-24T15:24:53-06:002024-01-26T06:42:25-06:005 Steps To Create a Successful Team Show By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/77029fd43299ec62b6629d04c8b3ab90ba022e0a/original/business-people-connecting-puzzle-pieces.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>There’s no perfect formula for what works when we put multiple people together in a room, turn on some mics and ask them to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/working-with-on-air-performers-by-andy-meadows/working-with-on-air-performers-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>perform</span></a><span> on the radio. I can’t count how many shows I’ve seen over the years that looked great on paper, but never found their footing on-air. Nor can I put a number on the amount of shows I’ve known that seemed like a terrible fit and yet it worked. After all, Neil Simon wrote </span><i><span>The Odd Couple</span></i><span> for a reason. Few things are more compelling than two </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-power-of-the-veteran-newbie-combo-by-andy-meadows/the-power-of-the-veteran-newbie-combo-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>drastically different</span></a><span> personality types being paired together. However, most of those pairings blow up before they get off the launchpad. There are also multiple examples of shows with two fairly similar people who find a way to each carve out their own lane and use other characters (paid or unpaid) to broaden their appeal. Either way, here are five pretty universal steps for creating a successful team show.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>1) Assign and define each team member’s role so everyone understands it. Most shows that fail were either miscast from the beginning or the roles were never defined. There are plenty of two person shows where each one of them thinks they’re the host and the other person is the co-host because that conversation never happened. Imagine if we fielded a football team without telling any of the players what position they were playing, it would be utter chaos and not only would we never win, we’d be lucky to come out of the first game without any major injuries. Designating someone as the co-host doesn’t mean they’ll never lead the content on any breaks, nor will they have no role in selecting the content that makes it on-air, but someone in the room has to keep the trains running on time and make the final call when there are in-studio disagreements. When I’m working with a show I always have the host/co-host discussion early on and I follow it up with a document that clearly defines each of those roles and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/why-roles-are-so-important-by-andy-meadows/why-roles-are-so-important-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>why they’re important</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>2) Develop each team member’s on-air persona. This is the fun part. Once the business of assigning and defining roles is out of the way we can start working on developing everyone on the cast’s individual on-air personas to help them find their voice. Most great on-air personalities aren’t 100% themselves on the air, that’s a myth perpetuated by the terrible advice we all get to ‘just be ourselves’ early in our career. They say that so we loosen up and our delivery sounds more natural. In truth, most on-air personalities should </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>turn up certain parts</span></a><span> of their real-life personality while turning down other parts. Doing so endears them to the station’s target audience and makes them more likely to be likeable on a daily basis. They also all have to embrace exaggerating and embellishing in the name of entertainment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>3) Work ahead as much as possible. Rarely do we need to rush to put anything on air. Sure, there are timely and topical things we want to touch on immediately. But, content breaks where we’re doing a little deeper dive into something </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>need to be developed</span></a><span> and that takes time, strategy, thought and feedback from others. Plus, once we get in the habit of it, developing our content in advance puts us in a more manageable spot when we walk into the studio. I’ve never seen a successful show that does everything day of, the vast majority of what they put on the air was </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>developed a day or more prior</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>4) Working together on content, features and benchmarks. It’s called a team show for a reason. While the host and the Program Director have the final say what content makes it on the air and what gets left for later, everyone involved in the show should bring content to the table. But, it’s critical that shows go over that content together to put each person in a better position to add to that content without derailing it and causing a detour that takes the break in the wrong direction. There are rare occasions where it’s ok to leave a certain cast member in the dark to get their organic reaction live on the air, but it’s not a good idea to do that with the second position (co-host role) because they’re the main person tasked with helping the host move a break forward. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>5) Focus on the show during the show. Typically, the modern radio on-air talent is either A) being asked to wear a ton of other hats within the building or B) working a second job to supplement their income so they’re making a livable wage. Because of that, it’s mission critical that shows eliminate the distractions for the few hours they’re on-air each day and hyper-focus on their shows. Avoid answering emails that aren’t related to the show, engage with the audience and other members of the show but no one else, shut the studio door and let other staff know not to come in unless it’s an emergency, and only leave the studio during the show to go to the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Following these steps ourselves is a good idea, and I’m a big advocate of self-analysis and self-coaching, but implementing them will go a lot smoother with an on-air coach. That could be me, another consultant or someone in-house with experience coaching talent. Groups that are lucky enough to have that locally, or regionally, could still use an unbiased outside opinion. Ones that don’t should definitely think about making the investment. As I’ve said before, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>everyone needs a coach</span></a><span> regardless of how long they’ve been doing this (</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>even the coaches</span></a><span>!)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Did I get a step wrong or leave one out? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73355802024-01-17T15:59:34-06:002024-01-18T12:23:56-06:00Ten Seconds Or Less By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/3861e754a079d5a3ce95313d6c2ec7bd883bb3d9/original/close-up-clock-face-against-gray-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Any show I coach has likely gotten tired of hearing me say how important it is to get into their content quickly. It’s advice so simple it sounds obvious. But, it’s one of the main reasons why some </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/being-live-local-by-andy-meadows/being-live-local-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>live and local</span></a><span> shows struggle to compete with out-of-market syndicated shows despite their advantage of being able to cater their content to their market and interact with their local audience. Most syndicated shows, but certainly not all, crack the mic and get into whatever they’ve teased almost immediately. They’re far less likely to fill with unrelated or unnecessary banter at the top of a break before getting into their topic than local shows. The goal I set for all shows I coach, regardless of market size, is ten seconds or less. Here are some tips for how we can all consistently hit that goal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Choose our topics ahead of time. The further in advance the better to guard against slow days content-wise. A good rule of thumb is to plan on having 80% of the show </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>pre-planned</span></a><span> a day in advance so we’re only having to prep for 20% of the show the day of. Then, if there’s tons of topical timely stuff that we can develop day of on any particular day we save some of that pre-planned stuff for another day. This also creates a little pressure on our content slot inventory which forces us to choose the strongest stuff, similar to why we only choose a limited number of heavy currents on a new music station to force us to only select the huge hits. Plus, it gives us the ability to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows/on-air-content-development-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>develop our content</span></a><span> and identify the hook to get into it. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-hook-is-the-key-to-great-storytelling-by-andy-meadows/the-hook-is-the-key-to-great-storytelling-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Hooks</span></a><span> are mission critical for hitting that ten second goal. Shows that struggle with hooks tend to spend too much time justifying their content with a long explanation of why they’re talking about a topic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Don’t do combo breaks for ANY reason. To keep the lights on, and transmitter, all radio stations make some concessions, sales driven features that don’t quite fit the format, way too many </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/service-element-do-s-and-don-ts-by-andy-meadows/service-element-do-s-and-don-ts-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>service elements</span></a><span> that each go considerably longer than necessary and lots of small contests instead of focused and strategic major promotions. Balancing all of these things on a show that’s personality and content driven isn’t easy. But, one solution that never works is to turn content or feature/benchmark breaks into combo breaks where we cram multiple things (liner, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>weather</span></a><span>, multi-teases, etc) into a single break. When we do that virtually none of it actually connects with listeners rendering it ineffective for everybody we’re trying to super-serve. A better idea is to pare down all of those other things as much as we can, then structure our clocks where we can do them all separately, and concisely, even if that means stopping an extra time or two per hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Finally, we have to value our listener’s time. Regardless of the size of the town we’re broadcasting in, people are busy. In small and medium markets there’s often a sense that people there are more laid back then in the big city so they don’t care if we go a little longer here or there, do internally focused content or straight up </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/stop-winging-it-by-andy-meadows/stop-winging-it-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>wing it</span></a><span> where we crack the mic and see what happens. But, I grew up in a small town, still have lots of friends and family in small towns and I consult stations in all size markets. People in small towns have just as many demands on their time, they’re just different kinds of demands. Small towns allow people the opportunity to be involved in everything and many people take advantage of that. So, that small market listener still has kids to drop off somewhere, work to get to, errands to run and a whole laundry list of other things. Plus, while there may be less local radio competition there’s still all the same digital options available with the touch of a button. Waste their time and we’ll lose them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? How quickly are you getting to your topics within breaks? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73316252024-01-10T14:02:11-06:002024-01-10T14:02:11-06:00Being a Leader In 2024 By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/d6d31c85ba04add3134255fdf2bbf08213ab5647/original/close-up-people-working-as-team.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><span>Anyone who’s done it knows that hiring, managing and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>coaching radio people</span></a><span> has never been an easy task. We’re a different breed. Most of us tend to march to the beat of our own drum, we’re often better talkers than listeners and we’re generally comprised of a delicate balance of confidence and insecurities. But now, with our industry at a crossroads trying to determine how to stay viable in a world dominated by digital </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>content creators</span></a><span>, the job of hiring, managing and coaching radio personnel has never been harder or more critical for the health of our industry. That being said, here are a few of my thoughts on what being a radio leader should look like in 2024 and beyond. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Leaders have to start by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/identify-goal-and-work-backwards-by-andy-meadows/identify-goal-and-work-backwards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>identifying our goals and working backwards</span></a><span>. Look at where we want our groups to be in 2025 and create a strategic plan for getting there that’s bold but realistic. Determine where our revenue should be terrestrially, digitally, through our events as well as any non-traditional revenue. Then, invest in the tools and make the structural changes needed to get there based on a combination of how we’d structure our groups if we started from scratch today and a historical understanding of what’s traditionally worked for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Set rules and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>requirements</span></a><span> and pair that with a system of rewards that everyone participates in. The days of opting out of things are gone. We’re all understaffed. It’s time for an ‘all hands on deck’ approach where we identify everyone’s strengths so we can play to them, but find a way for everyone on our payrolls to contribute and drive listenership, clicks and revenue. However, asking everyone to contribute more for the same money, or less, is never a good strategy. That’s why we encourage our clients to set realistic but ambitious revenue, listenership and engagement goals and then create a bonus pool that kicks in if those goals are met that’s shared with all employees based on performance reviews. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>But, leaders also have to understand that a one-size fits all approach won’t work. While minimum requirements are necessary across the board now, that doesn’t mean that we manage everyone exactly the same. Radio staffs are made up of a wide variety of personality types that are motivated by vastly different things. Some you can shoot straight and not mince words, others need 90% praise and 10% constructive criticism (most </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/working-with-on-air-performers-by-andy-meadows/working-with-on-air-performers-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>on-air performers</span></a><span>). Plus, every group tends to have one or two that are only going to get on board if they’re shown it’s in their own best interest to do so. Every employee we pay to do work on our behalf in this industry is critically important to our mission now because they represent limited dollars that could be spent elsewhere. So, being a leader in 2024 requires a willingness to adapt our coaching styles to fit personnel and unique situations while also making the hard decisions to move on in a few limited cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Leaders also have to question everything. We should evaluate everything we’re doing in all departments, be open to creative ways to structure job titles and descriptions and willing to try things differently which might include marrying some old school ideas with new technology. Unfortunately, we also have to cut any unnecessary fat so we can afford to spend strategically. If it’s not driving listenership, clicks or revenue, and we don’t have a short-term plan to make it do so, it has to go to make way for other things that potentially will. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Finally, 2024 leaders have to lead by example. One of the keys to effectively running lean is getting everyone to contribute across the board and that starts from the top down. If the people at the top of the pyramid are contributing more, learning new ways to do their own jobs and showing a willingness to embrace new technology, then it’s much more likely that the people who work for them will do the same.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? What should being a leader in radio look like in 2024? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>Pic designed by <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73278162024-01-03T14:33:40-06:002024-01-05T12:22:23-06:00Streaming Hit Or Radio Hit? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/e95ec66dd4c8329e14d573afabdb8a5f394c3bc4/original/beautiful-girl-with-afro-hair.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>I’ve read a lot of articles over the past few years about how top 40 radio is doomed and how weak new music is in general across radio genres. Most of them point to a few things that seem to back up that conclusion showing declining ratings for those formats around the country and how poorly new songs are testing with radio audiences. But, are those declining ratings and song tests really pointing to a problem with the music or how we program new music on the radio? I would argue the latter. Here’s why…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>There’s no such thing as a streaming hit or a radio hit, there are just hits. Now that artists are able to go directly to fans with their music, without a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/kill-the-music-meeting-by-andy-meadows/kill-the-music-meeting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>middleman</span></a><span> deciding whether they should or shouldn’t hear it, we’re able to see instantly whether or not that song is connecting with their audience. But, only if we’re watching and paying attention to the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>right data</span></a><span>. On the stations with </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/6984429/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>new music</span></a><span> we consult, or directly program, we pay A LOT more attention to how a songs performing digitally (mainly TikTok, Spotify and YouTube) than we do whether or not a bunch of other radio stations with similar formats are adding it. When we started doing this years ago we got massive amounts of pushback from clients and potential clients who were very comfortable with the old way of determining whether it was safe or not to add a new song to their station. That resistance has lessened over time, especially with clients who we give a peak behind the curtain to see the same data we’re seeing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Our focus on the streaming data has allowed us to stay one step ahead of the traditional charts most programmers still watch, giving us a clear advantage over their stations. It’s how we knew recently to advise one of our clients to begin mixing in some Latin hip hop on their Texas-based hip hop station giving them a regionalized strategic point of difference from their competitor who’s tied to a nation log that’s the same in every market by design. It’s also why we were early adopters on the KPop artists that crossed-over here in the US and why we knew Morgan Wallen not only survived his temporary ban on country radio, but continues to be the strongest artist in country today. Additionally, it’s why we were week’s ahead on artists like Olivia Rodrigo a few years back in top 40/hot AC (And Tate McRae), Doja Cat and Ice Spice in Top 40/Urban/Rhythmic, Zach Bryan and Oliver Anthony on Country/Alt Country and a handful of others across formats.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>There’s nothing brilliant or revolutionary about paying attention to data that’s freely and readily available to everyone. Yes, we take the extra step of tracking that data weekly across platforms and use our radio background to filter the tunes into their proper buckets for each format, but it’s not rocket science. The revolutionary thing is how we react to that data. Are we going to use it to change our process for how we add, move and schedule music or are we going to cling to an outdated system for doing so because it feels safer and more comfortable?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p>Pic designed by rawpixel for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73249542023-12-27T12:37:03-06:002023-12-27T12:37:04-06:00The Power of The Veteran & Newbie Combo By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/86247d5b1dad44c6340c4942d87243d22b1381d6/original/2541.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><p><span>In all industries on the job experience is incredibly important. There’s only so much we can learn in books or as an outside observer. To really learn any profession, nothing is more powerful than on the job training. But, with how unique radio is, requiring a very specific set of skills that don’t really transfer well to or from other industries, working experience is particularly important. However, years of experience in a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7304339/things-are-changing-rapidly-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>rapidly changing</span></a><span> and low-paying form of the entertainment industry (at least on the averages) can leave any long-term radio professional jaded, battle-scarred and somewhat stuck in their ways. After all, when anyone has done a task literally thousands of times it’s very hard to look at it from a different perspective with a fresh set of eyes. For that reason, in recent years I’ve found that pairing experienced radio veterans with talented and intelligent newcomers can be a very powerful and winning combination both on the air and in the building. But, it’s an incredibly delicate balance that has to be managed properly in order to be successful. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>First off, there will be tension. The newcomers will walk in with a ton of creative ideas they’re raring to try only to be told by the experienced employees why none of them will work or how they’re more than welcome to try all those things but they won’t be participating because they’re past that point in their career. On the flip side the newbies tend to look at many of the ideas from experienced employees as lame and outdated. The mistake many managers make in this scenario is that they default to the seniority of the experienced employee and end up essentially allowing them to fully train the newbie on everything, making them a less seasoned carbon copy of the other employee who’s picked up all their good and bad habits while also losing their valuable fresh perspective. The better way to manage around that tension is to play mediator. Allow both sides to have a voice and weigh in but they also both have to embrace a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>best idea wins</span></a><span> philosophy and truly not care where the great idea came from. Then as we identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of them, play to those strengths and minimize the damage done by the weaknesses. When it’s working everyone will be learning from each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>This dynamic plays out very clearly in </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/fixing-staff-meetings-by-andy-meadows/fixing-staff-meetings-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>brainstorming sessions</span></a><span> when stations are trying to figure out what adjustments they should make going forward. This tends to happen whether we’re making major format changes or just trying to decide what promotions, contests and features to keep as is, revise or drop in the next year. In these planning meetings it’s a good idea to have at least one or two people who are new to the industry. But, they’ll clam up real quickly if every time they throw out a suggestion they get a litany of responses about how we’ve tried that before and it didn’t work, especially because that can have a chain-reaction where all the radio veterans begin to pile on. To combat this the person running the meeting should politely say something like this ‘well things have changed dramatically since then so let’s not be so quick to assume that this won’t work.’ Conversely a meeting where newcomers outweigh the experienced might need something said about how we can use modern technology and tools to enhance ideas that have worked well in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>To be clear, especially on air, the veteran and newbie combo is, of course, not the only one that will work. Having two or more seasoned professionals working together on a show is a formula that’s proven itself countless times. But, in my experience most of the true success stories within that scenario tend to find some way to incorporate that outside of radio, newcomer perspective and use it to better inform their daily programming decisions both on-air and digitally. Typically, that comes from interns, friends and family and/or by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>crowdsourcing ideas</span></a><span> from listeners. Right now I’m coaching a little bit of both, shows where everyone involved has twenty plus years of experience and a couple of shows where we’ve successfully paired a radio veteran with a newbie. As always, the role I play has to adjust accordingly to fit the situation and their individual personality types. But, both are a fun challenge and I’m very proud of the growth of everyone I’ve coached this year. Every week I’m surprised by someone’s creativity and willingness to take the initiative to crack the mic and make great radio, crank out some unique </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-void-by-andy-meadows/content-void-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>digital content</span></a><span> or get out into the community and get to know their audience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Overall, the truth is that regardless of how long any of us have been doing this, none of us have all the answers. So, the best approach is always to establish a top-down culture of being open to trying new things, constantly learning from the successes and failures of everyone around us and recognizing that we’re all in this together win or lose.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? What challenges have you faced when pairing veterans and newbies and do you have any success stories from doing so? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Header image created by gbob for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p> </p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73219432023-12-20T13:42:00-06:002023-12-20T13:46:04-06:00Most Important Trait For a Seller By Andy Meadows<p><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/dedfb60596c31e90300877c144493f1a02b35879/original/business-people-shaking-hands-together-3.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" />One of the big mistakes we all make when we’re new to management, regardless of the department we’re overseeing, is trying to fit employees into our vision of a perfect person for that particular position. Sometimes that’s driven by how we ourselves did the job if we excelled at doing exactly what we’re now managing people to do. Sometimes it’s because we’re basing that vision on one or two people we’ve worked with that were great at it. Usually it doesn’t take long for new managers to realize the flaw in that logic. It doesn’t allow us to identify employee’s individual strengths so we can play to those strengths and it’ll inevitably cause us to miss out on some good hires that don’t fit that specific mold. However, while there’s a wide variety of personality types that can have success in almost any position there are a few things that are universal. On the sales side one of those universal things is this. In my opinion based on my experience, the most important trait for a salesperson is their ability to listen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Unfortunately, this runs counter to the mold most managers look for in salespeople. I know this because I’ve heard more people than I can count bragging about how their new sales hire has the gift of gab and can talk to anyone. Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with hiring a people person that can talk to, and relate to, anyone. That’s of course a very good thing. But that skill is not nearly as important in sales as being a good listener. That’s because if you get someone talking about their business, which almost everyone likes to do, they will inevitably tell you how to sell them over the course of that conversation. That’s why discovery calls where we ask tons of questions to determine their need and then go back to the drawing board to come up with a custom solution for them are far more effective then walking in and pushing a pre-determined package.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>The good news is, that it’s not impossible to teach a good talker how to be a good listener. On the programming side we do it all the time to teach a solo host how to be a team show host and learn to leave space for their co-host, callers and guests. It’s by no means easy. It’s often frustrating and takes awhile but it’s well worth it. Teaching someone who has the confidence and courage to walk up to a stranger and talk to them, much less ask them for money, how to be disciplined enough to use that skillset to get them to talk and resist the urge to over inject themselves into the conversation, is a very powerful thing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>I speak from personal experience because I’m a talker, a planner and a guy with a lot of the answers simply because I’ve been doing this since I was a toddler and I learned from some very smart people over the years. If I’m not careful all of this will lead me to the conclusion that I can assume I have a solution for someone based off of limited information. I know that it’s important I fight off that urge, do some more digging and a LOT of listening otherwise I won’t identify the specific, custom solution that will address their needs. That’s why I do market assessments, an initial market visit, and meet with as many of the players involved as possible before I start throwing out suggestions. A radio sales equivalent of this is looking at a client’s website for a few minutes and assuming we know everything we need to know about their business to determine exactly what we should sell them without even talking with them first.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? How important is it for sellers to be good listeners? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73191032023-12-14T06:41:37-06:002023-12-18T07:09:00-06:00Hyperlocal & Global By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/228e834ac159f128eb78a04de5fee396daccdeca/original/planet-earth-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Ever since radio stations began streaming on the internet, we’ve all struggled to strike the correct balance between being hyperlocal while also being global. Trying to figure out how often to mention out of market online listeners, whether to include them in on-air contesting, how we can monetize the out of market streaming sessions and how we can keep them interested in our on-air content without losing the locals. For the most part there are no easy answers to these tough questions, hence why people have used a myriad of different approaches. But, let me try by addressing each one separately.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>1) How often should we mention out of market online listeners? That’s actually a pretty simple one to answer. How much we mention them should be in direct proportion to how large a percentage of our online audience they account for. For most stations the vast majority of their online listening is happening within, or right next to, their main coverage area. Usually, it’s 90% or more but obviously that’s easy for anyone to check because all of that should be tracked and available in a report from the streaming provider. However, because it sounds cool and big-time to mention someone listening from a far-away place, talent tend to give those listeners an outsized amount of attention. If it is in fact only 10% or less of our audience then we should mention them sparingly. But, stations with unique brands that have a broader regional and global appeal should adjust accordingly based on their stats.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>2) Should we include out of market online listeners in our on-air contesting? Yes and no. If we’re doing a major on-air contest with online and/or on-air entries but no on-site giveaway party, then definitely include them. If we’re adding the element of an on-site giveaway party we either limit entries to our coverage area or allow everyone to enter with the stipulation that they ‘Must be present to win’ so we still get the exciting in person winner freak out. For smaller daily contests it’s a good idea to do as many of those as possible as prizes that can be emailed or affordably mailed anyway so those should all be open to out of market listeners. That’s because we shouldn’t be asking even local listeners to drive up to the station to pick up a low-value prize where it will potentially cost them more in gas money that the prize is actually worth. However, if it’s a higher value prize that warrants a trip to the station, we should restrict that to local and use that as an </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/missed-opportunities-to-capture-content-by-andy-meadows/missed-opportunities-to-capture-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>opportunity to capture content</span></a><span>, pics and video for the web and audio for on air. It’s also a good idea to do the occasional online only contests utilizing ad insertion or pre-rolls, but also plugging it on terrestrial to give on-air listeners another reason to stream when they’re away from a radio.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>3) How can we monetize those ‘global’ listeners? Not easily. That’s why some broadcasters have chosen to geofence their signals or not stream at all, both of which are a mistake in my opinion, but I understand the rationale. Lumping out of market listeners into the broader stats isn’t going to be noticed by some ad buyers since it’s a small percentage anyway, but it is disingenuous. However, anyone that also sells their products directly online can benefit from all that traffic, regardless of where it’s coming from, and would be willing to pay if it’s competitively priced to other digital advertising from a cpm stand-point. There also might be a tourism angle to put together a digital only contest where out of market listeners can win a trip to the market or in market listeners can win a trip for a friend from out of market.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>4) How do we keep them interested in our on-air content? This one’s easy. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/being-live-local-by-andy-meadows/being-live-local-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Being local</span></a><span> does not mean ONLY talking about local things happening in the community, interviewing local officials and name-dropping local landmarks. All of those things are fine if they’re done in an entertaining way and in bite-sized chunks terrestrially. All interviews should be prerecorded as audio/video anyway so the best part of the audio can be used on-air driving traffic to the full video interview on the web. Live interviews will ALWAYS go long and harm the station while minimizing the benefit to the interviewee because people have tuned out. What being local really means is talking about the things your listeners are talking about and interested in. A LOT of that will be regional and national stories that will naturally appeal to the broader online audience and hopefully our on-air talent will localize and personalize them a bit so our main concern, the local listeners, will find them relatable and interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? How have you struck that balance of being hyperlocal and global at the same time? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73154952023-12-06T14:57:21-06:002023-12-10T04:16:08-06:00Why Pay a Consultant? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/b4390f02cb3374eebfc6057301c6667af37de939/original/question-mark.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>As budgets dwindle amid </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7304339/things-are-changing-rapidly-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>rapid changes</span></a><span> within our industry many of you reading this might be asking yourselves why you are currently, or should consider, paying a consultant. After all, there are countless other things that money could go toward, local employees, marketing, investing in technology, etc. Why fork that money over to someone who’s out of market, probably just repackaging the same idea over and over again? First off, I believe a consultant should come into your market a minimum of once per year (I prefer quarterly) and should also localize, or at least regionalize, any idea they suggest. But, the main reason why radio station’s should pay a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/a-consultant-s-job-by-andy-meadows/a-consultant-s-job-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>consultant</span></a><span> is simple, we’ve literally seen it all. Rarely do I come across any situation that I haven’t experienced anywhere from once to countless times during my career. It’s that broad experience that makes us valuable, not because we’re the smartest person in the room or we’re coming up with some earth-shattering idea that changes everything. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>While I’ve only been officially consulting for four years now, I’ve been coaching and managing talent since I was 19 years old (I’m currently 45) and I began my career in radio at 5 (Sadly not a joke). Over those years I’ve worked with every subset of personality type along with everything from great people who truly wanted what was best for the station they worked for to very troubled people willing to burn the place down while they were in the building. Some of those situations I handled surprisingly well at the time, others I wasn’t yet prepared to handle, but I learned from each and every one of them. My goal as a consultant is to pass along that knowledge to the talent, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>managers</span></a><span> and owners I work with in a manner of fact, honest and non-insulting fashion to help them make more informed decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Most of the time people bring us in to help with one or two specific things, or people, that they’re having trouble with. But, generally the problems they are facing are significantly more challenging than that. They’re just too close to that problem to accurately diagnose it and come up with a cure themselves. The fact that we’re out of market allows us to look at their situations with a new set of eyes, have a 30,000 foot view and be objective since we don’t have the same attachments and emotions any human being, regardless of their own intelligence or experience, would have just based on their proximity to it. One thing I try to do that I believe is somewhat unique to my profession is take a beat, get the lay of the land by going on-site myself, get to know everyone involved (a little) and truly understand all the factors before I jump to conclusions and start throwing out suggestions that can have life-altering implications.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? What good and bad experiences have you had working with a radio consultant? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73111292023-11-29T16:25:43-06:002023-12-05T01:36:51-06:00The Hook Is The Key To Great Storytelling By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/6829ae8cc0c1fcaaf67a2639959f0249bf5504cb/original/real-estate-agent-handing-house-key.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>In the age of short attention spans we currently live in asking someone to listen to a story is more challenging than ever. That’s because when they’re not thought out and preplanned stories tend to include too many unnecessary details and run long. Plus, by default most people tell stories chronologically, in the order it happened. The good thing about chronological storytelling is it’s easy for everyone to follow. The bad thing is that simplicity tends to make chronological stories pretty boring. Telling a story in that boring linear fashion also leaves out the most important part, the hook. That hook is without a doubt the key to getting people to listen through the entirety of a story, especially if we’re on the radio where we’re trying to keep the masses </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>interested</span></a><span> and engaged. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Yet, despite how mission critical hooks are, they’re often left out entirely. Mainly that’s because crafting a hook is hard. It takes time to create by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>pre-planning</span></a><span> on our own and coordinating with others to bounce the story off our colleagues or friends to find what works. But, that extra time is well spent because great on-air storytelling starts with identifying the hook since that’s what we tease to. So, we can’t write a good tease without first crafting that hook and without that tease we’re narrowing our on-air audience by not pointing everyone currently listening to our upcoming story.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Here are a few examples of good on-air hooks. The one my consulting mentor and friend Tracy Johnson often uses is similar to an old SNL bit. It’s from a talent he was coaching that told the story of having to back out on a Disneyland trip at the last minute because of other family commitments so he and his wife decided to tell their young kids that the park burned down. The hook he used to get into the story on-air was ‘You know what I love about having young kids…. You can totally lie to them.’ That’s a far more effective way to get into that story than just saying ‘the wife and I loaded up the kids in the car and started heading to Disneyland when we got a text…’ A slightly grosser and more risqué example is from when I was on air telling a story about a time I ran full speed into our bedroom wall while trying to make it to the bathroom to throw up one night when I was sick. My on-air hook was ‘I don’t think it’s gonna work out with my wife and I after what happened in bed last night.’ <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>The Oppenheimer movie, which I just now got around to watching since we have two young kids at home, is another great example of storytelling that effectively uses a hook. Instead of going in order, Christopher Nolan made the choice to jump ahead early and let the audience see, but not hear, Oppenheimer and Einstein having a conversation that clearly disturbed Einstein. A scene that he doesn’t pay off until the end of the movie. Nolan’s use of this hook is so compelling it helped to get us all to commit to a 3-hour long movie. On air we’re only asking people to commit a few minutes of their life. However, when people are passively listening as they multi-task, looking for reasons to hit that seek or preset button, using a great hook is just as important.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Do you struggle to create hooks or does it come easy to you and what are some great hooks you’ve used lately? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73043392023-11-15T17:40:34-06:002023-11-29T10:59:27-06:00Things Are Changing Rapidly By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/f032d6529506399407a8de650f7b908997511669/original/person-holding-fallen-wooden-piece.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>There are many within our industry who choose to ignore the inevitable. They keep their head down, continue grinding, clinging to old habits and doing things </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/complacency-gets-us-beat-by-andy-meadows/complacency-gets-us-beat-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>essentially the same way</span></a><span> they’ve always done them. Then they’re surprised when they come up a little shorter every year. I’ve said for awhile now that radio is changing, not dying. That’s still true, but now it’s also true that the change is accelerating rapidly because of technology, listener habits, other industries getting into our space, economic realities, and a whole host of other reasons. As I see it, there is one main way that rapid change will evolve radio in the near future and a few things we should do to prepare for that evolution.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Radio will </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>employ significantly less full-time people</span></a><span> soon. That’s not something that makes any of us feel good or happy, it’s just a fact we need to face. Right now there are two kinds of radio groups. Ones who are cutting to the bone to see how few people they can do the business of radio with at the local level without completely killing local revenue. This has been happening for years in small markets, then it spread to medium markets and now it’s coming to major markets. The other kind of groups are taking the exact opposite approach, to try and capture that local revenue being left on the table, by staffing up carefully and strategically to not accidentally bankrupt themselves along the way. Where we’ll likely land is somewhere in the middle where most groups employ just a few well compensated jack-of-all-trades type employees in each market while covering everything they can with part-timers, remote workers and freelancers. There will be little room for specialists. That’s why the best thing anyone who wants to be full-time employed in radio can do is become as well-rounded and full service as possible and learn to embrace and master new technology so it works for them instead of the other way around. The role of owners and managers is to identify who those full-service, self-sufficient employees are, give them the tools and training necessary to put them in a position to succeed and incentivize them with good pay, bonuses for over-performing and competitive benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>There are some who will read this and think that I’m exaggerating. Believe me, I wish that I were. After a life spent doing this, I know that the strength of any radio group is the talent, skill and hard work of their local staff along with the relationships that staff builds with their local community. However, unless we FULLY embrace digital as a way to replace some of that terrestrial money we’re going to continue to lose, we won’t have a choice but to all run very lean.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/73006912023-11-08T14:50:13-06:002023-11-09T11:17:38-06:00The Value of Ringers By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/8141022a592f6b7b9a675410c16c017b85cc6cf7/original/young-businessman-laughing-while-talking-someone-cell-phone-street.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>There are a lot of reasons why live radio shows should work the phones. It makes the audience feel like they are part of the show, plays to an advantage live shows have over tracked shows, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>crowdsources content creation</span></a><span> and makes the show much more entertaining. That’s why I’m always encouraging the talent I coach to find strategic ways to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-to-get-more-calls-on-air-by-andy-meadows/how-to-get-more-calls-on-air-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>get listeners to call their shows</span></a><span> and how to use the calls they get. The best way for a show that’s not getting any calls to start lighting up the phones is to use a variety of ringers. Just to clarify, ringers are people we know that we tell to call or we record ahead of time (friends, family, coworkers, etc). Here are the two main reasons ringers are so valuable in radio.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>1) Most people are VERY UNLIKELY to call a radio station anymore unless they’re regularly hearing listener voices on the air. Unfortunately radio has worked hard in recent years to give listeners the impression that we don’t actually want them to call, most of our hours are unmanned, some stations allow their </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/interactive-voicetrack-shifts-by-andy-meadows/interactive-voicetrack-shifts-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>voicetracked</span></a><span> talent to solicit calls when they can’t physically answer them (to make it sound like they’re there) and some stations still employ live talent who have zero interest in talking to any listener because they think it’s beneath them. Plus, listener habits have changed dramatically in recent years (we all call each other less than we used to, opting instead to text). Using ringers will give us the volume needed to get those listener voices on the air consistently every day for a few weeks. No one wants to be the first person on the dance floor. Once listeners hear people chiming in, they will start calling, but it takes time and consistency. If ringers don’t </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>jumpstart engagement</span></a><span> on the phones then we’ve identified other issues. Either A) the on-air content, features and contests our on-air talent are delivering are off the mark or B) hardly anyone is listening to the station because our music mix is off or we’re losing a head-to-head programming battle with a competitor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>2) Ringers don’t only train listeners to call again, they also train them on what kind of call we want. That’s because we shouldn’t just be telling someone we know to call in, we should be directing them on what to say. Good on-air talent know what their strengths are and they know what brings out the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>best sides of their personalities</span></a><span>, especially if they’ve been well coached to identify those and how to use them. That skillset allows them to tell a ringer exactly what they need from them to create the most entertaining interaction. Hearing those fun interactions naturally leads real callers to lean into those kinds of calls. After all, most of the people calling in are doing so because they actually want their voice on the radio, so their goal to get on will consciously or subconsciously lead them in the right direction. Personalities and stations with well trained listeners can use them to sell a contest, setup a feature, lead them into a break, provide the out for a break or even tease an upcoming break. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for surrounding the listener on every digital platform we’re on and getting interaction and engagement on social media, texts into our texting platform, and comments on </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>website blogs</span></a><span> and the station app. But, at the end of the day we’re an audio medium first so phones have to be a BIG part of that equation during any live hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Are you pro or anti-ringers? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Pic designed by Drazen Zigic for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72973862023-11-01T16:30:41-05:002023-11-06T18:31:56-06:00How We Define Success By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/2bbdb99e618ee2b7947c0f5179f31c3176699847/original/dart-hitting-bullseye-target-with-word-success-dartboard.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>I grew up in Junction, an incredibly small town in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. It’s a beautiful place, nestled in between two rivers and completely surrounded by hills, creating a quiet and peaceful sanctuary. It’s the kind of place that people stumble upon and wonder how the locals have kept it a secret for so long. My family moved away from Junction in 1995 and in the twenty-eight years since the population has actually gone down by 213 people, despite the town being adjacent to I-10. That’s not an accident, it’s by design. A couple of families have owned all of the land by the interstate since it was built in the early 1970s and they don’t want Junction to lose that small town feel. Keeping their beloved hometown small, quaint and essentially frozen in time, is what they consider a success. So, that puts them at odds with any residents and business owners within the city who would benefit from the town’s growth. That misalignment of goals is a microcosm for something I see happening at radio groups across the country where radio companies and managers define success one way, but employee a handful of radio people with a different definition for what success means. Here are a few thoughts on challenges that causes and ways to realign those definitions of success.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Virtually everyone in upper-management, and certainly every owner I know, wants to have </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-path-to-number-one-by-andy-meadows/the-path-to-number-one-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>the number one</span></a><span> station in their market. But, some on-air talent, and sadly even a few Programmers, don’t actually want to be number one. Yes, they ALL say that they do. But, their actions tell the real story. Why would anyone in radio not want to be number one you ask? Two big reasons. One it takes A LOT of work, discipline and strategy to get to number one. Two, once you get to number one, there’s a lot of pressure to stay there and a big target on your back that makes it impossible to fly under the radar. For some radio employees, the pride of being number one is all the motivation they need. On the other end of the spectrum others are too lazy or </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7289615/complacency-gets-us-beat-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>complacent</span></a><span> to be motivated by anything and simply need to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>find something else</span></a><span> to do for a living. Anyone who has said </span><i><span>‘I’ve been doing this for X years’ </span></i><span>multiple times recently to push back on any suggestion of a different way to do things, is probably on that list. However, most radio people will respond well to the additional motivation of sharing in the fruits of their labor through financial incentives (either in the form of bonuses or guaranteed raises based on performance), additional benefits and morale building celebrations that get them out of the office and studio (and maybe even the market).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>In non-rated markets it’s even more difficult to get everybody on the same page about what constitutes a success story for their station. Without that ratings measuring stick it’s very common for everyone in the building to have a different answer when I sit down with them. Some point to awards they’ve won, others to community services they provide or the comments they hear from ‘everyone’. Some flat out tell you their goal is to be left alone to do their own thing. The solution in a non-rated market is to create a plan for growing the station’s </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/build-your-own-audience-snap-shot-by-andy-meadows/build-your-own-audience-snap-shot-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>total audience</span></a><span> (terrestrial in ways we measure ourselves and digitally in ways that everyone can clearly see) and the station’s revenue (terrestrial and digital). Then, clearly defining what that success means for each individual employee involved. Because, the main way we measure success at any commercial radio station is cash flow, but if some of that cash isn't flowing to the people who helped make it happen, they won't stick around long.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>But, regardless of whether we’re in a rated or unrated market. Having an open, honest conversation with our staffs about how they define success, how the broader business defines it and the ways in which those intersect, is a great first step for any struggling radio group.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="javascript:void(0);" _to="Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" _cc="" _bcc="" _subject="" _body=""><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by waewkidja for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72933222023-10-25T12:39:28-05:002023-10-26T04:56:52-05:00Stop Being Vague On-Air By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/028c76ce1582662c9c4e7b1c263e7189d5ddbbe8/original/close-up-stop-sign-forest.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Like it or not, technology has shortened all of our attention spans. When we’re watching a show and a scene is dragging on a little longer than it should we reach for our phones to entertain us during the lull. In a zoom meeting that could’ve been an email we open another browser to watch some sports highlights. Reading a blog that’s restating something the writer has already said in previous blog posts, we throw on the earbuds and supplement it with one of our favorite podcasts (that one hits a little too close to home.) My point is, there are countless things available to us today to distract us if, god forbid, we’re bored for even a few seconds. So, in radio we have to work extra hard now to attract and retain our listeners’ attention at all times. Being less vague and more specific will help us do that. Here are a few ways that being too vague negatively impacts our daily programming.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>1) Teases: Regardless of what it’s for, general teases do not work on the radio. Saying ‘more great music coming up’ has never convinced a single listener, who was planning on changing it the second they heard an ad, to stick around. Adding the type of music helps a bit, and is good branding, but it’s still unlikely to work. A specific song or artist they’re into is a step in the right direction. Adding an interesting tidbit about that song or artist makes it even more likely to work and is also more entertaining. Gamifying it by making it part of a fun, interactive music game is even better (SIDE NOTE: It doesn’t have to be attached to a prize). Similarly, most of the content teases I hear are either too general to work because they don’t tell the listener enough to pique their interest or conversely too revealing because they giveaway the headline or the out (or on-air talent’s take/angle). Great content teases start by first identifying the hook of the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>content break</span></a><span> and then crafting a tease to that hook. Another teasing mistake established shows make is just teasing to the segment/feature name instead of the specific content within that content container on that day. Existing listeners may know what that segment/feature entails, but new listeners who are coming in at all times don’t. Not too mention, specific teases are more likely to work on all listeners. Also, I know it's basic, but it bears repeating. All teases should tell the listener exactly when to listen for what we’re teasing, ‘next’ if it’s the very next element after what we’re going into, ‘in x minutes’ if it’s less than 10 to 15, timestamped ‘at x’ time if it’s more than 10 to 15 minutes out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>2) Promos: When done right, recorded promos and imaging are a very effective way to tell existing listeners about our major contests and promotions. What I mean by done right is short, specific on the listener benefit and repeated often. The minutia of details are for the station website and the personality should be left to the on-air personalities (we call them that for a reason). Jockless stations can rely on the voice talent to add some personality with funny, well written and executed station promos. But, there have to be A LOT of them or they will wear very quickly. Stations that have on-air talent should use them to add that personality and breathe life into whatever the station is promoting rather than the big voice guys and gals. It’s ok to be a little vague in the ‘save the date’ type teases we run a week or two prior to starting a major contest but we still want to tell listeners the main reason why we’re asking them to make that appointment to be by the radio starting at x time on x date.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>3) Outside marketing: With the tight budgets we’re all now dealing with, opportunities to use outside marketing to promote our radio stations are few and far between. So, when we do get those opportunities it’s important that we make the most of them by being VERY specific about what’s in it for that potential listener if they choose to sample our stations to participate in one of our contests, listen to our new morning show or be entertained by our regular programming. A few quick things I’ll say about that. Don’t promote a new morning show until it’s got it’s legs under it and gelled enough so that it’s actually worthy of promoting, which I can help with (coaching new shows is one of my specialties). The trick to using outside marketing to promote any station’s regular programming is first identifying the strategic points of difference of that station within the market and finding a concise and specific way to explain that in the few words or seconds that come with whatever outside marketing we’re doing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Part of the reason radio still dominates in car listening is because it’s one area where distractions are somewhat limited since drivers are hopefully focusing on the road. So, by design we’re competing with a few less options. Plus, our stations are strategically built to perform well in this environment. But, we’re still dealing with drivers who’s attention spans have changed over the years and are therefore more likely to switch to something else if we’re not being specific enough to attract and retain their attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72896152023-10-18T14:30:09-05:002023-10-18T14:36:56-05:00Complacency Gets Us Beat By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/9a530c83a6aff6fe3b1a2ad76b33aeb364c6affa/original/chess-checkmate-win-and-lose-2022-12-16-11-05-03-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Right now people are developing technologies that will replace a percentage of us in all departments within a radio station. With each passing day more celebrities and talented people from other industries are infringing on our audio space by creating compelling </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>podcasts</span></a><span> that compete for our listener’s divided attention. Podcasters are no longer just comedians, although virtually all comedians have at least one podcast, their ranks also now include movie stars, former presidents, current pro athletes and every other type of celebrity you can think of. At the same time our clients are weighing more options than ever for where and how to spend their ad dollars. We can complain about it, stick our heads in the sand and ignore it or we can use it as motivation to improve ourselves and our radio stations and digital assets to a point where we’re all better suited to face those difficult challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Most importantly, this isn’t a time for complacency or being content with how we’ve always done things. Because the fact is, there’s no such thing as mastering or learning everything we need to know about radio because radio is constantly changing all around us. The approach and tactics that have worked in prior years will be progressively less effective every year if they’re not constantly evaluated and updated. No matter how good we get, or how long we’ve been doing this, there’s always a next level. Striving to reach that next level is the key to staying one step ahead of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-a-i-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows/best-a-i-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>emerging AI</span></a><span> technology and staving off in-market and out-of-market competition. On the individual level it’s also the key to making sure we’re never out of work for long. None of us have it all figured out and anyone that says they do is lying. Radio is a fluid, ever changing industry. So, if we aren’t constantly learning, evolving, doing some things differently and trying other brand new things, than there’s no doubt that we’ll quickly fall behind others that choose to make those efforts. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>I know I write about this a lot, but that’s because I’ve run it to it time and time again throughout my radio career. Doing something the same way year after year for twenty or more years is not really twenty years of experience. Heck, it’s barely better than a few years of experience when compared to someone who acts like a sponge, soaking up the knowledge of everyone they come into contact with, that’s also constantly assessing their own performance to make small, incremental adjustments. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>As radio owners, managers (and advising consultants like myself) we need to ask ourselves these questions to challenge our own complacency. What can radio do that others cannot? Are we leveraging the strengths of our content creators as well as possible? Are we tailoring our content to each individual platform we now have and using each platform to successfully drive traffic to the others while capturing as much data and information along the way? Are we being creative and strategic about how we attach advertisers to all of that content? If we designed our stations from scratch today what would we program, where and for how long would our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-long-should-i-talk-by-andy-meadows/how-long-should-i-talk-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>on air talent talk</span></a><span>, how </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/switching-to-the-minute-model-by-andy-meadows/switching-to-the-minute-model-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>long would our stopsets</span></a><span> be and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/being-coy-with-ad-pricing-by-andy-meadows/being-coy-with-ad-pricing-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>what would we charge</span></a><span> for each length of those spots, which </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/service-element-do-s-and-don-ts-by-andy-meadows/service-element-do-s-and-don-ts-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>service elements</span></a><span> would we add and which ones would we leave out, what would our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/manning-the-station-website-by-andy-meadows/manning-the-station-website-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>station websites</span></a><span> look like, which social platforms would we focus on creating content for, what major promotion would we do, and how would we make our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>on-site events sizzle</span></a><span>? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by photocreo for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.elements.envato.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72863322023-10-11T13:15:20-05:002023-10-17T23:11:23-05:00Radio's Zigzag Problem By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/b825176b663bafced3b405d3efcbef3ed5ac00ca/original/zig-zag-pattern-rawpixel.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>We’ve all heard it, and probably said it, before. ‘When they zig, we gotta zag’. Like most cliches it was created for a reason and, on the surface, it’s often solid radio advice. In general, finding a hole in a market should allow us to carve out enough of an audience to monetize. However, in our pursuit to be different it’s easy to take zagging too far and end up in a listenership wasteland. Here are a few examples of over-zagging, some of the things that drive them and ways to avoid falling into the trap of trying to be too different.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>At our core a lot of radio people are contrarians. Meaning if something is popular we are less likely than your average person to also like it. Since it takes a different kind of person to want to be in radio, our desire to be different isn’t that surprising. But, if unchecked contrarians will make a lot of decisions that aren’t in a radio station’s best interest. They will spend way too much time trying to discover that great song that no one else is playing instead of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>following free, readily available data</span></a><span>. They’ll ignore </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>the thing everyone is talking about</span></a><span> that day and instead lean heavy into weird news type stories and things that pique their personal interest more than the interest of the masses. Out of a desire to avoid anything someone else is doing they’ll also try so hard to be unique with their features, benchmarks and contests that they end up with creative things that very few people find entertaining and engaging. The solution for all of these is to take that time, passion and creative energy and put it in to doing the best version of a mass appeal station with a compelling spice category (to feature a few of our finds), </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>strategic and purposeful imaging</span></a><span>, our unique take on the topics of the day (including hot local topics), and our twist on proven features, benchmarks, and contests while rotating in the occasional unique new one we invent to see if it gets some traction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Zagging too far also relates to the big programming question we’re always asking ourselves: Should we </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/programming-at-near-or-away-by-andy-meadows/programming-at-near-or-away-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>program at, near or away</span></a><span> from our competitor? Do we do the exact same thing they are only better? Have we identified a couple of weaknesses we can exploit to program near them? Or, is our competitor so strong that we should cede ground and program away from them entirely? In my experience, if our goal is to beat our competitor, the answer is rarely to program away from them. Unfortunately, some think zagging and coming up with something completely different from the competition is actually a safer bet. Others, like myself at times in my career, get really excited about that prospect because it allows us the opportunity to get really creative, do a bunch of our own research, and potentially create something no one has ever done before. Don’t get me wrong, there are markets and situations where programming away is actually the right move, but they are few and far between. In most cases we would be better served putting that energy into training our talent to do </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/live-local-and-interactive-by-andy-meadows/live-local-and-interactive-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>interactive</span></a><span> personality driven shows, turning some of that great on-air content into digital content that’s tailored for specific platforms and giving our stations a presence everywhere our listeners and potential listeners are (online, on social and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>on-site</span></a><span> in the community).</span></p><p><span>The final area over-zagging has bitten our industry as of late is on the digital front. Although digital content creators, especially podcasters, have been ‘borrowing ideas' from radio for years. We're reluctant to do the same in reverse. Our training in brevity and getting to the point quickly lends itself very well to creating bite-size chunks of content for social media that could look and feel very similar to the content successful social media influencers crank out daily. Along those same lines, our years of training behind the mic creating on-air content that appeals to a wide-range of different demos (if we've worked in multiple formats) gives us a HUGE leg up when podcasting. Similarly, doing live radio has made us all multi-taskers capable of pulling off some incredibly compelling livestreams. Yet, many radio people are still reluctant to make that jump to digital or try to reinvent the wheel when doing so as opposed to emulating what's working well for other digital content creators.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72827352023-10-04T12:50:23-05:002023-10-07T14:49:08-05:00Working With On-Air Performers By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/434595f288d039967816bc0187d557e6d8078b38/original/2212-w026-n002-2846b-p1-2846.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>To some outsiders looking in, the job of talking on the radio requires little more than a decent set of pipes and the gift of gab. But, those of us who have had any level of lasting success sitting behind a console and talking into a microphone know that there’s a lot more to it than that. At their core, radio on-air personalities are performers. Like all performers they need a very delicate balance of confidence, discipline and self-awareness to excel. But unlike other performers, radio personalities have the unique task of sounding like they’re having a natural conversation with one person, that also happens to appeal to the masses. Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years working with on-air performers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span><strong>Keep it positive.</strong> I know that sounds simple and basic, but it’s the absolute key to unlocking someone’s best performance. When I’m not doing radio I perform with a ten piece big band singing songs that are eighty or so years old, a truly brilliant business model by the way. A few years ago I booked a bunch of performances of our Christmas show at a theater in a tourist town here in Texas. Unbeknownst to me, at the end of each day the theater owner would send a survey to everyone asking them what they thought of the show (upwards of 800 or so people). Then, he would filter out any of the positive feedback and send me ONLY the negative comments people anonymously made. So, on the bus ride home I’d read a list of confidence killing statements like, </span><i><span>‘lead singer was the weak link’</span></i><span>, </span><i><span>‘tall guy seemed awkward up there’</span></i><span> and so on. When I asked the owner why he didn’t send any of the positive feedback he said, </span><i><span>‘why do you need to see those? The negative comments tell you what you need to work on.’</span></i><span> Clearly, he was new to working with performers. I’ve performed in one way or another my entire life and have developed some pretty tough skin, but even those of us with thick skin respond better to critiques wrapped in compliments. That being said, we don’t want to reach so far with those compliments that we’re reinforcing bad habits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span><strong>Spend time getting to know them on and off the air</strong> before making a bunch of suggestions. I fell into this trap myself earlier in my career. Having spent my entire life in radio, I used to have a tendency to jump to conclusions about an on-air personality based off a small sample size. While throwing out snap judgements that are 80% correct after listening to a few breaks may be a cool parlor trick that impresses others, it will cause you to miss the occasional diamond in the rough and flat out misjudge talent who were having an off day. Properly coaching a performer requires us to listen to a LOT of audio. It also helps immensely to get to know that performers true off air personality that way we can pinpoint which parts of that personality need to be </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>turned up and turned down</span></a><span> to create an on-air persona that will </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>connect with</span></a><span> their target audience. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span><strong>Find out what motivates them.</strong> One of the big mistakes some people who hire and coach on-air talent make is thinking that there’s a single personality type that works best on the air. Usually that’s because they themselves were pretty good on-air and that’s their personality type or they worked with someone successful and they’re trying to recreate that with someone else. In truth, there are a wide range of personality types that can work well on the air and each one is motivated by different things. Plus, some on-air personalities don’t fit neatly into one personality box (like type A). Because of that it takes time to diagnose what will and won’t work to motivate any individual on-air personality. Some of them need a heavy hand and require strict consequences. Others can be motivated by money, status, ratings victories, inter-office competition, syndication opportunities, a flexible schedule or any number of other things. However, rarely if ever is praise not at least somewhat effective as long as it’s genuine and focused on the right things.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Finally, <strong>teach them to coach themselves</strong>. Anytime I’m working with talent, my goal is to get them to a point where they’re hearing the same things I am (or we all are when I’m working with PDs and Ops guys). When the talent get to that point, they begin improving exponentially faster. That’s because, at most, we’re going to listen to one or two breaks during our weekly </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/fun-aircheck-sessions-by-andy-meadows/fun-aircheck-sessions-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>aircheck sessions</span></a><span> and maybe discuss another one or two. Yet, the typical on-air talent does upwards of sixteen breaks per show. So, we’re analyzing and discussing 5 percent or less of their breaks. Encouraging them to listen back to their own audio frequently will help cover the other 95%. Plus, while I’m a firm believer that </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>everyone needs a coach</span></a><span> regardless of how good they are or how long they’ve been doing this, learning to self-coach makes talent more capable of weathering coaching droughts without letting their shows fall off the rails.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>What do you think? What successes or failures have you had either working with a performer or as a performer working with a good or bad coach? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span>Pic designed by upklyak for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72794392023-09-27T12:27:02-05:002023-09-29T06:23:47-05:00Why Radio? By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/f9458c29f732fcaf1def3eac9219c01940bed37e/original/question-mark-yellow-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’ve gotten that question from people throughout your career. Either in the beginning from a parent or other family member who thought you should’ve gone into something more lucrative and stable. Or, more recently from someone who asks what you do for a living, and when they hear radio, responds with a slightly insulting remark or follow up question like ‘that’s still a thing’ or ‘people still listen to the radio?’ Since I live in a family of radio people and many of my friends are in the business in some way or another, I’m a little insulated from that myself but I still meet the occasional stranger that throws a dagger or two. Skipping past the part about how and why I got my start since I grew up in it, here’s a slightly longer version of how I answer the question of ‘why do choose to still work in radio?’ that also gets to the heart of why advertising on the radio is still an effective way to spend a portion of any company’s ad dollars.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Radio, when done correctly, is a very powerful way to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>connect</span></a><span> with lots of people. Although not as interactive in recent years as it should be, terrestrial radio is at it’s core, is communal. A handful of people are curating an experience that’s tailor made to attract and retain the attention of the masses. That’s one of the challenges of being a radio personality, and why it often takes years to get good at it. It requires talent who are capable of performing like their talking to one person, but that conversation has to simultaneously appeal to thousands. Personalities who excel at it have learned to identify a couple of things </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>everyone is talking about</span></a><span> that day, include the minimum amount of details necessary to not confuse the audience and come up with interesting angles to personalize, localize and energize them so it’s entertaining. For the Program Directors more broadly, their task is to choose music, imaging and contests that create a vibe the target audience can connect with. Anyone who doesn’t think that people still form deep emotional connections with radio stations should man the phones and answer emails after a station flips formats. I’ve done so on numerous occasions and have been called several things that can’t be repeated and even had people threaten violence (one guy threatened to cut down the station’s tower once, which hit home because that actually happened to us when I was a kid). But, I get it. People are passionate about their favorite radio station because it’s a part of their daily routine and most people don’t like someone else forcing them to change that routine. They get up, shower, drink their coffee, get in the car, throw on their favorite station and head into work. Leave out any one of those things and it can throw their whole day into chaos.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>The other reason why I choose to still work in radio is simple, it still pays the bills. Radio has allowed me to live a comfortable life for quite some time now and there’s no indication that’s changing any time soon. It’s still a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.insideradio.com/free/kagan-radio-revenues-grew-4-5-in-2022-this-year-revenue-will-be-up-2/article_f903604e-e3fe-11ed-91a1-3771b816902c.html" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>15.4-billion-dollar industry</span></a><span> and, although it used to be a 17-billion-dollar industry, I’m confident that out of necessity it’s going to continue transitioning into digital so it can pick up some of the 250-billion-per-year the content creation industry brings in. Even in 2023, virtually everyone has a radio and stats and studies show that the VAST majority of people still listen to the radio. Maybe not as often in particular age groups as they did in prior years, hence why we need to be active on every platform they are, but they are listening. That’s why, again when done correctly, radio advertising is still a cost-effective way to promote any business. Doing it correctly requires the inventory to be priced accordingly and based off tangible things like ratings, clicks or other trackable audience estimates. Plus, we have to hire, recruit and train sales reps who know what questions to ask to A) put their clients into an integrated advertising solution that will actually work for them and B) coach them into messaging that will appeal to that station’s target audience. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Most importantly though, radio is still a lot of fun. Like any job there are mundane parts that can get a little tiresome and boring. But, overall it allows me to flex my creative muscle which keeps me happy and I get to work with lots of weird, funny and interesting people. Often, I’m able to help those people improve to a point where they’re more valuable to the company they work for so they get bigger and better jobs, earn more money and improve their quality of life, which brings me more joy than I can articulate.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What about you? Why do you work in radio? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>. </span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72762882023-09-20T14:18:22-05:002023-09-25T09:35:13-05:00Radio Dress Codes By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/a2e7d3ee76949fb419d1640604bf6c1decea6976/original/stylist-picks-an-image-recycling-items-closet-at-2022-11-14-00-21-52-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>As a kid growing up in the radio business I used to marvel at the stark difference between the attire of the different groups of people within a station. At that time, there was very little grey area. On the business, sales and administrative side everyone looked well groomed and professionally dressed and on the programming side the staff ranged from just rolled out of bed, threw on a t-shirt, jeans and shoes (that should’ve all been retired years ago) to showered and threw on slightly newer versions of the same attire. But, that was thirty years ago and times have changed. With the blending of roles, due to limited staffs, and the digital content our talent should be creating daily, all stations should have minimum dress codes in place for each department that vary slightly depending on market, region and format. Here are a few recommendations for how that should look.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Historically, no one in radio has had a more lax dress code than the DJs. Unfortunately, I was unable to take advantage of that casual attire for long because I soon moved into management roles that required me to occasionally sit in on client meetings that may or may not have been scheduled. Plus, I’m a firm believer in dressing for the job you want, instead of the one you have, if you want to move up the ranks. However, the days of dressing like a high school kid on summer break are behind all of us, or at least they should be. Besides the fact that most of them are dual role now, today’s on-air talent are being asked to create much more than audio content on a daily basis. Because of that, they should be expected to come to work each day prepared to take pictures and record or live stream video to the station websites and social feeds. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to dress like they’re in sales. It simply means they need to look presentable for their format, which obviously varies wildly depending on whether they’re on country, rock, hip hop, top 40, classic hits or something else. Basically, they should dress and look like it’s picture day, every day. One thing that helps immensely is to purchase or trade, and logo up, multiple shirts for all of the air staff. Then, put in place minimum guidelines for everything else to fit the market, region and brand. This, of course, also applies to live broadcasts and remotes. Since most of my experience is here in Texas, where it feels like we’re on the surface of the sun for half the year, sometimes it would be as simple as this: for inside, nice jeans or better and polos w/logo, outside in the summer, nice shorts, a station t-shirt (all washed and non-wrinkled) and shoes that are in-style and not worn out.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>One way to help this transition for the on-air talent is for the business and admin side to also step up their game. If we’re going to ask a group of people within the building who have traditionally kept it casual to make some changes it helps if we’re also making more of an effort ourselves. Plus, it sends a clear message to everyone inside and outside of the building that we’re part of a professional operation that can be trusted to partner with.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Not much has changed on the sales side other than management’s mindset on remote and hybrid working allowing sales to make the occasional Zoom or Teams virtual sales call. With those it’s important to remember that the same rules apply. Just because we’re joining from our home doesn’t mean we can be in a robe or pajamas. Plus, we’re FAR more likely to close a sale if we’re on a live camera than defaulting to the still image from our profile pic because we’re not looking camera-friendly that day.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Unfortunately, not many stations are lucky enough to have promotions departments anymore, which is a shame because that’s an area radio is undervaluing at a time where it’s one of our major strategic advantages over national and digital competitors. But, groups who still do have promotions people would be foolish to not have a strict dress code in place that’s enforced because that staff represents the first impression potential listeners and advertisers get of our stations.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think, does your station or group have a minimum dress code, does it vary by department and how has it changed in recent years. Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Photo by myjuly for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.elements.envato.com"><span>www.elements.envato.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72728712023-09-13T13:12:46-05:002023-09-14T09:19:29-05:00Service Element Do's and Don'ts By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/ee788b2e285ce7e9203f474fe9023be8901fe09f/original/sl-112119-25250-32.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>For years we’ve been telling radio that their big advantage over digital competitors is their ability to be </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/being-live-local-by-andy-meadows/being-live-local-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>live and local</span></a><span>. I’ve made that statement myself quite a few times. As the major groups continue to scale back their local presence, it’s also becoming a huge advantage for independent broadcasters. But that advantage can quickly turn into a disadvantage if we’re not strategic about how we flex that live and local muscle. One mistake a lot of stations make is overdoing the service elements in an attempt to be hyperlocal. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing service elements on the radio, but like everything else we air, we have to be strategic about how and where we do them. Here are some service element do’s and don'ts.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>DO local </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>weather reports</span></a><span> throughout the day. DON’T include thirty to forty-five seconds of details for today, tonight, tomorrow (and please don’t read a whole week’s worth!) We all get the weather on our phones now, as well as our watches and the bottom right-hand side of any computer we’re using. Unless there’s something out of the ordinary happening, severe weather or unseasonably high or low temperatures, there’s no reason to turn into a meteorologist and tell listeners about the 5 mph east winds or the tenth of an inch of new rainfall accumulation. Here’s an example report for a typical weather day: ‘Sunny and 95 today, down to 72 tonight’. The same goes for talking about the weather outside of those weather reports. Unless it’s something that’s going to drastically impact the listener's day, there’s no need to reiterate what the weather report already said.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>DON’T do traffic reports unless you’re in a market where the traffic is such an issue that it’s likely to change daily. I’ve audited and worked with some markets where 90% of the traffic reports are ‘all clear’ today or they just mention the same one or two roads that every local knows are congested during drive-time and some construction that’s been happening for a year.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>DON’T do two minute or longer local newscasts. DO thirty seconds of local news headlines and then push them to the station website for all the details. If a station is lucky enough to have a local newsperson, or an on-air personality that’s tied in and has an aptitude for news, then that person is more than capable of writing a single blog post with all the details they can pull together for the day’s top local stories, or multiple blogs with individual stories. Another option is to record a longer form video hitting the day’s top stories and using the on-air headlines to point to that video on the station website. Outside of news talk stations I see no reason to do state and national newscasts on the radio, especially because most of them run way too long. But, it doesn’t hurt to include a major state or national headline in the local newscast when necessary.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>DO local ag reports on formats and markets where it makes sense. DON’T read a long list that includes the sale price of every single commodity. Believe it or not, ranchers and farmers have the internet. I grew up in small town Texas working at my family-owned country station. I still live in this great state and will likely never leave. Plus, my wife’s family has a large active ranch outside of Victoria, Texas. I can tell you from experience that the level of detail included in most ag reports only appeals to a very small percentage of any station’s demo. Therefore, they are a tune out factor for the vast majority of that demo. Ag reports should be done very early, because that audience is up before anyone, and just like weather and news they should hit the highlights with the details on the station or a partner’s website.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>There’s a good reason why we all do service elements on the radio. As a general rule they’re typically easy to sell because everyone understands what they are, they tie in well with certain categories and advertisers like owning something. But those advertisers are going to pay the same amount for a mention within a ten second weather report as they do for a mention within a thirty second report. Plus, there’s no shortage of things to sell on a radio station. To date I’ve never replaced a service element on a station without being able to slide an existing sponsor into something else. It typically just takes a conversation explaining the benefit of the new thing we’re attaching their name to.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>For those of you reading this thinking, this advice makes perfect sense in a large market but doesn’t apply to a small or medium market station, I understand where you’re coming from but I disagree. The fastest way to dominate and succeed in a small or medium market is to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/think-big-by-andy-meadows/think-big-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>sound like a big</span></a><span> market station that just happens to be located in a smaller city. Do localized versions of big market things and no one will be able to compete with you. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Let me know in the comments below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>Pic designed by starline for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72694062023-09-06T13:52:30-05:002023-09-06T13:58:10-05:00Best A.I. Sites For Broadcasters By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/55bb4250106d7e6aa0036a4849764e7db17b0ac9/original/ai-chip-artificial-intelligence-future-technology-innovation-4x3.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Most of the questions I’ve been asked lately from radio broadcasters are A.I. related. So, I thought I’d put together a list of some of the A.I. sites I recommend testing and using. To be clear, I do NOT use A.I. to help me write my radio consulting blogs here. However, I’m sure I’m contributing to my own demise by publishing free blogs about radio that A.I. can use to spit out some consulting advice down the road. I have, however, used A.I. to help me and my staff write blogs for radio stations. We NEVER copy/paste the blog verbatim, but we do use it to flush out portions of the first draft and then edit the blog post to localize and personalize it so it fits the station we’re posting on. How much we have to edit is directly related to the strength of the prompts we feed into it and the platform itself. Audio-wise I have encouraged some of the shows I coach to use A.I. voices for bits, but it’s not ready to use as a ringer for phone topics (although it will be soon), or anywhere near ready to voice a station. Same with handling an on-air shift. I think the station in Portland Oregon has the right idea. Where it’s currently at, we should admit that it’s A.I. (This is A.I. Angie for example) rather than trying to pass it off as a real person. Plus, even when it sounds natural enough to emulate a real DJ it should only be used to cover the shifts where we don’t have live/local/interactive talent and not replace one because that’s still terrestrial radio’s big advantage over our digital competitors.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Here are some of the AI sites I currently recommend for broadcasters.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Audio:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://elevenlabs.io/" target="_blank"><span>Eleven Labs</span></a><span> There are of course many other options. But, so far I’m liking Eleven Labs voices the best for radio. The beta version offers free test voices that are downloadable and sound fairly natural if you add pronunciation in the right places. The paid version has TONS of additional voice options.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Writing/Marketing/Social:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://chat.openai.com/auth/login" target="_blank"><span>ChatGPT</span></a><span> The one that’s gotten all the press and attention. It’s also the one putting off the most ‘Skynet’ vibes. Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a large language model-based chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November of 2022. It’s now on it’s 5<sup>th</sup> generation which is expected to have better knowledge of the world and the ability to understand audio and video.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.jasper.ai/free-trial?adgroupid=152899213162&campaignid=20177048382&utm_source=google&utm_term=ai%20writer&utm_content=665869877930&utm_campaign=Jasper_Teams_Google_Search_Prospecting_Trials_nonbrand&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=5024544109&hsa_cam=20177048382&hsa_grp=152899213162&hsa_ad=665869877930&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-606932602501&hsa_kw=ai%20writer&hsa_mt=p&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E1LTuuZBRsO6bLbk_xq9TfqIkQ_K3r7lG348Xv7KzCKeRElGXcAKnoaAvh9EALw_wcB" target="_blank"><span>Jasper</span></a><span> According to their marketing, Jasper’s benefit over ChatGPT is that it’s built to create copy that feels like your brand instead of being generic.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.grammarly.com/a?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=19954431780&utm_content=654633180614&utm_term=blogging&target=&targetid=kwd-295204097460&adgroup=148789811180&device=c&matchtype=b&placement=&network=g&extension=&clickid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E0d_xJyk1_ZE61xyQ3RxQFKhp22eKGWQVFQhNrn_MJyzMdTrsS3p_IaAseGEALw_wcB&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E0d_xJyk1_ZE61xyQ3RxQFKhp22eKGWQVFQhNrn_MJyzMdTrsS3p_IaAseGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank"><span>Grammarly</span></a><span> Writing assistant that helps with grammar and structure. If you’re like me and you tuned out or slept during the grammar portion of your creative writing classes, then Grammarly is a very helpful tool.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://writesonic.com/?utm_campaignid=20209730397&utm_agid=156491230224&creative=660452171972&device=c&placement=&utm_Campaign_id=20209730397&utm_group_id=156491230224&utm_target_id=kwd-1229061501974&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Brand_US_Search&utm_term=writesonic&utm_medium=search&utm_content=null&hsa_acc=3397066345&hsa_cam=20209730397&hsa_grp=156491230224&hsa_ad=660452171972&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-1229061501974&hsa_kw=writesonic&hsa_mt=p&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E2oR8fkv53jcVcL_8i0e0yw-fEqMCHkRNpcTQFgDlj4LVMA_FtRWTgaAkmoEALw_wcB" target="_blank"><span>Writesonic</span></a><span> AI writer powered by GPT4 to create SEO-optimized content for blogs, ads, emails, and websites 10x faster. I haven’t used it much but have heard good things.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.copy.ai/?via=ryan-freeman&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E34EU9xueBb2QiSofctEX3VCI9hGN3KjU10TzUjHKg1iYr6zeCiXDEaAiTsEALw_wcB" target="_blank"><span>CopyAI</span></a><span> Can play around with it for free, to help write blogs, sales copy, digital ad copy and social media content.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://anyword.com/create-copy/?utm_term=anyword&utm_term=anyword&utm_campaign=mf_search_brand&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=brand&hsa_acc=1760854518&hsa_cam=14041644408&hsa_grp=126707478633&hsa_ad=656561365847&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-359662326629&hsa_kw=anyword&hsa_mt=p&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E0Pe0ZVjc2DgBp2oMxrI3m5hpg5vr834O0FdK6XmAiUSTOX-J6vQbIaAu1kEALw_wcB" target="_blank"><span>Anyword</span></a><span> Focuses on using natural language processing to generate and optimize marketing text for websites, social media, email and ads.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.frase.io/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=frase_brand&utm_term=frase&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E2so2fdfGwu0FDpy3_9lk7_hahpLfnCiRoKzXg6YE7tTeV9dMbpML8aAggiEALw_wcB" target="_blank"><span>Frase</span></a><span> Cranks out full-length, optimized content briefs in 6 seconds, conveniently one second shy of the average attention span nowadays! Also, helps with SEO optimization.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://hellowoofy.com/" target="_blank"><span>HelloWoofy</span></a><span> A data science and AI based social media marketing platform for writing copy, adding hashtags and scheduling social posts. It’s being marketed to small business owners as a cheaper alternative to HootSuite.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>This list grows by the day so I’ll probably either update this blog or write a new one soon. Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span> with your thoughts on these sites or any other ones you’ve used recently.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72657442023-08-30T10:34:51-05:002023-09-03T13:04:39-05:00Merging Old Media With New Media By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/dea180de4db75ae954ce4b3a94e00bb0183539a1/original/joint-white-puzzle-with-blue-single-piece-yellow-surface.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>We’ve reached a critical time for our industry. It’s painfully obvious that things are changing rapidly all around us and the path forward is less certain than it’s ever been. We all know that taking the same exact approach next year as we did this year, and previous years, will not lead to continued success. But, economic uncertainty coupled with employees demanding higher compensation and more competitive benefits can make it feel like we’re running out of options to try. The truth is, there’s no simple answer to the challenges the radio industry is facing. However, I believe the solution lies in developing a strategy that allows us to merge the best parts of our traditional radio model with the types of new media that we’re best suited to find success with. Here are a few steps and recommendations for making that happen.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Identify the employees within our organizations that contribute the most to our operations and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows/best-of-the-best-or-what-s-left-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>compensate them fairly</span></a><span> with financial incentives to over-perform. But, at the same time, eliminate any and all waste, services we no longer or rarely use, employees that don’t add value because they’re doing the bare minimum or refusing to grow, office space that’s become unnecessary, and outdated equipment that we’re paying to maintain and replace instead of updating to equipment that’s more efficient, remotely accessible, cheaper to operate and takes up less space. Get creative with how we recruit and the kind of people we’re trying to recruit. Look for self-sufficient </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>content creators</span></a><span> who are finding inventive ways to create and monetize their own digital content and hire or partner with them.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Invest in the growth side of our industry, digital. I’ve seen multiple groups spend millions of dollars on studio rebuilds and refuse to spend a few thousand to make those studios more than just audio friendly. The equipment required to record and live stream video is nowhere near as expensive as it was just a couple of years ago. Hence why thousands upon thousands of content creators have MUCH nicer home setups, video-wise, than professional radio groups in major markets. We can close that gap by investing just a little more in the equipment, software and hardware necessary to regularly create digital content, ten-year-old computers will not cut it and nor will lighting that leaves talent mostly in the dark. Then, take it to the next level by bringing in some outside training (like myself), offering to pay for additional training and classes and sending any employee who wants to go to at least </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7258031/go-to-conventions-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>one or two conventions</span></a><span> per year.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Learn from the successes and failures of others. Not everything the large groups are doing now is misguided. The approach of using our terrestrial platforms to consistently push our digital assets and platforms is a smart one. Stripping out most or all of their local footprint and staff so they can no longer do that at a local level, is not a smart move. If it were we’d be better off migrating to digital only companies that bought promotional time on old media. There are still unavoidable costs to running a terrestrial radio station, like utilities and someone to keep everything running and legal. But, more importantly, radio is well positioned to soak up TONS of local digital dollars, while maintaining most of our local terrestrial revenue, provided we keep a local staff and presence in place in all of our markets.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Leveraging our content creators across all platforms. I’ve said it before and I will continue to do so. Every good on-air personality is capable of creating some kind of digital content that’s clickable and shareable. I used to say that not everyone’s a writer so instead of forcing non-writers to blog on the station website, find their strengths and encourage those. However, that was before AI leveled the playing field. Now, anyone can blog and everyone should. Plus, employees who are writers can </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>use AI</span></a><span> to write ten blogs in the time they would’ve normally written one. All on-air personalities can also create some sort of video content, either in front of or behind the camera. Plus, anyone that’s good at audio editing can be taught to video edit enough to crank out the types of video content stations should already be doing for web and social. Of course, they should ALL be podcasting as well. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Podcasts aren’t going anywhere</span></a><span> as listening continues to grow. New research from Edison, published in </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.westwoodone.com/blog/2023/08/28/share-of-ear-q2-2023-podcasts-and-am-fm-radio-represent-the-vast-majority-of-time-on-the-u-s-ad-supported-audio-clock-podcast-growth-surge-continues-and-spotify/" target="_blank"><span>Westwood One’s blog</span></a><span> noted that podcasts are now “reaching one out of three Americans daily.” To make cranking out all of this digital content possible, it helps if we train our on-air staffs to incorporate digital into the prep process so they’re thinking about how to promote and leverage their on-air content to digital during the planning phase.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Develop a digital content strategy that’s ambitious but executable with our current staffs. It does no good to write a bunch of requirements down if we don’t have the staff capable of fulfilling or enforcing those requirements. We should start with a lofty content strategy that’s based on the amount of digital content we can realistically create each week and build from there. Starting with the platforms where we already have a presence as we slowly begin adding content to our dormant, or new, platforms. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Merging old media with new media may sound a bit overwhelming, but it is manageable and we can help. Call or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span> or comment below.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72616392023-08-23T13:43:04-05:002023-08-28T07:01:41-05:00Lessons From Viral Sensations By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/12646d27b9bad0adca53fc585d6bfbf1125723bb/original/bobbie-althoff-oliver-anthony-pic-max-quality.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Ask anyone who’s ever gone viral how they did it and they’ll give you some version of the same answer. Essentially, they’ll say that there’s no formula for it. Just trial and error to see what works and starts to get traction and then doing more of that and less of the things that don’t work. Although that answer can be a little maddening to content creators trying to break through, it is an honest one. Because even though there may be somewhat of a formula to it. That formula varies wildly depending on the person. So, not unlike figuring out an </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/coaching-the-off-air-process/coaching-the-off-air-process" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>off-air process</span></a><span> that works for us to prepare a radio show each day, determining which ingredients and the measurements of each for the recipe that will make us become a viral sensation is unique to each person. That being said, there are lessons we can learn from other people who have recently gone viral. Here are two drastically different examples, starting with one who literally blew up last week.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085643337139" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Oliver Anthony</span></a><span> grabbed his guitar and a microphone, set up a camera on his farm in front of a hunting blind and his dogs, and recorded a song that made him famous in literally a few days. In one week </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqSA-SY5Hro" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>“Rich Men North of Richmond”</span></a><span> got nearly 34 million plays between Spotify and YouTube, that’s twice as much as the number two song in country, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” did over the same period of time. Which is why we recommended to our country clients to add the song immediately. But, it’s also enough to put him in the top 5 off all genres competing with songs from the world’s biggest stars in music (and tunes from the Barbie movie). How did Oliver do that? He checks some of the normal boxes, he’s got a unique voice, the song is well written and has a catchy melody. It also doesn’t hurt that Joe Rogan shared it. But, mainly it’s the passion and emotion he sings with that allowed him to instantly strike a chord with the audience. Yes, it’s a protest song and the second verse is a bit polarizing. But, even if you don’t agree with what he’s saying, it's pretty clear that he believes it. The stripped-down production allowed that authenticity to come through clearly and that is likely what millions of people are connecting with. There’s a lot of lessons for radio in here. First and foremost, following the data and adding songs that blow up like this immediately in appropriate formats (even if they sound unlike anything else we’re playing). Second, not being afraid to push the envelope and talk about </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/sensitive-subjects-the-lost-sub-by-andy-meadows/sensitive-subjects-the-lost-sub-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>edgier topics</span></a><span> (provided we know our audience, a lesson one prominent brand learned recently). Third, this is one of the kinds of digital content music stations can and should create by working with artists that can sign off on the video sync rights. Finally, we need to stop over-producing audio and burying good content and messaging behind too many zips, zings, effects and loud beds.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Another recent example is </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/@Thebobbialthoff" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Bobbi Althoff</span></a><span>. A few months ago she was a fairly popular mom-influencer on TikTok with a couple hundred thousand followers. Bobbi decided to start a podcast, dubbed ‘The Really Good Podcast’ and to host it in her deadpan style that works well for her on TikTok. Bobbie began by interviewing rapper Funny Marco at her house in California and that got a few million views and landed her on Drake’s radar. He flew her to where he was recording and Bobbie interviewed him in bed. Clips of that went viral fast on TikTok racking up millions of views overnight and then the long-form version did the same on YouTube. Why did it work? Mainly because it’s funny and interesting to see someone interview a major celebrity for an hour, and stay committed throughout to that ‘character’ with a VERY awkward and droll interview style, who doesn’t know much about her guests. That’s no easy task. Stephen Colbert did it with his ‘Colbert Report’ interviews on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014 and Zac Galifianakis does it in his popular ‘Between Two Ferns’ interviews. But, both of those guys’ interviews only last a few minutes. Doing full hour-long, one-on-one interviews in character takes a lot of talent and guts. Fans of Drake, and there are LOTS of them, have never seen him in an interview like that before. Side note, they are either feuding or in the process of a publicity stunt right now because she’s pulled down the Drake episode. What lessons can radio learn from Bobbie? Take chances, don’t be afraid to fail and look stupid and also cater our content to the platform it’s on instead of just copying and pasting it from one platform to another. That, and hire </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/getting-younger-people-into-radio-by-andy-meadows/getting-younger-people-into-radio-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>more young people</span></a><span>, identify employee’s strengths and encourage those strengths while giving them the tools to create all kinds of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows/the-era-of-the-content-creator-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>creative content</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? What take do you have on these two, or any other, recent viral sensations and what viral success stories have you our someone on your team created in the past? Comment below or email me at </span><a href="" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72580312023-08-16T15:33:57-05:002023-08-16T15:33:57-05:00Go To Conventions By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/d1f9b2e70aa2f6462fbd3efd1dc74ea273f9cf6f/original/female-business-executive-giving-speech-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>At the TAB convention in Austin earlier this month I was in the middle of one of many great conversations I had with broadcasters when one of them said, </span><i><span>‘this is why we come to conventions, nothing compares to the face-to-face sharing of ideas between like-minded people.’ </span></i><span>He went on to talk about how much he missed that during the year, or more, Covid shut down conventions all-together and we tried our best to recreate them via Zoom. I couldn't agree more. Don’t get me wrong, I love Zoom and Teams, I spend at least half my day using them and I appreciate how that technology has allowed me to spend more time with my family. But, to me our reliance on remote working only makes it that much more important that we stop down a few times a year to gather in-person with each other at broadcast conventions, especially our state conventions. Here are just a few of the direct benefits I see of regularly attending broadcast conventions.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Comparison shopping equipment, software and services.</strong> Where else are you going to see virtually every radio automation software company, most RF equipment providers, video and lighting companies and more all in one place? This is top of mind to me because I’ve got a couple projects going where I’m recommending facility upgrades for clients and I feel a lot more confident making those recommendations when I can look at all the options, see them in action, hear the pitches about why they’re better than the others and even talk some numbers.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Hearing from and interacting with industry experts.</strong> I’ve never watched a panel at a broadcast convention that I didn’t take something away from and many I walk away from with a handful of actionable ideas. I’ve now been lucky enough to lead some of those panels and hope I’m doing the same for the people who attend. One big recommendation I have for attendees is to ask the hard questions, we want that feedback even if it’s challenging something we’re saying.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>It never hurts to network.</strong> As I’ve said in the past, and we all know this to be true, in our business you have to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/6139015/network-to-get-work-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>network to get work</span></a><span>. Getting a new job in radio is as much about who you know as what your resume looks like or your aircheck sounds like. There’s no better way to make those important connections than at conventions where we’re all concentrated in one place. Pro tip: Get a drink or two at the convention hotel's bar instead of leaving with your colleagues to have a drink elsewhere.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>In my previous job that I stayed in for sixteen years I rarely went to broadcast conventions because I wasn’t looking to jump ship, thought I was up on all the latest technology and didn’t like playing catch-up when I returned. Plus, the few times I did go it was hard to implement any of the great ideas when I came back because I was talking to a staff of people who didn’t attend, didn’t get all fired up about whatever I was fired up about and, despite my best efforts to set the scene and recreate the panels and presentations I sat through, it rarely had the same impact. That’s why I think the best move is to encourage as much of our staff as possible to attend in-person, especially the big conventions and our home state convention. It’s not time-off, it’s by no means a vacation, it’s work. But, there’s something about getting out of the office and studio, changing up the routine and talking shop with other people facing the same challenges as we are, that really gets the creative juices flowing.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? How have you been inspired at a broadcast convention in the past? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>Pic designed by wavebreakmedia_micro for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72545612023-08-09T11:40:23-05:002023-08-09T15:53:29-05:00Fun Aircheck Sessions By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/e8b9225d6c62a2cdca5d638d005785301fcc8d50/original/photo-african-american-girl-does-lucky-dance-raises-hands-up-hooray-feels-like-champion-after-getting-triumph-gazes-happily-somewhere-has-fun-feels-rthythm-music-isolated-yellow-wall.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Airchecking on-air talent is still hands down the best way to improve their performance, regardless of whether we’re working with rookies or experienced radio veterans. No matter how good we get at self-coaching, which is important, there are simply some things we aren’t going to hear until others point them out to us. Yet, the average on-air personality hasn’t been airchecked in over six months. Why? The answer is simple. Most people don’t like aircheck sessions because they’re typically not fun for anyone involved and so they get labeled as ‘not worth the time’. It’s a lot of prep work for the programmer or consultant conducting the meeting that has to go through tons of audio and for the talent themselves it’s not generally enjoyable to be critiqued by your boss or in front of them, even if it’s lumped in with a lot of positive feedback (which it usually should be). However, if conducted properly, there’s no reason aircheck sessions can’t be fun. Here are a few tips on how to make weekly aircheck sessions more bearable for everyone.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Have a strategy. </strong>First and foremost, whoever is conducting the sessions has to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/identify-goal-and-work-backwards-by-andy-meadows/identify-goal-and-work-backwards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>have a goal</span></a><span> for what they’re trying to accomplish through the airchecks, both short and long term. That goal could be as simple as improving on some of the basics (voice, delivery, how long and where to talk) or some of the higher-level stuff (perfecting the off-air show prep process, turning on-air content into digital content, crafting teases/hooks/outs and how to use each, etc). </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Keep them brief.</strong> We’re all likely wearing multiple hats and have a long daily to-do-list to get to so let’s make sure we value each other’s time. Weekly aircheck sessions should be as short as fifteen minutes and no longer than thirty minutes once we get our routine set. If we can plan for thirty minutes and commit to never going longer than that, we’ll be much more likely to stick to airchecking weekly rather than monthly or quarterly. It also sets a good precedent for valuing the listener’s time and never talking longer than our content warrants on-air.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Keep them positive. </strong>Start by praising a handful of things the talent are doing well before going into the things they need to work on. But, be careful to not reinforce bad habits by bragging on things they’re not doing well just to find something positive to say. Search for the things they’re good at and if you find yourself struggling to dig up anything at all that’s not a good sign. I’ve coached a LOT of talent over the years and it’s pretty rare that there’s not ANYTHING to pat them on the back for, even if it’s off-air responsibilities like digital, production or showprepping.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Listen to audio if necessary. </strong>I play show audio in about fifty percent of the aircheck sessions I conduct and I always base the decision on whether it’s helpful or harmful. That might mean playing good audio to point out a positive I was planning on mentioning or playing audio that went south to reinforce a ‘thing to work on’ (talked past the out, derailed and went off topic, missed an engagement opportunity, didn’t pay-off a tease, etc).</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Keep them forward focused. </strong>Part of the reason I don’t always play audio, and only play a lot of audio on a quarterly deep dive, is that show audio is by nature backward focused (because it’s from a show they did anywhere from earlier that day up to several days ago). It’s MUCH more effective if the bulk of the meeting is forward focused talking about content, contests, benchmarks or features they’re going to do the following day, later in the week or even farther in the future. This also reinforces planning in advance because as I’ve said before most successful shows have a minimum of 80% of their show </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>already planned</span></a><span> when they walk into the studio each day.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Spark creativity. </strong>I end most airchecks with a brainstorming session where I throw out a handful of topics for them to consider, but I always make it clear that they don’t HAVE to do them, and I encourage tweaking them anyway necessary to fit their market. This process helps to get their wheels turning and encourages them to come to the aircheck meetings with a few ideas of their own. Periodically, I also like to demo a game or contest I’m suggesting by playing it live (via Zoom or in the room during market visits) to demonstrate how well it will work on-air if performed properly.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Reward progress. </strong>No matter how fun we make them, at their core, aircheck sessions are mini performance reviews. If an employee responds well to direction and coaching, follows directives and puts in the effort necessary to act on and execute ideas that come out of airchecks, then we have to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>reward</span></a><span> that. Preferably that reward is monetary and tied to compensation or bonuses, but it could also be other things of value to the air talent (paid time off or traded perks they wouldn’t normally receive). The flip side of that however, is that for the system to work we have to also punish employees who regularly don’t complete assignments or work to implement any of the coaching and direction.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Which leads me to my final point. Yes, there are going to be some aircheck sessions that HAVE to be turned into disciplinary meetings because talent aren’t following clear directives they’ve been given and they’ve agreed to. Those airchecks are unlikely to be fun for anyone and, while we can still try to keep the same structure, it’s doubtful any creativity will be sparked in those meetings because people tend to shut off after being called out. However, if we’re managing our talent properly, those rough meetings should be few and far between.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? What creative things have you done to make aircheck sessions fun? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>Pic designed by wayhomestudio for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72508782023-08-02T08:24:48-05:002023-08-09T04:10:15-05:00One Step To Create Better Content By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/bb2063603d3c90af74fe746554ce07f60bdcda82/original/walking-upstairs.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Growing up I wanted to be a writer. So, from the time I could string a few sentences together I started writing short stories. Which I know because my mother kept everything so many of them are still in a box in my attic. One day I found out an actual published writer was coming to our small town in Texas so I insisted my parents take me so I could meet him. It was western writer Elmer Kelton by the way. After his presentation I walked up and asked him how to become a writer and I’ll never forget what he said to me, ‘Read everything you can get your hands on’. At the time that answer left me disappointed because I enjoyed writing and creating my own stories much more than reading the stories other people had created, but in time I came to understand what he meant. That same lesson can be applied to all of the new kinds of content we now need to create for radio. If we want to create better content that connects with our audience, we need to start by consuming lots of different kinds of content. Let’s go through a few of those kinds of content and look at what we should consume as inspiration.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Blogs</span></a><span> are hit or miss when it comes to radio. Some groups do a GREAT job encouraging, incentivizing and rewarding their staff for regularly blogging with the goal of driving clicks and shares. Many other groups and individual stations sporadically blog while a handful never post blogs at all on their station websites unless they’re coming from an outside RSS feed. But, the best place to look for inspiration on blogging is outside our industry at companies whose entire business model is reliant on creating clickable, shareable blogs. Granted ours don’t have to be as long or even as professionally written. They just need to be in our talent’s voices with their own personality and style added into them. There’s also nothing wrong with </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>using AI</span></a><span> to write a first draft of a blog for us and then touching it up to localize and personalize it to fit our format and market.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Video is radio’s most under-utilized promotional and marketing tool. When I started trying to get radio to create more video content years ago there were very few radio studio furniture companies that made anything with sightlines and visual aesthetics for video in mind. Now, there are A LOT of them. There are a few tricks we use, monitor trenches, getting as much equipment out of the studio as possible and putting what’s left in racks under the furniture, being strategic about anything that goes anywhere in the studio and most importantly LOTS of lighting. But, there’s a mountain of examples we can look at now to take inspiration from. Especially with our main studios, but I believe even our production and backup studios, it just makes sense to make them as video friendly as they are audio friendly. Again though, the first step to creating incredible studios is to look at thousands of other studios and content creation areas other people have created and incorporate the best ideas from each one. While doing so we should also look at the different types of content others outside are industry are creating in those studios, making note of what works to get traction and what doesn’t, how long they are on which platforms, the editing tricks they use as well as their equipment choices. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>Podcasts</span></a><span> are a major point of emphasis for me when consulting radio stations. There’s a real love and hate relationship between radio and podcasting. Both sides kind of look down on the other which is ironic because they have a LOT in common. Many of the things successful podcasts do on every episode are ideas that came from radio. Now it’s our time to flip the script and look at some of the things podcasters are doing well that we can utilize to make our own podcasts more likely to go viral, attract subscribers and downloads so we can find another way to monetize a skillset that we already have. Don’t get me wrong, there are subtle differences between the two which I talk about in my eBook </span><i><span>From Broadcast to Podcast: Applying Radio Rules to Podcasting. </span></i><span>A few I’d recommend listening to are Smartless (great theme and premise, some of the best chemistry between talent I’ve ever heard), We Might Be Drunk (wheels-off sometimes with the two comics that host, but you’ll notice how they incorporate radio-style benchmarks throughout the show), Conan Needs a Friend (clearly defined roles, but wonderful chemistry and contributions from the other cast-members) and the Sarah Silverman Podcast (Essentially Sarah’s doing a combination of what Delilah and Dave Ramsey have done for years, having people call in for advise with a cut-to-the-chase and no-judgement style, but also funny since she’s a comic.) </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Like I always say though, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/it-all-starts-on-air-by-andy-meadows/it-all-starts-on-air-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>it all starts on-air</span></a><span>. Some of the best shows I’ve worked with over the years are avid listeners of lots of other radio personalities and shows across various formats, in their own market and others. We should all do that with a discerning ear, listening for things they try that fall flat and the things they have success with. Then, building on those by adding our unique flavor and personality to it to make it our own.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Creating unique and original content daily that’s going to appeal to the masses is an incredibly tall task, especially on a local level with its own set of subtle differences. To do so, we HAVE to consume a wide-range of content. We don’t have the luxury of only watching, listening, reading and looking at things that we are personally interested in. That approach will always lead us to do internally focused shows instead of externally focused shows. We should think of our content consumption similarly to our nutritional consumption and find a balance that makes for a healthy on-air persona and show.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Where do you look for inspiration. Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>Pic designed by pressfoto for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72474302023-07-26T09:10:23-05:002023-07-29T02:25:02-05:00Getting Younger People Into Radio By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/4f53b057360b894f3ec70af053bc4b05c1a65869/original/medium-shot-happy-friends-city.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Writing off an entire generation of potential radio listeners isn’t a good long-term plan for our industry. Yes, it’s true that in general younger people are less likely to listen to terrestrial radio than previous generations. It’s also true that if you ask a hundred high school kids what they want to be when they grow up it’s unlikely that any of them will say they want to work in radio. Instead, you’d get a lot of answers like YouTube star, Twitch streamer, Social Influencer and so on. I think these two challenges radio faces feed off each other and therefore the solution is to address them both simultaneously. Here are a few thoughts on doing that.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Recruiting more young employees. </strong>Radio is still a great way to earn a living while pursuing the dream of being a digital content creator like a YouTube Star, Twitch Streamer, Podcaster or Social Influencer. But most radio studios are still set up more like caves. They’re well-built for broadcasting and recording audio, but too dark to shoot video without spending a lot of time rolling in lighting and video equipment (which is part of the reason why many stations don’t record video very often). If instead we design our studios around all the kinds of content we need to create daily, making sure we have good lighting and sight-lines to capture video content while we’re broadcasting audio, we’ll be more likely to attract younger employees and put to use the digital skills they’ll walk through the door with. Of course, we’re competing with other industries for those young employees so it’s important that we have competitive pay and benefit packages and are at least open to some level of remote working where applicable. Those younger employees shouldn’t be used to save money and push out seasoned, experienced broadcasters, instead they should work alongside them allowing each to raise the skillsets of the other in the areas they’re stronger. It also shouldn’t be assumed that older employees can’t excel on the digital side because </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/digital-isn-t-just-for-the-young-by-andy-meadows/digital-isn-t-just-for-the-young-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>digital is by no means only for the young</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Attracting young listeners. </strong>We can’t all be classic hits stations. Yes, there’s room for at least one in most every market but there’s also plenty of room for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>new music formats</span></a><span> as well. But, new music formats built around an old and outdated model for adding music that’s based almost entirely on looking at what other radio stations add is not how you attract younger listeners. We have to adapt to how music is consumed today. That’s why we look at the same data that record labels look at and pair that with some fun digital elements to help collect local and regional data so we can better advise our consulting clients on what music to add, move and drop each week. Another key to attracting young people is to be active on ALL the platforms they’re active on. This is where recruiting and hiring young people comes in really handy because those employees are more likely to connect with their peers on those digital platforms. In addition to that, and especially in the absence of it, we can </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>crowdsource some of our content creation</span></a><span> by doing targeted contests with the goal of getting our younger listeners to create content on our behalf.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Young people will still listen to the radio as long as it’s targeted toward them by speaking their language and reflecting what they’re into. They will also happily work for a radio station that gives them a steady paycheck to put their digital skills to use while learning to master the art of radio broadcasting. I’ve coached on-air talent that were fresh out of college to the top of their markets and I’ve recently partnered with a prominent college and high school to help them modernize their radio facilities and curriculum. I’m happy to say that both of those experiences have reassured me that it is absolutely possible to get young people into radio if we’re willing to adapt and evolve our processes, procedures and facilities.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72444232023-07-19T16:39:56-05:002023-07-19T16:39:56-05:00Content Void By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/fcb489ec55b43f520d7d6128ccf662a68180061f/original/revolution-concept-with-shadows.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Back in May tensions boiled over between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the studio chiefs in Hollywood represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). As of the publishing of this blog that strike continues and now includes actors in the SAG-AFTRA union. The first thing impacted were all the nightly comedy shows because unlike movies and TV they didn’t have everything already in the can. Soon this multi-month strike will affect virtually everything in theaters, on television and the streaming services creating a huge content void that will last for the back half of this year and much of early 2024. But what does that mean for the radio industry? It gives us an opportunity to step up and fill that content void, because we’re well positioned to do so and if we don’t others will. Here are a few ways radio can fill that void.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Require all broadcasters to podcast.</strong> I’ve never fully understood our hold up with going all in on podcasting because no one is better suited to dominate the industry than trained professional broadcasters. But, I’m encouraged to see more radio folks </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>starting podcasts</span></a><span> every year. It’s not a passing fad, podcasting is here to stay. Plus, ad revenue is rapidly increasing and contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t require big stats to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/can-you-make-money-podcasting-by-andy-meadows/can-you-make-money-podcasting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>begin monetizing</span></a><span>. It’s also easier than ever. There are multiple options for hosting sites that will get our podcasts on every platform necessary. Here are </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-podcast-hosting-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows/best-podcast-hosting-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>five I recommend</span></a><span> for broadcasters. The equipment has also come a long way allowing us to affordably turn unused offices or studios into audio/video podcast studios or retrofit all of our on-air and production studios for the same. All that being said, not unlike a successful on-air show, all podcasts should have a strategy, a structure and a reason for existing.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Step up our video game.</strong> Immediately when the writers’ strike hit podcast numbers spiked on both the audio and video platforms because most of the major podcast players were already doing a better job utilizing video in longform on YouTube and shortform on social media than we were. They do that out of necessity because video is an effective way to promote a podcast if you don’t own a bunch of terrestrial radio stations to promote them on. It also helps that they’re set up to do so because they are trained on video editors and have at least a working knowledge of lighting and camera equipment. There’s no reason we can’t do the same. Anyone that’s good at audio editing can be taught to edit video well enough to create web videos. Plus, today’s cameras are incredibly user friendly (NOTE: don’t spend 10 grand or more on one unless you have a videographer on staff who knows how to use all the bells and whistles of a $10,000 camera or it will gather dust in the engineering room). Lighting is a little trickier to master but that’s all the more reason to setup our studios to be permanently lit well for video (If we have to bring in lights and cameras and spend thirty minutes to an hour setting it up every time we want to shoot video, we’ll rarely shoot videos). We all know we need to do more with video content. So why not use this content void as an opportunity to do so.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Roll on everything.</strong> How many times have you said to yourself, ‘we should’ve been recording this?’ The more we can record everything that happens in a studio the better. Many off-air conversations are what I call ‘inside baseball’ stuff that would be boring to listeners, finalizing what we’re going to do on the next break, editing audio and phone calls, discussing clock management or engaging with listeners on the web or social media. But, there’s a chance some of that could be packaged and edited together to show diehard P1s what goes into creating some of their favorite on-air features, benchmarks or contests. Also, sometimes those discussions putting the finishing touches on a content break lead to some interesting but ‘too risqué to air’ conversations that could make for some good web or podcast content once edited. Either way, we might as well record it all just in case. This is our version of B-roll.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Get creative and develop a content strategy. </strong>Successful on-air shows, especially team shows, have a process for planning their on-air content that they’ve fine-tuned over time to allow them to walk into the studio each day with 80% or more of their show already planned. The same rule should apply to our digital content. Each station should have a digital content strategy that involves all on-air talent incorporating </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>digital into the prep process</span></a><span> so they’re thinking about what and how to create digital components of at least some of their on-air content while they’re in prep-mode. The other low hanging fruit is taking some of the things we’re already doing programming wise, music selection, contesting, on-air promos and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>events</span></a><span> and create digital content around those (</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>web blogs</span></a><span>/posts, social videos/posts). Then we schedule all of that ahead of time and supplement it with organic posts throughout the week. Point is, we’re already doing tons of things that could easily be expanded to digital, we just have to train ourselves to look for those opportunities to capture, create and share that content.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Get the whole team involved. </strong>I’ve written and said this often, but that’s because it’s true. Digital content creation is a team sport. It shouldn’t be delegated to just one web or social person, every single person on staff should get involved. We’re all running way too lean to be able to pull it off the old way. That being said, it’s still necessary to identify and play to each team members strengths, empower them to create content by giving them the tools and training to do so and when the budget allows it hire specialists (video editors/graphic designers/writers) or use freelancers and companies like ours to supplement the content your staff creates.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>The current and upcoming content void is a real opportunity for radio, but it won’t last long. Eventually the strikes will end and the machine in Hollywood will restart and resume as normal. Let’s take advantage of this window to step up our digital game and steal some market share.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72408932023-07-12T16:58:39-05:002023-07-14T15:29:03-05:00Subtle Messages We Send The Audience By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/e8d8059c87768da70f0236b888272c392d987cfb/original/person-having-hearing-issues.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>In radio everything that plays through the speakers sends a message to our audience. Some of those messages are pretty obvious, like our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>strategic imaging</span></a><span> that clearly defines our point of difference from competitors and, on music stations, the tunes we choose to play that the audience is either into or not into. But, some of the things we do daily send subtler messages that are harder to pinpoint without a discerning ear or the help of research like focus groups or talking to hundreds of diverse listeners to see if a pattern emerges. If we’re not careful those subtle messages will work against the obvious ones we’re trying to send, tearing down our brands instead of reinforcing and building them up. Here are a few examples of those negative messages we can subtly send either consciously or subconsciously.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>This show or station isn’t for you. </strong>There are a few ways we can send this signal. One of them is being more </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/7136559/inclusive-vs-exclusive-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>exclusive than inclusive</span></a><span> creating a ‘too cool for school’ vibe that insinuates to new listeners that they’re not part of that cool clique because they’re unfamiliar with all of the music, subject matter or even the lingo. This happens most often on unique formats like triple A, indie or hard rock, indie country (Texas/Red Dirt and Americana), jazz, blues or anything else outside of the mainstream. But, it also occasionally happens on mainstream formats and happens quite often on talk stations. Another example is show imaging or content selection that tells a portion of the audience a show isn’t for them. But, probably the most prevalent of these subtle signals is an on-air show that’s more </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>internally focused than externally</span></a><span> focused. These shows and talent choose topics based more on what they’re interested in than what they assume the audience is, include a ton of insider info about things happening at the station and even in their studio and almost always go longer than they should because they don’t mind wasting the listener’s time. This sends the message to the audience that the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/7070519/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>show is for us</span></a><span> instead of for them.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>We don’t want to interact with you. </strong>I used to say there are two types of on-air personalities and shows, ones that can only get calls on contests and ones that can get calls on their content as well. Recently I’ve had to amend that because there are now a fair amount of shows that can’t even get contesting calls. That’s because they’re subtly, but consistently, sending a message to their audience that they don’t actually want them to call. They do this first and foremost by rarely ever airing calls, consistently asking for calls and still not airing any and by overall sounding unwelcoming to the audience and backing that up by being short with the few brave souls who do choose to call. Yes, it’s significantly harder to get calls than it used to be because we’ve retrained our audiences not to call by rarely having a live body in the studio to answer those calls and the overall change in our culture that causes people to call everyone in their lives less. But, we’re an audio medium so it’s incredibly important to have that audio. Plus, there are still talent that get tons of great calls daily across all formats and market sizes. Here's some </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/6994699/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>tips on jump-starting engagement</span></a><span>. If shows can not take and air calls it’s usually a sign that they’re not connecting with the target audience. This ‘we don’t want to interact with you’ message also extends to digital when we don’t respond to social and web comments, direct messages and emails.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>We don’t respect your intelligence. </strong>When you dig in and do a little amateur psychology (unlicensed of course) to figure out why some on air talent don’t care to create content that’s for their audience the answer usually ends up being that they think their audience is stupid or at least a lot less intelligent than they are. As I’ve said before, regardless of the format, the audience in aggregate is never stupid. Yes, it’s true a really smart on-air talent may be more intelligent than most of their audience. But, it’s never a good idea to act like we’re the smartest person in the room because nobody likes that person, wants to have a beer with them or listen to them for their entire commute to work. Ironically, this trait is often prevalent with shows that run overly </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/7222738/the-self-deprecating-crutch-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>self-deprecating</span></a><span> imaging that brands them as stupid because they assume that’s what will attract the audience that they clearly don’t respect.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>We don’t like it here. </strong>There seems to be an epidemic of radio people thinking it’s funny to take shots at the station they work at, the town they live in and the radio industry as a whole. We’ve all been guilty of it from time to time but it’s a really bad idea to do any of this stuff consistently. First off, being someone who’s paid to talk into a microphone daily still seems like a dream job to many people and we shouldn’t do anything to shatter that image. Secondly, the majority of the people tuning in to us daily chose to live in the same area that we did and therefore one of the simplest ways to form a bond with them is by articulating a shared love for that area. As for disrespecting the station’s we work for, it’s never a good idea to fight against the platform we’ve been given because very rarely is the personality bigger than the platform and either way the platform almost always wins.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? What are some other ways we send subtle messages to our audiences? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>Pic designed by <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72339152023-07-05T10:00:00-05:002023-07-06T14:54:41-05:00On-Air Content Development By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/610c6eef3859fa50de9fa50eadebefa4c93c62e6/original/product-design-drawing-website-graphic.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Coming up with original on-air content daily on our own is incredibly challenging. We don’t have a team of writers, there’s not always an obvious </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>thing that everyone is talking about</span></a><span> that day and even the most creative among us have the occasional creative slump. Figuring out the exact process that will work for us will take time and a lot of trial and error. But, here are five steps any on-air personality or team show can take to put themselves in a better position to hit the airwaves daily with content that’s more developed.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Spend time on it. </strong>Trying to fully develop all of our on-air content the day-of is a really bad idea. Some days we’ll get lucky and find the magical combination of being in a creative zone while being gifted a bunch of topics </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>we can add to</span></a><span> and personalize, localize and energize. But that is highly unlikely to happen consistently every single day. That’s why most successful shows have about 80% of their show put together before they even walk into the studio that day. Then if they happen to get lucky and come up with more day-of content than expected, they either save some of it for the following day or do the same with some of their pre-prepared content. Remember, we don’t get rewarded for being the first to talk about something on air, we get rewarded for doing it the best.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Dig deeper.</strong> Any possible topic we’re considering generally has one or two pretty obvious angles that the majority of personalities are going to recognize and run with, either because they’re overwhelmed, lazy, inexperienced, or because they are rushing it out of the fear of not being first. But, great on-air talent always dig deeper by brainstorming a couple of possible angles allowing them to choose the one that’s most likely to work well with their personality and connect with their specific audience. I go through this exercise regularly with shows I’m coaching and they almost always come up with a few angles on the spot without being given the topics ahead of time. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Run it by others. </strong>Part of the reason doing the deep dive brainstorm sessions in our aircheck meetings works is because we create a mini focus group with the show, their manager and myself all working on it. Obviously having a couple minds working on developing show content is going to work better than just one or two. Even with that, and especially without, it’s a good idea to also run our content ideas by other people, co-workers, friends, family and even listeners who call in for other reasons (which is also a great way to pre-seed phone topics!) I can’t count how many times over my career I thought I had come up with the best possible angle only to run it by others and have one of them suggest a tweak, or another angle entirely, that made it substantially better. Plus, at the end of the day if it’s our voice delivering it on-air, we’re the ones that ultimately get credit for it.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Start small and work our way up.</strong> Going from doing no fully developed breaks to multiple breaks per hour is unrealistic. We have to ease our way into it or it will overwhelm our daily schedule and we’ll likely give up on it all together. Instead start with a manageable goal of fully developing one or two content breaks per show, that we repeat later in the show. Then move on to one per hour and eventually two or more per hour.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span><strong>Get more mileage out of our developed content. </strong>Turning a self-contained break where we just talk about a topic into an </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>engagement break</span></a><span> where we bring the listeners in on it via the phones allows us to fill three or four slots instead of just one. Not to mention the fact that it improves the sound of the show by turning something that was internally focused into something that’s externally focused. We should also always be on the lookout for ways to extend our content to digital, whether that’s recording a video in studio or on-site somewhere in our market where we experience something we discussed, doing a zoom interview with someone involved or a deep dive into a subject as an episode of our after the show podcast.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Overall, content development plays a big role in the success of a show, but it’s not easy, especially day in and day out. Which is why some shows make the mistake of just ripping and reading from a prep service without adding anything to it. It’s also why there’s an enormous gap between serviceable on-air talent that don’t really move the needle or add much value to a station and successful shows that add enormous value to every station they’re on.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72339172023-06-28T10:58:58-05:002023-06-28T16:11:58-05:00Rich & Famous In Radio By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/721df26a74beba137c865cf4c9f99c0e9bd1ed52/original/closeup-hands-holding-cash.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>It’s easy to look at an industry that’s in transition, like radio is, and assume that the days of on-air talent making big bucks are all but over. But, they are not. I’m not going to lie and say there’s as many opportunities as there were a few years ago but it’s still possible for lots of on-air talent to make a comfortable living and a handful can still become rich and famous doing radio. However, here are a few things that need to be in place for that to happen.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>They have to make it about the audience. A few years ago I wrote an ebook about the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="about:blank" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>7 habits of high-performing radio talent</span></a><span>, because I noticed all of the great talent I’d coached, managed, worked with and known over the years had a LOT in common. A few of those include making show-prep a priority, learning brevity so they don’t waste listeners’ time, mastering teases and hooks to keep them tuning in, using digital tools to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/using-social-to-drive-new-cume-by-andy-meadows/using-social-to-drive-new-cume-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>promote their shows</span></a><span> and focusing on their shift by treating the studio like their sanctuary and not leaving it during live hours except to go to the bathroom. But, one I left out which I’ll certainly add in any rewrite is this: Successful air talent make it about the audience instead of themselves. They put the needs wants and desires of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/think-like-a-listener-by-andy-meadows/think-like-a-listener-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>their listeners</span></a><span> above their own. That’s the code they crack at some point in their careers that allows them to dominate the competition, fit a wide-range of formats and ultimately make a name for themselves and a whole lot of money doing something they love.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>The right situation. Even though as I stated above, talent that focus on making it about the audience can </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/fitting-the-format-by-andy-meadows/fitting-the-format-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>fit on multiple formats</span></a><span>, to really make it to the rich and famous level they’ll need to be in the right situation. A lot of talent get to that level through syndication and the path to syndication starts with either consistently dominating a small or medium market or a target demo in a major market. To do that requires being on a format capable of doing one of those two things. Plus, even with the right format a great talent doesn’t matter that much on a station that isn’t programmed, promoted and marketed well. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>The third key to getting to that rich and famous level is acting like a sponge and absorbing knowledge from everyone we come in contact with. We should watch and learn from the successes and failures of others, go to as many conventions and boot camps as possible and when we’re lucky enough to work with experts, soak up everything we can. As a consultant I’m mainly hired to coach talent by the owner, the CEO/GM or occasionally by the OM or PD. I’ve had a few on-air talent hire me directly to work with them, which is a vastly different dynamic. But, typically the talent I coach didn’t ask for me to come in so many of them initially approach the coaching sessions like court ordered counseling. They make it obvious they don’t want to be there, they’ve been doing this for twenty or more years without help and so initially they treat me like an adversary. For a select few of them that wall never comes down and the whole process is just a waste of all of our time and their company’s money. For most, however, they eventually realize that I’m a resource someone else is paying for that’s there to learn everything I can about them so I can customize a strategic plan to help them do their job at a very high level and become more valuable to their company and others. Because the truth is, virtually no one gets to the top without a lot of help along the way. But, regardless of how good we get at it, those of us who help radio personnel for a living can’t really help anyone who doesn’t want our help. As I always say, we don’t get in shape because we hire a personal trainer, we get in shape because we listen to them and participate in the process.</span></p><p><span>Of course, we all define rich and famous differently. For some that means becoming a local celebrity who makes a comfortable living over a long career in a city they love. While others hope to be a nationally syndicated host who eventually becomes a household name. Neither is wrong and both have their advantages and drawbacks. Personally, I never discourage ambition when working with on-air talent. A passion to get to the top of our industry is a good thing. It just has to be paired with a desire to put in the work necessary to do so.</span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72301362023-06-21T13:21:58-05:002023-06-24T07:40:28-05:00Sensitive Subjects: The Lost Sub By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/21f4c6d2780e9ce88d886f11b39b75200095309c/original/fantastic-seascape-with-ripples.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>One of our main jobs on the air is to identify the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>thing that everyone is talking about</span></a><span> that day and find our angle to make it </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>interesting and relatable</span></a><span> to our target audience. Doing so allows us to utilize radio’s major advantage over many of our competitors, the immediacy of live and local radio. Plus, it brands us as in the know helping us form </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>deeper connections</span></a><span> with our audience. Some of these major topics are easy to address because they just involve celeb gossip or something else light that’s easy to joke about. But, talking about a sensitive subject that involves people dying or the likelihood that people will die is obviously a lot more challenging. Which is why many of us choose to ignore these topics all-together or just quickly touch on them and move on. However, that’s doing a disservice to ourselves and our audience. This week we had one of those subjects, the tourist sub lost while attempting to explore the Titanic shipwreck. Here are a few keys to talking about a topic like that on the radio.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Find another gear. Most of what we do on the radio involves us keeping it light, fun and entertaining. In fact, I say that phrase quite frequently to the shows I coach. It’s usually a safe bet because it plays to the strengths of most of our on-air personalities and because that’s generally what the audience wants to hear from us (especially on a music station). They have their own problems to worry about, mainly they’re just looking for an escape from those problems to distract them for a few minutes and hopefully entertain them a bit. So, most of our on-air content will fall into the light and fun category. However, as on-air personalities and shows grow it’s important that they develop another gear so they can tackle the occasional sensitive subject that everyone’s talking about. Being able to strike the right, softer tone that’s respectful to the families involved and any listeners who may have been in similar situations may seem difficult. Yet, we’ve all done it in our own lives when talking to someone we care about who’s going through trauma. The real challenge is striking that tone while still finding a way to make it interesting and entertaining. One of the big keys to that is not getting bogged down in a mountain of details, trying to pass ourselves off as experts when we’re not or making the mistake of trying to solve it. My consulting mentor Tracy Johnson always says, ‘remember you’re not trying to solve the problem, you’re exploring it.’</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Find the angle instead of the storyline. With major stories outside of our format, like a big sports story on a music station, we try to find the storyline that makes it more mass appeal. But, with a topic like this that already has a mass appeal storyline intact (This is no doubt being made into a movie and documentary as we speak), the storyline is already written for us. Our challenge is to find our unique angle to approach it from that will pique the interest and make it relatable to our specific, local audience. That could be as simple as setting it up, going through the story and respectfully using it as a jumping off point to talk about something lighter that brings the audience in on it. For instance, one of the people on board is a billionaire who’s also been on Jeff Bezos’ spacecraft which could lead to a conversation about the billionaire adventure we’d sign up for if we had to do one (This one is a tightrope though). Another option would be to talk about how being lost at sea is one of our life-long fears to spawn a conversation about what our other life-long fears are (heights, sharks, commitment, etc) and what we’ve done to try and face and overcome them (if anything). It’s also coming out that there were some red flags in the construction and operation of this tiny sub. It’s controlled by what looks like a PlayStation controller, there’s no escape hatch so the crew and tourists (who paid $250k each) had to be bolted into it and they quite often lose communication with it. Those could be jumping off points to solicit stories about red flags when working with an adventure company. I distinctly remember going four wheeling with my brothers in the sand dunes in Oregon and as we were waiting at the counter the guy was complaining to a coworker about how many people had broken bones that weekend. For the record I didn’t back-out, but I did ease up each dune assuming certain death was waiting on the other side. The best phone/engagement topics are always the ones that are reverse engineered to solicit great listener stories.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>It's important to remember that talking about these major, breaking stories is part of what makes this job so fun, but of course it also adds a challenge. Most of us that have been doing this awhile are creatures of habit who’ve developed a routine for managing the massive amounts of things that have been tossed on our plates to handle each day. These breaking stories have a way of blowing that up because we have to be willing to pivot, save some of what we’ve prepared for our shows that day for a later date and focus our energy on coming up with our unique angle to address a subject everyone is addressing. We also have to keep checking the updates to make sure we’re not running with old or incorrect info. But, we go through all of that because it’s the kind of thing that makes live radio exciting. I’ve been around long enough to have been on the air during many major events, the kind of events that mark time in our lives because we all remember where we were. I’m very grateful to have had those opportunities and that I now get to pass along to others some of what I learned while going through them.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? How did you talk about the lost sub? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by jannoon028 for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72264802023-06-14T12:53:50-05:002023-06-14T13:13:03-05:00Best of The Best or What's Left? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/67b53a44f9f286d4b173692e44f143a1d0b78400/original/speech-bubble-with-question-mark.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>In a few years the only people left standing in this industry will either be the best of the best or whatever is left. It’s up to the people who read blogs like this to decide which way our industry ultimately goes. If it’s the best of the best we’ll all be staffed with Individuals who truly love the craft of creating great radio. That includes on-air people who have perfected the art of show-prepping, developing content, making it their own and extending it to digital. Programmers who understand their job is more about creating stations for a specific target audience than themselves. Sales staff that are capable of putting together custom solutions for advertisers that tie in and utilize all of their station’s assets. Managers that have an eye for self-sufficient employees and a handful of specialists that excel at high value things like original content creation and monetization. Owners, CEOs and GMs who are open to embracing </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>new technology</span></a><span>, running lean but still paying their limited staffs competitive wages and benefits (not just with other stations but with other industries) and being open to restructuring their business and organizational models.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Right now we’re in a hybrid state between the old days and the new. As groups struggle to adapt to an industry and world that’s changing rapidly it’s easy to feel like we’re not necessarily working with the best and brightest. That’s because at the local level it’s generally a combination of talented people willing to work for peanuts because they love what they do, long term radio employees who have been doing things the exact same way for the bulk of their entire careers that are reluctant to change, multi-taskers who take on more than they should and whoever is left that’s spoken into a microphone before. This stems from a perception that having somebody, anybody, is better than having nobody. But, some of those employees actually have a negative </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>value</span></a><span> because they are being paid to do things that damage the station’s ability to generate revenue. This hybrid phase will soon pass.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>If we choose the right path, in the very near future there will be no room left for people who are winging it, treating radio like a hobby, focusing solely on the parts they enjoy or just there to collect a paycheck. Instead, all of the jobs will be held by true students of radio who never stop learning, evolving and growing. Everyone else will be doing something else for a living. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>The groups who figure out the right equation to balance digital and terrestrial, understanding how much time and money to invest in each, will survive and continue to thrive. But, to do so they’ll need to adapt to a new world where a handful of talented, passionate radio people are paid handsomely for their services. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72227382023-06-07T13:44:05-05:002023-07-06T14:54:41-05:00The Self-Deprecating Crutch By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/af8631cf34cbab18514ec9d3f7d835f12420bdbb/original/skeptical-disappointed-25-years-old-man-casual-outfit-dislike-something-bad-showing-thumbs-down-grimacing-displeased-standing-against-blue-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>The main stereotype of on-air personalities is that we have huge egos. That we’re all just a bunch of prima-donnas who love the sound of our own voices. To combat that stereotype many of us rely on self-deprecating humor. Which in small doses can be funny, humbles us a little and reveals some of our flaws to help us relate to the audience. But, when we overdo it we damage the brands we’re trying to build and define daily, our stations, our shows and ultimately our own personal brand. I know I myself have gone to that well way too often throughout my career, so it’s something I’m very cognizant of as a talent coach. Here are two examples of ways on-air personalities fall into the trap of making self-deprecating humor a crutch and a few solutions for correcting it.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>1) Show imaging that brands the talent as morons. Far too many shows lean heavily on imaging that points out how big of idiots they are in various ways. Ironically, some of the shows I’ve worked with that have done this the most are made up of incredibly intelligent people. They’re usually either doing it as a self-defense mechanism or to try and relate to an audience whose intelligence they underestimate. As I’ve said before, audiences in the aggregate are never dumb. Depending on the format and demo some of that ‘we’re morons’ imaging is okay, but especially on recurrent/gold based formats it can be problematic. Most adults are pretty knowledgeable. They’ve been around the block, are hard-working, whether they’re blue-collar or white-collar, and, most of all, they’re busy. Yes, listening to a couple people that don’t take themselves too seriously on their way to work can be an escape, but too much of the self-deprecating show imaging will turn them away. It’s unlikely that many adults will choose to spend what little time they have between work, errands and home listening to people who consistently brand themselves as stupid.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>2) The too cool for school syndrome. A running gag a lot of on-air personalities have, especially team shows, is that they don’t really care. Usually that includes comments about </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>how unprepared the show is</span></a><span>, how they’re just </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/stop-winging-it-by-andy-meadows/stop-winging-it-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>winging it</span></a><span> or how they’re uninformed on what’s happening in the world and don’t know any details on the things they choose to discuss. Again, ironically sometimes these personalities are actually very informed and in the know. So, they’re doing themselves and their audience a disservice by acting otherwise. Sometimes, however, it’s actually the truth and the air talent aren’t respecting the platform they’ve been given. They truly are flying by the seat of their pants and coming up with what they’re going to talk about seconds before they crack the mic. Then determining their angle to approach that subject either mid-break, or not at all, and just kind of randomly riffing on it with no forethought or structure. In those cases, there’s no need to tell the audience that they don’t care because that’s already painfully obvious.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>So, if air talent have fallen into one of these two traps how do we correct it? For starters we point it out, or if we’re self-coaching we acknowledge that we’re doing it. Then we cut way back on it in our imaging or completely stop depending on the format and demo. If we’re branding ourselves as unprepared and uninformed we simply need to entirely eliminate that. Yes, it’s true that outside of news talk mainly people tune into the radio for an escape from their problems and they want someone who’s going to keep it light, fun and entertaining. But, we can do that without cutting ourselves down so much that we come across as a complete waste of time. As a general rule wasting a listener’s time is never a good plan. The goal is to have interesting, entertaining and informative conversations that come across as organic. To do that requires a lot of work and professionalism behind the scenes. If we’re putting in that work, let’s not negate it by being overly self-deprecating. If we’re not, let’s starting taking radio more seriously and treat it like a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/doing-radio-for-the-right-reason-by-andy-meadows/doing-radio-for-the-right-reason-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>job instead of a hobby</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by benzoix for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72184432023-05-31T14:19:14-05:002023-06-05T16:45:51-05:00Research in Real Time By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/8ac7ecf84a7fa199ab4c9056ebf05daa074a9c5b/original/businesswoman-with-big-clock-front-her-head.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Any new market we go into we’re trained to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the other radio stations to figure out a strategic plan for carving out our share of that market’s listenership and revenue. The better our assessment and plan, and our discipline executing it, the more likely it will work. That same approach should be applied to the new outside competitors we all now face, popular podcasts, streaming services, companies starting their own radio brands and other content creators. As we’re fending off those digital competitors we should think about what their strengths and weaknesses are and how we can adjust our strategy to better compete with them. Some of that strategy includes incorporating a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/4-tricks-terrestrial-can-steal-from-internet-and-satellite-radio-by-andy-meadows/4-tricks-terrestrial-can-steal-from-internet-and-satellite-radio-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>few of their tips and tricks</span></a><span>, being </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/live-local-and-interactive-by-andy-meadows/live-local-and-interactive-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>live/local/interactive</span></a><span> as many hours as we possibly can, shortening our stopsets and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>following the data</span></a><span>. But there’s another tweak we can all make that simply involves a change in our mindset. We need to start thinking of our terrestrial radio stations as megaphones for conducting local research in real time. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>As we all know, our main point of difference from the digital competitors is our ability to respond immediately. Whether we’re live or not we have the ability to break in live any time day or night that something major happens, locally, regionally or nationally. That’s not as easy to do as it was a few years ago when we all had more staff, but it’s still possible and should be part of our policy. Similarly, we can change a client’s ad immediately if necessary to respond to feedback from our listeners or the advertiser themselves. Musically we should be soliciting, collecting, documenting and tracking audience feedback on everything we play by using multi-platform content </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5o8et38aqth7cu7/AAAE2swhqcidCpLGgCTFk2gma?dl=0" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>similar to this</span></a><span>, logging all incoming requests, adding a like/dislike button to our apps/streams, watching the broader data and responding to all of that with a dynamic database instead of a static one. Content-wise there are two main reasons why we want to be engaging and interacting with our audience constantly. First off, great listener audio drastically improves the sound of any radio station by turning it into a communal experience and making it a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/party-for-everyone-by-andy-meadows/party-for-everyone-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>party for everyone</span></a><span> instead of a party for one, or a few, people in a soundproof room. Secondly, that listener feedback should inform the content selection process. One of the shows I’m coaching has a former stand-up comic on it. He’s been a GREAT addition to the team and he’s making the transition to on-air much faster than anyone anticipated. Obviously, there’s a big difference in performing on the radio and performing for a live audience where you can tell immediately if they’re into what you’re talking about. On the radio we can’t hear them laugh or the crickets when they don’t. But, if we’ve worked to retrain them to engage with us we can see the phones light up, see comments on the website/app/social media and watch the numbers when we post and share our content to the web and social or expand on it in a podcast. We have to use all of that info to hone our content selection so we’re choosing the content that’s most likely to appeal to the majority of our audience. That process should also include evaluating and being willing to adjust or replace any of our benchmarks, features or contests regardless of whether they’re sold or not. Stations typically tend to think of those things as locked in once they’re sponsored but in my experience most clients are totally fine with changing any of them as long as they’re told ahead of time, it’s explained to them why we’re doing it and we assure them they’re going to get their mentions.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Finally, we should constantly be evaluating what everyone else is doing, like we did when we first started in a market. After all, we don’t program in a vacuum. There’s only so many listeners and ad dollars in any market. So, everything we do is directly impacted by what everyone else is doing. Staying current on that and being willing to adjust accordingly allows us to better establish and defend our position daily instead of quarterly or annually. What do you think? How are you using your stations to conduct real-time research? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by asierromero for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72147962023-05-24T13:55:07-05:002023-05-30T14:26:36-05:00Kill The Show Intro By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/7123bbdb272a2723933986dd13089130c14c6a7e/original/halloween-background-with-blood-splatters-and-drips-1409.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>There’s a reason why network TV shows stopped doing long intros that lasted a couple minutes several years ago. They understand how important it is to pique the interest of the viewers who were watching the last show to keep them tuning in for the next show. Their best hope of doing that was to get right into the story and a long show intro gets in the way of that. It’s not that there’s no value in an intro, it sets the tone of the show, can introduce and define some of the main characters and the setting. It’s just not as important as hooking viewers with a storyline. Most of radio has learned and applied this lesson. But there are still lots of radio shows, even in big markets, that are holding on to the long intro at the top of each show. If so, it’s time to give in and kill it once and for all.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>As a general rule anything that’s exactly the same, or even roughly the same, every day should be eliminated or at least drastically minimized. Our regular listeners, P1s, may suffer through it but they are definitely at least zoning out if not physically tuning out for it. Brand new listeners we’re trying to convert aren’t going to be won over by a pre-recorded intro. They’re going to be won over by our content. The same goes for anything where we’re saying the exact same thing every day. If our avid listeners can recite it from memory, then that’s a good sign that we should vary it up. We’re also likely turning off new listeners by not performing it with the same energy as our fresh content.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Some people will say, well actually our intro is content because we include recent drops and we do change it daily. If that’s the case then you are wasting lots of time preparing something of minimal value to the show. Long, often self-serving show intros are nobody’s favorite part of any show. Yes, they might recite something from the show intro when they see us out and about but that’s because it’s seared into their memory thanks to the daily repetition, not a sign that they love it. Instead, we should redirect that energy into developing content for a segment, benchmark or feature, all of which are higher value to a show than any intro.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>To be clear, I’m not saying shows shouldn’t do show specific imaging and liners. I think they absolutely should. That imaging should however be in line with the branding and parameters of the broader </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>station imaging</span></a><span>. Typically that means, short, sweet and selling the strategic listener benefits and our point of difference from other stations and shows.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Should the long show intros stick around or be put out of their misery? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>Pic designed by kjpargeter for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72107772023-05-17T13:17:52-05:002023-05-18T04:40:40-05:00A Consultant's Job By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/1b6eef8d17c7800b95177c691a06547d564f3a9d/original/coworkers-team-brainstorming.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>If you read my blogs or listen to my podcast you know that I have a lot of passionate opinions about radio. Some of that probably stems from my personality type, but the vast majority of that comes from the fact that I was born into radio and it continues to be a family business. So, radio is the main thing I think and talk about (much to the delight of my wife). As much as it may frustrate me at times, I truly love a lot of things about working in radio. That’s why I’m deeply concerned about how much the world is changing around our industry and how slowly we’re reacting to that change. I attribute a lot of the blame for that to a small subset of my peers, radio consultants, because we’re often the loudest voices speaking out on what needs to change. Certainly not all, but some radio consultants have lost sight of what their job really is and what it isn’t, including myself at times. Here are a few examples of that.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>First and foremost, a programming consultant’s job is to constantly adjust and evolve their own model so they can advise radio stations on how to do the same. If you’ve had a consultant for ten or more years and the advice they’re giving you sounds roughly the same as it did from day one, than it’s time to get a new consultant. One of the big examples of this I see, that has a massive negative </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/adding-resting-refreshing-music-by-andy-meadows/adding-resting-refreshing-music-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>trickle-down effect on music programming</span></a><span>, is sticking to the old model for adding and moving </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>new music</span></a><span>. Music is not released the same way it was even </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/reacting-to-a-changing-music-scene-by-andy-meadows/reacting-to-a-changing-music-scene-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>five years ago</span></a><span>, much less ten or twenty. Yet, the majority of consultants, and therefore radio stations, are still basing their adds and moves on what other radio stations are doing by looking at the airplay charts. I get the theory behind this. If hundreds of stations, including a few that appear successful, are adding/moving a particular song then it seems like a pretty safe bet. There was a time when this was the best affordable option we had for making that call. That’s no longer the case. That’s why I advise our clients based on a system I built that looks at the same data that record labels look at, but has been adjusted to fit songs and artists within their appropriate radio genres. Not all programmers are comfortable embracing this new system and in that case we do not force it on them, we simply share all the data we’re seeing and do our best to convince them to at least incorporate a hybrid model between our new system and the old system other consultants recommend.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>A consultant’s job is to aircheck talent consistently while simultaneously </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>coaching the local on-air coaches</span></a><span>, and the personalities, on how to aircheck themselves. One of the ways I fell short early on as a consultant is by not varying up my style of coaching enough to fit all the different types of personalities. I would adjust my role (motivator, cheerleader, therapist, disciplinarian, etc) accordingly but for the most part every aircheck session I did started with a long list of positives, moved on to a few things they needed to work on and ended with a brainstorming session. This approach works pretty well with most shows, but not all. What I’ve learned and put into practice recently is that no two shows (or personalities) should be coached exactly the same. It’s easy to lump personality types into a few buckets, but in reality there are a long list of subsets for each of those types that make getting through to them a unique, and frankly fun, challenge.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>A consultant’s job is to teach the people they advise and coach how to embrace a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>best idea wins</span></a><span> (for the show/station/group) mentality by doing so themselves. One of the selling points of a consultant is that we have lots of experience and we talk to TONS of other radio people. Because of that we have an enormous amount of ideas to share with our clients. But, even with that, our idea is still not always the best idea. The more I get to know the people I advise and coach, the better I get at suggesting things that fit and yet I’m not always the star of every brainstorming session I sit in. In fact it’s a great sign progress-wise when I’m not because it’s an indicator that we can move on to other things we need to address until ultimately we can cut back our sessions or even have me focus on other areas entirely.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Finally, and most importantly, it's not a consultant’s job to tell people what they want to hear. I get it, we all feel better when people confirm that we’re making the right decisions. It’s comforting, helps us sleep at night, and, at least in the short term, it makes our jobs a little more fun. But, in the long run it causes complacency and a slow and steady decline. It’s a consultants job to tell our clients the truth, even if they don’t want to hear it, and to occasionally gently push them outside of their comfort zone. We should do that by encouraging them to try things differently, but in a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/working-purposefully-and-strategically-by-andy-meadows/working-purposefully-and-strategically-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>strategic and purposeful manner</span></a><span>. No one grows within their comfort zone and if we’re not growing in a business that’s rapidly changing we’re falling a little more behind every single day.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Our industry has a long and impressive history, filled with countless lessons we learned that should not be forgotten. Parts of what we do hasn’t really changed that much over the years, which is why I always caution people that some of the old rules still do apply. However, other aspects of it (how we should add and schedule music, get ad dollars, structure our staff, conduct our promotions, engineer our stations, create and leverage our daily content to web/social, etc) is no longer changing by the decade or even the year, it’s changing monthly and, in some cases, daily. The TV and movie writers that are currently striking are accurate to worry about the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows/how-radio-should-use-a-i-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>impact AI</span></a><span> is going to have on their industry. AI is already effecting their jobs along with most others and it will eventually impact ALL of our jobs. I’ve potentially contributed to my own demise by writing hundreds of blogs about radio that AI could use to give at least decent, but also free, advice on how to run a radio station. But, that doesn’t worry me, because the more we embrace emerging technologies to make them work for us the more likely we are to stay ahead of their impacts. It’s also what gives me the confidence to know that I can help any radio station, regardless of format or market, increase their listenership and revenue. At the end of the day that’s the ultimate measure of a consultant’s worth.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72062702023-05-10T10:21:35-05:002023-05-10T10:24:07-05:00Making Our Own News By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/3d6c936e46021574c927853d4e044d2e9f06fc5c/original/3705677.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>The lack of news coverage for radio station events and promotions can be incredibly frustrating in some markets. Though we may put together massive events or major promotions that draw thousands upon thousands of attendees, entries and engagement, we’ll barely get a blip of newspaper or TV coverage, if any. Even if we are diligent about sending out press releases and working to develop relationships with key contacts in other media outlets, our stuff rarely seems to get the attention it deserves. But, how much coverage should we expect from people we’re competing with for ad dollars, even more directly than before with lines being blurred by everyone getting into the each other’s playing fields digitally. TV and newspaper people </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>podcast</span></a><span> now, while radio people blog and get more into video content with each passing year. That’s why now is a perfect time for us to make our own news. Here are a few ideas on how to do that.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Instead of a static graphic leading to a few lines of copy, create </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>multiple articles</span></a><span> on the station website around any big radio station event or major event the station is partnered with. All of which are of course shared to social media with fuel added to the fire of anything getting traction by boosting/targeting it (so we’re fishing outside of our own existing listener pond). These full articles about the event should look similar to what people would traditionally see in press coverage (Only more entertaining than newsy). Get creative with it, on Multi-band shows do one highlighting each individual band, including audio clips (or better yet video clips) of interviews the station did with them or behind the scenes footage they recorded on their own and sent you (‘Getting ready for the big event June 3rd with STATION NAME in STATION TOWN’). For non-music events find other things to individually feature and highlight that target different segments of the demo. If possible do live updates from the event to catch the eye of the all-important potential last-minute day of people in addition to tons of lives through the station social pages (quick crowd shots and a DJ telling them they’ve got to get out there, behind the scenes conversations with the artists, reactions from listeners in the crowd). As well as follow up recap/review articles complete with pictures (using staff, a freelancer or </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows/crowdsourcing-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>crowdsourced</span></a><span> from attendees) and any audio clips of our on-air talent discussing how the show went on the air. Overall events are one of the best places to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/missed-opportunities-to-capture-content-by-andy-meadows/missed-opportunities-to-capture-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>capture and bank content</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>All of the above happens through the station’s own website and social pages. But, we can also steal a page from record labels and promoters by starting our own websites that are unaffiliated with the stations where we promote our events and contests, as well as our paid partner’s events. This by no means waters down what we’re doing on our own station websites because it’s not something we even have to talk about on-air (unless we want to run something in commercial inventory as if it’s a completely separate entity). Some long-running station events could even have a podcast series talking to listeners who’ve had great experiences there (met their significant other, found their new favorite band there, etc) or catching up with people that performed there.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Contesting-wise it’s also key to have at least one main article, if not multiple, that’s pinned to the top of the station website and updated throughout the promotion. Then pair that with a heavy dose of eye-catching scheduled social media posts that are boosted/targeted and linked back to that main post with all the info (place to enter on web driven contests). But that’s only half the strategy. The other half is motivating the on-air personalities to supplement that with A LOT more social posts they do on their own (but through the station pages), especially live videos, promoting the very next chance to participate in the contest. If possible, include daily or weekly winner pics/videos along the way. We should also give any contesting winner party events the same treatment we do any major station concert or event, outlined above.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>I’m sure many are reading this saying, we have WAY to small a staff to pull any of this off. If so we can help, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/schedule-meeting" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>click here</span></a><span> to schedule a meeting. But I’ve also seen some pretty small staffs pull some of this stuff off, especially if they get all employees involved and are willing to enlist the help of outside freelancers, local influencers and even the occasional motivated and talented P1s. We just have to think more like news people and do our own coverage, that often ends up being better because we know and care more about the subject matter. I am by no means saying to not try and get traditional outside media coverage, I’m just cautioning stations not to count on it.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? What are some ways you’ve made your own news recently. Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/72021412023-05-03T10:08:11-05:002023-05-05T03:33:53-05:00Doing Radio For The Right Reason By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/f261faa0795a39cbe06477fc8e2309c018b09750/original/microphone-acoustic-isolation-foam.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Just like any other business on the planet, the main purpose of a commercial radio station is to make money. People that tend to last a long time in our industry, and have sustained success in it, keep that thought in the front of their mind and let it inform their decision making. Conversely, people who wash out quickly or stick around but struggle to climb the ranks, tend to forget it and instead sometimes treat radio more like a hobby. There is only one right reason to work in commercial radio, which I’ll get to in a minute, but a laundry list of wrong reasons why people get into it… here are just a few.</span><o:p></o:p></p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;">
<li>
<span>Because they REALLY love a particular kind of music.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because they enjoy talking about things </span><i><span>they’re</span></i><span> interested in.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because they enjoy the sound of their own voice.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because they get to meet and hang out with famous people.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because they get to dress casually.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because it’s a cool way to meet girls or guys.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because it’s got flexible hours.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because it’s low pressure.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because it makes them feel important.</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Because they think it’s an easy job (Spoiler alert: It is not).</span><o:p></o:p>
</li>
</ul><p><span>Don’t get me wrong there are certainly upsides to being in radio, serving the community, getting to know lots of interesting people, the free stuff, etc. It’s a job that many of us happen to love, which is great as long as that’s channeled properly. It is, and should be, a fun job. But, it is after all a JOB. The right reason to work in commercial radio is to turn a profit by attracting as many people as possible to listen to our station(s) and watch/listen/read our digital content so we can sell the ads contained within those assets for as much as the market will allow. For some on the programming side that stems from a competitive need to defeat the competition, for others it's a desire to attract and entertain the masses, but either way is fine because it still serves the greater good. On the sales front it’s generally either the thrill of closing sales or the satisfaction of helping businesses grow by providing effecting marketing/advertising campaigns, but again while the latter is preferable, either way moves the needle in the right direction.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Stations are no longer sold on potential. The value of a radio station is now tied to just one thing, a multiple of the cash flow that station generates annually (usually around a 5x multiple). Therefore, every person that station compensates for their time’s </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>value to that station</span></a><span> is directly tied to their ability to generate that cash flow. If we treat commercial radio like a business, it will reward us. After all it is still a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.insideradio.com/free/kagan-radio-revenues-grew-4-5-in-2022-this-year-revenue-will-be-up-2/article_f903604e-e3fe-11ed-91a1-3771b816902c.html"><span>15.4 billion dollar industry</span></a><span>. There’s plenty of money to go around, obviously not all groups distribute that money as fairly as they should, but overall the bulk of it will continue to go to those who are doing this for the right reason.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71974032023-04-26T14:32:39-05:002023-04-26T14:32:39-05:00Beating Heritage #1 Stations By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/7137a9903714c518b164a06c4e5f74fb63944aff/original/winner-podium.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>In some markets the station at the top has been there so long it can feel like there’s no possible way of catching them. They’ve won at the game of radio, established a position format-wise, connected with the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows/connecting-with-the-audience-on-a-deeper-level-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>audience on a deeper level</span></a><span> and therefore consistently crush everyone else in cume, tsl, aqh and revenue. So there’s no way to knock them off the top of the mountain. When we’re competing in this kind of environment it’s hard not to think like that, especially in diary markets where perception can often trump reality. However, while it’s certainly a tall task, even heritage number one stations are beatable. The ways to do so vary depending on a wide range of market factors as well as what we’re working with ourselves. Yes, there’s little room for error, but with time, discipline and lots of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/working-purposefully-and-strategically-by-andy-meadows/working-purposefully-and-strategically-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>strategic planning</span></a><span>, they can all be taken down. Here’s what it takes.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Regardless of the circumstances it’s virtually impossible to beat a heritage number one without these four things in place, good engineering, external marketing, a great programmer (with a strong consultant), and a solid sales team. Let’s take those in reverse order. Taking down a long-time number one can be a lengthy and expensive process and that requires lots of revenue coming through the door to fuel the car that needs to overtake all the others to lead the race. Without programming that’s better than theirs, or at least on par, we’re never going to appeal to enough of an audience to beat them (Or the right kind of audience if we’re using multiple stations to surround them and choke them out.) Word of mouth isn’t enough to catch a market leader, that’s why external marketing is an essential part of the strategy. We can’t double our cume without telling tons of new people why they should listen to us and that requires LOTS of advertising outside our own signals. Yet, lots of sales revenue, great programming and a solid external marketing strategy will still fall short if we’re not </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/engineered-for-success-by-rob-and-andy-meadows/engineered-for-success-by-rob-and-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>engineered for success</span></a><span>. Market leaders don’t go off-the-air regularly, they aren’t poorly processed and everything necessary to do their jobs on a daily basis tends to work on a daily basis. They aren’t filled with point-to-point wiring that looks like a bad home-studio setup, the automation computer doesn’t crash because somebody bumped the studio furniture and their operation isn’t filled with single points of failure that knock them off the air.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>But of course, each market is unique. The specific approach that will work varies form market to market. Some market leaders have grown complacent and are more vulnerable to a direct attack. While others have used the extra revenue they’re taking in from being at the top to reinvest in their operation and ensure it continues to run like a well-oiled machine. That’s why we’re always evaluating the market and asking ourselves whether we should program at, near or away from the station we’re targeting. All that being said, sometimes radio people have a misperception about how great it is at the market leading station and why it’s therefore impossible to catch them. But, in reality with our industry in transition and trying to figure out the right balance of how much to focus on terrestrial versus how much to focus on digital, everyone is watching their spending right now, looking for ways to cut costs, and constantly assessing everything they are doing from structure to strategy. Market leaders are not spared from this, because they tend to carry a lot of overhead and higher rates that they don’t want to compromise. Because of that, I would argue that now is a better time than ever to knock off a heritage number one.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by upklayak for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71932092023-04-19T13:37:12-05:002023-04-26T14:19:04-05:00Coaching For Light Bulb Moments By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/a564c9668563490b7e0a4050b99851ec43a5fbac/original/lightbulb-drawn-on-the-blackboard-2022-12-16-12-33-51-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>There’s nothing easy about coaching on-air personalities. It’s a delicate balancing act of finding the right amount of praise to build on the things they are doing well and just enough constructive criticism to help them improve problem areas without killing the confidence required to do the job. There’s also no one right approach. Every personality type, and all the subsets within each broader category, are motivated and demotivated by drastically different things. Sometimes it can seem like an unsolvable equation where we’re just saying the same thing hundreds of slightly different ways. Because of all of this, a lot of stations have essentially given up on coaching their talent all-together, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>which is a huge mistake</span></a><span>. Airchecking and coaching talent is still the best way to improve the thing that gives us an edge over the competition, our live and local on-air personalities. Plus, if we’re disciplined and consistent with it, eventually we’ll have a lightbulb moment where we get through to the talent and everything starts to click. Sometimes that takes weeks and sometimes it takes a year or longer. But, either way it makes it all worth it because everything changes. Here are a few ways to coach toward those light bulb moments.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Expect skepticism in the beginning. Not all, but most personality types DO NOT want to be coached. It’s not abnormal for talent to see the coach as an adversary initially. They want to be left alone to do the fun part of their job, performing on-air, the way they want to do it. Sure, they don’t mind someone giving them a pat on the back or telling them how great one of their breaks were from time to time, but they don’t really want critiquing regardless of how kindly it’s worded. That’s why we always suggest starting with tons of praise for the things they’re doing well, but making sure not to encourage any bad habits by complimenting things they aren’t doing well just to have something positive to say. Then telling them one thing they need to work on improving, starting with things that are black and white (not one of those grey areas) along with the main issues holding back the show.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Call them on their BS. Establishing a level of trust starts with setting some boundaries and letting talent know there’s an adult in the room that treats radio like a business. People know when they’re doing something they’re not supposed to and despite the fact that they may push back, hard, make excuses or even walk out of a meeting, they will respect us for calling them out on something they know they shouldn’t have been doing. Plus, sometimes just knowing someone with a discerning eye and ear is watching and listening will cause talent to be on their best game and behavior. Other times the exact opposite happens and they rebel and even recount things said in behind closed doors meeting on the air the following day. In those cases repercussions are generally required to move forward.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Create a creative environment. Try not to make aircheck sessions a lecture. Even in meetings where we have to address something, which is most meetings, make them interactive and fun. Get the talent involved in the process, thinking and commenting on the on-air content they’re creating. Ideally talent begin to develop the ability to aircheck themselves and even start reviewing their audio on their own. When shows start doing this they improve exponentially faster than other shows. Also, make sure to either start with, or end with, a brainstorming session to come up with upcoming content, features or contests so the meeting is forward thinking as opposed to just covering breaks they’ve already done. This will help establish a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>best idea wins</span></a><span> atmosphere. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Be open to multiple different approaches. Again, there’s no ONE right way to coach talent. Start with the audio, play it at the end or don’t review audio at all during the meeting. Pull the best break of the week, the worst break, a random break or have them tell you what break to pull. Have them transcribe breaks, redo them entirely or do a deep dive where everyone on the team reviews an entire show. I cannot stress this enough, what works with one show, or talent, will not necessarily work on another one. Part of the secret to getting talent to crack the code and have one of those lightbulb moments is for us, as coaches, to crack the code on what will work for that particular personality and what will get them to see us as an ally instead of an enemy.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>What do you think? How have you coached toward those light bulb moments where everything starts to make sense for a talent? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span>Pic designed by segign </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank"><span>Envato Elements</span></a><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71887142023-04-12T13:19:38-05:002023-04-18T03:14:44-05:00Bringing The Funny Out In Others By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/8baeab41492001d88dbed8ade23cbc78d7d70c96/original/shot-of-an-excited-young-couple-receiving-wonderfu-2023-01-06-15-33-58-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Being funny is a huge advantage for on-air personalities. It allows us to add to any content and make it our own, making it more likely to stick with the listener. It also helps us come up with those great outs that tie a nice bow on any break and smoothly transition to the next element. Being funny is also incredibly hard to teach. That’s because generally people were either born naturally funny or, by the time they get to us, they’ve already developed the ability to be funny through interactions with family, friends and coworkers. Yes, we can certainly teach them how to improve on that and make it translate better on-air to create what I call </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/radio-funny-by-andy-meadows/radio-funny-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>radio funny</span></a><span>. But, we can’t really teach someone who isn’t funny to be funny. All that being said, there’s a skill that’s even more critical when we’re on the air, knowing how to bring the funny out in others. Here are a few keys to developing and honing that skill.</span><p></p></p><p><span>It starts with fully embracing the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>best idea wins</span></a><span> or for the show mentality. To bring out the funny in others we HAVE to allow the open sharing of ideas when developing content. That entails not being married to our own ideas. Remember those can always be saved and repackaged for something else later. Plus, it requires creating an environment where everyone on the team feels completely comfortable sharing those ideas. </span><p></p></p><p><span>When executing the break on air we have to make sure we leave room for others. That means having an economy of words approach to delivering details, just enough so the listener isn’t lost or confused but not so much they get bored with the story and zone out or even tune out. With cohosts and especially with callers, we also have to be comfortable with a little bit of silence to give them the space to contribute that funny line. Obviously with recorded callers that can be edited out, but live with a caller or cohost it takes some getting used to because we’re trained from early on to fill any dead air and to us milliseconds feel like a long time.</span><p></p></p><p><span>This kind of expands on the last point but it’s where many on air talent fall short. To bring out the funny it’s critical that we become better listeners than talkers. Having the gift of gab can land us on air but if we ever want to move up the ranks and truly excel we’ve got to learn to listen more and talk less. We also have to resist the urge to be in our own heads thinking more about what </span><i><span>we’re</span></i><span> going to say next instead of listening so we can properly react, respond and direct the conversation to a good place. That’s the number one skill required to be a good interviewer and it also applies to getting the best out of a co-host or listener.</span><p></p></p><p><span>Finally, we’ve got to be willing to sometimes be the setter instead of the spiker. If we’re not funny at all ourselves, which is sometimes the case and that’s okay, it’s pretty easy to slide into the role of being the setter. But, the funnier we are the more restraint we have to show to sometimes let someone else spike the ball and get the glory. If we want to consistently defeat the competition we have to care more about winning than who scored the points and when we play the one up game nobody wins. Plus, at the end of the day if it happens on our show, ultimately we all get the credit when it comes time to hand out raises.</span><p></p></p><p><span>What do you think, comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span><p></p></p><p>Pic by <span>YuriArcursPeopleimages for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>envato elements</span></a><span>.</span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71849752023-04-06T05:27:28-05:002023-04-06T05:27:29-05:00Fitting the Format By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/98ed71fc274d424210d8e8844b3d56e089c53ad2/original/jigsaw-puzzle-with-missing-piece-missing-puzzle-pieces.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Great on-air personalities can work and succeed on multiple radio formats, regardless of how different their age, lifestyle or personal interests are from the core demo of that format. However, there’s one big caveat to that. It requires coaching and ONLY works if they are willing to adjust their presentation, content selection and their on-air persona accordingly. An inability or unwillingness to do that will pigeon-hole any personality, regardless of their talent level, to only working in one or two formats and drastically reduce their available options when looking for their next gig. Here are a few things to remember when trying to fit a personality into a format that’s outside of their wheelhouse. To keep the blog brief this is a simplified, condensed version of a long process. If you’d like to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/schedule-meeting" target="_blank"><span>schedule a meeting</span></a><span> I can dive a little deeper.</span><p></p></p><ol>
<li>
<span>Identify the demo. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s often where things break down. It’s shocking how many on-air personalities there are that misidentify the target demo for the station they’ve worked on for years when I ask about it. Sometimes that’s because they’ve gotten conflicting information from management and sometimes it’s because they have a preconceived notion for what their particular format targets that’s no longer true. Fitting any format starts with identifying the station’s target demo.</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Narrow the demo. Knowing the broader demographic of a station is better than nothing, but it’s not enough when we’re on-air. That applies to both the target age and gender. For example lets say a station defines their demo as 25-54 60% female. If our on-air personalities are creating daily content to try and appeal to both a 25-year-old male and a 54-year-old female at the same time it generally leads them to appeal to neither. In that example it would be better to narrow the demo and try to appeal to say a 40-year-old female. Beyond that we want to further narrow the demo by brainstorming and then deciding on a handful of personality traits for that 40-year-old female taking into account our regional and local differences within our market. Is she married or unmarried, where does she hang out, what shows does she watch, hobbies she has, etc. From that we can create a personality profile for that 40-year-old female that we share with anyone tasked with creating content on the station’s behalf.</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Use that personality profile as a content filter. Now that we’ve narrowed our demo and created a personality profile we should use that as our content filter for everything we create. That goes for on-air content selections, benchmarks, features, contests, promos, imaging, social media posts, web posts and beyond. Asking ourselves, ‘would this appeal to the personality profile we created?’ will help us make more informed decisions on what to say yes to and what to pass on. Narrowly targeting a personality profile with our content WILL NOT lead to ONLY appealing to that one specific type of listener. That’s because it forces us to be strategic and purposeful with every decision to attract that core target, which happens to be centered within our demographic and much more likely to bleed over above and below their age and across genders. Plus, listeners knowing what they’re going to get when they tune in has a broad appeal. </span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>Adjust our presentation accordingly. If on-air talent have an ‘I am who I am’ approach they can only work in formats where they are a natural fit. Conversely, on-air personalities willing to adjust everything from their delivery and word selection to what parts of their personality to turn up and turn down, can fit on virtually any format and station.</span><p></p>
</li>
</ol><p><span>What do you think? How have you fit a square peg into a round hole before to fit on a format that surprised yourself or others? Or, how have you coached or managed someone to do the same? When hasn’t it worked and why? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </span></p><p><span>Pic designed by jcomp for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><p></p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71806402023-03-29T13:29:03-05:002023-03-30T14:49:56-05:00How Radio Should Use A.I. By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/c2f6431049f1a1821ad2c094c5131f3fec3118b3/original/ai-nuclear-energy-background-future-innovation-disruptive-technology.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>I don’t like steering away from polarizing topics and I’ve certainly written blogs over the past few years that have split the room and ruffled some feathers. However, I’ve held off on writing about this particular topic because I know it’s a VERY touchy subject with many of my fellow radio people. But, as someone who’s paid to consult and advise clients on all things radio and digital, I would be derelict in my duty if I didn’t stay up on what’s happening in the world of artificial intelligence and think about ways it should and shouldn’t be used in our industry. It never ends well when we put our heads in the sand and ignore emerging technologies and I firmly believe most radio stations will be incorporating AI in multiple forms within the very near future. There are already a few ways I’ve suggested for my existing clients to go ahead and start using it and there are several other additional applications for AI just around the corner.</span></p><p><span>Thanks to recent and drastic evolutions in AI technology, I’m already recommending that on-air personalities find ways to incorporate some of the more natural sounding AI voices into their shows. Team shows can use it as a third, fourth or fifth voice on their show or a way to get into or add to existing features/benchmarks/bits. I coach a few shows that are using it to do everything from dad jokes to Dear Abby style phone topics where the voice admits it’s a robot that wants to learn about humans by asking relationship questions. Solo shows can even use it as a defacto co-host for breaks that would work better with two people and it’s getting close to the point where it could be used as a ringer for calls. The one I’ve been recommending is </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://beta.elevenlabs.io/" target="_blank"><span>ElevenLabs</span></a><span> because they have a free trial that allows downloads, multiple voices and additional paid options with a lot more voices. I have no association or partnership with ElevenLabs, I just like their technology. After hearing it being used on a podcast, I logged in and loaded some prep from the prep service I used to run, added a little additional punctuation in the right places and was amazed at how natural it sounded delivering a joke. To be clear, if it were used as a solo host it’s not currently better than anything other than a bad DJ and that’s with me writing the copy. It still sounds somewhat robotic at times and all the AI being used for video still looks unnatural to me, but that technology is only going to improve rapidly. Chat GPT for instance went from failing the bar </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gpt-4-openai-model-api-details-2023-3" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>to passing it</span></a><span> within months. It’s hard to imagine where all of this will be a year, or even six months, from now.</span></p><p><span>It also already makes sense for radio to immediately incorporate AI like a lot of other industries, for helping us write all sorts of copy. In my experience it’s not fully copy/paste ready to write web blogs and social posts for radio, or certainly anything as specific as imaging, promos, sales presentations or commercials. But, it’s already worth utilizing as idea starters for all of those things and can sometimes get close enough to use the bulk of the copy with a few minor tweaks. Lack of copywriters is a major deficiency at many radio groups. Over the years I’ve recommended multiple remedies for this, hiring my company to help for one and/or using outside freelance writers through sites like Fiverr and Freelancer. I now believe AI is an additional option for addressing that copywriting deficiency and it’s only going to get better. </span></p><p><span>Yes, I’m well aware that some people reading this are thinking ‘hey that’s cheating’ and I imagine those are the same people who think it’s cheating to use ringers to get new </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>phone segments</span></a><span>, features or contests going (which most stations/shows have been doing since the dawn of time), cheating to ever use paid/unpaid actors to do the same (something many of the big shows do regularly), cheating to be anything other than your one hundred percent true/authentic </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>self on the air</span></a><span> (which only works for a very select few types of on-air personalities) and cheating to pre-plan and script some of the breaks on team shows (which most successful shows also do). But, with as short staffed as virtually all radio groups are now, there’s ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with using technology to help us work more efficiently and if we don’t utilize it and our competitors (inside and outside of the industry) do, we’ll fall even further behind than we already are.</span></p><p><span>What do you think? Agree or disagree? Let me know below in the comments or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic by rawpixel for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71766372023-03-22T14:24:38-05:002023-03-27T20:37:45-05:00Think Big By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/cd65635dc5a6456fdef6b10d9ef7c248a60a1290/original/speech-bubbles-idea-concept-light-bulb-black-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>Anytime I run into a kindred spirit that’s spent most of their life in radio we can’t help but wax nostalgic about the good old days. Back when stations had more staff, advertising dollars were easier to come by, we had lots of direct relationships with the music industry and we created promotions so massive everyone in town talked about them (and some still do to this day). But, not unlike someone remembering an ex-flame from high school or college, we’re probably over-romanticizing the good times and failing to remember all of the challenges we faced. The truth is, those days in radio are not gone. While our industry has changed dramatically since I started in it, and much more so since my father did, some of those changes actually make it easier to pull things off without a massive staff or budget. Here are a few ways radio can still think big in 2023 to drive listenership and revenue.</span></p><p><span>Dust off those old school promotions and adjust them for our modern times and modern tools. As I go through my files of promotions I’ve done over the years, or ones I’ve watched others have success with, to see how I can make them fit for a client, a couple of things have surprised me. If we get creative enough literally ANY of them can fit on a station regardless of their market size, position within that market or the size of their staff. However, that’s contingent on them investing in a couple of new tools to help us pull it off. To date, knock on wood, I’ve yet to put together a major promotion for a client that they weren’t able to underwrite and profit from. There are a couple of tricks I employ to make sure that happens. 1) I push them outside of their comfort zone and past the </span><i><span>‘here’s the reasons why we can’t do this at our station or in our market’</span></i><span> statements. 2) I turn-key as much of it as possible at least the first time or two. 3) Do everything I can to convince them to invest in an outside marketing budget that includes a heavy dose of digital (all underwritten by sponsors since they get to go along for the ride). 4) Find ways to get the staff jazzed up about it, which is usually the easy part because big promotions are a LOT of fun! As you’re reading this I’m sure you’re thinking about some of the huge promotions you’ve done over the years and wondering which one’s I’m referencing and I’d love to discuss them with you in a free consultation sometime soon (shameless plug).</span></p><p><span>Another key to thinking BIG in my experience is to act like we’re in a bigger market than we actually are. I grew up in a small market family-owned station run by my father who had worked in major markets. He taught me many important lessons, but on the radio front few were more critical than the one I observed on nearly a daily basis. Although he took full advantage of the things that are easier to do in a smaller market, like establish relationships with virtually everyone in town, he NEVER acted like he was in a small market. He treated his station, and others he later ran, like they were major market stations that just happened to be located in a smaller town. I’ve always tried to emulate that philosophy, regardless of market size, because it makes you impossible to compete with. I know there are others who agree with it because some of the most innovative things I’m seeing lately are from radio people in small and medium markets. As even the major markets are now seeing the massive staffing and resource cuts other markets have been dealing with for years, it’s now imperative that they also get creative and use new tools to come up with ways to still pull off the big things they used to do constantly. Some groups in major markets are doing just that, others desperately need to.</span></p><p><span>The final thought on ways we need to be thinking big in this blog that’s already gone longer than I prefer is this, we HAVE to make </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>engaging</span></a><span> and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/you-can-t-over-engage-by-andy-meadows/you-can-t-over-engage-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>interacting</span></a><span> with our audience our highest priority. This is STILL our major advantage over outside competitors, but we’ve deemphasized it to a point that it’s nearly killing us. Any hour that our on-air talent are compensated to be live in a studio, they should be IN that studio and using ALL of our platforms to interact and engage with our audience. Soliciting and answering phone calls to capture/edit/air audio (quickly becoming a lost art), posting and responding to comments on social media (including utilizing live and recorded video), working the station app (if applicable), and posting on every station’s most valuable digital asset… their station website.</span></p><p><span>What do you think? How have you thought BIG recently. Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank"><span>https://www.freepik.com/</span></a><span>.</span></p><p> </p><p> </p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71720402023-03-15T11:52:38-05:002023-03-15T11:52:38-05:00Connecting With the Audience On a Deeper Level By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/34997f2335c7f21a8c93c8ce789290d55d1cb9a6/original/gentle-stylish-couple-are-having-walk-autumn-park.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>Many on-air shows, solo and teams, are only creating surface connections with their audience. They opt to keep it light by choosing low hanging fruit content, ignoring the big things (or just mentioning them to check off a box) and not digging enough to find their angle. That lack of connection is why they don’t light up the phones unless their doing contesting, have nothing to turn into digital content after the show and ultimately why they underperform at ratings time. But, with a little coaching any show can be taught to establish deeper, lasting </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/4-steps-for-connecting-with-the-listeners-by-andy-meadows/4-steps-for-connecting-with-the-listeners-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>connections with their audience</span></a><span>. Here are a few of the keys to connecting more deeply.</span><p></p></p><p><span>First and foremost, we have to learn to listen. One of the biggest misconceptions in radio is that being a good talker is the most important thing. We often look for people who have ‘the gift of gab’ and can fill any awkward silence with words that are well delivered and at least loosely on topic. That often leads to shows that are more </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>for the talent themselves</span></a><span> then for the listener, topics are chosen based on </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>internal interest</span></a><span> instead of external, and breaks are often twice the warranted length. In reality, the most important trait of a successful on-air personality is their ability to listen. If we really want to connect with someone, all we have to do is listen to them and eventually they will tell us how to connect with them. That’s why it’s SO important for on-air talent to engage with listeners every chance they get, working the phones, responding to comments on social media and having meaningful conversations with them at events. We cannot connect with someone if we don’t know a LOT about them and one of the WORST things we can do is assume we know everything about our audience based on very little information.</span><p></p></p><p><span>Getting good at that first step helps us master the second, identifying interesting storylines that will appeal to our audience. Storylines are the key to opening up all kinds of topics (Current events, pop culture, personal stories). They take things of narrow interest and make them broad appeal. Let’s use the Oscars this weekend as an example. Ratings were up for this year’s event, however, only 5% of Americans tuned in, meaning of course that 95% didn’t. That’s the rationale that many shows use to ignore the event all-together or just recap a few of the winners and move on. But, the truth is, even though only a couple of us actually watch the Oscars, MANY of us have an opinion and talk about it even if we just saw a couple quick clips of it on social media or YouTube. Again, the trick for taking a narrow appeal event like the Oscars and making it mass appeal is identifying the storylines. Once we’ve done that we can brainstorm and develop our angle (Or angles if we’re hitting it multiple times) for how we’re going to talk about it on air in a way that’s relevant and interesting to our local audience.</span><p></p></p><p><span>Here are a few example storylines and angles from this year’s Oscars:</span><p></p></p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;">
<li>
<span>(Silly) I would’ve never guessed a cheesy 1992 comedy, ‘Encino Man’, would have such a massive impact on the Oscars by helping to launch the careers of this year’s best actor and best supporting actor. What silly 80s/90s comedy will impact next year’s Oscars, or what other Pauly Shore movie? (This could work on a station with a core demo in their 40s and 50s)</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>(Frustrating) Did you see the lady in the white dress blocking the view for people three rows behind her. What would you do if you paid $750 for a seat only to end up staring at someone’s bad fashion choice?</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>(Inspirational) It’s never too late. 64-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis just won her first Oscar. What thing have you always wanted to accomplish that you’ll commit to doing within this calendar year?</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>(Funny) Jimmy Kimmel’s bit that landed awkwardly in the room, but likely had everyone at home laughing was when he said this in the opening monologue (Play clip or deliver yourself) ‘If anything violent or unpredictable happens tonight, do what you did last year…. Nothing”. What unpredictable thing would you have liked to see happen last night? (Then go into some extreme and silly examples).</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>(Uncomfortable) Hugh Grant’s awkward night, before the scrotum comment on stage he did an uncomfortable red-carpet interview that made you feel bad for the reporter just doing her job to try and get something out of him. Why wouldn’t Hugh just keep walking and choose not to do the interview or, better yet, stay at home if he doesn’t want to take part in an event?</span><p></p>
</li>
<li>
<span>(Emotional) If you didn’t tear up a little bit during Ke Huy Quan’s acceptance speech, about going from being a Vietnamese refugee to an American Oscar winner, than something’s wrong with you. What has someone in your life overcome to achieve something great recently? (There’s also the Indiana Jones/Harrison Ford storyline with Ke Huy Quan as well.)</span><p></p>
</li>
</ul><p><span>What do you think? How did you approach talking about the Oscars this week? More broadly, how do you typically connect with your audience on a deeper level? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><p></p></p><p><span>Pic designed by prostooleh for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><p></p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71675462023-03-08T12:53:04-06:002023-03-14T14:24:12-05:00The #1 Rule of Music Programming By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/45d0cd9f30cc6ea498124f934d0a3339f6ab8ed9/original/attractive-sensual-african-american-feminine-girl-with-afro-haircut-wearing-winter-sweater-looking-left-with-pleasant-smile-wearing-headphones-listens-songs.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>When we make the jump from on air to programming on a music station, regardless of the format, the first thing we’re taught is a very simple rule that sounds easy to follow yet trips up so many. Depending on who’s doing the teaching the verbiage varies, but the gist is the same. Basically, it’s this: <strong>Never add a song because you like it</strong>. Everyone gets that in theory but in practice that number one rule has destroyed many programming careers. As usual, there are a wide range of reasons why people fail to adhere to this basic credo.</span></p><p><span>First off, lots of people get into radio because they REALLY love music. Sometimes it’s a certain kind of music, which is worse. Other times it’s several types of music, which is slightly better, but can still be problematic if it’s not kept in check. A love of music is a hurdle to overcome when programming because that passion is often paired with a strong dislike for other kinds of music, and even nuances within a genre. For instance, country programmers that are really into traditional country tend to despise pop country and therefore struggle to program it when the country scene, which is cyclical like all music scenes, happens to be leaning into pop. A similar thing happens in rock with programmers who prefer harder rock to pop rock when the main artists carrying the torch for the format at that time are crossover artists. But, not being able to set aside our love for a particular type of music doesn’t just effect the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/6984429/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>new music</span></a><span> we add. It also causes programmers to subconsciously try to rewrite the history books on what ‘should have been a hit’ when evaluating and adding recurrent and gold titles. Over time when I’m coaching or managing a programmer who struggles to get past their passion for music I can start to make a list, without even looking, of the tunes and artists they’re going to add that they shouldn’t. That’s a clear-cut sign that someone shouldn’t be programming a commercial radio station.</span></p><p><span>Another, less obvious reason that some programmers break the ‘never add a song because you like it’ rule is because they are within the core demo of the station and therefore assume the majority of their listeners will like the same songs they do. That may be somewhat true at any given time with a small percentage of the audience, but over the long-term and in the aggregate, that’s never the case. There’s just way too much individual variation when we’re trying to please the masses. Not to mention, eventually we all age out of station’s core demos and adherence to this philosophy vastly diminishes our options for types of stations we can work at.</span></p><p><span>When coaching programmers here are a few of the code words and phrases they tend to use for justifying songs they want to add, but shouldn’t, or songs they don’t want to add, but should. ‘People around here love that song’ which if it’s not backed up by tangible local research is just another way of saying ‘I really love that song and want to play it’. ‘That song doesn’t fit our format’ can also be a catch all way of shooting down any song a programmer doesn’t personally want to add. However, that’s programming sonically which leads stations to fall behind any emerging trends within a format on new music stations because genres are always expanding what falls under their monikers. Recurrent/gold-based formats would be better served just basing it off of whether a country, rock, pop or hip-hop station would’ve added that song during the era the station is focusing on (Or of course legitimate research data).</span></p><p><span>Being a musician myself I completely understand having a passion for music. There are literally two things that regularly make me tear up, sports movies and hearing a really incredible music performance. But, I also fully understand that how I listen to music is VASTLY different than how the average radio consumer listens to music. That’s why I constantly preach to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>follow the data</span></a><span> instead of listening to and personally evaluating the music to see what fits/doesn’t or even bringing a couple other voices into the room in a </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/kill-the-music-meeting-by-andy-meadows/kill-the-music-meeting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>music meeting</span></a><span> and doing the same. In music radio, songs are the commodities on our store shelves. If I ran a clothing store and only filled it with clothes I personally like, I’d be out of business in very short order. The same rule applies to radio.</span></p><p><span>To help serve our clients we track the data on between 70 to 90 new songs per genre every week, looking at the same metrics that record labels look at. I do use my radio background to help decide which buckets those songs should fall into. But, other than that we simply follow the data, set a high bar, and recommend our client stations play the highest demand songs that week, and nothing else, in their current categories. However, we also have some tools we use to collect and utilize local and regional data as well. If you schedule a meeting with me I can share some of that data and explain how we make our weekly recommendations.</span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span></p><p>Photo designed by benzoix for <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71631772023-03-01T14:11:22-06:002023-03-05T00:06:30-06:00Why Some Shows Aren't Content Driven By Andy Meadows<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/ff8e6a9da7a0f7e7aaee1ba7afa6a041303549e6/original/hand-working-laptop-another-holding-pen.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span>When I’m evaluating an on-air personality or show, regardless of the daypart, one of the main two things I’m listening for is the amount of content they brought to the show that day and what they added to that content. Then I group the talent/show into one of three categories, 1) deliver little to no content (Just segueing records on a music station or simply relaying info on talk stations), 2) delivering content but not adding anything to make it their own, 3) delivering content only they can do by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>adding their own unique</span></a><span> take or angle on it. Sadly, most on air talent and shows fall into the first two categories (especially outside of mornings). However, that just makes the few personalities and shows that fall into the third category </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>that much more valuable</span></a><span>. That’s because content driven shows have something to tease to and drive TSL, something for the listener to engage with making them interactive, something to post to the web and social about to potentially go viral and drive new cume, and ultimately something MUCH more likely to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7143392/creating-topical-content-that-s-sticky-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>stick with the listener</span></a><span> and get them to A) come back and B) tell others. So, why aren’t more talent/shows content driven and why do so many fall into those first two categories?</span><p></p></p><p><span>There are a handful of reasons why on-air personalities, and even team shows, fall into the ‘little to no content’ category. Often they’ve been coached to tighten up so much that they’ve resorted to just intros/outros and hitting a quick station liner. To be clear, I fully understand pushing pacing on certain formats. But, well coached talent can deliver content and a one liner to personalize, localize and entertain in </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-long-should-i-talk-by-andy-meadows/how-long-should-i-talk-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>fifteen to thirty seconds</span></a><span> (Team and morning shows can do the same in two to four minutes). Other times they’re simply stretched too thin to put the amount of time and effort into the show prep process necessary to identify content that’s likely to be </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>interesting/relevant</span></a><span> to their audience. In my experience it takes roughly thirty minutes of prep time for every hour we’re on the air if we really want to do a show that moves the needle (Regardless of whether we’re live or tracked). However that time can be broken up so it’s not all day of prior to the show, it’s all about finding the off air process that works for us. Another trick is to learn how to engage/interact and carry over content, and bring things back later with a different angle, so we can do more with less.</span><p></p></p><p><span>The second group, shows/talent that do deliver content but aren’t adding anything to make it their own, are usually just a couple coaching sessions away from beginning to move into that coveted upper tier. They’ve at least past the first bar of identifying content their audience is likely to be interested in and hopefully those few things their </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>audience is going to be discussing</span></a><span> with their coworkers/friends/family that day. But, they’re really just passing on that information without adding anything to make it unique/their own. Usually that’s because they either have no idea what to add or they haven’t developed their on-air persona enough to personalize it and aren’t knowledgeable enough about the local market to localize it. However, in some cases, they are creative enough to come up with their own take or spin to add to the content but they’re holding back out of fear that they’ll say something that doesn’t fit the format, offends someone, tell a joke that doesn’t land or just makes them sound silly. In that circumstance I would always say it’s better to swing and miss than never swing at all. We should OF COURSE know where the line is within our format, demo and market, but no on-air personality has ever gotten to that upper tier by consistently holding back.</span><p></p></p><p><span>Regardless of where talent fall within these three groups, and how long they’ve been in the business, they are </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/no-one-is-uncoachable-by-andy-meadows/no-one-is-uncoachable-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>ALL coachable</span></a><span> and can learn how to create content driven shows. The difference is, depending on personality type and attitude, how long that coaching will take, which approach will be necessary to get them there and whether or not they have a high enough ceiling to make that time and effort (and money if you hire me) worth spending. One of the things I do as a consultant is help assess the talent, coach some of them directly and simultaneously </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows/coaching-the-on-air-coaches-by-andy-meadows" data-link-type="url" target="_blank"><span>coach the coaches</span></a><span> on which strategies to use to get the most out of their on-air staffs. If you’re interested in chatting with me about it click on the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/schedule-meeting" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>schedule meeting</span></a><span> link and let’s talk.</span><p></p></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span><p></p></p><p><span>Pic designed by yanalya for </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com" target="_blank"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span><p></p></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71587032023-02-22T13:43:56-06:002023-02-23T07:15:56-06:00Being Live & Local By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/07f623db4da5635d6c996e194f34382d9f14a0ac/original/4840397.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span>I’m a firm believer that radio stations should man as many dayparts as their budgets will allow so they’re as live and local as possible. However, there are a lot of different definitions for what those often tossed around terms actually mean. Let’s go through some of the misconceptions of each along with a few alternatives.</span></p><p> </p><ul><li>
<span>Being LOCAL doesn’t just mean </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>talking about the weather</span></a><span> and the area bake sale. ALTERNATIVE: Keep the weather short and to the point unless it’s severe (everyone gets the basic weather info on their phone or watch) and pre-record the interview with community/event staff off-air as both audio and video, then put the full video on the web/social and edit out the best audio to run on air driving traffic to the full video (Client/partner is happy because they have a link to share on social and it’s significantly more likely to appeal to a broader audience than a longwinded on-air interview).</span>
</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>
<span>Being LOCAL isn’t an excuse to </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>talk incessantly about ourselves</span></a><span>, where we went the night before or where we’re going tonight. ALTERNATIVE: Name dropping local spots/businesses/people/events/etc is just as effective without getting too internal and into the minutia of how we spent our day/weekend (We should only do that if there’s a story there that’s likely to appeal to the masses if we exaggerate/embellish and aren’t married to the truth).</span>
</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>
<span>Being LIVE isn’t just giving time checks and mentioning today’s ‘national days’ no one cares about. ALTERNATIVE: Live shows should be built around interaction and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>engagement</span></a><span> with the audience through phone topics that get them to call, content breaks that drive them to another platform the station owns to see/hear more and interact through comments, and play-along daily contests.</span>
</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li><span>Being LIVE isn’t winging it with stream of consciousness style breaks that jump from topic to topic. ALTERNATIVE: Great shows go into every break with at least a good idea how they’re going to transition to the hook that gets them into the meat of the planned content and how they’re going to get out. Depending on their experience, skillset and how developed their on-air personas are they may improvise to varying degrees along the way. But, they NEVER crack the mic and just see what happens. They typically plan a combination of single topic breaks and jab/jab/punch style multi-topic breaks that fit under a broader umbrella. To the outside observer, some of those single topic breaks will sound like natural, organic conversations but behind the scenes they’re always at least somewhat orchestrated.</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span>In my experience what most people mean when they tell their on air staff to be more live and local, whether they articulate it or not, is for them to interact/engage more with the audience and identify the things local people are talking about that day and incorporate them into their content.</span></p><p><span>Bottom line, we lose the edge of being live and local if we’re not strong enough to be competitive with syndicated shows, celebrity podcasts and everything else vying for our audience’s attention every day. That’s a tall order when we’re understaffed, forcing us to work harder and smarter than the competition until we can generate enough revenue to staff up. But, we’ll never get to that point if we’re filling time, doing </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows/who-s-the-show-for-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>shows that are more for us</span></a><span> than the listeners and not doing anything that couldn’t be voicetracked. If that’s the case it’s likely someone’s looking at our name on a spreadsheet trying to figure out which out-of-market, syndicated show to replace us with and save a few bucks.</span></p><p><span>What do you think? Comment below or email me at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com" target="_blank"><span>Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>Pic designed by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span>www.freepik.com</span></a><span>.</span></p><p> </p><p> </p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71544852023-02-15T15:09:59-06:002023-02-15T15:21:53-06:00Digital Isn't Just For The Young By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/8c4237d0bbb962a6f5778bd4422b754a8778d35c/original/multiethnic-group-young-happy-students-standing-outdoors-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p>Here’s the long-term vision of most of the big radio groups: ‘How few people can we employ at the local level, and how cheaply, without MAJORLY hurting ratings, digital stats and revenue?’ I say majorly because they fully understand that it’s going to have some impact on all three, but they’re okay with a few short-term losses if it fits their long-term vision. I know that’s a depressing thing to write, and read, but it’s an important thing for us all to be open and aware of because there are lessons to learn from how the big groups operate. One thing they’re trying to do, time will tell if their approach and execution works, is to keep (and hire) as many <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">self-sufficient employees</a> as possible (ie: chief, cook and bottle washers). Then use their management staff to act as quality control and make sure they are all running in the same direction. Plus, because they’re no longer <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/is-radio-paying-enough-by-andy-meadows/is-radio-paying-enough-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">willing to pay much</a> for talent, they’re mainly attracting young, less experienced employees as new hires. As they scale down there’s an opportunity for medium and small radio groups, who are ramping up their investment locally, to adopt a more <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/a-5-step-digital-content-strategy-by-andy-meadows/a-5-step-digital-content-strategy-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">strategic version</a> of that self-sufficient strategy so their staffs are able to work harder and smarter than the competition. But, to do so the medium and small groups HAVE to fully embrace digital similar to how the major groups have.</p><p>I know embracing digital is something I harp on a lot and one of the main misconceptions I run into when doing so is this: ‘Digital is just for the young’ (IE they think I’m saying to only hire young people). I hear that when talking about web content and even more when referencing anything about social media. I understand the sentiment. Young people who grew up with this technology from day one are naturally going to have an easier time with all of this stuff (And I do think it’s important for radio to attract and recruit young employees). However, while it may have started as such, the digital world is no longer only for the young. It’s for all content creators of ANY age. A quick example is Kevin Bacon. The sixty four year old actor, who’s been in so many movies they literally created a game about it, is now one of the hottest new stars on TikTok. His videos, which mainly consist of him singing to his farm animals, have blown up on the social platform. So much so that it landed him a major new ad campaign for Hyundai’s latest EV, built around the same vibe he’s creating in most of his TikTok videos.</p><p>The bottom line for radio is, anybody that’s creative, quirky, interesting and has a personality (Which virtually ALL radio people do), can create great digital content. The key is getting over our fear. The fear of looking silly in a video, fear of <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">writing an article</a> that comes across as amateurish, fear of recording a <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows/yes-you-should-do-a-podcast-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">podcast</a> no one listens to, or just the common fear of failure when trying anything new. It’s our job to push our staff’s over that hump by continuously encouraging them to try <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">different kinds of content</a> on all of our stations’ different digital platforms until they find what works best for their personalities (and for on-air talent, expands on their <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-any-station-can-use-by-andy-meadows/content-any-station-can-use-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">on-air content</a>). Then <a class="no-pjax" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">reward them</a> for doing so, and give repercussions when they don’t, until it becomes a daily habit.</p><p>What do you think? What success have you had recently with digital content creation. Comment below or email me at <a class="no-pjax" href="mailto:Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com">Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com</a>.</p><p>Pic designed by drobotdean for <a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.freepik.com">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71506422023-02-08T12:45:03-06:002023-02-08T12:45:03-06:00Fixing Staff Meetings By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/354216/e4de4f249726f420c0a6bf769e2bab24358cdff4/original/group-people-working-out-business-plan-office-16x9.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Meetings are an essential part of any company with more than a few people. They help us communicate so everyone’s on the same page, brainstorm new ideas, plan ahead and a whole host of other things that are great for business. However, if we aren’t careful they can also be an enormous waste of time and energy, two resources many radio personnel are short on lately. We’ve all sat in on some truly terrible meetings in our careers. I’ve even resorted to making sure I schedule a meeting directly after one I know is going to be a beating so I have an excuse to bow out if it goes long, which always works because the only thing more important than a meeting is another meeting. But, meetings don’t have to be awful. Here are a few tips to fix bad meetings. </p>
<ol> <li>Every meeting should have a point person. The reason many meetings go off course is because no one is steering the ship. Somebody has to run point and it doesn’t necessarily have to default to the person with the biggest title in the room. It should generally be the person in charge of whatever that meeting covers, provided they have both a good knowledge of the subject at hand and the experience and aptitude for leading a meeting. </li> <li>All meetings need an agenda. Without a meeting agenda they usually devolve into free form brainstorming sessions where everyone throws out tons of ideas, some of which might be great, but few of which will actually be executed. Even a meeting where coming up with new ideas is the goal should have a basic structure to create the best environment for strategic brainstorming to take place. </li> <li>Keep it as small as possible. There should be a reason why everyone who’s in the meeting is in the meeting. It sounds good in theory to have all hands on deck to crowdsource ideas and get as many minds weighing in as possible, but 90% of the time those meetings will quickly get away from us and end up wasting considerably more of the company’s time. It’s kind of like the in-person version of reply all emails (that shouldn’t be reply all emails) causing everyone to chime in and exasperate the problem instead of solving it. </li> <li>Set a start time and end time and stick to them. Loose meetings create loose stations, if we don’t value each other’s time we’re unlikely to value the listeners’ or our clients’ time. Most weekly meetings can be knocked out in thirty minutes or less, longer for monthly and quarterly meetings, but either way they should have a set start/end time for people to schedule around. </li> <li>Have a main goal for what we should walk away from the meeting with. If there isn’t a goal for having a particular meeting than we shouldn’t have that meeting. That burden should fall on the meetings point person and be reinforced by management. </li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, dis-functional meetings are sometimes the result of dis-functional companies with deeper structural issues to figure out. One sign of that is abandoning meetings all-together because they’re rarely productive. I know we’re not curing diseases or defending a nation or anything, but that doesn’t mean our time shouldn’t be spent wisely and productively while at work. Addressing some of our issues with meetings themselves can help course correct and set us on a path to be more strategic and purposeful with every decision our company and staffs make. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by senivpetro for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71469882023-02-01T12:31:52-06:002023-02-01T12:31:52-06:00Win Radio's Off Season By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a15c4eb3ef1d44a6fb12eef2c0ef37db3655b147/original/american-football-american-football-player-professional-sport-stadium.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Going into this season most NFL analysts agreed that the Philadelphia Eagles won the off-season. It pains me to say that as a life-long Cowboys’ fan duty bound to despise all things Philly, but clearly those talking heads were on to something as the Eagles are now set to play in this year’s big game. Due in large part to the fact that they not only drafted well, they were incredibly aggressive in free agency moving on from and also adding several key players, to shore up an already good squad ahead of the season. While my team let a number one receiver go without getting anything in return and implored their usual ‘hope for the best’ strategy. Obviously, I’m a little bitter… So, what lesson can radio take from this year’s Eagles? I believe it’s this, we can’t expect to win our season, the book, when we coast through or phone it in during our off-season, between books. Here are a few things stations can do to win between the books and better prepare for those critical survey periods. </p>
<ul> <li>Coach up existing talent. <a contents="Every on-air personality needs a coach" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank">Every on-air personality needs a coach</a>, regardless of their experience level. Regular air check sessions that focus on the positives but also touch on a few things the talent/shows need to work on should happen year-round. Outside coaching from a consultant can start these on the right path and help add and develop new features/benchmarks. Outside of the book is also a great time for training any, and all, of our staff on digital content creation. Because, after all, <a contents="multi-platform content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">multi-platform content</a> creation is a team sport. </li> <li>Keep an eye out for available talent that might be the station’s missing piece. I’ve worked with some great GMs and CEOs over the years who always seem to have a pulse on who might be available soon in their area and who work hard to recruit them. It also never hurts to reach out to us and see if we know of anybody looking that could help put the team over the top.</li> <li>Contests shouldn’t stop when the survey does. For the most part everybody does book promotions, but lots of stations get away from contesting almost entirely between books. That can train our listeners to stop interacting with us for a few months, making it that much harder to retrain them to interact again later. If we have to slow down for budgeting reasons, we should at least make up for that with consistent smaller, fun play-along daily contests and by working in extra engagement topic segments (formerly <a contents="phone topic segments" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-to-get-more-calls-on-air-by-andy-meadows/how-to-get-more-calls-on-air-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">phone topic segments</a> but now we’ve added web/social/app/text), so listeners can engage with content in the interim.</li> <li>Between books is a perfect time to get out of our buildings and make a real effort to engage and interact with our audience in person, and <a contents="capture audio/video content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/missed-opportunities-to-capture-content-by-andy-meadows/missed-opportunities-to-capture-content-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">capture audio/video content</a> from them, on-site at events, remotes, appearances and charity functions.</li> <li>If possible, start teasing book promotions in the few weeks leading up to the book so the actual forced-listening, contesting can begin right when the book does. </li> <li>Stagger vacations to lessen the impact of missing staff. I know that goes without saying but it’s surprising to me how many groups fail to coordinate between, and sometimes even within, departments on when and how long key employees will be out of the building. </li>
</ul>
<p>What do you think? What are some of the steps you’ve taken to stay prepared between books? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by viarprodesign for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71433922023-01-25T14:29:14-06:002023-01-28T12:40:45-06:00Creating Topical Content That's Sticky By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/8444549fa4d8c8388bd99a3f7fb4097cfdb63746/original/close-up-young-student-surrounded-by-sticky-notes.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Sticky content is just what it sounds like, content that sticks with the listener. Things they go to work and tell their coworker, recount later to their friends and significant other, or even to the on-air talent themselves at a station event. It’s those ‘best of worthy moments’ that great shows create daily and far too many shows struggle to create weekly, monthly or ever. Usually when coaching talent on how to create more of those sticky moments we focus on developing stronger, appointment setting <a contents="benchmarks and features" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/daily-benchmarks-promotable-memorable-sellable-by-andy-meadows/daily-benchmarks-promotable-memorable-sellable-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">benchmarks and features</a>. But, another main difference between those three categories of shows I’ve noticed lately is that the great shows identify <a contents="the thing everyone is talking about" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">the thing everyone is talking about</a> that day and hit it early and often. </p>
<p>Here's why that’s so important. One of radio’s big advantages over podcasting is the immediacy of it. When something major happens late in the day we can be on the radio discussing it the following morning (even sooner on stations manned at night). In contrast it takes most of the major, non-radio related podcasts a few days to turn something around and address that same major topic. Also, ignoring those topics is a missed opportunity to bond, interact and engage with our audience on something they likely have an opinion on. Great shows hit it early because they don’t waste their opening break or first hour and save the good stuff for the heavier listening hours. They set the tone for the show the second they start talking. Plus, they understand that there’s nothing wrong with bringing it back a couple times throughout the show, especially if they’re building that conversation through listener involvement or adding their own additional angles. I know some people complain about ESPN or the major news networks talking about the same thing all day, but there’s a reason why they do that. Initially their gut, and soon after their internal data, tells them which main story the audience cares about. They also understand that audiences turnover at an incredibly high rate now and if they’re not talking about that main topic within that limited window, they’ll likely go somewhere else for it. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, on the radio there are a few misconceptions that can lead many team shows and solo talent to miss or ignore the thing everyone is talking about. Some simply don’t know their audience well enough to identify that day’s topic. Others can identify it but falsely assume their audience doesn’t come to them to hear about ‘those kind of things’. This approach makes talent sound like they're not in the know. It stems from either a belief that they shouldn’t talk about something that everyone else is talking about (flawed logic), a fear that they're not knowledgeable enough to even touch on it, or they think that particular topic is too controversial. But, in my experience, when we truly understand our audience and know how to deliver something through a well-developed on-air persona, nothing is off limits. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by wayhomestudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71398142023-01-18T13:12:57-06:002023-01-18T13:12:57-06:00The Path To Number One By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/fcfa17fa685d630b00b2aedbcf0c7afc14a2eb3a/original/panoramic-view-roys-peak-new-zealand-with-low-mountains-distance-cloudscape.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Over the course of my career coaching and managing talent I’ve worked with every level of on-air personality. That includes former number one talent trying to recapture the hunger required to get there again, experienced people who’ve had moderate success but are ready to take it to the next level, rookies who live and breath radio and say ‘why not me?’ and conversely, plenty of personalities who will never stand atop the mountain despite having all of the talent necessary to do so. I’ve also noticed there are striking similarities between each of those individuals and the larger organizations that employ them who either set the tone for success by building and protecting strong brands and creating the infrastructure necessary to support them, or, are perfectly happy to consistently land somewhere in the middle. The simple fact is, most personalities and stations that never reach number one do so because they simply don’t want it bad enough. Here are a few of the things we have to do to set ourselves on the path to number one. </p>
<p>Think mass-appeal, but also be unique. We all know it’s virtually impossible to dominate a market with a niche format, unless the major formats are so segmented that they leave somewhat of an opening. But, even when we’ve selected a mass appeal format we still have to find some point of difference that will set us apart from the competition. Then brand around that constantly and guard against anything that goes against that brand. For on-air talent it’s not enough to just talk about the mass appeal things <a contents="everyone is likely talking about" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">everyone is likely talking about</a>, it’s about coming up with our own unique angles to deliver that content in a way that only we can do. Hence why I always push talent to choose <a contents="content they can add to" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">content they can add to</a>. </p>
<p>Understand that getting to know our audience is a challenge that never ends. When we’re new to a market, station and/or format, it’s easy to push ourselves to get in front of them as often as possible, <a contents="connect with them consistently" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/4-steps-for-connecting-with-the-listeners-by-andy-meadows/4-steps-for-connecting-with-the-listeners-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">connect with them consistently</a> on the phone, online and through our social channels. But people change and so do cities. So, if we don’t continue communicating with our audience daily we’ll likely miss those changes. </p>
<p>Work harder than everyone else. Radio is a fun job, and it should be. If we’re not having fun doing it then we’re doing it wrong. However, it’s by no means an easy job. It takes a lot of hard work, strategizing, preparation, a focus on execution and a desire to constantly evolve and grow ourselves and our stations. Stations and talented personalities can get lucky and stumble into a number one slot if everything lines up right, but to consistently be number one we have to put in the hours and effort required to be a champion. </p>
<p>Surround ourselves with like-minded people who have that same <a contents="winner's mentality" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/a-winner-s-mentality-by-andy-meadows/a-winner-s-mentality-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">winner's mentality</a> and coach out or remove complacency. In this day and age of slashed budgets and staff being asked to wear multiple hats its easy to look at any additional employee on staff as a net gain. Typically, that’s true. However, when there are only so many spots to fill, and so much money to dole out, each spot becomes that much more critical. Because of that, everyone on our staff is either an asset or a liability. In my experience most people can be coached into being an asset with the right team in place, and good outside advice from a consultant, but there are still plenty of circumstances where we should cut our losses. </p>
<p>Act as if the competition is fierce even if it currently isn’t. Most groups aren’t putting as many resources into their stations as they traditionally have. Every year there’s less live talent in virtually every market, less money being put into marketing and promotions and less support staff within our buildings. But, we can’t let that trick us into taking our foot off the pedal because A) it leaves the door open for us to be attacked locally by a <a contents="single station" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-single-station-strategy-by-andy-meadows/the-single-station-strategy-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">single station</a> willing to invest in itself and B) our digital competitors are all ramping up as we speak. </p>
<p>What do you think? What have you done to successfully move to and stay at number one? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by wirestock for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71365592023-01-11T12:46:56-06:002023-01-12T02:40:45-06:00Inclusive VS Exclusive By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/eae099ce26e47d35cda331812152f0afd9cbfaa5/original/wide-shot-bottles-glasses-display-cabinet-bar-scandic-hotel-copenhagen-denmark.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We’ve all been to a neighborhood bar that’s filled with regulars taking up the best seats. Sat there waiting while the bartender, who of course knows them all, hangs out across from those regulars, laughing, yucking it up and handing each of them another drink without even being asked. Meanwhile we’re staring a hole through the bartender hoping they’ll eventually make eye contact and notice that our drink has been sitting empty for the past fifteen minutes. It’s not something that makes us feel very welcome and generally leads us to go elsewhere. Well, that’s how some radio stations make new listeners feel when they solely cater to their P1s and ignore the P2s and anyone stopping by for the first time. Here are a few ways stations, and individual on-air personalities, can fall into the trap of being more exclusive and cliquish than inclusive and welcoming. </p>
<p>1) Assuming everyone listening knows everything there is to know about the music and artists our stations play (Or our teams if it’s sports talk). I’m sensitive to this because I’ve spent a lot of time working with personalities in niche formats over the years that do a great job getting across the point that they have vast inside knowledge of the station’s music but do a very poor job being patient enough to educate new listeners coming into the fold. A listener who requests a song the station doesn’t play shouldn’t be chastised for it by the air talent and when other listeners do it in online comments, or in person at events, the air talent should jump to the new listener’s defense. </p>
<p>2) Not coaching our on-air personalities out of the inside baseball stuff that existing listeners may enjoy but new listeners find annoying and confusing. Some simple examples of this are inside jokes that aren’t setup/explained again, talking or complaining about inside the room stuff (temp in the studio, pot on the board not working, computer or phone issues), the inner workings of a contest or spending more time explaining the behind the scenes of why we’re doing something than actually doing it. </p>
<p>3) Doing only surface content. For the most part, we can all identify the things our core listeners are most likely to be interested in and make sure we touch on those over the course of our shows. But that’s still just surface content if we don’t reach past the first thing everyone thinks of when you bring up that topic, which is exactly what many shows do. Surface content will NEVER appeal to a wider audience. However, if we dig just a little deeper and put in the extra effort to go past the initial thought we can come up with an angle that’s much more likely to have broad appeal. Here’s a recent example. The college national championship was this week and the broadcasters are well aware that they’ve got every TCU and Georgia fan listening, as well as all the truly die-hard college football fans. Those groups are essentially the games P1s. But, especially on a big game like a national championship, that’s only a very small portion of the overall audience tuning in. So, the announcers dig deeper to come up with a few angles that will draw in that broader demo and get them more interested in the game (Which helps a ton when it’s a blowout like it was this year). Here’s two I heard them run with. The TCU QB who had heart surgery being benched at the beginning of the year, but putting on a good face (“I’m gonna be the best backup QB in college football”), then going on to have a Heisman-finalist season. Similarly, they informed everyone that Georgia’s QB was a walk on that nobody in the country wanted, and even the Georgia coaches didn’t think much of him initially, but he battled his way up the depth chart to lead his team to the National Championship two straight years. It’s cliché, but usually things are cliché for a reason, they work and next thing you know the casual fan has a vested interest in a game where they don’t have a dog in the hunt. </p>
<p>There are a bunch of other things stations do to sound less inclusive, imaging that’s more focused on being cute than actually pointing out the <a contents="reasons why people should listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">reasons why people should listen</a>, letting a small group of vocal P1s dictate programming decisions, and only using the station’s own platforms to market and promote it’s brand. All of these combined create a great recipe for sustaining a passionate but limited audience that never grows. </p>
<p>What do you think? What have you done to make your stations more welcoming and inclusive to new listeners? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by wirestock for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71326142023-01-04T13:31:05-06:002023-01-09T04:35:49-06:00Think Like a Listener By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7fbff0acef29c42d1d299eea5d520ce6867b0146/original/human-brain-medical-digital-illustration.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’ve never been a detective, but I’ve talked to a few and watched enough cop shows to know that the best way to track down a criminal is to think like a criminal. You can’t catch them by saying, ‘what would I do in this situation’ because you probably wouldn’t be in that situation and, in the rare event you were, you’d behave very differently than they would. If you want to snag the bad guy you have to really put yourself in their mindset. On the radio the stakes are obviously smaller but some of the same rules apply. If we want to choose on air content that’s appealing enough to attract and retain our listeners, we have to understand them so well that we can literally think like them. </p>
<p>Once per quarter, or at least twice a year, I like to do a deep dive with any on air show I’m coaching to take a hard look at everything we’re doing. Basically, I pick a show from a random day, pull all of the breaks and send them to the whole team along with a form for them to analyze the breaks individually. Then, everyone sends their forms to me and I put together a thorough review for us to go over. During that process I encourage everyone to do their best to take a step back and try to think, and listen, like a listener and evaluate everything from that perspective. Would this tease really make me stick around for another fifteen minutes? Is this hook at the top of the break strong enough to pull me in and get me to listen through all of the details? How many moments during the show were best of worthy, so compelling that I’ll walk into work and tell my coworkers ‘you’ll never believe what they were talking about this morning on….”? It’s a great exercise for identifying the content we’re doing that’s hitting the mark and which content could be tweaked or replaced entirely with something more likely to stick with the listener. Plus, it helps us evaluate whether we’re talking about the <a contents="same things our listener are talking about" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows/the-thing-everyone-s-talking-about-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">same things our listener are talking about</a> with their inner circle. </p>
<p>One thing that can cloud on-air talent or a programmer’s judgement when they’re trying to think like a listener is the belief that their audience is stupid. I hear it a lot, especially on certain formats. So much so that it’s become a real pet peeve of mine. It’s often used as an excuse to explain away all sorts of bad behavior, over-explaining contests, repeating things multiple times within the same break, passing on creative and buzzworthy promotions and defaulting to the same simple ones year after year. Yes, it’s true that some individual listeners aren’t that intelligent, but in the aggregate no format’s listeners are stupid, they’re just busy. They have jobs of their own, kids to tend to, bills to pay, errands to run and countless other things to do while they’re, hopefully, passively listening to the radio in the background. Our job is to occasionally pique their interest enough that they listen a little more intently, and a little longer, than they meant to. The best way to do that is to think like them and structure our shows and our individual breaks in ways that are most likely to work. Choose <a contents="content that we can add value to" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">content that we can add value to</a> that’s also likely to be <a contents="relatable and interesting" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">relatable and interesting</a> to that listener. Most of all though, we have to constantly ask what’s in it for the listener and put that benefit front and center. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by rawpixel.com for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71228612022-12-14T14:00:33-06:002023-12-10T13:49:15-06:00Relationships & Accountability By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/62ca1fa161a6343f53a85391fe607b1fdb6b30a7/original/group-diverse-people-having-business-meeting.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Those of us who have been in the radio industry long enough have a handful of stories about former bosses with management approaches that wouldn’t fly today (and shouldn’t have then either.) I’ve seen chairs thrown from a studio into a sales pit, know an APD who was hit with a stapler for not following an order, and personally overheard a PD ask an on-air personality and a client recording a spot if there was anyway they “could make this not sound like” expletive. Plus, I’ve witnessed more screaming matches than I can count. Luckily, those days of belittling and treating people in inhuman ways are all but over. Radio, like all other industries it seems, has adopted a relationship management approach. Today’s managers are encouraged to get to know their staffs, find out their interests and goals, build them up with lots of positive reinforcement and, overall, create a family like atmosphere. I wholeheartedly agree with this style of management. However, I have one small caveat. It only works if it’s paired with an ability and a willingness to hold employees accountable. </p>
<p>Most professional sports teams have adopted this approach already. The days of the Bobby Knights and Bill Parcels with their ‘My way or the highway’ approach have ended. The vast majority of today’s coaches consider themselves ‘players coaches’. They understand that they’ll get better results on the field if they treat their athletes like adults, earn their respect through their own hard work and get to know them personally so they can understand the best ways to get through to them. But, the coaches who actually win consistently, and especially the ones who turn around under-performing teams, still put in place reasonable and strategic rules that they fully define and uphold. </p>
<p>This is the part I see a lot of radio managers fall short on for a whole host of reasons. Many of them have worked for terrible managers in the past who ruled with an iron fist and they saw how poorly that worked over the long term. Others work really hard themselves but struggle to hold their employees to the same high standard they hold themselves to. That might be because they feel like their employees aren’t compensated well enough to be held to that high standard and as an industry we are behind on increasing compensation to adjust for inflation and cost of living. However, that wage gap isn’t going to be solved by allowing employees to get away with poor performance and acting in their own self-interest instead of the companies. </p>
<p>Luckily any radio manager <em>(President, VP, GM, PD, OM, GSM, SM)</em> who’s adopted a relationship-style of management is already halfway there. All they need to do is add accountability. Because a combination of relationship-style managers who are also capable of holding their staffs accountable can turn any losing culture into a winning one within a matter of months and set their station, or group, on a path to long-term ratings and revenue success.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71195702022-12-07T13:46:11-06:002022-12-08T05:28:35-06:00Crowdsourcing Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3065a2b3c1a04df04d5f27353adcfd9b3dcf5e8d/original/groupe-people-01-01s.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The amount of content necessary to fill our airwaves, station websites and social feeds can be overwhelming. Especially when most stations are being asked to create all that content with less resources and staff each passing year. That’s part of the reason why I advocate for involving everyone on staff, because I believe content creation is a team sport. It’s also why I encourage stations to start by turning the things they’re already doing well on air into digital content, setting realistic <a contents="content requirements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">content requirements</a>, incentivizing the creation of digital content and setting up a freelancer budget to supplement the content created in house. But, what about the untapped resource that all stations have at their disposal, their audience? How do we get them involved in creating all kinds of content on our behalf? Here are a few ways to use our radio megaphone to do just that. </p>
<p>First, we should start with our <a contents="goal and work backwards" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/identify-goal-and-work-backwards-by-andy-meadows/identify-goal-and-work-backwards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">goal and work backwards</a> by identifying exactly what kind of content we need the most. Then reverse engineer a promotion with the express purpose of obtaining that kind of content from our audience and coming up with creative ways to make it fun and tie in all of our platforms along the way. </p>
<p>Starting simple, let’s say we’ve got a station without any on air talent and we want to work listener audio into more of our on air imaging across the station. So, instead of taking written entries through a form on the website we have listeners submit their registrations audibly. First, the old school way of calling a listen line (That’s way less expensive to setup now). Plus, we could still incorporate the website by attaching the <a contents="Speakpipe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.speakpipe.com/" target="_blank">Speakpipe</a> widget ($15/mo and has an embed code that allows you to record directly to any website) to collect additional audio on the station webpost with the details, rules and sponsor info/logo. This could also be extended by walking listeners through recording their entries on site at events as well (Directly through the station website). Of course we don’t just need audio of them saying their name and where they’re from so we’ll ask them a simple question like “What do you love about the station or where you live?” to direct them to give us whatever audio we need. To add the forced listening component we could replay their audio at specific times that someone can work the phones to award instant winners who call in within X amount of minutes. </p>
<p>Here's another scenario. We’re on a station that just flipped formats and had to start from scratch with all of its social feeds and we know how well video content works on social media. So, we create a contest or promotion designed strategically to get listeners to record video content on their phones and submit it to us, either through a form on our websites, tagging on social, texting or emailing a link to it, or a combination of all of those. We could do it similarly to the audio promotion where we play a snippet or compilation of the audio on air, or video on our social feeds, as a way to award instant winners along the way to keep people interested and engaged before we giveaway the big prize at the end on-site somewhere where we of course collect additional video content. </p>
<p>Yes, I know we’ve all heard that it’s not smart to make listeners jump through a lot of hoops and there’s certainly some validity to that. Keeping it simple is always the best way to get the most participation possible. But, I would argue that with these kind of promotions where we’re trying to get a certain kind of content, the quality of the submissions is more important than the quantity of the submissions. Plus, listeners will tolerate more hoops if they’re actually having fun playing along. I’ve done full on scavenger hunt promotions where we asked listeners to do a whole host of things and got TONS of participation because we made it look and sound like a lot of fun. </p>
<p>Stations that set aside a freelancer budget to use paid outside content creators can also get listeners involved by running promos on air asking listeners to submit blogs, videos or podcast episodes talking about anything that fits the stations format or core listener’s lifestyle. Obviously, we’d have to define what that means and maybe give a couple examples. My point is, if we’re willing to pay to outsource some of the content creation, we might as well involve and compensate talented listeners as well for anything we’re actually going to use on one of our platforms. </p>
<p>Another trick that I write and talk about a lot, but I’ll mention again because it works very well, is soliciting exclusive content from artists that fit our formats. It’s certainly easier to do in some formats, and of course in larger markets or groups with a lot of stations, but it never hurts to ask. </p>
<p>What do you think? What have you done to successfully crowd-source content creation. Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by svstudioart for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71140582022-11-30T14:30:28-06:002022-12-01T00:24:51-06:00Programming VS Sales By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/d1cc1dd52150f36f23c3c4f6fd733ad48d63ee7d/original/versus-by-kjpargeter.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>It’s a battle as old as the industry itself. One that affects us all regardless of market size or location. In my experience, virtually every radio station seems to have some degree of tension between their programming and sales departments (Whether there’s one employee in each or dozens). Which is ironic because they’re both very interdependent on the other. Without programming there’s nothing to sell and without revenue there’s no one to program. So, how do we get these two often opposing forces to play nice with each other? Here are a few simple suggestions based on what I’ve seen. Comment below or email me with your own observations. </p>
<p>Since most of my experience is on the programming side I’ll start there. The best way for programmers to improve their relationship with sales is to adopt what I call a <a contents="‘programming to sell’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/programming-to-sell-by-andy-meadows/programming-to-sell-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">‘programming to sell’</a> philosophy. Basically, that means strategically programming the music, or talk content to appeal to a large and underserved portion of the market to attract a sellable audience. Then, asking ourselves ‘how de we incorporate a sponsor?’ when creating anything and everything else, on-air features and benchmarks, contests, digital content, imaging, etc. Thinking of how to work in a sponsor at the development level allows us to feature that sponsor in a controlled manner that retains the mass appeal of our programming content, attracting the widest potential audience. Which of course benefits both the station and the clients. But, at the same time, we should hold our ground by fully defining exactly what the station is, and what it isn’t, and protecting that brand at all times. I know it can be frustrating to constantly come up with sponsorable things that seemingly nobody sells while at the same time pushing back on features sales come up with that don’t fit the station or the brand, but we have to keep trying. It also helps immensely if we learn to say ‘no, but’ instead of <a contents="hard ‘no’s’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/don-t-default-to-no-by-andy-meadows/don-t-default-to-no-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">hard ‘no’s’</a> as a way to redirect others ideas into something that fits (Or that we’re already doing). </p>
<p>In sales we could start to ease the inter-office tension by stopping with the ‘we pay your salaries’ comments and attitudes. As aforementioned neither side exists without the other so they are both of equal importance. Take the occasional easy win by selling some of the turnkey features, benchmarks, contests and digital content the programming department is cranking out before moving on and creating additional sales driven content of our own. Be willing to walk away from or hurt a relationship with a single client if it’s going to put us at odds with thousands upon thousands of listeners. We should share the feedback we’re hearing from clients, potential clients and the community (since sales often has a higher volume of interaction within the market), but also remember that direct feedback is only part of the overall equation stations base their decisions on. Be transparent with our pricing instead of <a contents="being coy with it" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/being-coy-with-ad-pricing-by-andy-meadows/being-coy-with-ad-pricing-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">being coy with it</a>, but at the same time hold to it. It’s sales job to understand and define the value of each of the station’s assets and then protect that value by ensuring that no one is giving away the house just to make sure an idea they came up with happens immediately. </p>
<p>A few overall thoughts. Both programming and sales would be better served by trying to understand the challenges the other one faces. Each tend to think the other’s job is considerably easier than it actually is. There’s nothing simple about a job that requires the daily approval of the masses or one that demands we push past hundreds of rejections while asking people to part with their hard-earned money. Ultimately the solution is for neither side to have the final say, otherwise it severely weakens the one on the losing end and stations need both departments fully functional and healthy to consistently succeed. Organizationally this requires someone at the top that’s good at looking at the big picture and making unbiased decisions based solely on what’s best for the company. That can either be someone with a sales background and a working knowledge of radio programming or someone with a programming background and a working knowledge of sales. It also helps to embrace a <a contents="‘best idea wins’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/7093905/best-idea-wins-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">‘best idea wins’</a> and company-wide rewards and repercussions approach to further break down the walls between departments. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by kjpargeter for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/71036242022-11-16T12:05:18-06:002022-11-22T04:38:29-06:00Where To Cutoff Current Categories By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/57087df2a7828cba86a94cd8a87f9fac3ab4b61f/original/an-architect-working-and-cutting-papers-in-office-2022-10-06-22-20-07-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When programming any new music station it’s easy to get in the habit of having a specific, set amount of songs in each of our current categories. This practice can of course be a good thing because it keeps us from over-adding by forcing us to make those hard decisions on which new songs will make the cut. However, the number of songs per category are typically chosen based on how many songs we need to make our rotations work in combination with the percentage of new songs we want in each hour when the database is initially being built. Then those category numbers have a tendency to stay there, often for years, without any adjustment. A better practice is to have those current category counts ebb and flow based on the strength of the songs at any given time within our station’s genre. That being said, based on the internal data we track. Here’s how deep we believe stations should go with currents right now across the major new music genres. </p>
<p>For pop (Hot AC/CHR/Top 40) there are currently 20 songs that are in very high demand and what we would consider ‘Big hits’ (Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” sits atop that list as of the writing of this blog). Beyond that there are another 5 titles that only drop off a little and another 5 on the cusp. So, we suggest going no tighter than 20 new songs and no deeper than 27 to 30. Keep in mind, as expected this is THE most popular genre of music right now. </p>
<p>Urban (Hip Hop/R&B with an emphasis on Hip Hop) is the second strongest genre with a handful of it’s songs breaking into the overall top twenty we’re watching across all genres (All of the rest are pop). There are 15 very strong new Hip Hop & R&B songs (Drake & 21 Savage “Rich Flex” is at #1). Just below those tunes another 15 to 20 are bubbling under. Tight urban stations could go as low as 15 and looser stations could go as deep as 30 to 35 even. This genre is stronger than radio is giving it credit for right now. </p>
<p>Conversely, country is a little weaker than it’s traditionally been because it’s still trying to figure out who it’s next crop of mega-stars will be and reluctant to let go of a few whose careers have faded (Not abnormal historically). There’s only really 8 to 11 country ‘hits’ right now (Led by Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs). But, there’s another 15 songs that are bubbling under, all at relatively the same place. So, country stations could go as tight as 8 and as deep as 26, hence why most country stations are leaning heavier on recurrent and gold right now. </p>
<p>New rock is really struggling at the moment. There’s 5 new rock ‘hits’ as we define them and only another 5 titles bubbling under that. Even more so than country, rock stations should, and generally are, lean HEAVILY into their recurrent and gold categories until the genres strengthens (Which it will for both rock and country because this is all cyclical).</p>
<p>One easy way to make the adjustment to slimmer current categories is to get more comfortable <a contents="resting songs" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/adding-resting-refreshing-music-by-andy-meadows/adding-resting-refreshing-music-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">resting songs</a> and set up a rest category for each of the current categories. Remember, resting isn't deleting and there's nothing keeping us from bringing those songs back at any point.</p>
<p>What do you think? How deep are you going with your current categories and do you adjust those numbers or stay consistent with them? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. You can also schedule a meeting and I’ll share with you some of our internal song data we’re tracking weekly for any genre.</p>
<p>Pic by farknot for <a contents="Envato Elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70989692022-11-09T17:37:19-06:002022-11-15T03:53:03-06:00The Era of The Content Creator By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/313d9527c4f2df7d7422d35a3650c55eefb3996c/original/closeup-podcast-presenter-reading-questions-from-audience-using-laptop-woman-content-creator-online-live-broadcast-from-home-studio-african-american-internet-radio-host-recording-interview.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>With the rise of social media and the multitude of digital platforms competing for our attention throughout our daily lives, we’ve officially entered the era of the content creator. That segmenting of where people get their content, and the kinds of people creating it, has disrupted the business model for all traditional forms of media and will continue to do so over the coming years. This disruption has put many hard-working, experienced, print, TV and radio people out of work and pushed some of them out of their industries all-together. But, at the same time it’s created vast new opportunities for anyone capable of creating any kind of content on their own that connects with people. That’s because media companies are no longer the only people realizing the value of paying people that have that unique skill to create content on their behalf. But, what does all of that mean for radio and how can we thrive in this era of the content creator? Here are a few steps we can take as an industry to do just that. </p>
<p>1) Identify our own content creators, empower, <a contents="reward" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/tracking-and-rewarding-digital-performance-by-andy-meadows/tracking-and-rewarding-digital-performance-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">reward</a> and encourage them to create original content on our radio groups’ behalf on a daily basis across all of our digital platforms. Overall, there are fewer and fewer positions available for live and local on-air talent. So, it’s incredibly important that those positions go to people capable of creating <a contents="multi-platform content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">multi-platform content</a>. But because we’re competing with tons of other industries now for those original content creators ,we’re going to have to <a contents="pay them more going forward" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent/5-things-that-determine-the-value-of-air-talent" target="_blank">pay them more going forward</a> and give them better tools. Additionally, the window for talent who can only rip and read from a show prep site or hit the station liners is closing rapidly. But, there’s still a place for them within the operation. </p>
<p>2) Transition our content curators and readers (liner jocks) to stay on board as support staff for those originators while training them on how to become content creators themselves. But, remember to play to their strengths and not push them to do things they don’t have an aptitude for just to check a box. </p>
<p>3) Identify train and encourage other staff outside of the on-air personalities who have an aptitude for creating content to do so on the company’s behalf. After all, digital content creation is a team sport and shouldn’t be left up to the few remaining on-air talent within any operation. </p>
<p>4) Turn all of our on-air studios, some prod rooms and even offices into <a contents="content creation studios" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-creation-studios-by-andy-meadows/content-creation-studios-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">content creation studios</a>. The easier and more front of mind we can make it for our talent to crank out multi-platform content the more likely they are to do it regularly. If it takes and hour and someone on staff who’s technically inclined to setup everything, it will rarely happen. </p>
<p>5) Stop making <a contents="digital an afterthought" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/digital-can-t-be-an-afterthought-by-andy-meadows/digital-can-t-be-an-afterthought-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">digital an afterthought</a> that only happens once everything else is done. Time spent creating digital content isn’t a trade-off that cancels out or hinders the execution of on-air responsibilities because it all works together. Most of the digital content our on-air talent create will build on (extend or pre-promote) the on air content they’re creating because in radio <a contents="it all starts on air" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/it-all-starts-on-air-by-andy-meadows/it-all-starts-on-air-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">it all starts on air</a>. Plus, any additional content they create outside of that simply serves to build their brand, driving more attention to their airshifts. </p>
<p>6) <a contents="Stop bonusing digital" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/stop-bonusing-digital/stop-bonusing-digital" target="_blank">Stop bonusing digital</a> and charge accordingly. Any digital asset a station has, their stream, their website, videos, app, podcast episodes and even their social feeds (Yes there are ways to include sponsors in those as well) have a hard and justifiable value to them. That value is actually much easier to explain to most savvy media buyers now than it has ever been and, in many ways, it’s simpler to explain than the value of a :30 terrestrial radio ad. </p>
<p>What do you think about how radio can stay competitive in this era of the content creator? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by DCStudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70939052022-11-02T13:21:27-05:002022-11-09T04:05:35-06:00Best Idea Wins By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/24af42ae3a581be3bb7bf14d0931e3afeeb9de37/original/idea-concept-with-light-bulb-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%">The Seattle Seahawks are one of the best stories in the NFL this year, at least so far. Despite losing their franchise quarterback and turning to a guy the rest of the league had pretty much given up on, they’re currently sitting atop the NFC West. After their big win over the Giants Sunday wide receiver Tyler Lockett said “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit.” A comment many interpreted to be a shot at Seattle’s former star QB Russell Wilson, something that Lockett has since denied. But, either way it’s a powerful statement that anyone who’s ever been part of a winning team can relate to.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%">When I’m working with team shows I’m constantly pushing them to adopt a best idea wins philosophy as opposed to always defaulting to either the idea from the host or the strongest personality type on the show. That’s because there are a whole host of things shows can choose to talk about, or not talk about, every single day. Plus, within each of the topics we decide on there are multiple different angles we can approach them from. So, the only way to consistently narrow that down to the right topics and angles for a specific target demographic within our market is to harness the brain power of everyone involved in the show.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%">However, Tyler’s lesson goes far beyond just the on-air staff. Creating an environment where the ‘best idea wins’ approach will be embraced by the entire staff starts at the very top and trickles down through every layer of management. Any weak link along that chain should be identified and remedied or it won’t work. Just like the smaller example of a few people working on a morning show, imagine how powerful an operation we could run if we harnessed the power of every mind in our operation. It’s like the difference between running one server or a server and hundreds of computers working in tandem together on the same problem. Then we could even take it a step further by crowdsourcing ideas from our diehard P1s.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%">All of that sounds great in theory but obviously its hard to execute and even harder to maintain over long periods of time. Especially because titles and egos are involved as well as varying levels of experience and expertise. But, it starts with changing the philosophy of the people at the top and getting managers throughout the operation to buy in, or hiring others who do. Setting up a clear organizational structure while still having open forums for the sharing of ideas within and across all departments. Then setting up a system of incentive rewards for exceptional performance and holding staff accountable through repercussions for poor performance, while also praising and rewarding the management team for any excellence that happens on their watch (especially if they give others the credit.)</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%">What do you think? How have you established a ‘best idea wins’ culture? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</span></span></span></span></span></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70891462022-10-26T13:34:09-05:002022-10-29T04:40:57-05:00Over Prepare, Don't Over Air By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/85c847285b1fc3cc293778e20ccdf95bac3cc2d6/original/car-dashboard-radio-closeup-woman-sets-up-radio-while-driving-car.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’m a huge proponent of on-air personalities doing lots of showprep and working further in advance because a <a contents="lack of preparation" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows/preparation-beats-talent-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">lack of preparation</a>, or only preparing right before the show begins, is one of the main things shows get wrong. However, once we’ve developed a system to adequately prepare, that can sometimes lead to another issue, over-airing. </p>
<p>Just like the challenge talented writers face of not falling in love with their words and learning to self-edit, or film directors being willing to cut a great scene that isn’t needed, good on-air personalities can struggle with leaving some of that prepared content off the air. We’re not in a contest to see who can talk about the most things and nobody is listening to us with a clipboard checking off a list to make sure we hit everything. Often talent who are good at show prepping miss that critical step of trimming the prep down to only <a contents="choose content they can add to" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">choose content they can add to</a> and make their own. Then, strive to get the most out of the content they do air. After all, <a contents="we need less content than we think" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/you-need-less-content-than-you-think-by-andy-meadows/you-need-less-content-than-you-think-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">we need less content than we think</a> because we want the room to carry over content that becomes sticky and drives more engagement on air and social than we expected. We should also be willing to bring that content back later in the show or the following day. That’s hard to do when we feel obligated to talk about everything we prepared. </p>
<p>Shows that prepare well, but edit poorly, tend to have several multi-topic breaks with very loosely connected content that’s all weighted the same. Then over the course of the show they end up sounding like they’re just throwing a bunch of things against the wall to see what sticks. That lack of focus leads to very little engagement from the listener because they’re not sure what to engage on. A better move is to be more selective about the content we air so we can let it breath and focus on ways to make it <a contents="relatable and interesting" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">relatable and interesting</a> to our core demo. The goal should always be to use the prep as a jumping off point to start a natural conversation that we then bring the audience in on. </p>
<p>Being willing to cut content we’d planned to talk about also helps leave room for things to happen organically. I’m a firm believer in never going into a break without knowing how I’m going to get into content, a rough idea on how I’m going to wade through the details and how I’m going to get out. So, when I’m on air I’ve always got a planned out, and sometimes I think it’s a particularly good one. But, if I’m truly taking a ‘what’s best for the show’ approach I HAVE to be willing to abandon that pre-planned out if something better comes up naturally either from my cohost, a listener weighing in or even myself. </p>
<p>But, I get it. It’s human nature to want to get some use out of things that we’ve spent time developing. However, we don’t win an award for rushing to air something. We can always save content for later. Then, if that stuff starts to pile up, we can even do a ‘stories that fell through the cracks’ type segment similar to what most late-night talks shows do. The Daily Show’s is currently called ‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That’ and Colbert dubbed his similar feature ‘Meanwhile.’ Or, if we really feel like it’s piling up daily, we can utilize some of it in a post-show video for the web or social as a way to extend the show. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by diana.grystku for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70845772022-10-19T13:51:27-05:002022-10-26T05:33:29-05:00Party For Everyone By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/495237b7fe7bc23621351aae86ddc135c92651c9/original/2538.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Like many people I grew up watching Saturday Night Live and I still quote lines from it with references that are increasingly lost on people with each passing year. Because I’m a superfan one of the podcasts I go out of my way to listen to every week is <a contents="‘Fly On The Wall’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/123f1e62-057f-4d02-a3b9-edd358cd1a17/fly-on-the-wall-with-dana-carvey-and-david-spade?ref_=dmm_acq_mrn_d_ds_rh_z_-c_c_624437673508_g_142316628152&gclid=CjwKCAjwwL6aBhBlEiwADycBILJ2SCAHLOf2TRdV4WvTqQ2vIzYBSIgLDGmkRJOp4XWLLoTRjzwZNxoCsRcQAvD_BwE" target="_blank"><em>‘Fly On The Wall’</em></a> with Dana Carvey and David Spade. Each episode they bring on cast members, hosts and other people in the SNL orbit to reminisce about their experiences on the show. Predictably the conversation often turns to the show’s creator Lorne Michaels, leading Carvey, Spade and the guest to launch into their Lorne impressions because seemingly everyone has one. Recently, they had the man himself on for a two-part episode and one of the nuggets of wisdom the SNL legend shared with his former employees applies perfectly to radio personalities and on-air content. </p>
<p>They were discussing how Lorne could tell whether a sketch was destined to create some of those memorable, quotable moments that turn it into a recurring sketch and eventually a movie. His answer was simple, the common denominator is one word, “Fun”. When the cast members seem like they’re genuinely having fun and they’re able to bring the audience in on that fun, those magical moments tend to happen. I know that may sound simple, but I believe it’s a true and very powerful statement. Audiences pick up on when we’re having genuine fun, or when we’re being professional and faking it to mask our dislike for what we’re performing, and that ‘genuine fun’ is incredibly contagious.</p>
<p>But, the second part is equally important. I hear lots of on-air shows that sound like THEY are having fun, but they do little, or nothing, to bring the audience in on that fun. I call it having a party for one, or two/three on team shows, instead of having a party for everyone. A great metaphor for why this is bad to do is the party next door. Anyone that’s every lived in an apartment has probably heard their next-door neighbor having a huge party. At first, it’s kind of interesting to be a voyeur and hear that party going on, but quickly it becomes depressing, and ultimately annoying, that we weren’t invited to the party. Shows that are too internally focused tend to sound like either a party the audience wasn’t invited to or, even worse, a party they were invited to but it’s 100% focused on the hosts having fun instead of them. Think my wife inviting you to my birthday party, where of course all of the presents are for me, but upon arrival she also tells you to think of a story to share about how great I am and informs you that she’s come up with some awesome party games that Andy’s going to play while we all sit and watch him have fun. Sounds like a terrible party right? At least for everyone but me. </p>
<p>So, what’s the solution for shows becoming a party for everyone. First, evaluating all of our features/benchmarks/daily content decisions to make sure we're more <a contents="externally focused than internally focused" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">externally focused than internally focused</a>. Then, coming up with <a contents="engagement angles" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">engagement angles</a> to make each segment more interactive so we can air TONS of listener audio throughout the show. Finally, engaging with our audience consistently on social media and taking the time to respond to them in the comments. It’s also important to close the loop on social by doing some fun <a contents="off-air digital content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows/multi-platform-content-ideas-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">off-air digital content</a> the day prior that sets listening appointments for specific times the next day, scheduling some of those to be immediate and post during the show for on-air content coming up soon and extending fun on-air content that gets great engagement by doing something longer form to share to web/social (Like a video, podcast episode or both) after the show. </p>
<p>However, radio talent who aren't having fun on air themselves need to find some way to rediscover that joy they had when they first started on air. After all, it should be the fun part of the job!</p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70798582022-10-12T10:41:56-05:002022-10-19T03:33:57-05:00Kill The Music Meeting By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/13d9913df99d6d89c2d4758ff3de87b7438ae9d0/original/wooden-table-product-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>This is a hard blog for me to write. As a musician and a self-described music snob, there are few things I enjoy more than sitting in a room with other music lovers and evaluating new tunes. Even though I learned years ago to listen and base my decisions on what I assume the majority of the station’s audience would think instead of what I personally think. But, the simple truth is, music meetings aren’t necessary anymore and haven’t been for the better part of a decade now. </p>
<p>In radio, we are no longer the gate keepers that stand between <a contents="new music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/6984429/the-state-of-new-music-formats-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">new music</a> and the fans and get to decide what they will be introduced to. The game has changed. Those fans have access to everything that’s released at their fingertips and most of them know about any new song well before we play them. The big name artists have more platforms than ever to go directly to those fans and let them know about their new tunes and hear them. Plus, even up and coming artists can now use those same platforms to much more affordably reach the masses, hence why the vast majority of their budgets are going into digital marketing campaigns instead of national radio promotion. </p>
<p>So how can radio fit in this picture? For starters we need to stop doing things how we’ve always done them. No more sitting in a room with a couple other staff members trying to guess what our audience will be into. Instead, lets embrace those same tools to bring our listeners into that room with us. Instead of a staff music meeting, do a virtual music meeting that’s promoted via an on-air audio promo, and social video promo, that both drive traffic to a station web post where they can vote in exchange for a prize incentive. Or, for stations that are really just trying to decide between two new songs each week, simplify it as a head-to-head (think old smash or trash feature we’ve all done but with less of a negative connotation). Here’s <a contents="some examples" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5o8et38aqth7cu7/AAAE2swhqcidCpLGgCTFk2gma?dl=0" target="_blank">some examples</a> of both of these we’ve done for our clients recently. </p>
<p>For anyone reading this getting angry because they spent years developing the ability to fairly accurately guess whether or not a song was going to be a ‘hit’ and are therefore reluctant to let go of music meetings. I’d encourage them to redirect that skillset to help them get further ahead in the process and identify new artists and songs that should be on our radar but aren’t. Because within days of new songs coming out, but certainly within a week, the data will tell us whether or not it’s connecting with the public. That’s what we should be basing our add/drop/move decisions on. It’s no longer a guessing game, all we have to do is <a contents="follow the data" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">follow the data</a> and use our ear to code appropriately and get the desired quarter hour mix. To better serve our consulting clients we track this data weekly across all the main genres, and some sub-genres, as we help them collect data of their own to regionalize/localize their formats. Schedule a <a contents="free 30-minute consultation here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/schedule-meeting" target="_blank">free 30-minute consultation here</a> to get a glimpse at some of that data. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by rawpixel for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70705192022-09-28T16:09:49-05:002022-10-10T06:25:33-05:00Who's The Show For? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/64ff85712c8114f42f362b62c12c0fd5bc80fb9f/original/color-interrogation-symbols.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I know that sounds like a pretty basic question. But, it’s an important one that we should always ask ourselves if we’re lucky enough to do a live and local shift on any radio station. Because if we don’t start there, it doesn’t matter how talented we are or how much time and energy we put into the show, it’s likely to fail. </p>
<p>Figuring out who our show is for begins with understanding who the station itself is for. When you spend the bulk of your time evaluating stations and coaching on-air talent, two things start to stand out. 1) There’s a much higher percentage of air talent than you’d expect who can’t tell you the core demo of the station they do a daily shift on. 2) When stations have multiple air talent and you ask them all the station’s core demo, it’s typical to get a handful of slightly different answers. This generally happens because, even though stations start with a primary target demo, that often gets muddied over the years as the station does better than expected in a few books with other demos. So, it’s important for programmers to consistently reiterate the main target demo to all air talent that crack the mic. </p>
<p>However, knowing that core demo is just the start of actually understanding who we’re talking to. To really hone-in, we have to do a deep dive into their interests, personality types, lifestyles, and a whole host of other information that we’ll ONLY attain by <a contents="interacting and engaging" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">interacting and engaging</a> with listeners every chance we get on the air (phones/text), online (web/social/app) and on-site. Not only will this better inform our content selection choices, it also has the big side benefit of making our shows sound substantially more entertaining and fun. Plus, we’ll start to understand if there are subtle difference within the station’s audience on our specific daypart, again helping us to target them with tailored content. </p>
<p>When we’re personally outside of the core demo either age-wise or because we have a drastically different lifestyle than our core audience, it’s easy to <a contents="set aside our personal interests" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows/internal-vs-external-talk-breaks-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">set aside our personal interests</a> when constructing a show. But, when we’re firmly inside the demo and live a similar lifestyle to our core audience, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we can just talk about the things we’re personally interested in. Deducing that, because of our commonality, the audience will likely be interested in the same things we are. In my experience this is rarely the case on anything outside a very narrow set of subjects. Why? Because radio people are a rare breed. Radio takes a unique person with a strange set of skills and a willingness to put in the massive time and effort required to learn how to consistently entertain the masses simply by talking. Even though it may REALLY seem like the audience on any particular station we’re on is eerily similar to us, 9.9 times out of 10, they are not. We’re weird, embrace it and understand that to attract and retain a broad daily audience, we have to create a show that’s truly for the audience instead of ourselves. That requires dialing up or down certain parts of our personality and choosing some content that we often have little or no interest in. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by dashu83 for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70655542022-09-21T12:38:01-05:002022-09-28T15:51:06-05:00Other Places To Get Show Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/2e456aedbbb1dd9749909378ff380aef5a15d9d3/original/idea-concept-with-light-bulb.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />There are lots of great radio show prep services out there, Cheat Sheet, Sheet Happens, <a contents="Personality Magnet" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tracyjohnson.kartra.com/page/FSU265" target="_blank">Personality Magnet</a> and many more. I strongly recommend that all on air talent subscribe to at least one of them as they can all help us manage the workload of coming up with things to talk about for upwards of 16 talk breaks per day. But, outside of those services there are several other places we can pull content from. Here are just a few. </p>
<p><strong>Life:</strong> Learning to take a personal story from our life and tell it on air in a relatable and interesting way is a powerful tool for connecting with our audience. One trick for doing this well is a) trying it out on multiple people before taking it on air to help us know what details to include/exclude and b) never worry about being married to the truth. We’re entertainers not historians. All our personal stories should come with a heavy dose of exaggeration and embellishment. Plus, we can also pull things from our friends and family’s lives and either attribute it to them or pretend it happened to us so we don’t have to explain who they are to an audience that already knows us. </p>
<p><strong>Pop culture:</strong> For the most part personalities on current based stations do a good job tapping into the pop culture well when creating their on-air content. But, there’s no reason for shows on other formats to ignore the big celebrity news of the day as long as they find an angle to make it relevant and interesting to their audience. Same goes with talking about new movies and tv shows that fit our core demos as well. </p>
<p><strong>Sports:</strong> Again, we don’t have to be on a sports talk station to talk about the BIG sports stories of the day, especially if there are lifestyle, relationship or other things about those particular sports stories that make them relatable to our audience. </p>
<p><strong>Comics:</strong> Coming out of their pandemic blackout stand-up comics have gotten really creative with how they leverage their on-stage content via all the different social platforms. They’ve also been at the forefront of podcasting from the beginning. That’s why I always encourage on air talent to pay attention to what comics are doing for inspiration on ways to create compelling on-air and digital content. </p>
<p><strong>Other content creators:</strong> The same goes for social media influencers, youtubers, twitch stars, television shows and personalities, podcasters, other radio shows and anyone else regularly creating content. Their topics that get lots of engagement, (comments, likes, shares, downloads, views, callers, etc) will likely do well for us too if we put it in our own voice. </p>
<p><strong>New angles on old topics:</strong> Many on air shows tend to touch on topics and then retire them for a lot longer than necessary out of a desire to not feel like they’re talking about the same things over and over. But, there’s nothing wrong with taking a mental note of content we did that got a good reaction and approaching it again from a different angle soon thereafter. </p>
<p>Often new on-air talent, or even veteran talent on new formats to them, steer clear of topics that they fear might not fit their format. But, the truth is, once we get good at connecting with our audience daily, it opens everything up. A personality that truly understands who they’re talking to can talk about anything, because they know the angle to approach it from to make it fit. </p>
<p>What do you think? Where do you get outside inspiration for some of your on-air content? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70601842022-09-14T12:26:13-05:002022-09-21T01:23:55-05:00Tips To Keep Them Listening Through Stopsets By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/678bf1e279d4acbbecaf43aac5ca188d53c10156/original/portrait-young-curious-young-woman-trying-hear-rumors.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’ve written a lot about stopset length and how I believe radio needs to <a contents="shorten their commercial breaks" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radioink.com/2019/11/05/making-a-case-for-shorter-stopsets/" target="_blank">shorten their commercial breaks</a> to better compete with our digital opponents. But, I get that not every station can switch to something as extreme as my minute model. So, with that in mind, here are some tricks and tips we can employ to keep our listeners tuning in throughout our stopsets. </p>
<ul> <li>Run, ‘x minutes or less’ imaging going into stopsets to let them know how quickly we’ll return to programming (Or do so in our verbal teases). NOTE: There’s a delicate balance we want to strike here because it’s a mistake to paint commercials in a negative light (Since they fund our whole operations and we’ve worked hard to develop relationships with our advertisers). So, any verbiage about commercial breaks/stopsets should focus on the positives of our upcoming programming and avoid anything that disparages the spots themselves. </li> <li>Do contesting within stopsets by placing interactive and entertaining wedges in-between spots and another payoff wedge toward the end of the commercial break. I’ve heard stations do this with the ‘programming returns in x seconds’ imaging wedges within stopsets, but why not do some contesting as well to keep the listeners engaged (Similar to the little trivia/games they play if you show up early to the movies). </li> <li>Coaching all on-air personalities to create compelling, and <a contents="unique on-air content daily" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/6417755/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">unique on-air content daily</a> and craft well-worded teases to that content strong enough to force listeners to stay with us despite the commercial interruptions.</li> <li>Making our spots more entertaining so they <a contents="sound like entertainment elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/what-if-they-were-all-entertainment-elements-by-andy-meadows-12c1bf65-6599-47ea-98cf-102fabd7c2aa/what-if-they-were-all-entertainment-elements-by-andy-meadows-12c1bf65-6599-47ea-98cf-102fabd7c2aa" target="_blank">sound like entertainment elements</a> instead of ads. Yes, that’s easier said then done but we can at least move in that direction by a) moving back our production deadlines to allow our staffs to get more creative with the copy/production and b) utilize outside sources to supplement that creative.</li> <li>Shortening our stopsets and putting hard minute and unit break limits in place. Even if we can’t move to the really short commercial breaks yet, we should at least shorten them up a little and set firm and UNBREAKABLE limits that we hold to throughout the year. That way we can image around those limits and include it in our pitch as part of our point of difference from other stations in the market. Every study I’ve ever seen that showed people are just as likely (or nearly as likely) to tune out if a stopset is three minutes or six minutes had some flaws in how it was conducted (in my opinion). Besides it being simple human nature, our listeners (young and old) have been trained for years now to listener to shorter and less intrusive commercial breaks across all other platforms. It’s impossible for that to not have an effect on their listening habits now and going forward. </li>
</ul>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by drobotdean for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70551672022-09-07T13:58:37-05:002022-09-13T06:18:39-05:004 Steps For Connecting With The Listeners By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0a731119af0ec7fc97b53d346d2450f478ac2f74/original/business-growth-concept-grey-white-wall-side-view-man-putting-fingers-step-stairs.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>At best most shows have one or two spots a day where they’re connecting with the listeners, usually through contesting or their best daily benchmark. That’s certainly better than shows that don’t connect with the audience at all. But, it’s not enough to really move the needle and drive new cume and more TSL. So, here are four steps to help any show connect with the listeners throughout their shift. </p>
<p>1) Create an on-air persona that people want to connect with, one that’s welcoming, inviting, interesting, positive, cool, funny or a combination of those. I’ve coached and managed lots of on-air talent who were sent down the wrong path early in their career by being given the well-meaning and seemingly harmless advice to ‘be yourself’ on the air. Programmers say this because they want us to sound more natural and drop the put-on DJ voice, but personality-wise it’s rare for a successful air talent to be 100% themselves on the air. Typically, we <a contents="turn up or turn down" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows/dialing-up-or-down-your-personality-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">turn up or turn down</a> certain aspects of our personality to create a persona that works better on air and fits the specific demo and format for they station we’re on. I know personally I’m a slightly different jock depending on the format and none of them are exactly who I am, because I’m a weirdo and it’s important for me to downplay certain parts of that to be more appealing to the audience. </p>
<p>2) Only choosing <a contents="content we can add to" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">content we can add to</a> that’s <a contents="relatable" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows/relatable-interesting-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">relatable</a> to the core demo and fits our format. Too often shows default to just choosing content they’re interested in talking about. It’s easy to rationalize this by telling ourselves that those are the topics we’re most knowledgeable about and can therefore intelligently speak on. But it’s misguided and it’s one reason why many shows are internally focused instead of externally focused. If instead we make a concerted effort to ONLY choose content we can add to/expand on that truly relates to our core demo and fits the format, we’ll be on our way to connecting with the audience consistently. </p>
<p>3) Getting to that content quickly. Another area where many shows fall short is by adding any kind of filler before they get to that content they’ve worked so hard to identify, coordinate on and schedule. That filler can be content that’s unrelated, overdoing station info/liners/promotions, weather talk, personal stuff, long-winded intros to the content to make it seem more organic, etc. If we want to connect with our listeners we have to start by not wasting their time with ANY unnecessary filler. </p>
<p>4) Make listeners a part of the show. This doesn’t just mean giving out the phone number and asking them to call or ‘join the conversation’. Yes, that’s part of it. But, only a small part. One of the big secrets of successful major market shows and syndicated shows is that they never leave anything to chance. Although it may sound like things just organically and magically come together, that’s RARELY ever the case. Everything is <a contents="strategic, purposeful and planned" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/working-purposefully-and-strategically-by-andy-meadows/working-purposefully-and-strategically-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">strategic, purposeful and planned</a>. A big part is that, especially on new benchmarks/features/contests, they never throw something out for engagement without having a ringer, faked or banked call lined up to get the ball rolling. Another key to <a contents="getting that listener engagement going" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows/jumpstarting-engagement-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">getting that listener engagement going</a>, on air/social/the app, is to leave room for the listener to engage. It’s not our job to cover every angle and if we do there’s nothing left for the audience to interject. Remember, if we have a solo show the listener should be our co-host and on team shows the listener should be the extra member. If we make the audience feel like they’re in the room with us, we’ll consistently outperform the competition. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by 8photo for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70501352022-08-31T11:26:15-05:002022-09-06T10:20:42-05:00Rewarding Radio Superfans By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/9aa939919b43800dedb6f922995e49c2940a043d/original/superman-and-boy.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As someone who spent the better part of my life in a radio station, I understand how easy it is to get annoyed by prize pigs and diehard listeners that call in, and even drop by, constantly. I’ve also had a few run-ins with the occasional station stalkers. But pouring through the ratings year after year and now sitting in on ratings calls multiple times per year across all different formats, it becomes painfully obvious how much of an out-sized impact those individual superfans can have when it comes to building Cume, TSL and AQH. </p>
<p>There’s a handful of reasons why those mega listeners are so consequential during the book. Other than maybe us, they tune in more than anyone. They also market on our behalf telling everyone they know about the station they love. Their devotion to our brand makes them less likely to share much listening with other stations. They help to give us a built-in audience for virtually anything we try to do interactive/engagement-wise on-air, on social, online and on-site. Plus, and probably most importantly, they are the exact kind of people who are CONSIDERABLY more likely to say yes when someone asks them if they’d be willing to wear a people meter or fill out a diary in exchange for a couple bucks. </p>
<p>Yet, many stations ignore them by being short when they call, blowing them off when they stop by the station or events and even put restrictions on how often they can win prizes with 30-day-rules. Believe me I get it, when you’re on air and you’re trying to focus on the upcoming break it’s hard to not get a little testy with them droning on and on, but there are tactful ways of getting off the phone. At events our whole goal is to get our brands in front of as many people as possible and make as many connections with listeners, and potential listeners, as possible and that’s hard to do when we’re cornered by a diehard P1 for a long time. The same goes for prize giveaways where the desire to spread the love around so the same people aren’t always winning is fully understandable. But, there are ways to balance appealing to the masses while still super-serving the diehard P1s. </p>
<p>One of the things I’ve recommended to clients is to start awarding a “Fan of The Week” on each of their stations, with the programming staff or even the morning show setting the criteria and selecting the weekly winner. Depending on what types of engagement the station is trying to drive that week, the criteria could be a top commenter on social or the website, someone who calls consistently or who added to our on-air content with a really good call, someone who comes to a lot of station events or remotes or enters lots of contests. Then we announce that winner on-air, put their pic and a small amount of bio info on the web and share that to the station social feeds. Plus, we reward them with some kind of special prize, something exclusive and different than our everyday giveaways. Some ideas for that include signed merch (By artists on music stations or athletes on sports talk, which we can bank throughout the year at events by getting them to sign things saying “Thanks for being our STATION NAME fan of the week!”), private exclusive events or VIP tickets to big events, etc. </p>
<p>Bottom line is, station superfans should be treated like regulars at a bar or restaurant and not like a nuisance. Walking into a place where everyone knows our name, they know exactly what we’re going to order and they even know about our lives, makes us feel special. That’s how we need to make these superfans feel. So, we should coach our staff on how to treat them like part of the family instead of that annoying neighbor we try to avoid at all costs. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by macrovector for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70451762022-08-24T15:39:31-05:002022-08-30T01:32:59-05:005 Things That Determine The Value of Air Talent<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/9f5988a15049e49aa8fc2cabd61c15c0b28d4d72/original/billie-dollar-money-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Unless they’re a heritage personality that’s tied to lots of revenue, most radio groups struggle to figure out the real monetary value of their on-air talent. Sometimes that leads to under-budgeting for open positions and drastically narrowing the talent pool and other times it leads to overpaying personalities that aren’t really adding value to the stations they’re on. Above and beyond their voice and delivery (Which are still important but not the end all be all anymore), here are the five things I look at when determining the value of any on air talent in any market or format. </p>
<p>1) <strong>Their ability to engage the audience.</strong> Do they know how to word a hook so it makes listeners turn up the radio, pay attention and stay engaged throughout a content break? Can they consistently get to that hook early in a break without feeling obligated to add a bunch or fluff or organically explain their way into the hook to justify the content? If so, they score highly in the engagement category, especially if they can leverage that engagement across the stations many other platforms. </p>
<p>2) <strong>How well they interact with the audience.</strong> With the amount of voicetracking happening now, working the phones appears to be a lost art across many markets and dayparts. But, if a talent is lucky enough to be given a live and local shift, lighting up and TRULY mining those phone lines for good content from the listeners is mission critical. When I started working on air the phones and on-site listener interaction were they only two things we had to worry about (And the on-site piece is still VERY important.) But now we also have to interact before, during and after our shows on the station’s website and social media platforms getting the conversations started with engaging posts and keeping them going by joining the comments. </p>
<p>3)<strong> </strong><strong>Skilled at setting listener appointments daily.</strong><strong> </strong>On air talent that can set multiple listening appointments every shift will single-handedly drive TSL by making at least a portion of their audience listen a little longer than they intended (and maybe even sit through other content they’re not that into). Conversely, personalities that rarely or never set listener appointments are adding very little value to stations. Those appointments should be set the day prior in short and to the point on air promos/imaging, day before and day of on social media and a couple minutes prior with compelling on-air teases in the previous break. </p>
<p>4) <strong>Able to expand on content.</strong> Literally anyone can get a show prep subscription, copy and paste some content and read it verbatim on the air. But, good air talent understand the importance of adding to that content by personalizing (with their own take, a funny one liner or by simply injecting some of their own, unique personality) and localizing (by tweaking, subtracting or adding details to make the content fit their format, demo and market better.) </p>
<p>5) <strong>How advertiser friendly they are.</strong> Veteran air talent know the importance of catering to clients in ways that actually benefit both the client and the station. That’s because over the years they’ve honed the on-air ability to strike that balance of how much advertiser info they can slip in without killing the entertainment value and losing the masses. Plus, off the air they understand that it isn’t just account/sales reps who need to cultivate relationships with advertisers, it’s everyone on staff including, and especially, the on-air talent. Being tied to large amounts of revenue is still the single easiest way for on-air personalities to justify and demand high salaries. Rookie and relatively new talent shouldn’t wait to learn that lesson and start applying it in their own on-air careers. </p>
<p>In the coming years radio will have to work even harder to compete with other industries for talented, multi-platform content creators capable of scoring highly in all five of the categories listed above. So, when we identify someone on staff, or a potential new hire, that does check all of those boxes it’s important that we get creative with their compensation and benefits. Plus, we need to come up with ways to add additional bonuses and incentives for going above and beyond (The sales department shouldn’t be the only department with a financial incentive to perform well.) Those incentives can be based on ratings, total audience including social/web/stream/podcasts, audience engagement, overall station revenue or a combination of all of those. </p>
<p>What do you think? How do you grade and value on-air personalities and is there anything I left out? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70400762022-08-17T14:24:59-05:002022-08-24T00:44:43-05:00Adding, Resting & Refreshing Music By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0a3d26c89788abda2756f727d322915db22be198/original/turn-the-music-on-modern-businessman-trying-his-n-2021-08-30-01-27-45-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As I’ve mentioned before, for a few years now we’ve been internally tracking the performance of new songs weekly across all the major formats and a few niche formats as well. At first it seemed incredibly arduous and time consuming, and to be frank, I wondered if it was a good use of my time. After all there were already several services that keep track of similar information that seemed to be fairly accurate on the majority of songs. But, after logging the data for a few months I was able to identify some patterns I felt like other services and charts were missing across all formats. Mainly, a few songs getting massive airplay that didn’t have the data to back up that airplay, and a couple of songs being left off that shouldn’t have been. Even worse, those errors often carried through the playlists in perpetuity going forward. That’s because most stations are so confident they’ve set the bar for new adds high enough that most songs that get over that bar should then filter down through the stay current, power recurrent and ultimately the recurrent and gold categories. </p>
<p>These actions have a trickle-down effect that starts with negatively impacting a few clock positions at first, but over months it really starts to weaken a station musically and over years it will make them completely non-competitive. However, there’s a simple three step fix for this. 1) Add the correct current songs up-front by following the data as opposed to looking at what other stations are adding. 2) Rest songs much more frequently. For some reason when we program music there’s a feeling that when we rest songs they’re being tossed into this black hole where songs go to die and never be heard from again. That especially seems to be the case when we just have one BIG rest category that we dump everything in. If instead we setup multiple rest categories, Rest Currents, Rest Power Recurrents, Rest Recurrent and Rest Gold, it won’t seem like that and it’ll be much easier to manage. Remember, it’s okay to rest songs and we can and should be doing so frequently. 3) Refresh from those rest categories to swap out songs that the data tells us are fairly close based on listener demand. This not only freshens up our station, it’s also a necessary step to keep our database from swelling past the target numbers we built to hit specific rotations we’re looking for within each category. Typically, I refresh currents weekly, power recurrents monthly, and recurrents/gold quarterly. </p>
<p>A programmer should be able to point to any song in their library, regardless of the category, and give a solid reason for why that song is in the active database. That reason should never be, ‘Because it’s a great song’ or ‘I love that song.’ It also shouldn’t be some variation of ‘people around here’ or ‘our audience loves that song’ unless that statement can be backed up by supplemental local data being collected that has a large enough sample base to make decisions on rather than the anecdotal feedback of a few friends, family or co-workers. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in seeing a snapshot of the data we collect, provide to our clients that do their own music logs and use on the stations we provide music logs for, schedule a meeting with me using this link or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Also, if you agree or disagree with anything I’ve said here join the conversation in the comments below. </p>
<p>Pic designed by mstandret for <a contents="Envato Elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70350582022-08-10T15:32:11-05:002022-08-26T05:41:18-05:00Position To Succeed By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/5f0c8112d021ad0196fedeaa60b66be415e72f69/original/close-up-player-with-his-fist-up.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When you talk to owners, operators and managers of underperforming stations they typically give you a handful of stock excuses for why their stations aren’t measuring up. They can’t find good help, their market is down overall, the economy is making everyone skittish about spending, etc. But the truth is, most stations that are consistently unsuccessful at hitting ratings and revenue goals do so because they’re not putting themselves in a position where there is a high probability they will be successful. Here are five steps to help a radio group or station put themselves in a position to succeed. </p>
<p>1) Get aggressive on recruiting and hiring. I get that finding good, motivated people in this current job market is challenging. That’s why it’s more important than ever that we as an industry get creative on how we recruit and hire staff. It’s time to look at everything, structing more competitive compensation packages that include better benefits, how we promote/market/advertise our job openings, how we can recruit and hire people from more diverse backgrounds, the kind of skills/experience/education we require for certain positions, etc. Also, it’s fine to poach from other radio groups and should be expected. </p>
<p>2) Train consistently and efficiently. The fastest way to improve an operation is to improve the skillsets and capability of the existing staff. We can use in-house training by having employees and managers train others on things they excel at. Then, bring in consultants like me to throw out idea starters and supplemental digital content to get the staff’s creative juices flowing, teach on-air talent through regular aircheck sessions and coach sales on how to price/pitch multiplatform content. Also, we should be open to spending money, or trading for additional education for staff in areas that directly benefit the overall operation. </p>
<p>3) Invest in the tools. Once we’ve hired and trained our staffs, the next step is to give them all the tools they need to regularly produce, create and monetize all of the multi-platform content we need every day. That can’t efficiently and effectively be done on outdated computers, equipment and software. Plus, often times, spending a little more money up-front can save much more money on the backend by cutting down the hours spent on each individual task, freeing staff up to be even more productive. </p>
<p>4) Set up a system of <a contents="rewards and repercussions" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">rewards and repercussions</a>. I know I say this a lot, but that’s because it’s true. If there’s no reward for doing something well and no repercussion for not doing it at all, or phoning it in, then most personality types won’t consistently do it. So, any additional responsibilities we’re asking our staff to take on should be accompanied by a new set of rewards (incentives) for doing them and a new set of repercussions (warnings, write-ups, suspensions and terminations) for not doing them. NOTE: This is the step many organizations fall short on, or even leave out all-together. </p>
<p>5) Changing the company culture. Stations and groups that have a history of underperforming have, by design or accident, created a losing culture. In losing cultures people don’t hold themselves or others accountable, make excuses for everything, expect and even laugh at failures and, most importantly, don’t expect anything to change or for the station or group to ever succeed. Converting a losing culture to a winning culture is a long and arduous process that takes commitment, determination, openness to outside opinions and a real desire and appetite for change. In my experience it generally takes one to two years to completely change a company’s culture. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me with your thoughts at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com, even if you vehemently disagree with me on anything. The best comment or suggestion will receive a free mystery gift.</p>
<p>Pic designed by bedneyimages for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70297502022-08-03T07:08:35-05:002022-08-10T15:32:35-05:00Missed Opportunities to Capture Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/de732d2a0b1eaf44adbe156c2eb46e4609d5a6da/original/table-with-content-creator-stuff-camera-microphone-tripod-headphones-working-from-home.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Consistently creating multi-platform content sounds like a lot of heavy lifting when starting from scratch. But, unlike other businesses, radio stations should never have to start from scratch because they are already doing several things that could easily be turned into multi-platform content with a little extra pre-planning. Here are a few of the major opportunities many stations miss to capture content. </p>
<p>Event content – I know several radio stations that do multiple big station events every year that all come and go without any content being captured other than a few pics snapped and shared to social. With the affordability of equipment now, and the ease of use, there’s no longer any excuse for this. At ANY station event where large groups of people are gathered we should ALWAYS collect several clips of video and LOTS of pictures. Some of which we share day of on social, in the following days on the web (If not immediately) and the remainder of which we combine into sizzle reels for the next time we do that event and to include in overall promotional sizzle reels. I’ve used professional videographers to do this in the past, on straight trade or a partial trade discount, done it myself with my <a contents="Mevo Start" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.mevo.com/?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Mevo%20-%20NA%20-%20DTX%20-%20Always%20On%20-%20Search%20-%20All%20Keywords%20-%20US%20-%20ROAS&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuaiXBhCCARIsAKZLt3mZ2sIzm3Bev_Y9CQKqg6jwPibSUFdxm871_TYHPgn86J16sEV0YXwaAvp4EALw_wcB" target="_blank">Mevo Start</a> multi-cam setup or just content shot on multiple iPhones (Which works best if you spend a little money to add some accessories.) </p>
<p>Artist generated content – There are several ways to get artists to bank content for radio stations. Anytime they’re label or management reaches out to us to partner in an artist promotion/giveaway/concert we should require the artist to record a custom video for us to go along with it. We should also convert our on-air studios into content creation studios by permanently adding cameras/lighting and a green screen (Or setup a separate digital content studio that’s always ready to go with the push of a few buttons). That way we can record long-form audio/video interviews anytime an artist comes in studio to use the best bits on air and the full, exclusive interview on the web/social/podcast. I’ve also had a lot of success with artist takeovers, where I send them a script to record at their convenience and I edit/produce it to look and sound good on-air/web/social. </p>
<p>Local celebrity generated content – Artists aren’t the only celebrities we can get to create multi-platform content on the station’s behalf. We should also encourage other local celebrities (Politicians, athletes, chefs, TV personalities, authors, influencers, etc) to do the same things. </p>
<p>Listener generated content – Hands down the largest untapped resource for creating multi-platform content stations under-utilize is their listening audience. Just like how good on-air talent coach listeners into giving them audio they can use on the phones daily, with some foresight we can encourage listeners to record and send us all kinds of audio/video content using the recording device in their pockets at all times, their smart phones. What works best is a combination of soliciting specific content we want on-air, incentivizing it with a GOOD prize, explaining it and giving them a place to enter it on the website, reinforcing it all on social and then using outgoing promotional staff (and DJs) to talk them into doing it at any and all on-site events. I like to send out scripts telling the promo team and DJs what to ask and even sample scripts for the listeners as well. </p>
<p>Also, any popular on-air feature, benchmark or contest can easily be turned into multi-platform content if we get creative and, again, plan it all out on the front end. What are some ways you’ve effectively captured multi-platform content recently? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by frimufilms for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70249392022-07-27T14:12:53-05:002022-08-11T10:34:30-05:00Yes You Should Do a Podcast By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/31b42c178d98129fb3de3f6ea3762cabe42901fa/original/side-view-radio-microphone-with-copy-space-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Despite constantly quoting the listenership stats, ad spend numbers, and even writing an eBook about it, I still get a lot of pushback from broadcasters when I encourage them to start podcasting. So, let me approach it this way. If you are an on-air talent, doing a podcast will help improve your on-air show. The time spent podcasting isn’t time taking away from focusing on-air, because you’ll find ample opportunities to use bite size chunks of the audio you capture in a podcast on-air (driving traffic to the already edited/published podcast). Plus, you’re simultaneously sharpening your ability to do long-form content and learning how the tease/hook/out lessons we’ve learned in radio can translate to this new platform. All of that has positive long-term impacts on a talent’s on-air show. Tying the podcast into an on-air show has a revenue benefit as well, because then it makes sense to monetize the on-air promo (and the boosted video promo on social) until the podcast downloads get up high enough to make their own money. </p>
<p>Whether we want to face this fact or not, it’s true. Today’s on-air talent are expected to be multi-platform content creators and compensated accordingly. So, the pressure to create digital content from management isn’t going to decrease in the coming years, it’s going to VASTLY increase. Podcasting is the one kind of digital content radio people already have the skillset for, with some minor tweaks. Plus, it’s easier than ever thanks to some new equipment. I recently purchased the new <a contents="RodeCaster Pro II" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://rode.com/en/interfaces-and-mixers/rodecaster-series/rodecaster-pro-ii" target="_blank">RodeCaster Pro II</a>, with it’s built-in mic-processing, smart pads, mix-minus, multi-channel output, and much more! Not a paid endorsement, I just love the thing because it’s cut my editing time down by 50%. It is $699, but worth it, and it’s release has dropped the original model’s price down. Tascam and Zoom have similar boards as well. </p>
<p>Using tools like the RodeCaster and my favorite live-streaming cameras, <a contents="Mevo Starts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.mevo.com/pages/mevo-camera" target="_blank">Mevo Starts</a>, any station can set up an affordable content creation studio within their building. That way it’s already setup and ready to go anytime someone needs to record an audio/video podcast, do a multi-cam live-stream, or bank an artist interview in a more casual setting. I strongly recommend this to all of my clients and can do a quick demo of the setup I take with me to stations in a Zoom for anyone that would like to see it. Also, all podcasts should be pushed to all the major platforms so they’re in all the places people are already going to get their podcasts instead of just living exclusively on stations websites. Here are the <a contents="5 podcast hosting sites" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/best-podcast-hosting-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">5 podcast hosting sites</a> I recommend for broadcasters, all of which push to those major platforms. </p>
<p>So, if anyone reading this has been contemplating starting a podcast for a while, but has yet to pull the trigger, wait no longer. Veteran on-air talent with a massive following, YES you should definitely do a podcast. Second or third chair on a morning show looking to hone your hosting skills, YES start a podcast. Work in radio in an off-air position but part of you has always kind of wanted to be on air, YES its time to start a podcast. </p>
<p>The pushback from on-air talent I typically get is something like ‘why would I talk to 10 people on a podcast when I talk to thousands upon thousands on the air?’ Which is misguided, it’s not an either or and talent with a following will start with a bigger base than that. In reality most on-air talent don’t like the fact that so many people are getting into their world. But, that’s the wrong way to look at it. It’s a VERY good thing that people have rediscovered their love for listening to this kind of audio while they exercise, do mundane tasks at work, run errands and so on. Podcasting isn’t bad for radio, it’s a huge positive, if we embrace it. Who knows, it might just be the missing piece that helps this industry make the much needed transition to digital and take our fair share of those digital dollars. </p>
<p>For more podcasting tips and tricks for broadcasters download a copy of my eBook <a contents="From Broadcast to Podcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://books2read.com/u/bP9P5d" target="_blank"><em>From Broadcast to Podcast</em></a>. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70193512022-07-21T08:31:53-05:002022-07-27T12:01:31-05:00The Audience Isn't Your Therapist By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/34a87a9a5805a2ac4d72d0ef0d8fd4341265bb2f/original/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When coaching on air talent the goal is simple, get them to do the best air shift they possibly can. That’s because it’s in the best interest of not only the people paying you, or yourself for the success stories, it’s also in the on-air personality’s own best interest. They are the ones putting that audio on the air, and on tape, every day simultaneously raising their value to advertisers, their employer and any potential future employer. Depending on their personality type, coaching that talent to deliver great on-air content requires a combination of being a teacher, a motivational speaker, cheerleader, disciplinarian and sometimes even a therapist. The last one is a role I’ve played more times than I can count, despite being unlicensed. Which I don’t mind doing since I’m being compensated to do so. But one group that should never have to fill that therapist role is the audience. </p>
<p>Radio listeners aren’t there so on-air talent can unload their personal problems or issues on them. It’s not self-depricating, funny or cool to do so. It’s self-absorbed, boring and, most importantly, a HUGE tune-out factor. Listeners don’t want to hear our problems, they have their own. They want to be informed and entertained to distract them from those problems. Radio should serve as an escape to a better place, not a reminder of the things stressing them out. It’s easy for talent to say, “Listeners can relate to these complaints.” That may be true and there’s certainly a place for them, in the right balance and delivered by the right type of personality, usually a role player that’s legitimately funny. But, it should never account for the bulk of a show’s on-air content or even an undertone that’s weaved throughout the show. </p>
<p>One of the first lessons I ever learned in radio, that still holds true today, is this: There’s never a bad day on the radio. Meaning, leave those personal problems at the door, be a professional and put on a good face. Because that’s the job and, all things considered, it’s a pretty damn good one.</p>
<p>Pic courtesy of <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70138612022-07-13T12:25:57-05:002022-07-21T06:00:34-05:00Keeping Listeners In-House By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/52331054dbe2b55dc81498214b16c5b70b43e8bb/original/integrated-solutions-pic.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There’s a thread that ties everything we do together that sadly many radio stations continue to miss even now, years in to having access to all of these additional platforms. That thread is the key to growing a massive total audience that’s monetizable in multiple ways, including some that are quietly growing in the shadows as we speak. All we have to do is keep listeners in house a little longer by using each of our platforms to strategically drive traffic to the others with a HEAVY focus on the ones we own outright. It sounds simple of course, but there’s obviously a lot that goes into it. Here are a few tweaks stations can make to do a better job keeping listeners in-house. </p>
<p>Everything <a contents="starts on-air" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/it-all-starts-on-air-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">starts on-air</a>. If we’re not providing mass appeal programming and compelling content between the songs, we can throw as many resources as we want at all of the other platforms and only receive minimal, short-term gains. In my experience, many of the on-air personalities that struggle to create digital content, do so because they’re not really creating any on-air content worthy of expanding into digital content. Truly great on-air content creators have multiple things per day they could blog about on the website, share to social, podcast about or create a video for (It’s just a matter of narrowing it down to which ones are most likely to be clickable/shareable.) Also, more broadly, on-air promos, imaging and live mentions promoting the station website/social feeds should be focused on explaining the listener benefit of visiting/following each platform. Similar to generic on-air teases, generically saying “Follow us on social” with no concise explanation of why they should, isn’t going to be very effective. </p>
<p><a contents="Manning the websites" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/manning-the-station-website-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">Manning the websites</a> and social feeds. If we want listeners to spend more time on our digital platforms, those platforms need to become THE hub for anything specific to our format along with anything local our listeners might be interested in. Doing that with a short staff requires a team effort, which is why I always say digital content creation is a team sport and should never be left to just one person on staff. The most efficient way to do this in my opinion is to delegate and schedule it to where someone on staff is responsible for manning the website and social feeds at all times so they can put together and post a blog/article (A paragraph or two and it doesn’t have to be Pulitzer worthy, just containing the pertinent details). That way anything breaking that’s shared is coming from our site instead of redirecting people to others. IE, music stations should never send their listeners to CNN or Rolling Stone to read about a major music related event (Top artist dying, getting married, major band breaking up, etc). The same goes for on-air content breaks, if we’re talking about something on air and sending them somewhere to get more info or see a video that explains it, that on-air personality (or a show producer) should have that content scheduled to already be on the station website and shared to social when they talk about it. That of course requires working further in advance, but on-air talent should be doing that anyway. </p>
<p>On-site events are a great opportunity to capture tons of content we can use on air (testimonials for imaging, drops for upcoming content breaks or contests) and online/social (Pics and videos). But, just like how we coach talent to consistently direct them on-air, listeners on-site should be clearly directed on how we want them to engage/interact with us. Some examples include selfie stations that tell them where/how to share it and what they get for doing so and maybe even the additional prize they could get if its featured on our website, media walls with station/sponsor logos that listeners are encouraged to record videos/reels/stories in front of, or liner booths for them to record imaging audio in (With written liners that also encourage ad-libbing) or full-on listener takeover hours (Email me for a sample script I’ve used). </p>
<p>What do you think? What things have you done to successfully keep listeners in-house just a little longer than they originally intended? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70088392022-07-06T14:51:14-05:002022-07-13T07:40:54-05:00Identify Goal And Work Backwards By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0b248fb71e790934b15603feb2f1d538065c75a0/original/team-together-creating-word-goals.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Consistently successful radio stations don’t happen by accident. Everything they do is purposeful and strategic. When you ask them why they chose to do a specific promotion, selected an on-air feature, programmed certain music, or priced they’re commercials at a given rate, they never answer with something like “I don’t know”. There’s calculated, well thought-out reasoning behind every single decision. That’s because they follow this simple philosophy, identify a goal and then work backwards from there, letting that goal inform every choice along the way. </p>
<p>Obviously that philosophy applies to all of our major objectives, being the number one station in our market, pummeling our head-to-head format competitor, or doubling our digital stats so we have such a <a contents="large total audience" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-steps-to-grow-a-station-s-total-audience" target="_blank">large total audience</a> that we’re unaffected by the occasional ratings dip (And we’re able to take massive digital dollars from other industries). But, it also applies to all the smaller goals along the way. Here are a few of the everyday decisions we make with some example smaller goals that inform those choices. </p>
<p><strong>An on-air promotion.</strong> The goal for any on-air promotion hasn’t changed since I began doing this as a young kid. On-air promotions should drive CUME and TSL by either attracting new listeners (CUME) or keeping our existing audience listening longer (Time Spent Listening). Good on-air promotions do one of those well, great ones check both boxes. NOTE: Another goal of any BIG promotion is to get the freak-out audio (And video when possible) from the winner. So, we should work backwards from that to figure out the logistics required to make it happen (Capturing that audio in the moment instead of a few minutes or hours later). </p>
<p><strong>Selecting Benchmarks and Features</strong>. On-air features and benchmarks are really just content container boxes for organizing and delivering content we reasonably believe that the majority of our stations’ audience would be interested in. However, often many show’s features/benchmarks are chosen based on what the host and/or co-host are interested in talking about (Programming internally). Again in service to CUME and TSL, on-air features and benchmarks should be chosen because the content is so compelling it causes listeners to set an appointment to listen, hence making it <a contents="promotable and very sponsorable" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/daily-benchmarks-promotable-memorable-sellable-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">promotable and very sponsorable</a> ($$$$). </p>
<p><strong>Programming Music.</strong> Because of our proximity to the music business, many on-air talent who later become on-air programmers are REALLY into certain kinds of music. That’s why it’s so challenging for programmers, and on-air talent who try to influence music decisions within the station, to set aside their personal taste (Especially as they age out of formats, which we all eventually do.) I know personally, it’s a lot easier for me to do this on the formats I don’t really like at all than the one’s I’m personally passionate about. But if we’re choosing to work at a radio station because it plays the kind of music we like, we’re doing this for the wrong reasons. If the goal is ratings and revenue success, which of course it should be. The music we play on any station, regardless of the format, should be based 100% on what the target audience is most likely to be into. That’s why all music decisions should be driven by facts and data, not emotions and opinions. If we can’t set those emotions, passions and personal opinions aside, we should chose a format where we can. </p>
<p><strong>Creating Digital Content.</strong> In truth much of the digital content radio personnel create is done so because they’ve been told they have to do it now. Many of them are not comfortable and confident creating it because it’s outside of their area of expertise and they don’t really see the value in it. Which is why it’s our job to help them understand why they’re being asked to do it and how it can help their shows, and their own brands, instead of hindering them. The goal of creating <a contents="digital content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-any-station-can-use-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">digital content</a> isn’t to check a box so we don’t get written up in our next meeting, it’s to drive awareness of our station’s brand, and drive traffic to it’s other assets, by accumulating clicks, shares and likes. </p>
<p><strong>Pricing Our On-air and Digital Inventory.</strong> For the most part, every commercial radio station’s long term goal is to drive more revenue than every other station in the market. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, after all radio is a business. However, many stations work toward that goal by pricing their inventory at the ‘Whatever someone’s willing to pay for it’ price as opposed to pricing that inventory based on what it’s legitimately worth at that specific time. The ‘what someone’s willing to pay for it’ approach can, and often does, lead to a few quarters of financial success. But, being that local radio still is, and will always be, a relationship business, I’ve never seen that approach lead to long-term success. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. even if you vehemently disagree with me.</p>
<p>Pic designed by creativeart for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/70043212022-06-29T12:40:32-05:002022-06-29T12:40:32-05:00Multi-Platform Content Ideas By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/e4c8a6a5a74e1ef828d0727759b1f47acd33228e/original/content-creator-2021-09-02-09-19-45-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Today’s on-air personalities aren’t just being tasked with creating compelling daily on-air content. They’re being required, and <a contents="hopefully rewarded" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">hopefully rewarded</a>, for all kinds of digital content as well (Blogs/Articles, videos, podcasts, etc.) Those who are doing it well have crossed over to truly become multi-platform content creators, capable of cranking out daily, clickable-sharable digital content that gets tons of engagement. Like I’ve mentioned before, this doesn’t have to take away from the quality of their on-air shifts. We should approach all of our on-air content (Benchmarks, features, phone topics, topical breaks) from a standpoint of ‘How do I turn this into multi-platform content?’, when we’re initially planning it. That way we can use the strength of each individual platform to drive traffic to the other’s (All of which the station owns of course). </p>
<p>With that in mind, here’s a couple of multi-platform content ideas for broadcasters. </p>
<p><strong>Ambassadors of Fun: </strong>Through imaging/promos, or a crossover segment with the boss, the station declares one of their on-air personalities (or shows) as the official station “Ambassadors of Fun.” That talent is then armed with some free fun stuff (Movie tickets, concert tickets, exclusive experiences, etc) and sent out into the market to play silly games with listeners to give them away (Hula Hoop contests, finish the lyric, rock paper scissors, nerf or laser tag duel or shooting contest, Rubik’s Cube face off, etc). Capture audio to play the best bits on air and pre-promote the next time on-site, do lives on social and capture pics/video for video promos as well, link to blog where all of those assets live. </p>
<p><strong>Things to Do in YOUR TOWN:</strong> An on-air segment where the talent quickly highlights a couple of things happening this week (early in the week) or weekend (later in the week) and then that grows to a weekly audio/video podcast with interviews or just a video for web/social that expands on those. The video could be recorded in studio or on-site at one of the event locations. </p>
<p><strong>Show Video Promo:</strong> Turn the existing audio promo into a video promo that’s either done live or filmed/edited and shared on social after the show plugging the next day’s content. Could either be filmed/done in studio or on-site somewhere related to the next day’s content (Think video clues they do on Jeopardy and film while they’re on vacation there). </p>
<p><strong>All-Time Best:</strong> An on-air segment that extends to on the streets after the show asking the same question. The idea is to try and identify the all-time best from a wide variety of topics (music, movies, food, sports, etc.) </p>
<p><strong>Is This Ridiculous?: </strong>A pop-culture break (celebs, crypto, sports, movies, tv) about one topical thing happening that the on-air talent disagrees with, or simply doesn’t understand. Then it’s extended by pushing listeners to a longer-form video rant or podcast expanding on the same subject and/or a person on the street type segment asking listeners whether they agree that it’s ridiculous. </p>
<p><strong>Secret Remote Location:</strong> This would be a rotating sponsored feature since it requires the personality to broadcast live from a location. The station sells a remote broadcast for the full length of the talent’s airshift, but the twist is for the first two hours they don’t say where they are. Instead, they give hints at where they’re broadcasting on-air and on social media that start super vague and end VERY easy. The first X amount of people who show up and say they heard them “Broadcasting from a secret location” win a prize (Number based on the amount of giveaway prizes, NOTE this is a great way to blow out a bunch of tickets on a ticket hit). After the two-hour mark the on-air personality then says the location and gets all the sponsor plugs/info in. <em>NOTE: The key to pulling off a <a contents="good live broadcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-live-broadcast-derail-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">good live broadcast</a> is keeping the structure of the show the same and just incorporating the sponsor/location into the features if necessary.</em> </p>
<p><strong>Mystery Guest:</strong> The talent records an interview audio/video with a celebrity (artist, actor/actress, writer, or local celebrity) that’s broken into a couple segments to play the audio from on-air and share the video on social. For the first few segments they DO NOT identify who the person is (And their face is blurred in the video). The first person to identify the mystery guest in the social comments wins! (Or X amount of people depending on the amount of prizes.) Cross-promote with other shows by giving them the first clue. <em>NOTE: If you do this often enough some of the guests could be sponsor-related as long as they’re not all sponsor-related. </em></p>
<p>Here are some <a contents="additional content ideas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-any-station-can-use-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">additional content ideas</a> any station can use. If you need help creating the digital components of any of these let us know. We can either turn-key them and handle everything or handle some of it by giving your staff work-parts while we simultaneously train them on how we do everything. </p>
<p>What multi-platform content have you created lately? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by twenty20photos for <a contents="Envato Elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69993652022-06-22T12:36:27-05:002022-06-23T08:11:31-05:00Preparation Beats Talent By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/4cb07e63a1ce6c3ce1f537f6b7c9df5b6c8ab5e3/original/asian-businessmen-businesswomen-meeting-brainstorming-ideas-about-creative-web-design-planning-application-developing-template-layout-mobile-phone-project-working-together-small-office-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>In this business there are lots of incredibly talented on-air personalities who have only achieved a moderate level of success despite years of experience in a variety of formats. That’s because there is a limit to how far talent alone can take you in an industry where we’re simultaneously competing with tons of alternatives for the attention of the masses within a given geographical area. It takes enormous amounts of work, preparation and strategy to consistently win wherever we go and whatever format we’re on. Anyone can win for a while, especially if they’re lucky enough to work in a market where at that time all of the competition is weak. But, the shows that truly dominate over the long haul, tend to be the shows that prepare the best. Hence why, given the choice, I will always pass over massively talented, but lazy talent, and gravitate toward on-air personalities that emphasize show prep, work far in advance, are always learning from other shows and their on-air coaches and constantly listen back to themselves to self-analyze. When incredible talent is paired with a hard work ethic, superstars emerge. Steph Curry didn’t become arguably the greatest shooter alive by skipping practice. </p>
<p>Here are a few signs that on-air talent might fall into the talented, but lazy category: </p>
<p>They often wing it. </p>
<p>They’re complacent. </p>
<p>They default to doing the same thing year after year, yet brag about their years of experience. </p>
<p>They believe they know everything there is to know about radio and don’t need anyone’s advice or feedback. </p>
<p>They won't try new things.</p>
<p>They refuse to embrace digital. </p>
<p>They intentionally tank things that aren’t their idea by phoning it in or even actively working against it. </p>
<p>They make excuses. </p>
<p>They blame everyone else. </p>
<p>They make little effort to connect with the audience. </p>
<p>They make it all about themselves instead of the listener. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, with each passing year there are even less spots for live and local on-air talent. On the bright side, I believe those who survive and thrive should and will be paid a premium because there’s now lots of need outside our industry for competent content creators. But that also means, there’s no longer room on the radio for on-air personalities who insist on taking the privilege of our platform for granted. </p>
<p>Pic designed by tirachardz for<a contents=" www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank"> www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69946992022-06-15T14:59:04-05:002022-06-15T15:05:32-05:00Jump-Starting Engagement By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/c07fad2e186bf5376c68f7159dbaf331b1da6fbf/original/human-trying-to-start-engine-with-jumper-cables-in-2021-09-01-05-31-36-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>If listeners aren’t calling in to a live and local on-air show, or engaging with any of it’s digital content, it’s because they’re being told not to. That can happen a multitude of ways, some very directly, like how they call repeatedly and no one answers or they comment and nobody ever replies. But it can also happen in other subtler ways, they rarely ever hear listener audio on the air, don’t have any incentive to interact with content, or maybe the hosts aren’t bringing them into the conversation by making topics too internal or not leaving room for the listener to engage with the show by covering every angle/potential answer. Either way, we should never give in by saying ‘Listeners just don’t call into this station’ or ‘Listeners don’t interact and engage with this station on social media’. It’s our job to get them to call in to our shows and to engage with our digital content. We shouldn’t get discouraged though, retraining listeners who’ve been taught not to engage requires some heavy lifting, especially in the beginning, and a ton of consistency and discipline. With that in mind, here are a few ways to jumpstart engagement on the phones and on our social/web content. </p>
<ul> <li>Choose content/topics that fit the core demo of the station instead of just the content we want to talk about. </li> <li>Create catchy container boxes for that content with marketable/promotable/sponsorable features and benchmarks. </li> <li>Work further in advance when possible so we can be strategic about how we tease our content (On-air/Online/Social) and how we drive engagement with our content. </li> <li>Seed calls multiple ways (Calls beget other calls, the more listener audio we get on air, the more people will start calling in consistently. No one wants to be the first person at the party.) <ul> <li>Calls banked ahead of time from friends, coworkers, family, paid (but affordable) local actors, and listeners calling in for other reasons (NOTE: This last one is a big opportunity that many shows miss). </li> <li>Audio/Video we collect on our phones while we’re out (Another big missed opportunity. When we’re out and about we should always ask ourselves, ‘Is this an opportunity to interact/engage with listeners or potential listeners to capture content for the show?’) </li> <li>Related on-topic audio from celebrities (Not listener audio, but another familiar, but different voice to weigh in). </li> </ul> </li> <li>Leave room for the listener. I’ve worked with multiple shows over the years that do the exact same segments under slightly different names. Even though their questions/topics are verbatim the same, some get an enormous amount of calls while others get virtually none. That difference isn’t because of the size of the market or the overall popularity of the stations they are on. It’s always the same reason. The show that’s getting a lot of callers leaves room for the listener to engage and conversely the shows that aren’t do not. That’s because, by the time they’re done with the segment and asking listeners to call in, they’ve literally thrown out every potential answer or viewpoint and so there’s nothing left for the listener to add. Great on-air talent show the restraint of leaving some things unsaid to entice the listener. </li> <li>The three main keys for getting people to engage/interact with our content once we extend it to the web or social media with videos/blogs/podcasts/other digital content is this. 1) When possible, give them an incentive (Prize) for doing so (The bigger or more exclusive to that engagement the better). 2) Keep it simple. Binary choices generally tend to work better on the web (Either Ors) and the amount of work (Hoops to jump through) we’re asking from them should be in direct proportion to the reward we’re offering them. 3) Find ways to add to what we’ve done on air so there’s a reason to listen/watch/read both. </li>
</ul>
<p>What do you think? What are some ways you’ve had success jumpstarting engagement on a show/station? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Photo designed by WildMediaSK for <a contents="Envato Elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69895302022-06-08T13:07:14-05:002022-06-08T13:07:14-05:00Relatable & Interesting By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/653f79d82814201367ba0997cf242d5e6c353c6b/original/hmm-interesting-portrait-thoughtful-young-girl-looking-aside-pondering-thinking-making-plan-standing-blouse-white-wall.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One of the things we preach over and over again to on air talent is that they need to choose on-air content that the listener can relate to. It’s a good measuring stick to help us narrow down the pool of potential topics, especially if we’ve trained them well on who that actual audience is. However, relatable is only part one. ‘Is it interesting?’ is the second, and more important, half of the equation that many talent stop short of figuring out. </p>
<p>The majority of what we do in our daily lives is technically ‘relatable’, cooking dinner, cleaning, getting gas, showering (hopefully), going to the store, getting gas, etc. But, none of that is interesting. That’s why great on-air talent ALWAYS find an angle to make it interesting. They understand that as entertainers we are in no way tied to the truth. Maybe something happened while performing one of those mundane daily tasks but it wasn’t that interesting, unless we embellish it a bit, drop out any unnecessary details, sprinkle in a few spicy exaggerated ones for color and tweak the ending to wrap it up as an anecdote. And, if we have the space in our clock to carry it over, we use it as a stepping off point for engagement and throw it out to the listeners. However, like anything we ask the listener to engage with it should always be very clear exactly what we’re asking them to weigh in on, especially if it’s on the tail end of a personal story we’ve told. Too often that’s just a throwaway at the end of a break saying ‘Has that ever happened to you?’ after a long-winded story that leaves them confused as to which part their supposed to be relating to and commenting on. </p>
<p>I always use the dinner party test, if we wouldn’t talk about it at a dinner party where we’re trying to impress seven other people, we probably shouldn’t talk about it on-air where we have thousands of people we’re trying to simultaneously impress. Again, unless there’s a way to add some juice to it and showbiz it up a bit. I can’t count the times my wife has said to me on the way home, ‘you know that’s not how that happened right?’. To which I reply, ‘who cares, everybody laughed’. But she knew what she was getting into when she married a radio guy and she also knows to make sure I tell those funny anecdotes during drinks one and two instead drinks five and six. </p>
<p>What do you think? How do you find the ‘interesting’ angle when telling relatable stories on air? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by cookie_studio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69844292022-06-01T12:55:27-05:002022-06-01T12:55:27-05:00The State of New Music Formats By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3c608a78e7b6f455239c2755a9a9e631cd5289dc/original/all-top-5s-max-quality.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>While many in the industry are negative about the viability of new music formats on terrestrial radio, I am not. Their rationale for feeling that way stems from their belief whether verbalized or not, that we’ve essentially lost young people to other platforms and it’s a losing battle to try and win them back. Which is flawed logic, we can still attract younger listeners if we make radio a <a contents="new music discovery tool again" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/radio-can-still-be-a-new-music-discovery-tool-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">new music discovery tool again</a>. That or they use the age-old argument that new music isn’t particularly strong right now, which does happen cyclically within individual formats, but overall it couldn’t be further from the truth. New music is doing exceptionally well, especially in a couple formats. </p>
<p>A few years ago I built a system for internally tracking the demand for new music across the major formats, and one niche format, to help me with the stations I directly program and so I could better advise clients on the stations they program. I did so because A) I believe that programming sonically, ie: “Does this song fit the sound of our station?” leaves us a step behind an ever-evolving new music scene and B) programmers should <a contents="follow the data" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">follow the data</a> instead of following what other stations play. </p>
<p>That being said, here’s what I’m seeing as of right now. Despite rumors of it being on the decline, hit music (Hot AC, CHR, Pop) is INCREDIBLY strong right now. The top 10 songs in the format received over 271 million plays last week across Spotify and their main video on YouTube. Hip Hop/R&B is also very dominant in second place with the format’s top 10 tunes receiving just over 166 million plays. Country is a distant third with 28.9 million plays, but a solid 25 individual artists capable of getting 1 million or more streams per week on their latest singles. Because I have a few stations that play it, I also follow what I call Alternative Country (Texas/Red Dirt, Americana, Folk, Ameripolitan, Country Rock, etc), basically everything on the fringe of mainstream country. Thanks to a few artists blowing up recently, while still niche, Alternative Country constitutes the strongest independent music scene right now compared to it’s sister mainstream format. The top 10 alt-country tunes raked in 14.3 million plays last week, almost half what mainstream country did with far less financial backing. However, to make a complete format of alt-country (Which I only recommend in certain markets/situations), we have to embrace all aspects of that format listed above. New rock is still lagging behind as it tries to find it’s next crop of stars. Last week’s top 10 rock songs brought in 7.99 million plays meaning new rock stations should still lean heavily on recurrents, which most of them do already. </p>
<p>If you want to do a deeper dive into any of these formats, hit me up at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. Also, comment below or email me with any of your thoughts on the current state of new music.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69797082022-05-25T15:29:21-05:002022-05-25T15:29:21-05:00No One Is Uncoachable By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/8d0cfcd9ba4e96ab0fc212c1a25bce9a0232e846/original/midsection-of-basketball-coach-with-stopwatch-2021-08-28-16-46-03-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>‘Uncoachable’ is one of the worst possible labels you can get as an on-air personality. Once someone gets that stain on them, despite former ratings success or how amazing their aircheck sounds, it’s very hard to shake. That’s because during the hiring process when we’re calling to check references, and asking around to mutual radio acquaintances, we’re inevitably going to ask whether or not that potential on-air hire takes direction well. If the consensus is ‘no they do not’ then that person drops off the list immediately. But, is the ‘uncoachable’ label fair? </p>
<p>In my experience, no on-air talent is totally uncoachable. Some, however, are considerably harder than others to coach because of their personality type, past bad management experiences or trauma, or simply because they’ve been doing this so long they think, consciously or subconsciously, that they know everything there is to know about creating great radio. </p>
<p>Let’s address those individually. First, getting through to a varying range of personality types requires either a basic understanding of psychology or at the very least a willingness to try multiple different approaches to determine what will motivate each particular personality type to make necessary changes. That’s why one-size fits all management styles aren’t ever effective. Secondly, reversing the damage of past trauma from terrible managers and on-air coaches requires exercising an enormous amount of patience until they finally realize that we’re on their side and making suggestions with our shared interests of success in mind. Finally, coaching veteran air talent who haven’t been coached in a long time, or ever, is in my opinion, the harder of the three and why many Ops Managers and Program Directors choose not to aircheck experienced air talent at all. Which is a huge mistake, <a contents="all on-air talent need to be coached" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank">all on-air talent need to be coached</a> and regularly airchecked regardless of their years in the game. If we’re not constantly fine-tuning this incredibly challenging, yet rewarding craft then we’re slowly getting worse at it each day. That's because our value is based on how we stack up against competition that is unlikely to be so stagnant in their progression. So, what’s the key to getting through to veteran talent? In my experience it’s a balance of consistently praising the things they do very well, gently guiding them on the things they need a little work on and being respectful, but blunt about areas where they need vast improvement. It’s also important that we pick our battles and focus on the most important aspects rather than getting nit-picky, especially in the beginning. </p>
<p>Sometimes we get the tri-fecta and are assigned the job of coaching someone who has all three things working against them. In that case an all-of-the-above approach will likely be necessary. Overall though, like everything, we’re constantly evaluating if the time and energy required to improve an employee’s performance is worth the reward of where they will ultimately get to. If it’s determined that the talent’s ceiling is relatively low and a massive amount of work will be required to reach that ceiling, most savvy managers will choose to move on. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by wavebreakmedia for <a contents="Envato Elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69741252022-05-18T12:28:24-05:002022-05-25T14:29:16-05:00Content Creation Studios By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/555e42cd942fbadbb9f9b25d18b6cbe0081f16b7/original/video-play-by-starline.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>If we want all of our on-air talent to consistently produce original digital content for station websites and social feeds, we have to create an environment that encourages that content creation. That’s why I believe all on-air studios, and some production studios as well, should be turned into content creation studios where everything that we’re asking them to do can be done in one room with the touch of a button or two. The big hump to get people over when it comes to creating digital content is helping them figure out how to make it a part of their daily routine. But, that all falls apart if they have to coordinate with someone on staff to come in and set up a green screen, lighting, a camera and a mic for them to create that content. That’s also why I encourage air talent to make <a contents="digital part of the prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">digital part of the prep process</a>, so their thinking about how/what/where they’re going to create/post as their developing content. </p>
<p>It sounds like a drastic change to convert audio only studios into video/photography/podcasting studios as well, but it really isn’t that complicated or expensive anymore. As an example I’ve converted my home office into a content creation studio for a couple thousand dollars, complete with an audio/video podcast studio, separate vocal booth for high-quality voiceover audio and a multi-screen background for photos/video using a green-screen or other colors. That way I can demo it on zoom calls with clients to show them how simple it was to set up. </p>
<p>I also now have a multi-cam, green-screen travel setup that I take with me when I’m visiting radio stations to capture content while I’m there. It includes a couple of my <a contents="Mevo Start" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.mevo.com/?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Mevo%20-%20NA%20-%20DTX%20-%20Always%20On%20-%20Search%20-%20All%20Keywords%20-%20US%20-%20ROAS&gclid=Cj0KCQjwspKUBhCvARIsAB2IYusUSPkGpsGbsT1Ygu6K7BgSKdAWeMbx7d7XjDsBQ1PdZSblmOADOdUaAsnLEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Mevo Start</a> cameras, a pop-up green screen, three point lighting and a lapel mic. The whole setup costs under $2,000 and could be done for less than a grand with a single Mevo. But, the key is, we have editing computers and staff capable of professionally removing the green screen and editing that footage into a whole host of different looking content using Adobe Premiere and After Effects. All of which we can train client’s staff on at any point if they want to create similar content on their own. The other important factor is understanding how to setup the three-point lighting (Otherwise it’s incredibly hard to take out the green screen). In one of our market visits, I can also show any consulting client how to convert their existing studios into content creation studios, complete with what to buy/how to set it all up (And what existing equipment they might already have to cut the cost down even further). Then, work with their staff and recommend ways to turn their existing programming content into digital content and a bunch of idea starters for additional sponsorable content. </p>
<p>What do you think, have you had success capturing digital content from your existing studios? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by starline for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69687912022-05-11T13:34:48-05:002022-05-11T13:34:48-05:00How Important Is Tempo? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/549d1b1aef8a5b9210e2fdb6b57612b5eb54a78f/original/vintage-metronome-on-a-dark-background-2021-09-01-23-18-01-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When I’m building a format for somebody from scratch, regardless of what kind of format, one thing they always bring up is tempo. Some will say they don’t want any slow songs out of stopsets, most will tell me they don’t want any back to back and virtually all will request that we don’t have too many per hour. All of which is easy enough to do by coding slow songs, setting up separation rules and simply watching how many total slow tunes there are in the active database. I get the rationale, after all too many ballads can kill the pacing, vibe and overall feel of the station. But, lately I wonder if being so strict on tempo is still the best approach. </p>
<p>On recurrent-based formats it’s pretty easy to cherry pick popular songs from the biggest artists that are mid to uptempo and then include a handful of really strong ballads. However, that’s a delicate balance to strike so we’re still picking the most popular songs from artists and not trading out huge slow songs for lesser known, less popular songs that just happen to be uptempo. </p>
<p>Current based stations are especially tricky because new music ebbs and flows and may be more ballad-heavy at any given time. That certainly was the case for pop music during the pandemic and some CHR and Hot AC stations stepped over a few very popular ballads opting instead to throw slightly less popular uptempo songs into high rotation categories in their place. That may seem like a small thing, but every decision we make on a station with very tight rotations has a massive impact on the overall sound of it. </p>
<p>I’m clearly not the only one that is internally debating this, hence why many programmers have switched to coding more by energy than tempo. Which seems to work well on some formats. But, determining the energy of a song is such a subjective thing to do and by no means an exact science. </p>
<p>I’m of the mindset now that on currents we should solely <a contents="follow the data" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">follow the data</a> and play the absolute most popular songs, regardless of tempo. Then on all recurrent categories, we choose a couple of the biggest artists’ strongest, most popular songs (Obviously going deeper in artists based on the size of their following and how well their tunes held up). After that, we code for tempo and set up a separation rule so we don’t have more than one true ballad per quarter hour (Strategically resting a ballad here and there if we have to for rotation purposes). But, I fear going beyond that in any format can lead us down a path of choosing weaker, less popular songs and hurting the broad appeal of our stations. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic by KonstantinKolosov for <a contents="envatoelements.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">envatoelements.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69635702022-05-04T13:01:31-05:002022-05-10T08:41:49-05:00Coaching the On-Air Coaches By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/f266d582ad3666ff64dcda4375e9475532acb883/original/applauding-to-coach-2021-09-24-03-30-41-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Airchecking on air talent seems to be a bit of a lost artform. It’s not rare to meet veteran on air personalities who haven’t been airchecked in years. That’s partly because people convince themselves that they aren’t really necessary for experienced personnel, which isn’t true. <a contents="Everyone needs a coach" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank">Everyone needs a coach</a> and it’s still hands down the best way to improve the sound of a show. It’s also frankly because aircheck meetings are often wrongly viewed as solely disciplinary meetings that no one enjoys being a part of, either the ones being airchecked or the one doing the airchecking. I get it, they can be uncomfortable at times, especially when a show is really missing the mark, but they’re ABSOLUTELY necessary. </p>
<p>As a consultant we typically end up spending as much time coaching the coaches themselves as we do the individual air talent. That’s because it’s critical to the growth of any air talent that we’re all giving consistent direction, otherwise it’s all a big waste of time and money to bring us in. Plus, many on air coaches, PDs and Ops Managers, rose up the ranks as air talent without the luxury of working under great coaches themselves. That has a tendency to cause us to pick up some bad habits that, if we’re not careful, we can take into coaching sessions we conduct. Here are a few misconceptions and common mistakes I’ve seen over the years. </p>
<p>Aircheck sessions don’t <em>have</em> to include audio every time. There certainly is a place for playing audio for air talent in a coaching session, but we have to pick our spots. I’m a firm believer that all on air personalities should be listening back to themselves A LOT on their own. In my experience that’s significantly more helpful than making them sit through several minutes of audio during each session. Typically, when I play audio it’s to correct something that worked well but needs a small tweak or a couple snippets to point out a crutch or suggest a simple edit on word choice. </p>
<p>Unless it truly is a disciplinary meeting to address inappropriate on-air behavior, aircheck sessions shouldn’t include a long laundry list of things to work on. They should ALL include a few of the positive things we heard when reviewing the show that week. Then, depending on the stage of development the show is in, one to three things they need to work on that week. However, we should always reiterate something from the previous meeting that hasn’t been corrected yet. </p>
<p>Aircheck sessions aren’t just about what we’re hearing on air either. One of the reasons we should do them weekly is because it’s a great time to catch up and communicate about upcoming promotions/events and to talk about how they’re doing with their weekly digital requirements for creating digital content. That can include some pats on the back for specific content they created that got a lot of impressions/likes/views/shares and/or holding them accountable for not fulfilling digital requirements or just phoning them in to check a box. </p>
<p>Another major misconception is that they simply take up too much of our time. For one thing they’re significantly easier to prepare for then they used to be with aircheck loggers. Plus, the meeting itself should typically only take between fifteen and thirty minutes if they’re conducted correctly. We shouldn’t let them turn into excuse sessions where the talent talk in circles explaining why they did what they did and why it wasn’t wrong. After all, the listener doesn’t care why we did what we did on air, they just care what they heard. If it needs a lengthy explanation, it probably didn’t strike the right chord (Similar to the old adage, if you have to explain a joke…) </p>
<p>Overall though, weekly aircheck sessions are well worth our time. What happens between the records is incredibly important. It either gives us an advantage over competitors playing similar music or a glaring disadvantage if they’re putting more time and energy into coaching and preparing their air talent to deliver compelling, interesting content daily. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by Pressmaster for <a contents="Envato Elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">Envato Elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69583032022-04-27T13:44:30-05:002022-05-10T08:50:34-05:00Working Purposefully And Strategically By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/2e2712f886db17a261b2ade36e683e92ae9be801/original/gold-silver-chess-chess-board-game-business-metaphor-leadership-concept.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As we bounce back from the pandemic, we’re all being asked to do more with less. Budgets are tight, new personnel are hard to come by and in the midst of that we’re all trying to transition our business models to succeed in this digital age we’ve already entered. That’s why it’s more important than ever that we’re purposeful and strategic with everything we do on-air, online, on social, on-site, within the building and outside of it with remote workers. </p>
<p>That starts with evaluating how we’re all spending our time each week and the cost/benefit of that time investment. Programming-wise most stations have given in to some level of <a contents="internal programming" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-music-programming-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">internal programming</a>, allowing their staff to focus a disproportionate amount of time on specific programming. That may be an air talent who’s more focused on a specialty show or one specific feature that’s considerably more important to them than the average listener. It could also be a PD or Music Director who spends hours upon hours going through music and talking to record reps and promoters, instead of just <a contents="following the data" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">following the data</a>. To be fair though, that internal focus of spending more time and energy on the parts of the business we enjoy can creep into any department within a station. One thing that can help on the sales side is updating the media kit so it becomes a tool everyone wants to use, eliminating the 30% or so of our one sheets that are outdated or rarely used so there’s less clutter to wade through and structuring each account executives day to play to their individual strengths. I’ve also never seen a group that doesn’t have at least one meeting a week that could’ve just been an email and another bad habit is including everyone in meetings that should probably just be department heads. </p>
<p>Now that we’ve eliminated and cut back on some of the things that are unnecessarily filling up our weeks, it’s time to experiment strategically and purposefully. When we’re coming up with a new feature to try on air, I always counsel on-air personalities to try it for a while and see if it works. To give us time see how the audience engages with it and also to verify that it’s something they can realistically execute on a regular basis before we set it in stone as a daily, or even weekly, benchmark. The same sort of approach can apply to any new initiative we want to incorporate within the company. In a time of transition, we’re going to have to experiment. But, understanding that budgets are tight, there aren’t a ton of chances to miss on those experiments. So, we have to be strategic and purposeful with every single new thing we venture into while at the same time being willing to bail on something if it’s clearly not working. A great recent example of that was CNN+, the cable news giant’s attempt to launch a new streaming platform to compete with the hundred others we’re all already paying for (Slight exaggeration). Despite investing $300 million, the data quickly told them that they’d missed the mark from a programming standpoint, and they pulled the plug. They were the butt of a few jokes for a week, but in the long run I imagine that will prove to be a much better decision than stubbornly sticking with something that wasn’t working. Plus, I imagine they’ll retool and relaunch it later under a different brand. Similarly, in this new digital age, there are going to be things that we try to implement in radio that fail to catch on and catch eyes and ears for impressions and therefore we struggle to monetize. But, that shouldn’t keep us from trying anything new as long as we focus on always evaluating what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and why, with the end goal of attracting as much of an audience as possible and generating more revenue with each passing year. </p>
<p>In this business, we’re in constant competition for every listener and ad dollar and the playing field is much more level than it used to be budget-wise. Like the game of chess pictured above, the player who’s more purposeful and strategic with each move will win the match 100 times out of 100. We just have to make sure that’s us instead of the competition. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69534732022-04-21T05:43:46-05:002022-07-22T08:09:06-05:00The Listener Doesn't Care By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/453f2dcf299f65f5c7b047bd6a2ef4e370ab08e4/original/bored-adult-man-look-uninterested-lean-face-palm.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Regardless of how long we’ve been on air on a particular station, but especially when we’re new to a station/market, the average listener doesn’t care about what kind of day we’re having. They don’t care whether there are technical issues in the studio, whether the temperature in the building is uncomfortable, or what kind of day we’re having in general. They tune in to our stations to escape their own lives and their own problems for a few seconds, not hear all about ours. When I’m working with a show that leans negative, I put it this way. Why would someone who’s driving to work to go to a job they quite possibly don’t like, or even hate, want to hear us complain about what they perceive to be a dream job? </p>
<p>There’s a social contract we sign when we agree to make a living talking on the radio, at least if we want to have any real long-term success. We’re going to leave our problems at the door, put on a good face and be a professional. That’s easy to do in ideal conditions broadcasting from million-dollar studios with every possible piece of equipment/software we need to pull off a great show at our fingertips. But, real pros can do it an any studio regardless of the situation. Star quarterbacks don’t sit out the big game because the starting left tackle is out and the backup isn’t nearly as good at protecting their blindside. They don’t ask to sit on the bench for a while to warm up when their playing in Buffalo during a snowstorm and they grew up playing all their games in sunny California. They adjust, adapt and find a way to win regardless of the situation or how they feel, because that’s what winners do. The greats don’t make excuses, blame teammates, their coach, the organization or even the elements. Because winners know that they’re the deciding factor, that regardless of what’s going on around them they are talented and prepared enough to excel as long as they set aside the distractions and focus. On air the greats live by a simple motto that directs every decision they make, what’s in it for the listener? </p>
<p>Our industry is going through some dramatic changes behind the scenes that not everyone sees and nobody wants to talk about. Despite what some outside observers might say, radio isn’t dying, it’s just changing. However, radio groups that refuse to adjust their approach and business model will in fact die. The ones left standing will need to run lean and efficient. To do so they will exclusively hire self-sufficient, self-starters who are coachable, trainable and willing to learn new skills. There will be no place for prima-donnas who can only perform under ideal circumstances or have massive egos and love the sound of their voices too much to listen to the voices of their audience or anyone else. Nor will there be any room for people who often utter phrases like “That’s not in my job description,” “I can’t work in these conditions”, or my all time favorite, “I’ve been doing this for X amount of years and..” blah blah blah. I have little doubt, nor does anyone who’s paying attention to the statistics, that there will be fewer on-air talent working in radio next year, and each successful year for a while. However, those that make the cut will be paid substantially more because they’ll have to be. Radio isn’t the only industry in need of people who can create compelling content from scratch and that demand will force broadcasters to pay a premium for each member of their smaller, more efficient staffs. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic created by cookie_studio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69476702022-04-13T16:52:21-05:002022-05-18T06:10:12-05:00Internal VS External Talk Breaks By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7dc87a8bb0bc068526a0f63e7c69ab134abc1b5c/original/versus-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>It’s critically important to the successful operation of a music-based radio station over long periods of time that we <a contents="program the music externally" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/internal-vs-external-music-programming-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">program the music externally</a> instead of internally. However, choosing the music we’re going to play is only one of the many programming decisions we make daily. The other two major daily programming decisions involve what happens between the records, <a contents="strategic imaging" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">strategic imaging</a> and what our on-air talent choose to talk about. Let’s focus on the latter since it’s the harder of the two to manage, coach and control. </p>
<p>Almost by default, most on-air talent start off with internally focused talk breaks. Frankly, it’s hard not to. Our personal interests are the things we know well enough to sound reasonably knowledgeable and interesting talking about them. Plus, it’s easy to talk ourselves into the trap that most of our listeners probably like many of the same things we like (Which is rarely that true depending on our age, interest, gender, personalities, lifestyle and the age, interest, gender, personalities, lifestyle of our station’s average listener.) Just like when we’re staring a new romantic relationship, we should never begin an on-air relationship with new listeners talking too much about ourselves and our interests. Also, the longer on-air talent do this the harder it is to correct (the old horse out of the barn adage.) </p>
<p>So, how do we make this transition to choosing and talking about content externally in a way that’s much more likely to attract/retain the interest of our listeners? First, we start with a basic understanding of the stations core demo. (Shockingly there are many working on-air talent that don’t know their station’s core demo.) Then, we do a deeper dive by meeting many of them on-site at events, within the community, talking to them on the phone during our shifts, engaging with them through email and even more so on social media. From that we begin making educated guesses as to what they’re interests are and we begin studying those, watching, listening and reading up on the same things they are most likely to care about. We begin working some of those into segments to see what they engage with by starting conversations that we bring them in on through the phones, web/social. As we find things that stick, we turn them into regular benchmarks and features so we have promotable daily listening appointments. </p>
<p>By this point we’ll know our listeners, and they will know us, well enough that we can not only choose topics they are likely to relate to, but also find our own angles to add to that content and expand on it. Then, before we know it, we’re communicating like old friends that connect via the radio for a minimum of fifteen to thirty minutes per day and they’ve been converted to die-hard P1s. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69420142022-04-06T15:03:48-05:002022-04-08T12:06:40-05:00Digital Can't Be An Afterthought By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7a0af07655d1c4c11125afa5ea0c64a975edb2b8/original/top-view-notebook-with-checklist-desk.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Talk to virtually any radio group owner or operator and they’ll say the same thing, ‘We’re not doing near enough with digital.’ Have a conversation with anyone on the programming side and they’ll tell you how they need to be creating more digital content. So then, why aren’t stations creating more original digital content? Simple, because despite all of the talk about it year after year, in most organizations, digital is an afterthought. It’s the thing everyone does once they’ve finished with all of their other daily responsibilities. But, it certainly shouldn’t be an afterthought and with a few changes, it doesn’t have to be. </p>
<p>First, let’s clarify. When I mention original digital content I’m talking about video and blogs (articles) shared to both web and social and podcasts shared on all the major podcast platforms and promoted on web/social. I’m not talking about banner ads. Secondly, let me reiterate why I’m so passionate about this. At some point in the not-so-distant future, our terrestrial signal’s main purpose will be to drive traffic to all of our digital assets (Stream, website, podcasts, app and social feeds). This, by the way, isn’t bad programming either. In fact, it actually helps it, by further fine tuning our on-air programming to truly be the best bite-size chunks that have the broadest appeal for our on-air megaphone and getting more granular and long-form elsewhere for our diehard fans that want to do deeper dives. </p>
<p>So, we’ve established why it’s important and we all agree we should be doing more of it. Now let’s change our mindsets so digital isn’t an afterthought that we get around to if and when we have time. To do that we start thinking of digital as priority 1 and terrestrial as priority 2. For on-air and promotional staffs that means not only <a contents="incorporating digital into the prep" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">incorporating digital into the prep</a>/planning process, but actually starting with some longer form video/blog/podcast content and working backwards to figure out how to promote it with on-air features and promotions. Sales role would be to <a contents="stop bonusing it" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/stop-bonusing-digital" target="_blank">stop bonusing it</a> immediately, (Why would you throw in what will one day be the main course for free?) Then learn how to price it/sell it, which is all impression or clicked through based to give a hard value to it and can be bundled in with the on-air inventory. But, in those bundles the digital piece should be front and center and the terrestrial piece playing the supporting role. Ownership and management brings it all together by making digital first the company mantra, setting up a <a contents="system of rewards" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">system of rewards</a> (incentives) and repercussions (holding people accountable) for content creation, <a contents="empower the content creators" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/empowering-content-creators" target="_blank">empower the content creators</a> by adapting on-air studios into multi-platform content creation studios, strategically hiring other content creators, identifying all existing staffs' digital strengths and repurposing accordingly (Not firing, but training and refocusing). As a consultant I can help with this entire process, throughout all departments. </p>
<p>Many groups have already started this transition, have you? If so, let me know in the comments below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69361022022-03-30T15:29:18-05:002022-04-18T12:33:56-05:00The Thing Everyone's Talking About By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0dee345b42b0bf30c4a82cfb62f5cbf038da748c/original/close-up-water-dispenser-coffee-machine-table-meeting-office-liquid-refreshment-people-working-modern-workplace-fresh-beverage-equipment-hydrate-break.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Typically, I coach on-air personalities to only choose content they can add to and, for the most part, I believe that advice holds up. After all, it’s not like any of our listeners are tuning in to our entire shows with a clipboard checking off all the major topics of the day to make sure we addressed them all by the end of the show. But every once and a while something happens that’s so big we all HAVE to talk about it and Sunday night we had one of those, when a major movie star slapped a modern comedy legend live in front of our nation’s biggest celebrities and millions of us watching at home. </p>
<p>As someone who regularly evaluates and coaches on air talent, I like these kind of moments because they’re a great way to gauge where an on-air show is at in comparison to the competition within their market and other shows across the country. Because on topics like this we’re all on equal footing, everyone has all the same information and we all know it’s the main thing our audience is talking about that day across literally all formats and demographics. Believe it or not some shows decided not to talk about it at all, either because they’re too cool for school and want to avoid the thing’s ‘everyone else does’ or I’m guessing because they just didn’t know what to say about it. Other shows simply delivered the info straight-forward as a news story and left it at that, likely afraid of offending anyone with their take. But a handful of shows came up with their own creative angles to discuss it, personalizing it and localizing it with their own hot take and likely touching on things that made the listeners say “I was thinking the same thing!”. Those that delivered this content well, uploaded that audio afterwards and shared it were rewarded with their own viral moments and stood out to existing listeners, new listeners, and potential employers, as show’s that ‘get it.’ </p>
<p>It's important that terrestrial radio doesn’t miss these opportunities to shine. When something like this happens everyone wants to talk about it, read about it, and listen to personalities they like give their opinions on it. Popular TV shows have to scramble to write, video and produce content about it and big-name podcasters are forced to hurry and re-record episodes they banked and edited already to turn something fresh around. Meanwhile terrestrial radio is live, local and on the air immediately the following morning to give people their instant fix on a story that’s massive today and will fade very quickly. These are the kinds of stories that show how relevant terrestrial radio still is and how, despite being around for a very long time, radio still has a seat at the table and an important role to play in our national conversation. </p>
<p>If you talked about it on-air what was your angle and how did it go? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic by DCStudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69301372022-03-23T14:55:19-05:002022-05-18T06:12:48-05:00What If They Were All Entertainment Elements? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/42234fbfe22957be51d9c655936e5eb5d30dd395/original/asian-businessmen-businesswomen-meeting-brainstorming-ideas-about-creative-web-design-planning-application-developing-template-layout-mobile-phone-project-working-together-small-office.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The challenge when building clocks for the hours a music station has live and local on-air talent is balancing their entertainment elements (music, contests, features, benchmarks and content breaks) with all of the service elements, stationality stuff and of course all of the ads. In a perfect world, each hour would always have much more entertainment than information and ads. However, that’s easier said than done. Traditionally sales tends to have an easier time selling service elements then they do our content, which is maddening to programmers, but it’s mainly because its easier to explain to an advertiser what those service elements are. It’s an important balance to get right though. Ideally, we want our strongest personality’s voices to be associated with entertainment and fun and that’s hard to do if half (Or more) of their time spent talking each hour is spent delivering info that’s already available on everyone’s phone. The question I’ve been trying to answer lately is this, what if everything we did was an entertainment element? Is that even possible, and if so what would it look like? </p>
<p>Here's some ways to begin moving in that direction. With any service element delivered by one of our main personalities, we transition to more of a lighter, entertainment style read. That goes for news, sports, weather and even traffic. This style has been adopted by all of the 24-hour news networks after they realized that people won’t watch news 24/7 unless it’s entertaining (Also why it's hard to get straight forward journalism anymore, but that’s another subject for another blog). Obviously, the tone would need to shift whenever there’s anything we have to discuss where lives have been lost or we’re covering life-threatening weather. But other than that, we keep it light and conversational. For news and sports breaks it also helps to only focus on one story and push listeners to get all of the rest of the info on our website. It doesn’t really make sense to do single topic breaks everywhere else but then stop down and have one of those same personalities read a long list of info covering multiple topics/stories. Again, we want our voices associated with fun and entertainment. </p>
<p>What I call “stationality stuff” has a tendency to fill up clocks quickly as well. That consists of station and sponsor-related promos and live plugs/mentions. Most stations have worked to combat this by moving to either PromoSuite or VCreative Promo to schedule those live reads, or something similar developed in-house. That goes a long way to help manage it, as opposed to the old way of just telling the jocks to “hit this a couple times a shift”. However, another trick to making those a little more entertaining is to A) vary up the writing so we’re not just saying the exact same thing the recorded imaging and promos are saying and B) give the talent the leeway to improvise and personalize those plugs and mentions (If they aren’t good at that then we should coach them up on it or hire other on-air personalities.) </p>
<p>Finally, the advertisements. The thing that pays for everything else we do, yet we bundle them all-together in large clumps, warn listeners they’re coming and often just give into the fact that many of those listeners will tune out because of them. There are a couple ways we can address turning our ads into entertainment elements. First, we put A LOT more effort into writing and producing them. I suggest setting up a spot writing committee in-house that includes anyone with a talent for creative writing (Regardless of job title), divvying up the work, and utilizing that group to write paid and spec spots. Then use outside freelance writers to handle any overflow as well as outside voice talent to voice a significant amount of those commercials. Secondly, include sponsored content within breaks (:30 to :45 seconds of content :15 to :30 of ad). Thirdly, move toward stopping more often for shorter stopsets. This becomes a lot more viable when we write, voice and produce better, more entertaining ads. It also helps with forward pacing and makes it considerably more likely that the masses hear the bulk of our ads, which drastically impacts the results our clients get from their ad campaigns and therefore the likelihood that they’ll resign and spend more! </p>
<p>What do you think? What have you done to try and turn more of your on-air elements into entertainment elements? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by tirachardz for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69241182022-03-16T15:13:00-05:002022-04-04T17:34:18-05:00Transitioning To a Multi-Media Company By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/c3d8e549535cba215bde34edecd9fb29df908d3e/original/cropped-view-of-businesswoman-typing-on-laptop-at-2022-02-03-08-02-51-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As soon as it started to dawn on everyone that radio is going to have to get on board with embracing the emerging digital side of our business, radio groups across the country started dabbling in digital and calling themselves a “Media” company instead of a “Radio” company. But if we want to truly drive meaningful results and revenue from digital we have to commit to fully transitioning into an actual multi-media company instead of just branding ourselves as that. Here are the five steps required to do that. </p>
<p>1) <strong>Build content creation studios and capture content at on-site events.</strong> I plan on going more in depth on this topic in an upcoming blog/podcast episode. But, basically I believe that eventually every radio studio (on-air and production) will become content creation studios where it’s simple to record an audio/video podcast, film a high quality hosted video and take a wide range of pics for web/social in the studio during/before/after a shift. The key phrase there is “simple”. Many groups have been able to do most of those things for years now by hauling a bunch of equipment into the studio, but few are setup to do them at any and all times. The conversion isn’t as complicated as it sounds, I recently did it with my office as a test study. Depending on what’s already in place, most radio studios can be converted for between $1k to $3k plus labor. I can bring some of the equipment I use and recommend what to buy/how to do it on one of my market visits. There's also a remote version of the setup that enables stations to capture the same types of content when they are at any event (On-sites are one of the biggest missed opportunities for content creation at most radio stations.)</p>
<p>2) <strong>Hire content creators.</strong> Put job applicants who have already demonstrated their ability to create original multi-platform content on the top of the list for any open position. The days of just doing an on-air shift and nothing else ended several years ago, although not everyone got the message. But beware, virtually all on-air personalities say they are great at social media/web content. Look for actual examples of original digital content they’ve created (Blogs, videos, podcasts, viral social posts, etc). They don’t have to be great at all of them, but they should at least be great at one or more of those. We should also look for potential content creators in any other open position, despite their job description. There’s nothing wrong with utilizing someone’s creative skillset and most creatives tend to be happier when they’re regularly tapping into those skills. Remember, digital content creation is a team sport. </p>
<p>3) <strong>Train and empower existing staff to be self-sufficient content creators.</strong> Utilize outside voices like myself or others to help train all existing staff on what kinds of digital content we’re looking for and how to consistently create it. Work with them to marry their passions and interests with the kind of content we’re looking for. In other words don’t make non-writers write long-form blogs or camera shy people host videos, instead find the thing(s) they will excel at and train/encourage them. NOTE: On radio station blogs/articles we aren’t typically looking for journalist-style long-form blogs anyway, typically we want a paragraph or so of copy interspersed with video/pics/audio. It’s also important that we <a contents="empower our content creators" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/empowering-content-creators" target="_blank">empower our content creators</a> to become more <a contents="self-sufficient" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">self-sufficient</a> by giving them the equipment they need (including computers from this century) and the software, or web-based services, that help enable the creative process (video/photo editing, design, etc). ANOTHER NOTE: We should always start with taking our existing on-air content and finding ways to extend it to digital content and then add additional original digital content that compliments what we’re doing or directly ties into on air content/features. </p>
<p>4) <strong>Install a system of rewards and repercussions.</strong> We can talk about creating multi-platform original content until we’re blue in the face, but we’ll never see meaningful changes unless we reward the creation of that content and hand out repercussions for those who don’t consistently deliver the agreed upon content. <a contents="The rewards" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/content-requirements-and-rewards-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">The rewards</a> should be monthly or quarterly bonuses/prizes for content that got the most likes/shares/impressions and the repercussions are simply the normal disciplinary actions used whenever an employee isn’t delivering. </p>
<p>5) <strong>Monetize all of the new content.</strong> The thing that closes the circle and keeps this machine running is of course, driving revenue from that new content we’ve worked so hard to create. There are several ways to approach this, but in my experience, the best way to do so is to price everything (Including all on-air and digital assets) off of impressions and bundle them together into integrated solutions so its simple for account reps and advertisers to understand. </p>
<p>Let me know what you think even if you vehemently disagree with me. Comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69181282022-03-09T14:01:24-06:002022-03-14T01:42:18-05:00Don't Default To No By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/36aba77fa2bfeeb559613236806eb56f2cb54bb9/original/photo-bearded-young-male-shows-stop-gesture-has-displeased-facial-expression-denies-something-talks-about-forbidden-things-wears-fashionable-shirt-isolated-white-wall.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’ve spent the majority of my radio career as the guy tasked with setting the parameters that help build and protect station brands. As a creative person that wasn’t an easy role for me to adapt to. I much prefer being the guy who brainstorms a firehose of ideas at someone else and lets them weed out the ones we can act on and which ones are too far-fetched. So it wasn’t by brilliant design that I developed a method for putting a positive spin on shooting down other’s ideas, but rather a personal need to channel that creativity of mine somewhere so I didn’t turn into that disgruntled manager who just says no to seemingly everything and ultimately ends up in a place where people simply stop coming to them with ideas all-together. </p>
<p>There’s an art to keeping creative people happy and encouraged to keep cranking out ideas in a radio environment that’s not always receptive to them because of budgets and tightly programmed stations. That’s why often managers end up in one of two camps, letting employees who are very passionate about something do whatever they want so they remain passionate and productive (Which leads to a station programmed to an audience of one), or defaulting to simply starting with no to virtually every idea that enters their office (Which as aforementioned eventually leads to no ideas entering.) </p>
<p>In my experience, these are the best steps to take to find the proper balance between those two camps. </p>
<p>1) Try not to fall in love with our own ideas. </p>
<p>2) Adopt a best idea wins philosophy forgetting hierarchy, experience and skins on the wall when we’re within the brainstorming process. </p>
<p>3) Don’t force employees to think small to fit within budgets and the station’s (Group’s) ability to realistically execute things. Instead start with the big idea, swing for the fences and, if necessary, channel it back to something easier to pull off. </p>
<p>4) Balance any meeting where creative brainstorming is necessary with close to an <a contents="equal share of creatives and critics" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/creatives-vs-critics-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">equal share of creatives and critics</a>.</p>
<p>5) When we have to push back, we should do our best to never say “No” and instead say “No, but” followed by an alternative that we can do similar to or building off of their original idea. </p>
<p>6) Be selective about what we try to execute but don’t throw out any good idea, simply put it in the pipeline for later or work it into an existing project that needs a refresh. </p>
<p>7) Don’t default to doing things the same way year after year simply because it’s worked in the past. Always keep thinking of new ways to refresh, rebrand and re-energize existing features and promotions. </p>
<p>8) Finally, give others the credit whenever possible.</p>
<p>What do you think? How do you find that balance between protecting a brand and keeping the ideas flowing? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by wayhomestudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69117752022-03-02T14:33:20-06:002022-04-06T10:59:18-05:00The Live Broadcast Derail By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a1964e99aef8d250b3d57510ebadc179fd841ba0/original/detour-ahead-2021-08-29-01-17-18-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When we’re coaching team shows one of the big things we talk about are derails and detours, those little off-topic comments that on air talent can either choose to follow down a rabbit hole or stay the course. But there’s no bigger derail we deal with then the live on-site broadcast. I understand they’re a necessary evil, when someone is willing to cut us a big fat check to do one of our shows live from their location, or we have a charity partner that means a lot to our organization/community, we feel like we can’t turn them down. However, for a whole host of reasons, we should NEVER let that live broadcast change the entire structure of our show. I know that’s easier said than done when we’re being asked, in real-time, to manage the expectations of a client/partner who may have a completely different perception of what a live broadcast should look and sound like. But, it’s in everyone’s best interest, including the client, that we do a show that closely resembles what we do in studio each day. That includes all of our benchmarks, features, contests and content. Although, in some circumstances we could weave the client/partner into the fabric of that content or adjust it to relate more to their product/service. </p>
<p>Let’s step back a bit. There are only three reasons people listen to terrestrial radio, 1) To be entertained, 2) to win prizes, 3) for info that’s relevant/matters to them. That’s it, no one listens to the radio for the ads (Except for maybe a competing station’s account reps). That’s why we’re strategic in where we place stopsets, how long we make them, how we go into/out of them, tease past them, etc. Yes, we should do our best to make our ads entertaining, but even then, nobody’s tuning in specifically for them. They’re tuning in for the entertainment elements (Music, compelling content, features, benchmarks), the free stuff and local/topical/relevant information. So when we strip those things from our shows for a live broadcast we’re essentially turning it into one long ad and drastically cutting down on the amount of listeners tuning in and therefore the amount of impressions that client/partner’s message is reaching. We’d be much better off doing something that closely resembles our in-studio show and then serving up their message in bite size chunks woven seamlessly into the show. </p>
<p>All of that being said, doing a live broadcast that serves the listeners as much or more than it serves the client/partner is the single hardest thing we ask on-air talent to do. Especially when it’s for a client or partner with a sensitive, tug on the heart-strings kind of service. That’s why many groups do their best to avoid live broadcasts or charge a big premium for them. Catering to the broader audience listening on the radio when we’re in a controlled environment (Professional on-air studio with the door closed and all the tools necessary to pull off an amazing broadcast at our fingertips) is substantially easier than doing the same surrounded by listeners, promo people, an account rep or manager watching our every move/word and a client/partner who probably wrote a check. </p>
<p>Here's a relatable example that most of us have been through. The live broadcast from a car dealership. A local car dealer drops a bunch of money to have you do your show live from their big annual sale. You show up with every intention of doing your normal show including benchmarks/features/contests/content, only from their location. But, after the first break the GM of the dealership wants to jump on a break and despite your best efforts and internal clock going off like a fire alarm, it goes for ten straight minutes. Then, he says “We got to get my sales manager on otherwise he’ll think I’m hogging the mic” so the next break drags out as well. Then he suggests getting his sales rep with a great personality to jump on a break. Plus, throughout the show they keep coming up with different things to promote above and beyond the copy points you’ve already hit several times. By the end of the broadcast the GM is ecstatic with how you’ve bent over backwards to cater to them and he tells your boss how it’s the “Best radio broadcast I’ve ever been a part of.” But, in the back of his head he’s thinking, ‘Funny, but I didn’t sell a car today’, then a couple days pass and no customers even mention the broadcast to him. Which leads him to think ‘I guess radio doesn’t work, because they threw the kitchen sink at it and it still didn’t get me any results.’ But, in reality we know it didn’t work because we drove away all of our existing listeners by doing a four-hour live infomercial for a car dealership. </p>
<p>There’s a lot of psychological reasons why it’s hard to resist the live broadcast trap and there’s definitely an art to navigating those tough waters that takes years and experience to learn. That’s why I suggest avoiding them as much as possible, especially with new talent, being incredibly selective with the ones we do and setting a high price (And holding to it) for any we sell. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic by twenty20photos for <a contents="www.envatoelements.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">www.envatoelements.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/69053032022-02-23T14:16:32-06:002022-04-06T13:25:19-05:00Radio Jobs That Will Be Harder To Fill Going Forward By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3a41a0c058564898da61835103152f34d3547ce1/original/closeup-view-handshake-two-businessmen-suits-shaking-hands.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>For many years there seemed to be a widely held theory within our industry that it was relatively easy to fill certain open positions at radio groups. Mainly because it had been that way for quite a while thanks to consolidation, mass firings at the bigger groups and how virtually all groups are running with less staff with every passing year. I remember as a hiring manager the hundreds of emails and resumes I would have to sort through for any job I would post. So many that I’d have to setup separate email folders to weed it down to the handful of true prospects. However, I believe we’ve already turned a corner on those days of getting to choose from a vast number of qualified applicants that are all willing to work within our budget and uproot to move to our cities. </p>
<p>There are two positions that have been the most effected so far in my opinion. Beginning about a decade ago qualified and experienced radio engineers became incredibly hard to find and many available candidates were either good at just RF or just IT and not necessarily both. There’s two main challenges for this position, first, anyone smart enough to be a radio engineer is certainly smart enough to work in a handful of other industries related to engineering and tech that pay significantly better than radio. Secondly, many of the existing, talented and experienced radio engineers are simply aging out of the business and there’s a very small pool of young engineers coming up to replace them for the reason listed above. Because of that, as an industry I think we’re going to have to wrap our heads around paying much higher salaries for these positions or get creative by using remote monitoring and Zoom to utilize supplemental off-site engineers who only travel to the market for big projects and regularly scheduled maintenance (This is already happening in a lot of groups and markets.) It’s also not a bad idea to train anyone on staff with a technical mind how to maintain/operate/hook up some of the basic equipment regardless of their job title (The more redundancy we have on this front the better going forward.)</p>
<p>The second position that’s been the most effected already, and appears to have worsened since the pandemic began, is on-air talent capable of creating live, local and engaging content daily on-air, online and on-site. Which makes sense, based on the unique skillset required and the amount of time it takes to excel on-air, it’s a position we’ve undervalued for years. Plus, many stations have moved away from regular aircheck sessions because they’re often misconstrued as either ‘too uncomfortable’ or ‘unnecessary for experienced talent’, both of which aren’t true. Also, not unlike engineers, there aren’t nearly as many young people trying to break in as there used to be and with each passing day there’s more demand for content creators in other industries (Where some of those same skillsets can be utilized, ie podcasting, social/web video content, etc.) All of that means that we no longer have those deep of benches of eager up-and-coming talent to replace retiring talent, or the ones that have simply left to go to another industry all-together. My suggestion for remedying the shortage of air talent is to A) value the one’s that we currently have, B) pay them more, C) aircheck everyone regardless of how long they’ve been doing it, D) continue training/pushing them on digital content creation and E) utilize outside coaching (Somewhat selfish solution for me to throw out but I do believe it’s necessary.) </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by yanalya for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68993972022-02-16T13:03:50-06:002022-04-30T01:12:29-05:00Live, Local and Interactive By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/22c5f3744aca1829008b297f9811e7312cd8d0cb/original/live-sign-on-brick.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Since becoming a full-time consultant a few years ago, I’ve been asked to do market reviews for a wide range of markets across the country. While analyzing all that data you can’t help but see patterns emerge. Back in 2019 I wrote <a contents="an article" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-live-and-local-are-we-in-2019-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">an article</a> about one of the those patterns, the direct correlation between how many live and local on-air personalities a station has and how well they consistently perform in the ratings. In that article I touched on the third component, being interactive, but I wanted to expand on the interactive part because it’s even more important now since the stats I mentioned on the number of live shifts have certainly gone down. </p>
<p>Let’s face it, what’s the point of covering a shift with live and local talent if they’re not going to engage and interact with the audience? If we’re just going to have one-way conversations with the listener, we might as well use out of market voice trackers or syndicated shows. I always put it this way, if we’re doing a live shift and we’re not doing anything that couldn’t be done if we voicetracked it ahead of time, we’re doing it wrong. The real value of local talent is their ability to tailor things to that specific area and the best way to do that is by starting a conversation and then bringing the listener in on it through on-air, on the phone, online and on-site engagement. When we don’t do that it’s virtually impossible to broadcast externally instead of internally content-wise. </p>
<p>But, getting an audience that’s been trained not to interact within a specific daypart for years to begin engaging takes time. It’s a slow build that starts with contesting and relatable/interesting phone topics (That are usually faked or at least pre-loaded by banking a few ahead of time in the beginning). Then builds to appointment setting benchmarks and features that have engagement elements. Finally, we can put it over the top by <a contents="incorporating digital into our prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">incorporating digital into our prep process</a> to strategically use specific social platforms and our station website/apps to pre-promote, promote during the show and get more life from our content after the show. </p>
<p>When I start talking about all the different digital content shows could be creating I usually get this kind of pushback, “How am I supposed to do all of that stuff without my on-air content, the most important part, suffering?” But, ironically, the shows that are creating the most digital content are typically also doing the best on-air content. That’s because they’re doing their long-form stuff, (benchmarks, features, contests, local/topical/relatable content and celebrity interviews) to video, podcast/video or blogs first and then using the best bits on-air while they push traffic to the other sites for the longer-form, exclusive versions. </p>
<p>So going forward, when looking at a market, I won’t simply analyze how many shifts stations are live and local, but how many are live, local and interactive. Because that third part is the secret sauce that leads air talent, and ultimately their station, to win the ratings battle book after book. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68933312022-02-09T16:26:30-06:002022-04-07T10:43:11-05:00Creating Binge-Worthy On-Air Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/edc5b94e3a1571c1750abb557f16f41220bb323e/original/couple-watching-streaming-service-home.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We all have those TV shows that we watch when we get around to it or when we can’t find anything else to watch. But, on the flip side, there are those other TV shows that we can’t help but binge because they’re so good we set aside everything we’re doing to marathon watch them. I’m sure you’re making a list in your head as your reading this. I would mention mine, but then you’d judge my life choices. The thing that sets apart those binge-able shows from the second choice, watch when you can, shows is simple, for one reason or another they strike a chord with us and then we’re hooked. As on-air content creators, is it possible for us to regularly create binge-worth on-air content? I believe it is, although it’s far from easy and takes a ton of work behind the scenes. That being said, here are my five steps for creating binge-able on-air content. </p>
<p>1)<strong> Perfect the off-air process.</strong> Nothing effects what happens on-air more than what happens off-air. Shows that prep better tend to create much better on-air content on a consistent basis. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it, most people need at least 30 minutes of prep-time for each hour they’re on the air regardless of their time slot. On top of that team shows need time set aside to coordinate that content and gameplan. </p>
<p>2) <strong>Sometimes topical, sometimes local, sometimes personal, but always relatable.</strong> Whether it’s an engagement topic or just a story we’re telling on air, that same metric applies. The content we choose can be topical, local, personal or a combo of all three. But at it’s core, in our judgement, it should be relatable to the majority of our station’s audience or it won’t strike that chord. </p>
<p>3) <strong>Tease to it and set the hook</strong>. No matter how good the content is, most listeners won’t hear it if we don’t effectively tease to it ahead of time and, within the break, hook them in first with that short, sweet, ‘turn the radio up I gotta hear this’ statement at the top. </p>
<p>4) <strong>Don’t over or under word it.</strong> Bingeable content finds that sweet spot of having just enough details to make sure the listener is entertained and isn’t confused, but none of the pointless filler that bores them and makes them tune out figuratively and literally. </p>
<p>5) <strong>After the show self-assessment and coaching.</strong> There’s no faster way to improve our on air content than listening back to ourselves daily and no matter how long we’ve been doing it everyone can <a contents="benefit from professional on-air coaching" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank">benefit from professional on-air coaching</a>. </p>
<p>The true test of whether or not we’re creating binge-worthy on-air contest is if it’s strong enough to stand on it’s own, without the entertainment elements surrounding it (the music). When it passes that test it’s good enough to share and potentially go viral on social, attract clicks on the web, place into promos and best of shows, and so on. It’s no doubt a high bar, but if we follow the four steps above, we’re much more likely to reach it. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68869152022-02-02T16:33:12-06:002022-04-07T12:56:56-05:00The Importance of Clock Management By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7f3a4dc12fdbb1d35a431161349f20d76051b2a1/original/excited-young-caucasian-woman-holds-alarm-clock.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Anyone who watched the NFL playoffs this year got to see first-hand the importance of clock management. In a highly competitive professional sport, where everybody is incredibly talented, often mere seconds determine who hits the beach early and who gets to keep playing. It also became abundantly clear which teams had effectively emphasized clock management in practice so they would be adequately prepared on game day, and which ones hadn’t (ie my Cowboys!) The same is true in radio, where we often spend lots of time developing features/benchmarks/contests and other content (All of which are incredibly important of course) but little time working on the skill of clock management, which is equally important. </p>
<p>Learning how to effectively manage the clock within an airshift is certainly an acquired skill. That’s one of the many reasons we start green on-air talent in shifts where there’s less to manage. That way as they slowly move up the ranks to the primetime shifts they’re only adding one or two more hourly elements an hour to manage. But, even veteran on air talent who’ve learned to handle news, weather, traffic, benchmarks/features, contests, etc., can start to get complacent when it comes to clock management if they’re not careful. </p>
<p>On air clock management entails basically three things. First, where within the show to place specific kinds of content. Granted depending on the on-air personalities clout they may have little input on where to put service elements, so let’s focus on features/benchmarks, other content and contests. We start by looking at the likely listening habits within that market during that daypart and try to determine the highest likelihood of strong listenership, then place our content most likely to cause a listener to set an appointment to listen there. Then work backwards placing secondary content in the second most likely available place and so on. The second way clock management impacts the execution of an air shift is the strength of the host’s internal clock, another thing that takes time, practice, self-analysis, and outside coaching to sharpen. There are few things more valuable to an on-air personality than <a contents="understanding how long" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/how-long-should-i-talk-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">understanding how long</a> to structure specific types of breaks, where and when to bail within organic breaks and how to tactfully bow out of live interviews (Hopefully most of those are pre-recorded whenever possible anyway). The third and final clock management question to solve is where, when, what and <a contents="how to tease" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/a-verbal-contract-with-listeners-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">how to tease</a>. </p>
<p>Coming up with the actual on-air content is the fun part, it gets the creative juices flowing, we get lots of pats on the back when we develop something cool (especially something cool that’s also very sponsorable). But, all the good on air segment ideas won’t amount to a lot if we don’t take the time (bad pun intended) to learn how to manage our clocks. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by stockking for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68802282022-01-26T14:26:44-06:002022-04-07T15:03:50-05:00Being Coy With Ad Pricing By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/89568de450a5ef59c5b56ef19118d89ce72434d9/original/sly-guy-schecming-evil-genius-face-steeple-fingers-look-aside-copy-space-have-interesting-idea-planning-standing-white-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There’s a longstanding tradition in radio of being somewhat protective and private about how we price our advertising products. Sure, virtually every station has a rate card. But, we all know that the actual rates the station gets vary wildly and many of those rate cards are what I call ‘rubber rate cards’ because they’re incredibly flexible. Plus, some sales managers shy away from using rate cards all-together, unless they’re pressed, because they say ‘When you show someone a rate card they’ll always just point to the lowest rate and say give me that.’ </p>
<p>My fear is that this practice of being coy with our pricing doesn’t work well with an ever-growing portion of ad buyers who are used to buying digital products with more cut and dry rates. I certainly understand the rationale of being flexible with pricing to fit people’s budgets so we’re not walking away from money. Hopefully if we’re doing that though, there’s some rhyme or reason to it so two different advertisers aren’t paying vastly different rates for the same exact :30 spot positioned at similar places within stopsets. Maybe I’m more sensitive to it because I started in smaller markets where word travels very quickly, but even in larger markets I’ve worked in people talk. We’ve all probably experienced two car dealers discussing what they pay for advertising and coming back to the station saying ‘Give me the deal they got.’ </p>
<p>A couple times in recent years I’ve spoken with business owners in various markets that tell me similar stories. Basically, it goes like this. I was interested in doing some radio advertising to promote my business, but I didn’t know where to start. So, I went to STATION X’s website but found little information there on how to advertise or what it costs but I saw an email to contact/number to call. I contacted them, then I got a call back, I asked how much an ad costs, they asked to set up a meeting. A few days later we met, they asked me a lot of questions about my business which was great along with my budget but by the time they left I still didn’t know what an ad cost. A week later they returned with a proposal and by then I’d already spent my entire advertising budget elsewhere. It’s hard to quantify how often this situation occurs, but I would bet quite often. </p>
<p>I’m not arguing against doing needs assessments so we can present potential advertisers with custom proposals that will better fit their business and get them more results then a pre-built, pre-determined package. What I’m suggesting is a more transparent process for how we price all of our assets. Then maybe simplifying our rate cards a bit so they’re easier for new advertisers to understand, and so their rooted in reality rather than fantasy or ‘because that’s how it’s always done.’ I can’t articulate how many stations I’ve seen that charge more for morning drive even though it isn’t their highest rated daypart anymore. People will say either A) “Well that’s the industry standard” or B) “People want to be in morning drive so they’ll pay more.” We can’t continue pricing things a certain way simply because that’s how we’ve always done it and we certainly can’t charge more for underperforming dayparts simply because the advertiser assumes more people are tuning in at that time.</p>
<p>When someone asks us 'Why does an ad cost that?' We should be able to say <em>'Because it's worth that' </em>and back it up by adding<em> 'It's all about impressions, the average amount of ears hearing your ad/mention or the amount of eyeballs seeing your digital ad/content.' </em>On the on-air side obviously that's a lot easier to do for stations that subscribe to Nielsen/Arbitron or Eastlan. But, even non-subscribing stations can do strategic promotions built specifically to <a contents="create they're own audience estimates" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/build-your-own-audience-snap-shot-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">create they're own audience estimates</a> so they have something to back up they're on air rates. On the digital side it's easy because all of that is tracked exactly rather than a guesstimate based on a relatively small sample size.</p>
<p>I know this is a touchy subject, but I’d love to hear your thoughts even if you vehemently disagree with me. Comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by cookie_studio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68739462022-01-19T13:29:51-06:002022-04-08T10:56:34-05:00A Verbal Contract With Listeners By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ee63e0827dfa5e0b017cfa190b5466b4a5f943a7/original/business-people-handshake-greeting-deal-work.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When we’re tasked with doing a live shift on a radio station, our main goal is simple, keep a portion of the audience tuned in a little longer than they intended. If we can do that we bring real, tangible value to our station, conversely if we cannot, we don’t. That’s why we’re always pushing on-air personalities to create compelling content and tease to that content consistently. But, there’s a lot that goes into that process and as soon as we begin teasing we’re entering a verbal contract with the listener to deliver on that tease. If we make good on that contract they’ll reward us by coming back day after day, fail to and they’ll keep searching the dial for someone that will. </p>
<p>Teasing is an art unto itself, an art that frankly, most on-air talent are far from mastering. Across all sizes of markets and throughout the country I still hear a lot of pretty generic teases like, “Coming up I’ve got FEATURE X”, or “More great music on the way.” If we want people to give up more of their time, or even break their routine, just to hear us say something on the radio, we’ve got to upsell more. Imagine that you’re waiting tables at Applebee’s and you come out to the table and say ‘The special tonight is steak and mushrooms.’ Do you think you’d win that day’s reward for selling the most specials? If you really want to move some beef, you need to describe it well enough for the customer to almost taste it, ‘Tonight’s special is the Bourbon Street Steak, it features the big flavor of New Orleans, with an 8 ounce USDA select top sirloin, jazzed up with Cajun spices and garlic butter and served on a cast iron platter with sauteed mushrooms and onions.’ Of course you can get away with that much verbiage when you’re only managing three or four four-tops and you’ve got a captive audience for forty five minutes. The challenge on the radio, where we’re trying to hold the attention of thousands of distracted people all at once, is to identify the true hook of the upcoming segment and, with as few words as possible, tease to that hook. </p>
<p>But, even with a great tease, it all falls short if we don’t deliver compelling content that was worth sticking around for. The key to doing that is to only<a contents=" choose content we can add to" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank"> choose content we can add to</a>, instead of just ripping and reading from prep, and deliver it concisely with an economy of words so we’re not wasting any of our listener’s precious time. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68667972022-01-12T13:01:20-06:002023-12-10T10:58:13-06:00Internal VS External Music Programming By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/97a91d0010c4d8c60990f07f0f9f28584d816a56/original/versus-pic.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One of the first lessons we have to learn as a programmer is to set aside our personal views and make decisions based on what our target audience is most likely to want to hear. That’s especially important if we ourselves are outside of the station’s target demo. In theory this sounds a lot simpler to do than it ever proves to be in practice. After all, many of us got into this business because of our love for music. But, it’s a necessary skill to learn if we plan on having any success or longevity as a programmer. Without question, it’s the number one thing I’ve seen hold back program directors and music directors. </p>
<p>However, getting passed our own opinions and biases is just step one in programming externally instead of internally. Step two is programming outside of the building. I was 23 when I got my first programming gig outside of a station my family either owned or operated. A few weeks in I distinctly remember calling my father, a radio guy himself since the age of 18, and complaining about how literally everyone in the building had strong opinions on exactly what the station, I’d just became the PD of, should be playing. Dad said, “Andy, everyone’s a Program Director.” Boy was he right. I don’t care whether it’s the promotions staff, on-air personalities or even the GM, if we program directly to the people within the building we are doomed to fail. </p>
<p>Step two, looking outside our friends and family bubble. I can’t count the amount of times an on-air personality unhappy with the music on a station has said to me, <em>“Everybody’s saying we should/shouldn’t be playing SONG X/ARTIST X”</em> only to realize after some follow up questions that “everybody” only really entails the handful of friends and family they have within their personal bubble. Even if that bubble consists mainly of people within the demo, it’s still too small of a sample to base any programming decisions on. </p>
<p>The third step is avoiding an easy group to fall prey to, a vocal minority of listeners. We’ve all heard the saying, ‘Don’t program to the phones’ because only one percent of our audience calls into a radio station. Nowadays we can extend that to social media, where just a small, but loud group of complainers can sway massive programming changes within a station with minimal effort by rallying a small but passionate portion of the audience to join their cause. Often when I’ve been asked to look into these situations, it turns out a good percentage of these end up being out of market or non-listeners anyway. </p>
<p>Early in my programming career I loathed the constant feedback within the building, at remotes and events, at the grocery store, on the request lines (and later via social media), from friends and family and virtually anyone I explained my job to. But over the years I learned not to look at it as a negative and instead turn it into a positive by categorizing the entirety of it as crowd-sourced information. Once we start to put it all together, and combine it with whatever research we can do on our own or pay for, then we have enough of a sample base to start seeing patterns that help us regionalize and localize our station(s), giving us an edge over any competition that’s just carbon copying a successful station from another market. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by starline for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68599602022-01-05T12:52:01-06:002023-12-10T13:51:40-06:00Never One Thing By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/95d26e899d57b9339af19b967052990876e26eb5/original/businessman-suit-putting-last-piece-pyramid-using-wooden-blocks.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Anyone who’s ever played sports on a really good team, or a really bad one, knows that it takes successes or failures in all areas to become either consistently dominant or consistently lousy. That’s why coaches across all sports are constantly going on about winning in all phases and playing a complimentary, balanced and complete game. The same is true of radio stations. When a station is overperforming or underperforming it’s never because of just one strength or weakness. </p>
<p>However, when working at or managing an underperforming station we often tend to try and point to one problem area. <em>‘If we could just get sales up we’d be fine’</em> or <em>‘We just need to get more out of our programming staff’</em>. While in reality, if we were to take a step back we’d realize that we likely have breakdowns in multiple areas. An on-air staff that’s complacent and coasting, an unmotivated sales staff, digital assets that look dated and are rarely used, station events that seem more like obligations than opportunities to market/brand and so on. </p>
<p>Just like turning a losing sports team around, turning an unsuccessful station around starts with <a contents="changing the culture" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/creating-a-winning-culture-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">changing the culture</a>. But getting a diverse group of people and personalities to adopt a winning mentality isn’t easy. However, clear and concise structure and leadership at the top will get the ball rolling. Then it’s time to balance the Negative Nelly’s with some Positive Pam’s to create a healthy creative vibe, give them the tools to succeed and use the carrot and stick approach to hold the entire staff accountable while incentivizing them to overperform with rewards. Once we’ve done that it’s amazing how fast the excuses and finger pointing stop and are replaced with creative solutions and covering each other’s backs. </p>
<p>The sad thing is, it’s not really <a contents="more work to create great radio" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/working-hard-to-create-bad-radio-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">more work to create great radio</a> than it is to create bad radio. Especially once we figure out how to better manage our time on the things that really do move the needle, like creating compelling, <a contents="original content on air" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">original content on air</a> and on our digital assets, executing cume/tsl building on air promotions, doing <a contents="radio events that sizzle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/radio-events-that-sizzle-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">radio events that sizzle</a>, choosing on-air programming that’s external instead of internal and selling based on real value instead of perceived value. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by wirestock for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68544022021-12-29T13:45:19-06:002022-05-11T11:20:36-05:00Content Requirements and Rewards By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/bbf67eb2b177ddd8023af0f284f4f8ce53d8574c/original/money-writes-with-white-chalk-is-hand-draw-concept-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Today’s radio stations aren’t just graded on what’s coming out of the speakers. Although on-air is still the most important, it’s no longer enough to just win in that one phase of the business, we have to be competitive in all of them. Stations that dominate markets tend to perform well across all of their platforms, on-air, online, on social and on site. To do that, we need to train, coach and hold our staffs accountable for creating content on each of our platforms. My suggestion for doing that is to take a carrot and stick approach with the stick, accountability, used to require a certain volume of content creation and the carrot, rewards, used to incentivize the staff to create content that gets a lot of interaction and engagement. </p>
<p>Let’s quickly go through what content creation looks like within those four phases and I’ll throw out some potential minimum requirements and rewards. </p>
<p><strong>On-Air Content: </strong>Because it’s still the most important and we should strive for virtually everything to tie back to it, creating <a contents="great content starts on air" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/it-all-starts-on-air-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">great content starts on air</a>. As hiring managers when we’re combing through airchecks and resumes what we’re looking for are on-air personalities that can create their own original content and only choose other’s content that they can actually add something to by personalizing and localizing it. Anyone can rip and read from a prep service. Minimum requirements (Regardless of daypart): One content break per hour, one phone topic per shift and one contest per shift (Above existing station-wide contests). Incentives: Quarterly (Or bi-annual in diary markets) bonus/reward for highest daypart ratings increase, quarterly bonus/reward for most contesting engagement, viral on-air content reward and for group’s a reward for the station with the most incoming calls (On VOIP/Digital lines where that’s trackable.) </p>
<p><strong>Online:</strong> The general misconception with website content is that it’s only blogs and therefore only applies to writers. Yes, <a contents="blogging is a big part of it" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">blogging is a big part of it</a> and it always helps to have that skillset. But, we don’t have to be trained journalists or a wiz at creative writing to write an article on a radio station website. All we’re looking for is a paragraph of copy in their own words (Doesn’t have to be formal and perfect), embedding a couple pics/video and linking to a place to get more info. Plus, if that’s still too much to ask, they can just create their own videos to post on the station website. Minimum requirements: Two original assets (Blogs or videos) per week posted to the station website. Incentives: Monthly bonus/reward for asset with the most unique clicks/pageviews and/or shares. </p>
<p><strong>Social:</strong> If you traveled back to when I started in radio and told me there would one day be multiple free platforms where you could communicate directly with thousand of listeners (And potential new listeners) with a couple of clicks I would say ‘Wow, I’m sure everyone loves that and uses it constantly to drive traffic to their shows.’ To which future me would reply, ‘Well actually while typically all of them use it in their personal lives, only a fraction of them regularly utilize it to promote their content, features and contests.’ I know it can seem overwhelming figuring out how to use social, which platform to post on and when, but once we <a contents="incorporate digital into the prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">incorporate digital into the prep process</a> it becomes a manageable part of our day. Then, within short order we’re regularly posting before, during and after our show across the various platforms. Minimum requirements: 3 per day, one before, during and after spread across the stations active platforms based on which one that content/post fits the best. Incentives: Monthly bonus/reward for the post with the most organic impressions. </p>
<p><strong>On site:</strong> There’s little point in going on site if we’re just going to sit behind a table and wait for people to come up to us. Our goal should be to take some of the same interactive/engaging things we do on-air everyday and adapt them for onsite. All of which could create some social content to share. On site is also a great opportunity to capture and bank digital content. Minimum requirements per event: One audience engaging/interactive bit, 2 social posts, 1 banked video and 5 banked pics. Incentives: Quarterly bonus/reward for the most registrations during an event/remote. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68416472021-12-15T06:52:21-06:002022-04-23T01:51:33-05:00How Long Should I Talk? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/bde8512f5f08db3684a86ef460dafaca2beb8dcb/original/young-brunette-white-casual-sweater-isolated-purple-wall.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When I’m working with brand new air talent, one of the first questions I get is ‘How long should I talk?” It’s an understandable question. After all, they’ve no doubt listened to on-air personalities across formats and dayparts that do everything from super short comments over the lip of a tune, to talk show hosts that act as 100% of the content and everything in between. Plus, even when working with seasoned radio broadcasters a great deal of our focus in aircheck sessions is spent trying to get them to tighten up their breaks so they get into, through and out of them faster without wasting the listener’s time. </p>
<p>So, because of a multitude of variables, format, market, competition’s programming, stopset length, etc., there’s no simple answer to that question. That’s why typically I respond with something like this. How long we talk should be in direct proportion to how much value we’re giving the audience. On a music-based station, if they take the time to listen to us we need to give them something of value or get out of the way of the things they do value, the music. </p>
<p>Once we’ve developed a show prep process that allows us to come up with multiple content breaks, phone topics, benchmarks and features every day, then we’re ready to go longer. Until then it’s better to err on the side of caution and be tight and bright. </p>
<p>However after that consistent daily prepping process is in place the next step is to start mastering the art of the economy of words. Asking ourselves, how can I say in 30 seconds what someone else would say in 3 minutes? Exactly how much detail do I need to include so the listener isn’t confused but also isn’t bored. Then, how concise can I get my out while still <a contents="adding to the content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">adding to the content</a>. </p>
<p>Both learning to prep and working on our economy of words improve exponentially with the help of a <a contents="professional on-air coach" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/every-on-air-personality-needs-a-coach" target="_blank">professional on-air coach</a> and regular, strategic aircheck sessions. But, even with that and especially without, we should learn to self-edit. Hands down the best way to do that is by spending time listening back to our own breaks and rewriting them. While doing that we’ll catch crutches, unnecessary phrases and words, leading transitions with co-hosts on team shows and callers on solo shows, reiterated statements, times we go past the out and so on. All of the same things we bring up in aircheck sessions. But, if the air talent is catching them on their own, clearly they’ll improve much faster and respond quicker when their coaches point them out. Airchecking ourselves isn’t just for novices. Every level of air-talent should do it. I’ve said it before, but in this business that’s constantly changing, if we’re not improving each day we’re actually slowly getting worse. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by kroschka_nastya for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68349412021-12-09T08:22:10-06:002021-12-09T08:22:10-06:00Content Any Station Can Use By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a02087329e0ced41759445cae414baf0c11e265e/original/social-media-marketing.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Whenever I’m consulting a station on digital content the conversation generally starts with everyone throwing out a bunch of zany stunt-like ideas for silly things the on-air talent can go out and do to turn into video content. All of which can certainly work for one-offs and special events or promotions. But, I always suggest starting with extending some of the things we're already doing to our other platforms. Because A) it’s the fastest and easiest way to get the ball rolling and B) it tends to be more sustainable, because it’s easier to replicate week after week. </p>
<p>With that in mind, here’s some digital content that virtually any station can use. </p>
<p><strong>Concert/Event Calendars:</strong> Extend your on-air/online concert or event calendars with a 30 to 60 second video that highlights a couple of the big ones and drives the viewer back to a web post for the complete list, links and details. Can be done as a single cam with the DJ in front of a logo or green-screen or simply a VO over pre-existing video or pictures with motion. </p>
<p><strong>Music Teasers:</strong> Similar to how we used to do some donut top of the hour teases where we played a couple of the hooks of the upcoming songs, but as a video to use on social media and drive instant listening. We do these as a simple cool looking graphic, list of five of the key songs that hour and a single pic of one of those artists or a more complex version that actually uses the video clips and looks more like a television promo. </p>
<p><strong>Feature/Benchmark Appointment Teasers:</strong> If it’s worth teasing on air, it’s worth teasing online through the website and social media. But, just like an on-air tease it should be intriguing enough to actually set an appointment and vague enough to get their wheels turning without giving it away entirely. Again, these can be filmed, or VO with stock video/pics with motion. </p>
<p><strong>Content Extensions:</strong> An easy digital win is to take a phone topic or content segment that went well on-air and extend the life of it after the show by creating a web post with our audio from that day and a short written description of the details with links. Then create a video for social media using props or acting out something related to that content. IE if we’re talking about the best place in town to get a cheeseburger, and taking caller suggestions, we write a web post with that audio and go film ourselves at one of the locations eating said cheeseburger. </p>
<p><strong>Smash or Trash New Music Feature: </strong>A video linked to a web-poll version of the old on-air feature where two songs compete. We do these on all new music formats with different names, the face-off, showdown, battle, etc, using two new songs we’re considering adding. In addition to making for some interesting content, it’s also great music research. Especially if we pair it with a sponsor so we have money to boost the posts and give away a prize. </p>
<p><strong>Top 5 to Top 10:</strong> Video for social highlighting the top 5 songs on the station that week that links to a web-post with the full top 10 and their music videos embedded along with a poll for the listener to list their top tunes. </p>
<p><strong>What to Watch:</strong> A video voiced by one of the on-air talent mentioning three of the new shows or movies available to stream online or watch in theaters that week. When posted it links to a web blog on the station website listing everything coming out that week and some of the trailers for the bigger ones. </p>
<p><strong>What to Play: </strong>Same as what to watch but for video games releasing that week mentioning two of the bigger games in the video and the complete list on the website with trailers and which platforms they’re coming out on. </p>
<p><strong>Event Live Streams:</strong> With an investment in a couple <a contents="Mevo Starts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mevo.com/pages/mevo-camera?gclid=CjwKCAiA78aNBhAlEiwA7B76p7_9i9g_bte73ff9Aq3xJEPf5LJgMsB5RURcOG_QWBUp7XFsc7hWgBoCOjgQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Mevo Starts</a> and a few tripods we can show anyone how to do multi-cam live streams of any event on a single station or client social feed. Or you can pair it with a Vimeo Producer subscription and stream on multiple feeds simultaneously. We can also give some tips and tricks for making the event look better for video and how to make the stream look more produced with a little upfront effort and minimal onsite manpower. </p>
<p><strong>Exclusive Long Form Video Interviews:</strong> I love these because they kill two birds with one stone, they tighten up the on-air portion of the interview because it’s pre-recorded for video and we can just use a few highlight audio clips on air and then have the long-form “exclusive” version the diehard listener has to go to the station website for. Two good companies to use for this are <a contents="Riverside.fm" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://riverside.fm/homepage" target="_blank">Riverside.fm</a> and <a contents="Streamyard" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://streamyard.com/" target="_blank">Streamyard</a>. </p>
<p>If you need help creating any of these let us know. We can either turn-key it and handle everything, handle some of it while simultaneously training your staff on how to do it or just create the workparts for your staff to put together themselves each week. Basically, anything you’re doing on air we can turn into video (Promos, commercials, features, etc). Currently we use Adobe Premiere, After Effects and Hit Film. </p>
<p>Got any questions, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic created by pikisuperstar for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68269252021-12-01T14:31:23-06:002022-05-09T06:13:44-05:00The Magic of Radio By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0a82c26d455a8c0599b22df275cacc256414bcdd/original/top-hat-and-a-magic-wand-2021-08-26-16-21-04-utc.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As close as we are to the business of radio, it’s easy to lose sight of just how magical listening to the radio can be for our passionate listeners. That’s why its so important that our on-air talent do everything they can to add to that mystique and nothing to take away from it. In this age of transparency, it’s easy to give in to the urge to let the listeners behind the curtain. But, the truth is, they don’t really want to see how the sausage is made, they just want to eat it. </p>
<p>Virtually all really well-done radio shows are staged to varying degrees. Some calls are faked, interviews are pre-recorded, the occasional bit is fully scripted, and almost all content breaks are at least pre-structured. However, when done well, the listener has no idea any of it’s staged. To them it all sounds adlibbed, at least until we say or do anything that kills that magic. Anyone who reads my blogs knows that I’m a big fan of radio talent creating video content. I love the idea of cameras in the studio, provided they’re not used to capture the behind the scenes process and show how everything comes together. There are plenty of ways to use video to expand our on-air content before, after and even during the show. But, we want to be careful not to use them to take away from the magic and the theater of the mind we’re creating on-air. </p>
<p>On team shows, we should be cautious to not make any statements that elude to any scripting, pre-planning or staging. It’s also a great practice to seed phone topic breaks by asking listeners that call for any reason throughout the show (And even the prior day’s show when possible), so when we hit it on air we’ve already got several good options banked. It helps to word our question the same way we’re going to live on the air so it seamlessly transitions. But, there’s no reason to ever make a comment that let’s the listener know that any of that process took place. </p>
<p>Great radio doesn’t just happen. It takes great preparation, strategizing, post-break analysis and coaching to make it all come together. The thing we all have to figure out for ourselves is the delicate balance of planning versus winging it that works for us. The trick I’ve always used is to over-prepare, doing a minimum of thirty minutes to an hour of prep for every hour I’m on the air, to know how I’m getting into/out of every break. But, at the same time, always being willing to abandon anything pre-prepared if something better comes up organically. However, in my opinion, the listener shouldn’t see any of that behind the scenes process. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic by nejron for <a contents="envato elements" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">envato elements</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68129532021-11-17T14:53:36-06:002024-03-07T02:49:12-06:00Is Radio Paying Enough? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a30d58226b66ca4509ed99ff1f9e271e6cf01d6a/original/closeup-economist-working-counting-data-calculator.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The labor shortage in our country has been widely reported as of late, with a barrage of news stories touting headlines like ‘The Great Resignation’ and surveys published showing the percentage of workers who say they’d rather quit then return to working full time in the office. With the combination of unprecedented stimulus money from the government, and a robust housing market driving up the savings of American homeowners, we’ve entered a time when the worker has more leverage then ever. You’ve no doubt seen the signs on many area businesses touting higher pay, sign-on bonuses and a myriad of other incentives to lure back workers. </p>
<p>But, how does this all effect radio, an industry that was already on the lower end of the pay scale when it came to some key positions? Can we compete for competent, productive and responsible employees by simply increasing our pay a few percentage points across the board or do we need to rethink our structure and compensation packages entirely? I would argue that there are a few areas where we’re going to find it increasingly hard to attract and retain employees if we don’t do exactly that. </p>
<p>For years now on the technical side it’s been hard to find the qualified, reliable and knowledgeable engineers and IT employees necessary to keep a radio station on the air and all of its assets up and running. Makes sense, it can be a thankless job that requires someone willing to work long hours and to rarely ever be truly, fully off-the-clock. Plus, anyone intelligent enough to handle both the RF and IT sides required to be a modern radio engineer is certainly smart enough to work in a number of other industries that tend to pay considerably better than ours. </p>
<p>With the rise of podcasting and many companies outside of radio realizing the value of creating their own original content, we also run the risk of losing some of our on-air staff who’ve already adapted to becoming all-around content creators, if we don’t embrace that and reward them for it monetarily. Plus, it’s not like there’s a massive amount of young people looking to get into radio to replace them. </p>
<p>On the sales side, it’s always been a struggle to find account reps who are tenacious enough to withstand the no’s and respond to a wide variety of objections. Not unlike engineers, really good sales people are sought after by other industries because typically they can sell virtually anything, so we might have to get creative in how we compensate and incentive them as well. It’s also time to consider supplementing them with a direct to advertiser online sales process that’s similar to the one potential clients are use to on the digital side. </p>
<p>A few years ago my approach to making radio competitive in the digital age was to employee experienced radio personnel to do the radio specific jobs and supplement them with a bunch of freelancers to help do the digital stuff. That approach is becoming less viable as the demand for those freelancers have risen exponentially during the pandemic, driving up their prices. I now believe it’s better to train our existing personnel on becoming more full service, pay them accordingly, and employ a handful of the types of digital employees we were previously using as freelancers. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Photo by katemangostar for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/68048292021-11-10T15:51:15-06:002022-05-09T06:17:08-05:00Can You Make Money Podcasting? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/668c40a84ccdeee575dde821052873edf6eef0b8/original/portrait-cheerful-excited-afro-american-man.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There are still a lot of my radio colleagues who look down on podcasting. Many within our industry think of it as just a hobby for people who don’t have their own radio show, or station. Even when you point out the statistics showing the annual growth in listenership, they’ll still brush it off as a passing fad. But, by far, the biggest push back I get when encouraging radio people to podcast is this, ‘There’s no money in it.’ However, that simply isn’t true. In 2020 podcast advertising was a $758 million dollar industry and that’s <a contents="expected to rise to $2.4 billion by 2025" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/06/29/4-things-you-need-know-about-the-podcast-ad-spend-rebound" target="_blank">expected to rise to $2.4 billion by 2025</a>. </p>
<p>The question is, how do we get a piece of those billions in such a crowded marketplace? After all, there are <a contents="an estimated 2 million podcasts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/" target="_blank">an estimated 2 million podcasts</a> worldwide and only a handful of those dominate the podcast charts every week getting the bulk of the downloads and revenue. But, the fact is, it doesn’t take a hundred thousand downloads to start making money. The current average cpm (cost per thousand) for podcasting ranges from $15 for a :10, $18 for :30s and $25 for :60s. Meaning, once we’ve built up 10,000 downloads per episode, each sixty second spot on our podcasts would be worth roughly $250. I know that may still sound like a tall hill to climb, but by those metrics, even a 1,000 downloads per episode would be worth $25 per 60. </p>
<p>Plus, the ads within the podcasts are only one of the ways to make money from podcasting. There’s no point in podcasting if you’re not going to promote said podcast and one of the best ways to do that is through boosted and sponsored posts on social media. If a title sponsor or two is included within those promotions, that just adds to their impression count and raises the value of their ad package. We can also add a few cameras, (I prefer <a contents="Mevo Start" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mevo.com/pages/mevo-camera?gclid=CjwKCAiA1aiMBhAUEiwACw25MftYGWSEMPLApW2rw4OyEgydqqgJyPg3GbkjI1rer5NyNBwLd2xeLhoCiXwQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Mevo Start</a> cameras for broadcasters, but there are a whole host of affordable options), to create a video version of each episode complete with all the in-podcast advertising as well as sponsor overlays and product placement. In addition, many of the popular podcast hosting sites offer revenue sharing programs so we’re at least making something as we build it up. Here are the <a contents="five podcast hosting sites" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-podcast-hosting-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">five podcast hosting sites</a> I recommend for broadcasters. </p>
<p>All of this applies whether its done through the radio station with a cut or talent fee paid to the on-air personality or if the podcast is done directly by the on-air talent on their own. Obviously, if it’s done through the station other things can be bundled into the advertiser’s package like on-air mentions, on-air promos, web posts and social through the station pages. If you need help creating podcast advertising packages, let me know. </p>
<p>What do you think and have you had any success driving revenue with podcasting? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by drobotdean for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67974822021-11-03T15:30:49-05:002022-05-15T04:44:58-05:00Radio Events That Sizzle By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/d5967e214a85d220607cd2bbaff615389bcc4e60/original/people-festival.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Its easy for those of us who have been in the business for a long time to forget just how magical the experience of meeting that person from the radio can be for a loyal listener. Putting a face to that voice that joins you every day as you commute to or from work can create a lasting memory for people that they’ll recount to their friends and family, whether it was a good or bad experience. That’s why we should do what we can to not burst their bubble by putting an under-whelming on-site product in front of them. </p>
<p>When listeners show up at a remote they expect to see the on-air talent behind a broadcast setup complete with signage that pops and a professional PA. They also anticipate being greeted by interactive, cheerful promotions staff letting them know about fun, engaging contests. However, what they too often get is a DJ doing breaks from their cell phone, slapped on signage, a radio that looks like they borrowed it from a construction site, cheap or non-existent prizes, and promo staff sitting in chairs twiddling their thumbs and looking at their phones. </p>
<p>A good, professional looking promotional setup isn’t that expensive anymore, the broadcast equipment, PA, and signage have all gotten significantly cheaper. I know that it can be frustrating spending too much money on this stuff because it tends to wear down quickly, especially if it isn’t treated and stored properly. But, its well worth the investment. It’s the first, and sometimes the only, impression a station gets to make with potential new listeners and advertisers. As a listener I’m not that excited about listening to a station that’s clearly phoning it in and as a potential advertiser why would I trust my marketing dollars to a station that isn’t even good at marketing themselves? </p>
<p>There are also a lot of new tools we can use to make our radio events sizzle that were either unavailable or cost prohibitive just a few years ago. We could pair a few <a contents="Mevo Starts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mevo.com/pages/mevo-camera?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5oiMBhDtARIsAJi0qk2b8DtE-8iSz8p-QlpukvJGI43MXYdJv7stwCpX5hvh_upmLB2dS-YaAn5gEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Mevo Starts</a> and a Vimeo Producer subscription together to stream video simultaneously on a few social feeds (Including a client’s) while we bank video to chop up later for a recycle promo or sales package. We could add <a contents="Riverside.fm" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://riverside.fm/" target="_blank">Riverside.fm</a> or <a contents="Streamyard" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://streamyard.com/" target="_blank">Streamyard</a> for live remote video interviews from on-site broadcasts (Chopping up the best for on-air, but letting on-site listeners see the full interview and ask their own questions.) We could use <a contents="Speakpipe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.speakpipe.com/" target="_blank">Speakpipe</a> on our station websites to collect listener audio when we’re on-site. We could use an inexpensive flat screen TV and stand for digital signage and to play interactive games with listeners, maybe even pairing it with <a contents="HouseParty" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://houseparty.com/" target="_blank">HouseParty</a> or <a contents="Kahoot" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://kahoot.com/" target="_blank">Kahoot</a>. We could ramp up our PA by adding wireless, blue-tooth speakers to create our own in-house sound system if we can’t tie into a venue’s. But, all of that falls flat if we don’t have on-air personalities and promotions staff that are outgoing, personable, presentable, and tech savvy enough to utilize it. Of course, it helps immensely in that department if we’re willing to pay a little more per hour for promo people than we traditionally have. </p>
<p>What do you think, email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com or comment below.</p>
<p>Pic by bedneyimages from <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67886172021-10-27T15:14:07-05:002023-03-09T03:00:04-06:00Ambassadors of Fun By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/bbd8d42400850461d5f77c51cb4143bfe356dc44/original/smiley-little-boy-celebrating-his-birthday.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I write a lot about how on air personalities should structure breaks, <a contents="5 Keys to a Successful Content Break" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">5 Keys to a Successful Content Break</a>, what kind of content they should choose, <a contents="Choose On-Air Content You Can Add To" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/choose-on-air-content-you-can-add-to-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">Choose On-Air Content You Can Add To</a>, and what to avoid overdoing, <a contents="The Weather Crutch" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-weather-crutch-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">The Weather Crutch</a>. But, lets take a step back and look at the big picture of why we do some of these things. </p>
<p>When we really get down to it, when we’re doing an on-air shift, we’re basically the ambassadors of fun. We’re there to guide the listener from one fun thing the station is doing to another, and intersperse a few of our own fun things through creative on-air content breaks, phone topics, features and benchmarks. Then hopefully, create some additional fun digital content we can use to extend our brands off air. </p>
<p>As I’m coaching on-air talent I often task them to regularly ask themselves, ‘Does the listener care about this?’ when selecting content and deciding what details to include in their content breaks. But, another way to look at it is to try and identify the MOST fun part of everything we’re doing on the air and highlight that while minimizing everything else. Not only will that approach lead us to selecting better content and milking it for everything its worth, it also naturally leads us away from overdoing all the non-fun things we’re obligated to do. Weather isn’t fun, news isn’t fun, sales promotions catered to a boring client isn’t fun, long stop sets aren’t fun, internally focused on-air content isn’t fun, long-winded and redundant setups and explanations aren’t fun, etc. So we shouldn’t tease to any of these things, instead we should tease to the next time something fun is happening. Plus, the better we get at consistently elevating the fun level within our breaks, the more fuel we have to push back on all of the elements getting in the way that are initially out of our control. Highly engaging, interactive, and ultimately highly rated, shows don’t tend to get saddled with as much of the channel changing paid content that we all know nobody wants to hear, but we have to do to pay the electricity bill at the transmitter. </p>
<p>In the end, on air personalities are entertainers and entertainers are fun. They’re enjoyable to be around, interesting to listen to and even live vicariously through. If we want listeners to devote a little of their time each day as they go about their incredibly busy lives, filled with endless distractions, we have to reward them with a little fun. Whether that’s an interesting take on something pop-culture they may or may not have known about, a funny line they can pass off as their own at work to get a few laughs or something that makes them feel an emotion they weren’t expecting when they turned on the radio to zone out for a few minutes on their commute. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsulant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67826402021-10-21T08:39:59-05:002022-05-30T04:32:03-05:00Creating a Winning Culture By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/cf0de2542e79087ac095d11b2570ba4c30f2bece/original/excited-diverse-colleagues-partners-giving-high-five-team-meeting.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When stations are underperforming, either from a listenership or revenue stand-point, its typically clear to everyone involved that something needs to change. Generally, we all start by either making programming changes or tweaking the sales strategy and approach because those tend to be the most obvious culprits. Plus, they’re easy to change. It’s not that hard to find another on-air talent, another station voice, adjust the music, change up our rates, media kits or sales tactics. But, the thing we often overlook is the culture within the building. If we don’t have a winning culture none of those other changes will make much of an impact and the vicious cycle of blow up, build, repeat will continue. </p>
<p>But, how do we know if we’ve created a winning culture or not? Well, there are certainly some signs to look for. Winning cultures have strong leadership throughout the organization, they hold each other and themselves accountable, they take ownership and responsibility for their mistakes instead of making excuses and pointing fingers, they take pride in doing things the right way instead of the easy way and they’re well-structured and organized so everyone knows who they answer to. Maybe its because we’re an industry in transition trying to figure out how to adapt in a digital age, but for some reason there are a lot of radio groups that don’t even have an organizational chart, or if they do its almost as confusing as not having one. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked, ‘Who’s their boss?’ only to be told ‘Uh… I don’t really know.’ In my opinion, having a clearly defined company structure is step one for creating a winning culture. Step 2 is finding the right balance of leaders versus followers, positive people versus negative nellies and team players versus self-serving people. As long as there’s strong leadership throughout the ranks that holds people accountable and clearly defines the big picture priorities, an organization can withstand different types of employees and personality types provided its fairly well balanced. Because, even the people who are only out for themselves can be made to see that what’s good for the company as a whole is ultimately what’s best for them as individuals too. It’s a whole lot easier to get a raise when a station is killing it in the ratings and revenues are up. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, unlike sports where your face to face with your opponent every single game getting hard evidence on how you stack up to the competition, in radio our battles are much more subtle and behind the scenes. Because of that the culture we’ve created isn’t as noticeable in day to day operations, but it becomes very visible on major projects or anything big we try to pull off. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by yanalya for www.freepik.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67752612021-10-13T20:36:33-05:002022-03-24T04:34:19-05:00Stop Programming Based on What Other Stations Play By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/fe3cd55a38a315465b7111b0b87dadb44f7923a5/original/stop-sign.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJjb250ZW50LnNpdGV6b29nbGUuY29tIn0=/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As a consultant I program in all the major formats and a few niche ones as well. To do this I have to keep track of a ridiculous amount of new music. So, to make that manageable, and most importantly to determine which songs truly are getting some traction with the public, I’ve developed a system to track all the new music that comes out across digital platforms each week. After doing this new system for about a year now I’ve noticed some patterns. At any given time there are about five to seven songs getting airplay on most new music stations that aren’t really popular among the masses. Plus, they’re not just unpopular at the time they’re added, many of them remain so throughout their run in the station’s current categories. Sometimes this is compounded by the fact that a couple of songs that are legitimately gaining traction are left off of the same stations’ playlists. </p>
<p>Why is this happening? Mainly its because many radio programmers are still watching the airplay charts and going with the theory that if the majority of other stations have added it, then it must be popular. Its easy to say ‘what’s the big deal, it’s only a couple songs?’ But, when those handful of songs are in high rotation categories, those tunes fill a lot of clock positions every single day. </p>
<p>On the bright side, I have seen a lot of positive adjustments from radio stations reacting to how music is being released in 2021. Many have dropped antiquated artist separation rules to react to how artists are now releasing their own songs and collaborations. Plus, stations are adding songs earlier and staying on them longer when they identify a song that has struck a chord with the audience. Others are seeing past the labels, record reps and manager’s persuasive propaganda to recognize when a star’s career is beginning to fade. </p>
<p>As a programmer who’s been doing music logs for over 25 years now, I understand that old habits can be hard to break. But, I’d be a fool to not react the how the world has changed around us and stick to the way I’ve always done things. I’ve said it before, but its worth repeating, in the radio business if we aren’t constantly getting better we’re consistently getting worse because it’s a safe bet that not all of our competition is so complacent. The only way we get better is by taking every opportunity we can to learn, adapt and evolve. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67680182021-10-06T14:29:14-05:002022-01-13T08:39:25-06:00Out-Performing The Music By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/70fc7cb30b9f73f7255879dc594d80bc3e65f761/original/classical-acoustic-guitar-hands-musician-copy-space.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Most on-air talent that have ever cracked a mic on a music station have one goal, to out-perform the music. They may not ever verbalize that goal, or even be cognizant of it, but the ambition is there none-the-less. We all want to get to the point where the masses are so intrigued by what we’re about to say that they tune in just for us, and even sit through a couple of songs they don’t know, or like, to hear more from us. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, that’s a very high bar and few things are more damaging than an on-air personality who thinks they are there when they are not. Getting to the point of out-performing the tunes takes a unique combination of confidence and humility that’s rarely naturally occurring and typically takes years of coaching and experience to correctly balance. </p>
<p>Over the years I’ve only worked with, coached, or known a handful that have reached this elite level. Here are a few things they ALL had in common. </p>
<ul> <li>They were all coachable. Regardless of how long they had been on air they welcomed feedback and responded to it. Granted some of them took longer than others to win over, but ultimately they all realized that everyone needs a coach. In this business we have to constantly improve to stay ahead of the competition and that’s a lot easier with a little help. </li> <li>They had perfected the show prep process. The amount of show prep and coordination it takes to do a market leading show can be overwhelming. That’s why the greats spend as much time, or more, working on their off-air process as they do their on-air, so over time it becomes manageable. When we get to that point we realize a lot of our life is prep and we recognize things we can use, exaggerate, distort or embellish in the moment as its happening. That way the day of we’ve already got a lot of our grid filled in. </li> <li>They valued the listener’s time. Big name radio personalities often get the knock of being people with huge egos who love the sound of their own voice. But, in reality the really good ones don’t pontificate, they don’t bloviate and most importantly, they strive to never waste a listener’s time. When necessary, they’re also adept at getting out of the way of co-hosts, celebrity guests and callers, while slyly guiding them along. </li> <li>They were great self-editors. When I write an article for one of the trades I have the luxury of being wordy, which I tend to love too much, because I know there’s an editor on the other end who’s going to pair it down and make me sound good. However, with my blog, I’m on my own, left to my own devices to determine how many words I can hold your attention for. Similarly, on air, we don’t have that luxury. Our talent coaches, consultants and Program Directors can give us after the fact advice on what to weed out, but in the moment its up to us to be our own self editors. </li> <li>They took the time to get incredibly in tune with their audience. There’s no other way to do this than by spending immense amounts of time interacting with listeners on-site, on the phone and online. It’s not a quick process and one of the many reasons we should always ease into it when we’re new to a market or format. Once we’ve put in the time though, we get really good at accurately determining what kind of content the listeners will be interested in, passionate about or at the very least, open to. </li>
</ul>
<p>What do you think, comment below with your thoughts or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by pvproductions for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67611262021-09-29T13:41:21-05:002022-04-06T14:35:27-05:00Are You Working Harder Than Ever? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/cea1afe8f6df97f3b82eeb2325d5ead4f3d381e9/original/busy-business-partners-work-hard-having-great-results-serious-man-has-telephone-conversation.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>If you’re working harder than ever right now you’re probably doing it right. I’ve always been an advocate for finding a healthy work/life balance and working smarter not harder so we’re not spending twelve-hour days at the office multiple times a week. But, right now radio is in a transitional period and the ground is moving out from under us as we speak, whether we realize it or not. </p>
<p>We don’t have the luxury of just coming into work and checking off the same old boxes on our to do lists week after week anymore. When an industry is in transition its critically important that those within the industry transition as well, otherwise they and the groups they work for will be left behind. Let’s commit to devoting a significant portion of time each week to learning new skills, revamping and reinventing promotions, programming, operations, engineering and sales. Let’s hold strategy sessions where nothing is off the table and everything is open for debate and discussion. Let’s embrace new technology and allow it to change our business models. Let’s look at how we price, package and sell our inventory and how its delivered on air. Let’s get to know our staff’s hidden talents so we can encourage, incentivize and train them to tap into those skillsets and apply it to their jobs regardless of their current job description <em>(NOTE: There has to be give and take for that to work though, either in compensation or by taking other things off their plate and we have to <a contents="empower them with the necessary tools" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/empowering-content-creators" target="_blank">empower them with the necessary tools</a>.) </em></p>
<p>But, most importantly, let’s be willing to fail. Seemingly every radio group in the country tends to work on razor thin margins making them reluctant to ever attempt anything unless they are nearly certain it will work out. Which is understandable with revenues still slowly bouncing back and the uncertainty of what lies around the corner of the pandemic. However, there’s an opening for radio to take a larger share of ad dollars, especially in medium and small markets where there’s less competition, but that window is closing. Let’s commit resources to things even if we’re not 100% sure they’ll pan out, so we can grow our reach, expand our brands and take advantage of that window. </p>
<p>Now is not a time for any of us to just go through the motions, phoning it in and falling back on our old routines. We have to think outside of the box, get out of our comfort zones, get creative and innovate. I’m not suggesting we change just for the sake of changing. We have to be strategic. But we’ve also got to keep an open mind and understand that there could be a game changer out there right now that’s not even currently on our radar. Let’s keep our eyes open and look to other industries for inspiration. In doing so we can learn from the lessons they didn’t heed early enough in print and closely watch the massive shift television is currently going through to see what cues we can take from them. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by wayhomestudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>. </p>
<p> </p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67542042021-09-22T12:38:57-05:002022-01-19T03:22:06-06:00On Air Talent's Digital Superpower By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/2b4d6c2ecf9b688597b72cbdd92a5ad36532dd6e/original/successful-hero-wears-red-mask-cape-raises-arms.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One of the reasons I’m so adamant about on-air personalities creating digital content on a regular basis is because they start out with a huge advantage over everyone else. The terrestrial platform they’ve been given have helped them build up great name recognition, solid social followings, and a relationship with the audience that predisposes that audience to be comfortable with most new things that the on-air talent do. Therefore, the probability of it working is significantly higher than it is for your average person trying to create digital content. Especially if you throw in a little boost budget to get the ball rolling. </p>
<p>It’s ironic, because I tend to get the ‘not a good return on the time invested’ argument from a lot of radio personalities when I’m trying to convince them to do ‘digital stuff’. First off, it’s not nearly the time commitment they initially think it is once they’ve learned to <a contents="incorporate digital into their prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">incorporate digital into their prep process</a> and it all works together to ultimately drive more traffic to their on-air shows. Secondly, once they find their groove and figure out what kinds of digital content they’re best at creating, and which platforms to focus on, they begin to develop what I call a digital superpower that allows them to regularly reach lots of people with minimal effort. </p>
<p>Its kind of similar to being a Kardashian on a much smaller scale of course. On-air personalities are local celebrities and, like any celebrity, anything they touch has a better chance of working because of their brand recognition. When I’m mentoring young on-air talent who are new to the business I always counsel them to be careful what they do in their market in their free time because they’re now officially a local celebrity. The downside of that is anytime they screw up they’re likely to make the local news, which generally means they’re out of a job. The upside is, there’s a built-in buzz around anything new they do, whether that’s a blog on the station website, a podcast, regular video content shared on web/social or any side-hustle content creation (Provided the group they work for passes on hosting/promoting/sharing the digital content they want to create.) </p>
<p>When we’re consulting for a group one of our goals is to jumpstart their digital content creation by taking a few things they already do and turning it into regular digital content, creating a few additional original features/benchmarks/programs that translate well to digital and supplying a list of idea starters to the staff. But while everything we do will look professional and well produced, the results from it will ultimately pale in comparison to the results the local content creators are able to get once they’ve been trained and fully buy in on why all of this stuff is so incredibly important. That process may take a few months or a few years depending on a whole multitude of factors, but positioning a group to better compete for today’s listener’s and advertiser’s attention is well worth the wait. </p>
<p>What are your thoughts? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by wayhomestudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67484042021-09-16T08:04:24-05:002021-11-30T07:45:26-06:00Choose On-Air Content You Can Add To By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/63507b9159b5d6e15a0b1ea2329ff5f8bf7fe595/original/left-right-road-sign-road.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />When most of us start out on-air, and once we’ve cleared the hurdles of being able to handle the basics, we typically default to choosing the content that we think everyone is supposed to talk about. By that I mean the main topics being discussed in that day’s national conversation around water-coolers at the office and dinner tables at home. Often, we irrationally feel like listeners are tuning into every single break with a clipboard checking off boxes to make sure we covered everything that needed to be covered. With time and experience we realize the flaw in that approach. </p>
<p>Average, to above average, on-air personalities are pretty good at identifying content that their audience can relate to and delivering it in a well packaged, concise and fluid way. Great on-air personalities, however, only choose on-air content that they can add something to. That something may be a quick story that personalizes it and makes it relatable, a local tie in to localize or regionalize it, an angle to turn it into a phone topic/social topic/web poll, relevant actuality/listener audio, or simply a funny line that makes for a clean out. </p>
<p>Very rarely does any of this happen accidentally. It’s pre-planned or at the very least pre-structured in a way that is very likely to lead to something brilliant happening organically. To the untrained ear great team show segments may sound like on-air chaos that somehow magically resolves itself, but it’s almost always controlled chaos that’s orchestrated to yield positive results. </p>
<p>This same philosophy can, and should, be translated to solo shows. Just because we’re in a room by ourselves <a contents="doesn’t mean we should just wing it" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/stop-winging-it-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">doesn’t mean we should just wing it</a>. We should still never crack the mic without having a good idea how we’re getting in, the meat of what we’re discussing and how we’re getting out. But, most importantly, we should ask ourselves this question. Am I adding anything to this? Nobody ever dominated a market by relaying information on the air or just hitting a buzzfeed style list. But, a word of caution. We shouldn’t force commentary on a topic because we feel an obligation to have something to say on it. We have to be brutally honest self-editors who develop the ability to identify the substantive value of our words. We won’t get it right every time, but even getting it right a few times a day is enough to move the needle in the right direction. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by aopsan for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67410472021-09-09T08:24:51-05:002022-02-16T01:08:30-06:00A 5 Step Digital Content Strategy By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/e2a8394afe4d36697fef36be65468cc879cb742e/original/schedule-activity-calendar-appointment-concept.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Radio is over a hundred-year-old media and through that century of growth and development we’ve gotten really good at doing one thing well, providing professional, high quality audio entertainment to the masses. So, it’s not surprising that its taking our industry a while to transition to balancing doing additional things like creating content for all of our digital assets without taking away from delivering that professional audio 24/7. If it feels like your group hasn’t made much progress on that front, don’t worry, you’re not alone and its never too late to start. Here are some steps any group can take to get the digital content ball rolling in the right direction. </p>
<p>Step 1: Assess the group’s current digital status to set a baseline for growth. Look at the top line numbers like fans, followers, website homepage views, total app downloads, total podcast subscriptions/downloads and online streaming sessions. Then drill down further with the engagement numbers like weekly posts, shares, likes, interior website pageviews, unique pageviews, podcast episode downloads weekly/monthly subscriptions, unique streaming sessions, etc. </p>
<p>Step 2: Set some goals. Start with engagement goals since those drive the top line stats, setting a weekly goal for how many posts across each platform, target for total shares/likes (Or just reach) of those posts, podcast episode downloads/subscriptions as well as interior pageview goals, uniques, etc. </p>
<p>Step 3: Determine how much original content will be needed to reach those goals and how much of that content you can realistically create in house on a weekly basis. (Remember that digital content creation is a team sport, it shouldn’t be left solely to the on-air staff or a web/social person). Then set aside a budget to outsource the rest to freelancers and/or a company like ours. </p>
<p>Step 4: Give the staff the <a contents="tools necessary" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/empowering-content-creators" target="_blank">tools necessary</a> to regularly create digital content, including computers from the past ten years, video editing software, cameras, a separate podcast studio (Or supplement their home studios), graphic design resources (Canva/Creatopy), creative writing classes, etc. </p>
<p>Step 4: Begin the carrot and stick approach. Hold staff accountable for creating the content they agreed to regularly do (It’s simply part of all of our jobs at this point.) But, also come up with some incentive prizes or, if possible, cash bonuses to award the employee with the most shared/liked/viewed/downloaded content for that week or month on the target platform. </p>
<p>Step 5: Do quarterly digital content strategy sessions. I’m always preaching to on air talent to incorporate <a contents="digital into their prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">digital into their prep process</a> because it makes it far more manageable. The same thing applies to managers on a big picture level. We’ve all sat in promotions/programming strategy sessions to lay out all of the quarterly (Bi-yearly or yearly) promotions and events to see what we’re going to keep, dump, revise, add and get sponsored. I suggest following those with a separate digital content strategy session to brainstorm and come up with a game plan for capturing content at/on all of the things the stations have already agreed to do for that time period. Then add it to the calendar/schedule and create a strategy for how to use that content to pre-promote, promote during and post-promote (Taking credit). Dole out the responsibilities across existing staff and use the allotted budget for freelancers or a company like ours to supplement it. When stations begin to capitalize on creating content around all of their existing promotions, events and programming features, the ball starts rolling downhill very quickly and everyone gets excited about the direction its going. </p>
<p>Being overwhelmed by how and what digital content to create isn’t a problem unique to radio. Every artist or general business person I talk to says the same things, ‘What do we do, should we blog, should we create videos, should we do a podcast, where do we even start?” I tell them all the same thing, it starts with creating a digital content strategy, determining what kind of content you can create on your own, how often you can realistically do it, how much of a budget you have to outsource getting digital content from others and utilizing the tools you already have while slowly adding additional tools within your budget as you progress. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me at andy@radiostionconsultant.com . Pic designed by rawpixel for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67331532021-09-01T13:08:42-05:002021-09-01T13:08:42-05:00Playing It Too Safe By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/b61bbc289bcd29d8b33da50d223713764b99bc44/original/safe-product-guarantee-quality-condition-level-con-prwy6yg.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There’s a documentary on Paramount + called <a contents="Bring Your Own Brigade" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bring_your_own_brigade" target="_blank"><em>Bring Your Own Brigade</em></a> by filmmaker Lucy Walker. Its an excellent piece of investigative journalism that looks at the many reasons for the recent increase in deadly California wildfires. She chronicles the well-known Paradise Camp Fire of 2018 that killed 85 residents and how Paradise responded by trying to change building codes within the city. Even though some of them wouldn’t cost an extra penny, the mayor and the city council faced huge pushback from the very same residents that narrowly escaped the fire just a few years prior. Watching it all unfold onscreen its hard to understand why seemingly an entire community would vote against their own interests while staring into the face of impending disaster. How can they just keep doing things the same exact way they’ve always done them? </p>
<p>But, then I think about our industry and how we’ve been essentially doing the same thing for years. The digital reckoning isn’t coming, its already here. Listening habits haven’t just changed for young people, they’ve changed across the board, while for the most part, we haven’t changed our approach at all. Conversely, these changes have seemed to force us further into our shells, causing us to play it even safer. We’ve ceded new music discovery to Spotify and TikTok while sticking to the traditional radio model for adding music. As younger audiences started to leave us we’ve shifted to more formats aimed at older demos. I can’t tell you how many radio people I’ve heard say ‘Young people just don’t listen to the radio anymore’ in the past five years, but it’s a lot. To which I always reply, they will if we give them a reason to and market to them on the platforms they’re already on. Plus, we’ve restricted and watered down our air talent to the point where they feel no longer comfortable talking about anything that might possibly offend anyone in this partisan, politically polarized country we live in. </p>
<p>When are we going to start taking risks again? They can still be calculated risks where we weigh the potential reward against the potential loss. But, the time has come to start trying a different approach. Let’s shorten our stopsets and offset the lost inventory with sold imaging and sponsored features, benchmarks and digital content. Let’s turn our professional audio content into video content for our website and social sites. Let’s open up the available show prep material by letting our experienced on air personalities talk about sensitive subjects and let the listeners make the polarizing points. Let’s do those fun, engaging, interactive and wacky promotions radio used to be known for and update them to work even better in our new digital age. Let’s stop letting artists break their songs on other platforms while we wait around for some arbitrary radio release date. Let’s embrace podcasting and use it as a way to extend and even improve our on-air programming by conducting long form interviews, features and benchmarks then using the best bits of them on-air. Let’s embrace the fact that digital content is a team sport and open up opportunities for off-air employees to create and capture digital content as well as all of our on-air staff. </p>
<p>I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, radio isn’t dying, it’s changing and change is good. Change puts us outside of our comfort zone and throughout history the best innovations have come from uncomfortable situations. So, as we emerge from the backside of this pandemic, eventually, lets commit to taking some risks in 2022 and beyond. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below even if you vehemently disagree with me, actually especially if you disagree with me. Or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Photo created by rawpixel for <a contents="https://elements.envato.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://elements.envato.com/" target="_blank">https://elements.envato.com/</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67270172021-08-25T15:18:58-05:002021-08-25T15:18:58-05:00You Can't Over Engage By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/40ea5c6ecaf97228fc98dafda88ef2b5f87fb9cf/original/woman-using-smartphone-social-media-conecpt.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When I’m throwing out content and engagement ideas to programming people the feedback I often get is ‘We love all of this, but we don’t have time to do half of them and if we did all of that, it would be overkill.’ Which explains why most radio stations end up doing a little bit of on-air engagement here and there and the occasional social or online engagement (Mainly around contesting). But, in reality, we can’t over-engage with our listeners, there is in fact no level of engagement that is too much, provided we balance it across the many platforms we now have. Especially with how the algorithms work now on most of the social platforms where not every fan or follower sees every single post. </p>
<p>Yes, not all on-air breaks should be turned into phone topics, but many can and should, while others are turned into web or social polls. Similarly, every content break doesn’t warrant a blog post, but most of them could be turned into blog posts with pics/videos/links and sometimes a handful of them can be lumped together into listicles. The same goes for video content, technically every piece of audio stations produce could easily be turned into video content and eventually that’s where we’ll all get, but for now we should at least be turning our best features/benchmarks and biggest programming promos into videos because videos yield many more click-throughs and shares online. </p>
<p>Any time I’m auditing a market the first thing I look at it how well the stations engage with listeners on-air, on-site, on social and their website. More often than not the market leaders receive the best engagement scores, but occasionally you see some heritage stations that have grown comfortable and left a door open to their competition. One major advantage the big groups have is they provide a lot of corporate, network-wide, content so each of their stations have topical, interesting content posted daily to their social sites and station websites. We provide some of the same things to our consulting clients, although I would argue we’re doing even more on the video content side. But the negative impact of the corporate content is, while it should just be supplemental, it often ends up being the bulk of the content posted and leaves a void of local content. That local content almost always out engages network content, getting significantly more likes, shares and comments, because that local talent has already established a connection with their listener. That’s why overtime we always try to integrate the local personalities into the content we create, using their VO or video whenever possible. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I still believe in allowing breathing room when it comes to social. It may be outdated, but I still try to spread posts out by an hour on each individual platform. But, more importantly, most stations tend to just pick a platform they like and focus on it and often it doesn’t necessarily match up with the platform their demo is most active on. If we’re properly using every platform available to us, its virtually impossible to over do it. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me with your thoughts at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by rawpixel for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67205192021-08-18T13:59:04-05:002021-08-21T12:30:41-05:00Setups Instead of Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/987780592925fc69dc7ea3bce0aae64dd9966157/original/content-writing-with-black-letters-wooden-dices-blue-background-high-quality-photo.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>With the push in recent years to keep air talent ‘out of the way of the music’ we’ve tightened and shortened on air breaks across the board on all formats. I understand the rationale for this and, in most cases, agree with the practice. But in the process of doing so we’ve caused one major unintended side effect, a lack of focus on the out. </p>
<p>That’s why many on air personalities from all different size markets, with varying levels of experience, are doing setups instead of content. Most have gotten really good at identifying things to talk about that will interest their listener and delivering the meat of the details without the fluff. But, all too often, they get to the end of it and just stop or throw out something that sounds generic and unplanned. Here are a few of the recent outs I’ve heard scanning the dial in various markets, ‘Well now you know’, ‘There you have it’ and ‘That’s interesting.’ I certainly hope none of those were planned. We’ve all got the same setups, what sets us apart are our outs, whether they’re funny jokes, a quick comment to personalize/localize it or simply our take on the topic. Either way, they’re mission critical. Imagine how boring a late-night TV show would be if the host only did setups. </p>
<p>There are multiple reasons I believe this phenomenon is occurring. The laundry list of off-air tasks most on-air talent have leads them to just ‘rip and read’ from a prep service. Even when there is time, show prepping and planning isn’t a big enough priority. If we want to win, on-air personalities should prep 30 minutes for every hour they are on the air. The vast majority of on-air personalities aren’t being regularly airchecked by anyone. When they are airchecked, there’s a lack of emphasis put on the out. Which is a major oversight, after all, the two most important parts of a break are how you get in (the hook) and how you get out. Also, with the tightening of the screws lately causing our internal clocks to set off alarms earlier and earlier with each passing year, something usually ends up getting cut and, sadly, that’s often the out. </p>
<p>But, I believe the main reason for the disappearance of the out is that many personalities are simply gun shy. I’m sure many are afraid of saying the wrong joke and being cancelled. To those I say, an on-air personality who truly understands their demo and their market can literally talk about anything on air because they know exactly where the line is. However, if we’re going to ride close to that line, we better be funny. For others the pursuit of perfection keeps them from attempting any out at all. What’s that famous Voltaire quote, ‘the best is the enemy of the good’? Even Ohtani doesn’t hit a home run every time he steps up to the plate, but he’s still leading the MLB this year. I will always contend that it’s better to go for it and miss then to not have an out at all, or worse flail around and throw out something generic. </p>
<p>In regards to team shows, I’ve worked with several that were vehemently opposed to planning the out. The fear they always articulate is that it will sound too scripted and they prefer for the out to happen organically. Which, virtually 100% of the time, results in a show that has one or two incredible breaks a day while all of their other breaks are mediocre or sub-par. Remember, there is nothing wrong with planning an out and then bailing on it if something better comes up organically. </p>
<p>What are your thoughts, comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by Azerbaijan_stockers for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67135982021-08-11T15:45:08-05:002021-08-11T15:45:28-05:00Empowering Content Creators By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/cb42c5c87f412295973b95038a0385d9bb94869d/original/blurry-female-vlogger-online-streaming.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Virtually every radio group I’ve talked to over the past few years wants their on-air staff to create more digital content. Which is understandable, creating digital content is simply part of the job for today’s on-air personalities and it has been for quite some time. Its been over a decade since most of the bigger groups began demanding x amount of content out of all their air talent each week. But the question owners, operators and managers need to ask themselves is this, are you doing enough to empower your content creators? Are you providing them with the tools necessary to create clickable, shareable content on a daily basis? </p>
<p>Luckily those tools are a lot more affordable than they used to be. Even on a shoestring budget we can apply the ‘use what we got’ philosophy, but still give them a few tools to get the most out of it. Some of those include ring lights, adding a <a contents="Rode VideoMic Me-L" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rode.com/microphones/videomicmel" target="_blank">Rode VideoMic Me-L</a> or a <a contents="ManFroto PIXI mini tripod kit" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-Stand-Universal-Cell-Phone/dp/B0169SORBO/ref=asc_df_B0169SORBO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366281327988&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1965739339413155435&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027248&hvtargid=pla-299269417870&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=75766078309&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=366281327988&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1965739339413155435&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027248&hvtargid=pla-299269417870" target="_blank">ManFroto PIXI mini tripod kit</a> to an iPhone, or downloading free video editing software like <a contents="Hitflim Express" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://fxhome.com/product/hitfilm-express" target="_blank">Hitflim Express</a>. If its in the budget another relatively affordable tool we’ve added recently is a <a contents="Mevo Start" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mevo.com/products/mevo-start?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6s2IBhCnARIsAP8RfAjKnDS9qGHJkU0nVVqulruVTN_L-TSqENCbEFBRduTDe_FUVWmvT8QaAuf-EALw_wcB" target="_blank">Mevo Start</a> live streaming camera. What I like the most about it is how you can wirelessly live stream to multiple social feeds while simultaneously banking video to an SD card and control it all from the smartphone app. Plus, you can pair three of them together to do wireless multi-cam shoots and they have a good built in mic. They’re starter pack is $999 for three of them or you can start with one for $350 to $400. I’ve been lugging mine along with me when I visit a client’s market to bank video content while I’m there because they’re so easy to travel with. </p>
<p>Hopefully, we didn’t dismantle the home studios many of our on-air personalities setup during quarantine. I’m a big fan of personalities using those to create podcasts and other content from home, letting the listener get a peak behind the curtain. It also might be worth considering equipping them with a good USB mic to pair with their laptop and record decent audio anywhere they are. I’m fond of the <a contents="Shure MV7" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/mv7?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6s2IBhCnARIsAP8RfAjbpZ7g1VUh2-LXf_xUuSoE7ynvP5Ftd8gwoKMhjLQnQWj59bDM23AaAinZEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Shure MV7</a> podcast microphone myself. </p>
<p>Another big obstacle for on-air talent creating digital content is the age of the computers they’re provided. It doesn’t do us any good to have an Adobe Creative Suite subscription if very few of the station’s computers can run it. Especially when we get into Premier and After Effects, we need a newer, beefier machine. </p>
<p>In my experience, if you want on-air personalities to create clickable, shareable content you have to empower them to do so by making it easy. Setting up cameras in studio, or a separate digital media room, so they can walk in, hit a button and live stream or bank a video. Giving them computers capable of running the latest software and utilizing the multitude of great web-based tools that are now available and very affordable. Showing them how to incorporate digital into their prep process so they’re already thinking of how to leverage their on-air content digitally as they’re preparing it. Encouraging our personalities with a talent for writing to nurture and develop that skill by blogging regularly and/or by paying for them to take a creative writing class. It’s also incredibly helpful to get a <a contents="Canva" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.canva.com/q/pro/?v=2&utm_source=google_sem&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=REV_US_EN_CanvaPro_Branded_Tier1_Core_EM&utm_term=REV_US_EN_CanvaPro_Branded_Tier1_Canva_EM&utm_content=1712_control&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6s2IBhCnARIsAP8RfAh_LW1JhRu8EecOeAGrg2d0CioVS5_JqV0RFLsAGBhkLlLin5pQUZkaAmKGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">Canva</a>, <a contents="Creatopy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.creatopy.com/" target="_blank">Creatopy</a> (formerly Bannersnack), or something similar so on-air talent can create their own social teasers, simples videos and graphics.</p>
<p>Plus, I know I say this a lot but creating digital content is a team sport. It shouldn’t be left to just the on air staff, or web/social person in-house, it takes contribution from the whole staff, along with some outsourced freelancers to truly create the amount of content today’s stations need. </p>
<p>Our goal with our consulting clients is to provide them with a handful of digital content we turn-key provide while simultaneously training their staff on how we do everything we do. We never want to supply one hundred percent of a group’s digital content because it has a more lasting impact if we can help train the local staff to create their own. Plus, ultimately it ends up being more effective because they’re the local celebrities who’ve already established a connection to the community. </p>
<p>Comment below with your feedback and questions or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67068092021-08-04T13:59:09-05:002021-08-05T14:55:32-05:00The Most Interactive Station in the World By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/52ae3eed565d50f01dbe9a2a71d532f0639f9ce8/original/vector-2646.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Over the years I’ve consistently attempted to come up with ways to make the stations I worked with the most engaging, interactive stations within their individual markets. On one hand that’s allowed me to come up with some creative innovations and on the other it’s caused some to accuse me of trying to turn radio into something it’s not. But, I’ve always had the philosophy that the best way to create great radio today is to think about what great radio will look like in a few years and then take small steps toward that every year. </p>
<p>The challenge when you’re working for a company, really any company regardless of how forward thinking they are, is its tough to think outside the limitations of your current situation. Lots of great innovations are tabled or nixed because of budget constraints, fear that existing staff won’t be able to consistently execute or, and here’s the big one, that it will take away from your core business. </p>
<p>So, let’s set aside all of those fears and inhibitions for a second and think about what the most interactive and engaging radio station in the world would look like. I’ll brainstorm a few of the things I would see that station doing regularly and then you chime in with a few ideas in the comments (Or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.)</p>
<ul> <li>On-air and social video teasers every hour </li> <li>Multiple daily benchmarks/features pre/post promoted on social/web </li> <li>Facebook or Instagram Live every on-air break </li> <li>On-air phone topic that turns into a web article with a poll/audio each shift </li> <li>Turning some phone topics into video submission topics </li> <li>DJs playing interactive games daily using Kahoot/Nearpod/Houseparty </li> <li>Virtual events/concerts targeting in-home workers </li> <li>Artist, celebrity and listener takovers on-air, social, web </li> <li>Live video stream paired with audio stream on web </li> <li>Hyperlocal focus integrating community voices into programming </li> <li>All on-air talent required to become multi-platform content creators </li> <li>On-air staff that blog/vlog daily </li> <li>Utilizing home studios to bring listeners behind the curtain </li> <li>Doing a benchmark/feature long form as a podcast first </li> <li>All on-air talent doing a regular podcast shared through a hosting service </li> <li>Utilizing staff outside of programming to help create digital content </li> <li>Supplementing digital content using freelancers </li> <li>Integrating more user generated content into on-air/web/social </li> <li>Taking requests/dedications 24/7 on station website using SpeakPipe </li> <li>Artist/celebrity generated station content linked to promotions/contests </li> <li>In-house video editors </li> <li>Content creation studios in-house </li> <li>Live streaming all station events </li> <li>Live game shows on-site/online that are promoted on air </li> <li>Interactive giveaways on-line and on-site at all events </li> <li>Daily jock video promos </li> <li>All station audio promos turned into video promos </li> <li>Visual liners run on social, web </li> <li>Video concert/event calendars </li> <li>Video, blog and web poll on all new music adds </li> <li>Weather/newscast video shared to social </li> <li>Video ads for every audio ad </li> <li>Synced videos for some/all songs </li> <li>Websites manned 24/7 </li> <li>Originating the bulk of the digital content the station shares </li> <li>Integrating advertisers into all multi-platform content </li>
</ul>
<p>A lot of these ideas are getting easier and more affordable to execute with each passing day. If you’re interested, we can help show you how to pull them off while we simultaneously train your staff on how we do it. </p>
<p>Pic designed by liuzishan for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/67004282021-07-28T13:08:34-05:002022-04-07T11:47:58-05:00Winning All Four Phases By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/84546b18c3b892e3f205757a6cf7d7dfd3dde906/original/winners.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As a life-long Cowboys fan who’s been let down every season since 1996, I was just as ready as the next guy to see Jason Garrett move on. Despite having the best O-line in football for several years and a roster packed with high-priced talent, he never could get the team over the hump. Although, I’m sure that had a lot to do with our Johnny Walker Blue loving owner and GM. However, there’s one thing the Princeton grad and former Aikman backup did get right, his constant insistence that the Cowboys needed to get better in every single phase of the game. What Jason Garrett, and I’m assuming every NFL coach, knows is that at the highest levels of any profession the competition is so fierce that you have to run on all cylinders to have a prayer of coming out on top. </p>
<p>I wish that more radio groups would take that approach, focusing on dominating in all four phases of our business. Because our competition has never been stronger. Too often, we still think of that competition as simply the stations across town, or maybe we’ve even come around to conceding that each day we're fighting with Pandora, Spotify and Apple Radio. But, we’re also in a daily head to head battle with the biggest names in podcasting as well, like Joe Rogan, Conan O’Brien, the New York Times and Marc Maron. These top podcasts get millions of downloads each week. All of these digital competitors reach into each and every single radio market, if not more so in smaller markets with less radio options on the dial. That’s why I constantly push back when medium and small markets say that some things still aren’t necessary in ‘our size market.’ </p>
<p>So, what are these four phases? I define them as content creation (programming and digital), sales, promotions/marketing and engineering/tech. Most groups tend to focus on the first two the most, content creation and sales, but in truth all four are equally important. It takes good promotions and marketing to attract an audience in this current climate where everyone is fighting for attention, innovative and engaging local programming along with compelling digital assets to keep them around once you get them and a qualified sales staff to monetize that audience and pay for everything. But, hands down the most consistently neglected of the four phases is engineering/tech. Most of us have worked at a station that struggled to stay on the air and its pretty obvious to see how that effects ratings and revenue. But engineering and tech also impacts across the board in multiple subtle ways, an on-air signal that isn’t processed quite as well as our competitor’s, a studio that isn’t truly equipped to put our content creators in a position to win, or outdated computers that can’t take advantage of the latest software. </p>
<p>To self-assess how we’re doing in each of those phases we should step back and ask ourselves these questions. Are we creating appointment setting promotions compelling enough to entice new listeners to tune in? Have we utilized our marketing budgets, if we have one, effectively and efficiently to reach new cume? Have we given our on-air personalities the tools and training they need to be well-rounded content creators? Does all of our sales staff have at least a working knowledge of how to use all of the radio group's assets to market a client’s business? How does our engineering and tech stack up to not just our local radio competitors, but other businesses competing for ad dollars within our market? </p>
<p>I know times are hard and money is tight and it’s easy to feel like we’re just that little Dutch boy trying to put his finger in the dam, but we have to find creative ways to invest in all four of these phases if we expect to compete in 2021 and beyond. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Picture designed by upklyak for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66944142021-07-21T14:12:48-05:002021-07-21T14:13:03-05:00What a Hit Song Looks Like in 2021 By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/4e519e2b6e9352b50df832527b0ddbd1f28c1e5b/original/close-up-portrait-happy-smiling-romantic-tender-african-american-woman-enjoying-listening-music-headphones-tilt-head-close-eyes-dreamy-grinning-delighted-blue-wall.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I say this with love and reverence for the industry I’ve spent my entire life in, lately radio seems to be the last to know when an artist breaks or their career begins to decline. That’s because many of us are clinging to outdated models to determine what songs we add, drop or move. Meanwhile the music industry has made drastic changes to their process of releasing and promoting songs. </p>
<p>When I started in radio we mainly added and dropped songs based on sales and radio airplay charts and, the better we got at it, our own ability to guesstimate how well brand new songs would fair on those charts. If we were really talented, we even identified a few tunes that were likely to do better locally or regionally than they did nationally as well. That skillset, that took a long time to perfect, is still very valuable for programmers provided it’s recalibrated a bit. </p>
<p>In that day a hit was defined by something that cracked the top ten on the reputable charts, hopefully the top five, and spent some time there. Whether or not, and how long, the song stayed in our databases beyond its current run depended on how well it aged over time. </p>
<p>Today a hit is best defined and identified by how many streams it gets per week across YouTube, Spotify and for some formats Tik Tok and Instagram. For our programming clients we track weekly streams for all the major formats. Here’s a quick breakdown of what we’re seeing. On the hot/ac, chr, top 40 side the top ten songs are all getting around, or more than, a total of 25 million streams a week across YouTube and Spotify and all of the top 30 receive 7 million or more a week between the two. Hip Hop’s top ten all get 10 million or more per week. Country lags behind that at just under 2 million or more per week but all of the top 30 get a million or more across both YouTube and Spotify. While Rock’s top 10 get around 670,000 per week or more and all of the top 30 get 200,000 or more. </p>
<p>Ideally that info is combined with local music research done through the station’s website and social pages, music surveys or focus groups to identify those handful of songs that are doing better locally and regionally. But, either way it’s a much better indicator of the popularity of a specific song at that exact moment in time than simply looking at what other station’s are adding. </p>
<p>It also helps to assess recurrent and gold categories quarterly to see if those songs are maintaining their popularity over time or if they’ve leveled off. One of the takeaways from watching this data over the past year is that a handful of songs stay very popular for longer than we think. Plus, at any given time there are about five or so songs that most new music-based radio stations are currently playing in heavy rotation that aren’t really hits. That may not seem like that big of a deal, but when those songs are in high turnover categories it means they make up a lot of clock positions each week. </p>
<p>What do you think? How do you determine which songs to add, move or drop? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by benzoix for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66878002021-07-14T13:59:55-05:002021-07-15T14:04:49-05:00The Weather Crutch By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ad8c726e0e411c44e4cda390d3fd6298693b7bfe/original/sunshine-jannoon028.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As a consultant who coaches air talent on creating better airchecks, and previously as a programmer who hired talent for twenty years, I’ve gone through literally tens of thousands of airchecks. Going through that many airchecks there are multiple takeaways, but one thing that stands out is this, jocks who have a weather forecast on their aircheck probably don’t prep enough. An aircheck is a greatest hits sample and if reading the weather is one of our greatest hits, that’s not a good sign. </p>
<p>For far too many on-air personalities weather has become a major crutch. I get it, we’re always being told to be more ‘local’ and weather is certainly local. It’s topical, relevant and something everyone cares about. However, its also easily accessible on the smart phones we all have in our pockets and hence not as important as it used to be. I’m not saying we shouldn’t mention the weather on air, we should, but not more than once or twice an hour tops and just the highlights. ‘Sunny and 74, high of 95 later’ and only going into more detail if its something out of the ordinary (For instance how the west coast has been deep frying lately.) All of that goes out the window of course in a weather emergency, where local radio should still shine. </p>
<p>Weather isn’t content, its filler for a lack of content. Case in point, what’s the default thing we talk about with a stranger we have nothing in common with? The weather. If that’s all we have in common with our listeners, especially our P1s, then we have a major problem. </p>
<p>Our goal on air should be to come up with on air content that’s tease-able, can be turned into phone topics, shared on the website and social pages, carried over into other breaks to increase TSL and ultimately turned into conversation starters for our listeners to engage with their friends/family/coworkers. Every second we spend reading the weather on air is a second we’re not creating that kind of content. </p>
<p>If we properly prep for a show then it should be so hard to fit the weather in that it gets pushed to the corners and fit in quickly and concisely, not prominently featured throughout the hour. </p>
<p>What do you think, how important is a weather forecast in today’s radio climate and how should it be delivered? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by janoon for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66815132021-07-07T15:03:51-05:002021-07-07T15:03:51-05:00Radio 360 Deals By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/28d9dc0ad0e36d40624e7b769ee2ae5764ba9421/original/digital-tablet-computer-to-show-the-chart-zqw9zbp.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>A decade or two ago the major record labels began doing what are called 360 deals to make up for lost revenue from declining CD sales. A 360 deal basically means they take a cut of everything an artist does, including touring, licensing and merch. As you can imagine there was massive pushback from artists because that was the main way they were making money, but ultimately the labels won the battle and now that’s the industry standard. </p>
<p>The labels made the move because they understood that if they didn’t they would soon cease to exist based on how rapidly their industry was changing. But, while quick to adapt on the revenue and financial side, many of those same labels were slow to adapt the marketing, promotional, event side of their business. This caused a handful of talented, and business minded, artists to conclude that they were better off doing it on their own without a major label. </p>
<p>I believe there’s a lesson in this for radio. First and foremost, we need to start using our mass marketing leverage to structure more Radio 360 deals. Meaning, when we partner with someone and provide advertising/promotion in lieu of cash, we get a cut of each revenue generating opportunity instead of just the sponsorships we sell. </p>
<p>But to do that we have to turn our promotions, features, benchmarks and programs into 360 deals. That starts with creating everything going forward as multi-platform content from the onset. Brainstorming on-air features/benchmarks that tie into social content, a weekly web post, a podcast/video and on-site event. I fully understand that not every idea is strong enough to leverage across every single asset the station has. But, when we get into that mindset while planning, the handful of ideas that are worthy of becoming a true 360 deal will likely emerge. Plus, it will encourage us to look at our existing features, benchmarks, promotions and events to figure out ways to repackage them as 360 deals. It’s not that big of a step as many groups have already moved in recent years to adopting more of a multi-platform approach anyway. Its just a matter of getting everyone to start thinking that way all the time with everything. </p>
<p>The other takeaway from the music business is that we should empower and compensate our employees for transitioning from radio people to content creators. Otherwise, they’ll use the platform we gave them by putting them on the air and giving them a household name, to create their own content that they monetize themselves. That may mean cutting them in on the ad revenue for the content they create or simply giving them bonuses, or other incentives, to encourage and reward that content creation. </p>
<p>What do you think? What 360 or multi-platform content and events have you created that worked well? Comment below or email me with your thoughts at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66752292021-06-30T14:25:01-05:002021-07-07T07:41:34-05:00Should Radio Embrace Remote Working? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/e89489fc24b05e7afdd35ff4b82a3df49b6284cc/original/remote-meeting-woman-working-from-home-during-coronavirus-covid-19-quarantine-remote-office-concept.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We’ve all seen the headlines about the ‘<a contents="Great Resignation" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/29/more-people-plan-to-quit-as-return-to-work-plans-go-into-effect-.html" target="_blank">Great Resignation</a>’ and stories quoting stats like ‘<a contents="40% of workers say they’ll quit if they’re forced to go back to the office" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/remote-workers-burnout-covid-microsoft-survey/" target="_blank">40% of workers say they’ll quit if they’re forced to go back to the office</a>.’ None of which is all that surprising. Once you’ve been given the freedom to work in your sweatpants from the comfort of your own home, taking breaks when you want to and avoiding getting stuck in traffic, its hard to give it up. With the current labor shortages, its hard to imagine that most industries won’t give in to their employees newly found leverage. But, what about radio, should we embrace remote working and move to a hybrid in-home, in-office model? </p>
<p>Like many people, pre-Covid I firmly believed that while some people can be just as productive working from home, most employees would be significantly less productive than they were in an office. There are simply too many distractions at home, no fear of your supervisor catching you slacking and the loss of in-office collaborations and communication would be too great. But, what most of us have learned throughout the past year is that there’s a healthy trade-off that basically balances out. While different, there are just as many in-office distractions, most office workers lose hours of productivity daily commuting to and from work and/or lunch, and verbal in-person communication is often less reliable and certainly less trackable than written communication. </p>
<p>Also during the pandemic, out of necessity most on-air talent that didn’t already have one had to build home studios. Before deconstructing any of those studios, or recalling any loaned equipment, we should all at least consider the option of the hybrid model. Especially if there’s a give and take where the on-air talent use those home studios to transition toward being digital content creators, recording station podcasts, filming video content and utilizing some of the time they free up to write blogs and web articles for the station website. However, I would recommend that stations who plan to continue use home studios as part-time on-air, or even production studios, should provide the equipment to maintain a consistent sound. </p>
<p>Many of the employees in our other departments were already working from home at least occasionally. I’ve always been on the side of sales people spending the majority of their time in the field instead of the office because radio is a lot easier to sell in person than it is on the phone. Plus, most billing and traffic employees are used to remoting in to work from home in a pinch and since most of us went paperless for production and promotion years ago, those departments can do the same. </p>
<p>In the end every owner and operator will have to decide what’s best for their situation based on their own unique circumstances. But, if we’re going to compete with other industries that are rapidly shifting toward more of a work from home workforce, we’ll need to at least be open to the option. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by master1305 for <a contents="www.frepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.frepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66689742021-06-24T08:39:53-05:002021-07-09T02:50:19-05:00The Allure of the Massive Database By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0fc412658e2b88ca039a8a4d06650e24a8a86565/original/pexels-expect-best-351265.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The ideal size of a station’s active music database is an age-old debate between programmers. Those that figure out that sweet spot number that’s just big enough to keep TSL high, but small and mass appeal enough to reach a broad audience and drive cume, typically find ratings success provided the rights songs are chosen. But, what is that right number and why are so many programmers drawn in by the urge to lean toward big databases? </p>
<p>I’ll tackle the latter question first. There are a multitude of reasons why programmers fall into the trap of the mega-database. A simple one is that many programmers add more songs than they rest or delete, hence over time their databases gradually grow out of control if they don’t take the time to cull out the weaker, less popular tunes to get back on track. Another reason is, nobody pats you on the back for playing a song everybody else is playing. Regardless of personality type, everyone enjoys hearing how smart or cool they are for exclusively jumping on a tune and it also tends to come with more love from artists, promoters and labels. Plus, many of us are in this business because we have a deep affection for music, which makes it hard to pass on great songs that never really caught on. I can’t count the amount of times over the years I’ve had to say to a fellow programmer, ‘We can’t rewrite the history of music based on what we think should’ve happened.’ Music is a cruel and unforgiving business that doesn’t necessarily reward the most talented or hardest working, because it’s forced to follow the whims and constantly changing tastes of the masses. </p>
<p>So how big should a database be? That depends on a whole host of factors, format, demographic, market size and competitive situation within that market. Some of my fellow consultants and radio friends who I respect lean toward the larger end with 1,250 or more, while others are much more conservative in the 200 range. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle with 250 to 500 song databases for most new music based stations, and 500 to 750 for recurrent/gold based stations. Granted, I typically keep another 100 to 200 on hold for refreshes. </p>
<p>Itunes and Spotify have given us some great insights into answering the elusive question: How many songs does the average person know? The average Spotify playlist has just 170 songs in it. Yet, <a contents="according to TuneUp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cultofmac.com/103614/103614/" target="_blank">according to TuneUp</a> the average iTunes library has an astonishing 3,000 songs in it. That’s significantly more than I would’ve expected, however the challenge for programmers isn’t to answer the ‘how many songs does the average listener know’ question. Our challenge is to find the number of consensus songs within a specific demographic and a specific format. That’s why traditionally stations that air on the side of caution and go with smaller databases tend to do better. It’s simple math, if you pick the 200 most popular songs within a format you’re much more likely to have the majority of your target listeners know and sing along with 90% of those songs. </p>
<p>However, I would argue that with the easy availability of the world’s entire catalog of music, today’s terrestrial radio databases can push the limits a little more. After all, there are currently 50 million songs available to stream on Spotify. </p>
<p>What are your thoughts on database size. Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Photo by Expect Best for <a contents="www.pexels.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.pexels.com/" target="_blank">www.pexels.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66613002021-06-16T13:42:18-05:002021-06-16T13:42:18-05:00How Much A Station Should Spend on Social By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/9f5988a15049e49aa8fc2cabd61c15c0b28d4d72/original/billie-dollar-money-background.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One of the big misconceptions I see with radio groups across the country is a feeling that its unnecessary for them to regularly spend money advertising on social media. I understand the thought process behind this, after all we have our own megaphones to shout to the masses everyday selling ourselves, our contests, promotions and sponsors. However, even if you run a legacy station that built up a massive following prior to the algorithm changes, its still important to set aside a budget for social media. The big question is, how much should you spend? </p>
<p>But, before answering that, let me expand a bit on why its so important and a few ways to underwrite much of that spending. Just like any company, there are a multitude of reasons why its beneficial to amass impressive social stats. It’s a measuring stick that potential advertisers, and listeners, can all see to compare us to our competition. It’s another touchpoint with listeners that, when used properly, can drive tons of traffic to specific listening appointments, hence driving cume and TSL, as well as web traffic. Plus, despite rules that can be changed at any moment by whoever owns the platform, social media is still a great way for stations to generate revenue. Our goal with our consulting clients is to create on-air features, benchmarks, contests and promotions that are sponsorable enough to build in a budget for social, hence underwriting the entire multi-platform marketing campaign entirely and making money on top of it. Then we build non-invasive sponsor ads into that social content, within their rules, that drive back to a webpost with longer-form content and a longer ad. </p>
<p>Which leads us to the main question I get, how much should we spend? Typically, before answering that I ask, ‘Well how much are you spending now?’ and the response I most often get is ‘nothing’. In that scenario literally budgeting anything at all is a step in the right direction. That’s because, the way these platforms are built now, spending any amount of money will do a limited amount of small, incremental good in the long run if its consistent. But, if you really want to move the needle my rule of thumb for out-of-pocket budgeting is $100 per station per month for small market stations, $250 for medium market and $500 for large market stations. Hands down my favorite social ad platform for targeting is Facebook, but I do suggest spreading that budget around and focusing on specific platforms on certain months based on demo and need. If each station were to spend that amount of money in those varying size markets, paired with creative graphics/video content and additional sponsored promotions/content, its safe to expect a 25% to 50% total social audience growth from year to year. </p>
<p>How much do you spend on social each month and what platform has worked best for you when boosting? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66552682021-06-10T08:10:44-05:002023-12-10T10:44:08-06:003 Reasons To Start a Podcast By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/aea4d7ca22a37e7bbe686b44fedd120469f2ef01/original/side-view-radio-microphone-with-copy-space.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Despite the overwhelming growth of podcasting in recent years, especially during the pandemic, many radio broadcasters are still reluctant to take the leap. I still hear a lot of comments like, ‘Why would I want to talk to a handful of people on a podcast when I talk to thousands every day on air’ or ‘Everybody has a podcast now so why should I?’ So for any of you who are still resistant to the idea, here are the three main reasons why radio broadcasters should start a podcast. </p>
<p>1) <strong>A podcast expands your personal brand.</strong> There are many ways on air talent can increase their brand awareness, doing a segment or show on local TV, creating a strong social media presence, making their own personality website or writing their own blogs. But, podcasting is one way to build a personalities brand using skillsets that they’ve already spent years developing. As I’ve said before, no one is better suited to podcast than a radio broadcaster. Plus, if we start or podcasts in our home studios independent from the station, then we’re building something that we own outright that will travel with us wherever we land in the future.</p>
<p>2) <strong>Creative freedom.</strong> With the push to tighten every on-air break in recent years, especially outside of mornings, doing a shift can often feel like broadcasting with a governor or a creative muzzle on. Conversely, podcasting can be a great outlet for that creative frustration and a great opportunity to expand on content, features, benchmarks and segments to try them out long-form. However, we still want to apply the tricks of the trade we’ve learned about teases, hooks, delivering enough relevant details to paint a picture for the listener without the fluff that will bore them and taking outs to end segments or transition to other topics. Here’s some <a contents="podcast ideas from broadcasters" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/podcast-ideas-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">podcast ideas from broadcasters</a>. </p>
<p>3) <strong>Making money.</strong> Yes, it’s true the majority of podcasters are making little to nothing off of their podcasts. But, broadcasters start with a huge advantage, our radio megaphone that helped give us name recognition and our extensive radio training and experience. Most podcast ads are very similar to the live commercials we’ve all done on air, except for the additional creative freedom. Plus, selling ads on a podcast isn’t that different from selling radio advertising. In fact, there are a few advantages. Unlike terrestrial ratings that are an estimate based on a relatively small sample base, podcast download and listening statistics are exact. Currently, the average cpm (cost per thousand) for podcasting ads range from $15 for :10, $18 for :30 and $25 for :60s. So, once we’ve built up 10,000 listeners each sixty second spot on our podcast would be worth roughly $250. Plus, as we’re building that audience there are many podcast hosting sites that offer revenue sharing programs so we’re at least making something early. Here are the <a contents="five podcast hosting sites I recommend from broadcasters" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-podcast-hosting-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">five podcast hosting sites I recommend from broadcasters</a>. </p>
<p>If you’re a broadcaster who’s been podcasting for awhile what have you experienced? Or, if you still haven’t started podcasting, why are you reluctant to do so? Comment below or email me at Andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>For more podcasting info get a copy of my new <a contents="From Broadcasting to Podcasting eBook" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://books2read.com/u/bP9P5d" target="_blank">From Broadcasting to Podcasting eBook</a>.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66476512021-06-02T14:41:51-05:002022-05-23T01:29:08-05:00Reacting To A Changing Music Scene By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/bb26f8bb7fe9df1a8e4a1eda118aba585a4ceccf/original/1773.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Today’s music industry looks vastly different than it did just ten years ago. So, why are so many radio programmers across formats still using databases and categories that are structured exactly as they were a decade ago? Labels and artists have certainly adjusted, finding innovative ways to make a splash in the internet age. They’re releasing multiple songs at once, extending the life of songs by quickly releasing remixes or duets and drastically shifting their promotional efforts away from radio promotion and toward content creation and social promotion. </p>
<p>They fully understand that artists are now blowing up on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, which they then parlay into massive amounts of Spotify plays. But, that’s not a disadvantage for radio as long as we also adjust. Social media and the internet are doing all the heavy lifting now for breaking music and providing us with free tea leaves to read that let us know exactly how popular a song is before we add it. The <a contents="guess work is gone" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/follow-the-data-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">guess work is gone</a> as long as we know where to look and take the time to do so. </p>
<p>One of the difficult challenges of programming over a long career is keeping our finger on the pulse of what’s happening musically within a format to decide which of the old radio rules still apply, which ones need to be tweaked to adjust and which ones should be abandoned entirely. </p>
<p>So, how should our category structure and rules be tweaked to address these changes? For starters we should add songs sooner and stay on them longer than we traditionally have. Additionally, we should be more fluid with the song count in our current categories, adjusting to how many songs truly are popular within our format at any given time instead of trying to hit some arbitrary predetermined number. </p>
<p>One of the biggest modifications, and honestly one I’ve been slow to embrace on certain formats, is artist separation. To their credit most CHR/Hot AC programmers, and many Hip Hop/Urban ones as well, have virtually abandoned artist separation all-together over the past few years. Taking the mindset that if an individual artist has multiple songs that are all among the format’s most popular tunes, then they should all be in current categories and separation for that artist should be completely disabled. Even though that might cause the same artist to come up literally two or three songs away from themselves. This is an understandable decision, right now Olivia Rodrigo has three of the top ten most popular pop songs. I agree with turning off separation for her and a handful of others depending on market and other competitive factors. It’s also worth re-examining artist separation rules across all formats including recurrent/gold formats to see if they should be shortened. </p>
<p>Rock programmers have correctly responded to a weak new rock scene by leaning heavier on recurrents and gold and drastically reducing the size of their current categories. Something country would be smart to consider on a smaller scale. The country scene is certainly stronger than rock, but only a handful of artists are currently carrying it and it seems to be struggling to find which fork in the road it wants to take next, and who other than Luke Combs are its next big stars. </p>
<p>What do you think, how have you adjusted your programming to address changes within the music industry? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66407392021-05-26T14:11:32-05:002022-08-22T09:46:01-05:00Why Roles Are So Important By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/445ebfb99fb674be3fee1084112ca8e4bae78c17/original/radio-show-cropped.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Role assignment issues are the fastest way to doom a team show, regardless of the talent level of the participants. I can’t count the amount of shows I’ve seen fail because either the roles weren’t clearly defined, understood and followed or they were miscast. No matter how skilled on-air talent are as individuals, team shows will implode 99 times out of 100 if the roles aren’t right. </p>
<p>One big mistake many shows make is what I like to call the ‘feel it out’ approach. Let’s put these two or three people with vastly different personalities in a room and let them develop a chemistry and they’ll kind of naturally gravitate toward their proper roles. Or maybe even two of them have worked together and we’re gonna throw this third person in and just see how it goes. This approach wouldn’t make for a good kid’s peewee football team and it certainly won’t make for a radio show that’s worth listening to. All this does is cause the type A personality to take control as the host, even if they’re not the best suited to do so, and everyone involved to pick up several bad habits that are hard to coach out of them later. Shows shouldn’t ever crack a mic without everyone having defined roles. </p>
<p>That being said, it’s not uncommon for shows to look like they should be cast one way on paper and then after a few weeks on air it’s painfully obvious that they’re miscast. That’s no argument for starting off without a plan and role definition, but it does happen and the sooner its corrected the more likely the correction will take and work. This usually happens because of seniority at a station, ego or how long someone has been on air, pushing them into a host role. What people often miss is the fact that the host isn’t always the top billed talent in a show and seldom ends up being the most beloved. </p>
<p>There are also many successful shows where the roles are clearly defined and followed for 70 to 90% of the show, but then they swap to let other cast members lead a segment or two for a specific benchmark or feature. This is a very effective way to get everyone to buy in and more involved in the show without messing up the main structure. It also adds some variety and broadens the shows appeal. However, it only works well if every cast member truly has the ability to play each part without derailing, detouring or outright killing a break. </p>
<p>Plus, sharing roles can be a slippery slope if it isn’t strategic. I’ve worked with lots of shows over the years where they swap roles nearly every break and that’s always the first thing I address. I know it sounds democratic and fair, we’re all equal partners, we all rotate as host, co-host and sniper throughout the show and we vote on everything. I’ve just never seen it work. </p>
<p>What do you think, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by vectorpouch for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66346192021-05-19T13:53:39-05:002023-12-10T10:45:55-06:00Coaching the Off-Air Process By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ca25ebdd8a6e18380672df1a75159fb754939101/original/flat-lay-workstation-with-copy-space-laptop.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The hardest part about coaching talent when you’re an on-air talent yourself, current or former, is not forcing your process, or routine, on others. We’re all drastically different people, with varying personalities, strengths and weaknesses, and all of our brains work slightly differently. The likelihood that simply replicating your off-air process will work well for another talent is incredibly low. </p>
<p>At the urging of a buddy’s wife who ran a major organization, I once attended a seminar about managing different personality types that was incredibly eye opening. The speaker’s main point was, what works to motivate one personality type won’t necessarily work on other personality types and worse, it could even have the exact opposite effect. A one-size-fits-all approach to management may sound fair and democratic, but it will never work on more than a portion of a staff. </p>
<p>Being an on-air talent, or former one, who coaches talent can be a huge asset and a huge liability. That shared experience helps us understand what they are going through, but especially if we were really good at it, we can be a little jaded about what it took us to get to that point when looking back retrospectively. Often, we tend to forget how much harder we had to work to accomplish the same tasks earlier in our careers. </p>
<p>I know that I make some general statements sometimes about how much time on-air talent should spend preparing for a shift, roughly 30 minutes for every hour they are on the air. I say that because I’m trying to make that number somewhat manageable considering all the other responsibilities today’s modern DJ has on their plate. In truth, many of the great on-air personalities spend at least as much time preparing for their show as they do on the air each day. But more important than the amount of time spent, is how efficiently and effectively that time is spent. The main thing that separates average on-air talent from exceptional air talent is what happens off the air. Figuring out how to spend that precious off-air preparation time is a never ending evolution that successful talent refine constantly to figure out how to get the most out of every available minute. </p>
<p>One of the main pieces of advice I’ve heard people give to up and coming on air talent is to listen to other successful air talent on the radio. I understand the theory behind that, but it can be very misleading. You can’t learn how to play basketball like Michael Jordan by watching a couple of his game tapes. Just seeing, or hearing, the final product skips over the most important parts, the how and the why. We shouldn’t ask talent to emulate ourselves, or others. Either the process or the end result. </p>
<p>If we truly want talent we coach to be successful, we have to get to know that talent first, before coaching them on anything beyond a handful of the basics. Then over-time assess what makes them tick and slowly lead them to develop their own process specifically designed to help them execute an engaging, interactive and compelling on-air shift. That process may be as simple as bullet points in a notebook or as complex as a completely filled out show-grid with benchmarks, features and content breaks fully scripted. <a contents="Here's a link to download" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/downloads" target="_blank">Here's a link to download</a> my weekly/daily show grids for free.</p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66293402021-05-13T08:33:45-05:002021-05-13T08:37:24-05:00The Power of Video Promos By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3adb8056f4272e34740d8bd882076f2f7956928d/original/video-starline.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Even before the rise of Instagram and TikTok, social media had become a visual media. We all realized that text and audio alone wasn’t enough, so we began adding pictures to everything. But standing out in a crowded feed with a static picture isn’t easy. That’s why it’s time for radio to up our game and fully dive into video content. Video is significantly more effective that static images on social media. In 2021 <a contents="86% of businesses use video" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/state-of-video-marketing-new-data" target="_blank">86% of businesses use video</a> as a marketing tool, a 25% increase since 2016. People stream over <a contents="1 billion hours of video a day on YouTube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://influencermarketinghub.com/video-marketing-statistics/" target="_blank">1 billion hours of video a day on YouTube</a> and Facebook gets over <a contents="4 billion video views per day" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.omnicoreagency.com/facebook-statistics/" target="_blank">4 billion video views per day</a>. By 2022 the number of videos crossing the internet per second will approach 1 million, <a contents="translating into 82% of all online traffic" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2019/10/2020-video-marketing-and-statistics-what-brands-need-to-know/" target="_blank">translating into 82% of all online traffic</a>. </p>
<p>Most of what we do in radio is tailor made to be turned into video content because shorter works better. On the Instagram feed videos can be up to 1 minute, but according to <a contents="Hubspot Research" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-long-should-videos-be-on-instagram-twitter-facebook-youtube" target="_blank">Hubspot Research</a> videos that are an average of 26 seconds received the most engagement. So virtually any 30 second on-air promo we’re producing could be turned into effective video content for web/social, either by recording it as video first using a video host or by simply adding original footage, stock footage, or pictures with motion to go along with the VO. <a contents="Here’s a blog" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/affordable-video-tools-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">Here’s a blog</a> showing some of the tools we use. Since writing that post we’ve also added the full <a contents="Adobe Creative Suite" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/catalog.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwnPOEBhA0EiwA609ReSJtrqNYFDBCDboRAnCg0GBgX5Bc10I-VRelmLAjxuZ-ztYdJ1xjuhoCmAkQAvD_BwE&sdid=1NZGDDHD&mv=search&ef_id=CjwKCAjwnPOEBhA0EiwA609ReSJtrqNYFDBCDboRAnCg0GBgX5Bc10I-VRelmLAjxuZ-ztYdJ1xjuhoCmAkQAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!453226506440!e!!g!!adobe%20creative%20suite" target="_blank">Adobe Creative Suite</a> to pick up Adobe Premiere and After Effects, which I spent the pandemic lockdown learning and I believe anyone who’s proficient with an audio editor can pick it up if they put in the time. </p>
<p>Here are a few of the types of video we create for our consulting clients, that we’d be happy to create for you or teach you how to create on your own: </p>
<ul> <li>Music Tests: Modern video version of the smash or trash new music feature </li> <li>Top 5 Tunes Video: Based on online/in-app/social votes/requests by listeners </li> <li>Artist of the Month/Showcase Yea Videor: For stations that don’t play new music </li> <li>Jock Recycle Promos: Turning audio recycle promos into video </li> <li>Benchmark/Feature Video Promos: To pre-promote on social </li> <li>Podcast Video Promos: Specifically promoting an upcoming episode </li> <li>Programming/Promotions Video Promos: For any big on-air promotion </li> <li>Features/Benchmark Post-Promote: Using pics/video/on-air audio </li> <li>Concert Calendar Video: Hits highlights and points back to a full online calendar </li> <li>Event Calendar/Things to Do Video: Same but covers all kinds of events </li> <li>Upcoming Music Teasers Video: Plugging a few of the upcoming tunes that hour </li> <li>What to Watch This Week Video: Hits a few of that week’s shows/movies, ties to web article </li> <li>What to Play This Week Video: Same but for new video games coming out that week </li> <li>60 Seconds With: Off camera interview with artist or celebrity </li>
</ul>
<p>All of these are tied back to on-air and website elements to create multi-platform content that’s very sponsorable. That’s why I consider them promos. Yes, they’re content, but they’re content specifically created to drive traffic elsewhere. We’re also always looking at other content creators for ideas we can borrow, including comics, podcasters, TV Morning Shows and even brands. </p>
<p>A quick note, it’s important to remember to add captions, 85% of viewers on Facebook are watching with the sound off. Plus, Facebook has a free built-in tool to automatically add captions now (although it typically requires a little bit of hand-editing). It also helps to do separate vertical versions for TikTok and Instagram. </p>
<p>What are your stations doing with video? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by starline for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66223122021-05-05T14:00:55-05:002021-05-06T10:55:01-05:00Talk Less About the Music By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/e3f5cceeeb518d464b48dd9f227e35ce30744636/original/music-concept-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We’ve all been guilty of it. Falling into the ‘That was…”, ‘This is…” trap to use as filler content either because we were too busy to prep or we’re still adjusting to a new format/demo and we simply don’t know what to talk about yet. Scrambling thirty seconds before the song ends and googling the artist to see if there’s a nugget of recent news to spice it up a bit. </p>
<p>But, this default mode of announcing the tunes does virtually nothing for the listener. Unless you’re on a AAA or independent music station, they’re familiar with 99% of what you’re playing anyway and if they’re not it’s prominently displayed on most of the platforms they’re listening on now. Literally every second is mission critical now, so finding faster ways to come out of/into songs leaves more room for the things that really do move the needle, teases, hooks, content, engagement, local info and outs. For example, if we’re coming out of the new Justin Bieber tune we don’t need to say <em>‘That was Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caeser and Giveon with Peaches.’</em> If we say anything at all it could just be<em> ‘Bieber Peaches’</em>. Across just Spotify and Youtube that song had over 70 million plays last week alone. I’m pretty confident they know it. </p>
<p>I know we’ve all had a PD/OM/GM who thinks the main thing people want to hear from on-air talent outside of mornings is who’s singing the song they just heard, but they’re wrong. That’s a dated philosophy that’s mainly used to shorten up long-winded talk breaks. The creative challenge today’s air talent face is how to be compelling, interactive and interesting within the shortest amount of time possible. A good exercise to do that is to prepare for a whole show as if we were going to have to execute the entire shift without knowing any of the songs on the log, relying entirely on pre-prepared content, features, benchmarks and the handful of stationality stuff we have to hit. Then, find simple ways to incorporate the song info into that without it getting in the way. </p>
<p>The fundamental question is this, are we announcers or on-air personalities? If we’re content to be announcers than by all means we should continue dedicating the bulk of the words we say into mics every day to the music, weather and whatever liners are scheduled. If we truly are on-air personalities, then we should prepare so much content that it’s a struggle to figure out where to fit those other things in. </p>
<p>Here are my <a contents="5 keys to a successful content break" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">5 keys to a successful content break</a> and my thoughts on <a contents="making digital part of the prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">making digital part of the prep process</a>. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by rawpixel for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66162472021-04-28T13:06:00-05:002021-11-03T00:09:31-05:00Build Your Own Audience Snap Shot By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7c8fafabf58144b68b826127e82f46c8c2f1292e/original/crowd-question-mark.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There’s a mathematical reason why most surveys have one thousand participants. A sample size that big has a <a contents="margin of error of just 3.2%" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/references/sample-size-surveys" target="_blank">margin of error of just 3.2%</a> at predicting the answers of the population at large within that survey area, provided the participants are chosen at random. Cut that sample base in half, 500 participants, and you still have less than a 5% margin of error. That’s how Nielsen/Arbitron can estimate with decent accuracy the listening habits of millions based on thousands of diaries, or even less people meters. As we all know subscribing isn’t cheap and rightfully so, it’s expensive data to compile and data that targeted is incredibly valuable to radio stations. </p>
<p>However, a well planned and executed single book promotion can help any station attract upwards of a thousand, or more, participants to build their own audience snapshot while collecting data that they actually own and can use going forward. The larger groups have been doing it for years, but they tend to leverage big prizes across hundreds of stations, watering down the prize pool. That works for awhile but eventually local listeners realize that nobody locally is actually winning. Doing a similar promotion locally or regionally group-wide can have a massive impact, easily underwrite itself and generate revenue. But, we have to think big, giving away cash or prizes worth thousands and not hundreds. </p>
<p>When the carrots big enough we can set multiple specific listening appointments throughout the day to deliver secret words/codes, one in each daypart, driving traffic to our websites to collect the info. Making sure we grab all the pertinent data, name, number, email, address, gender, age, etc. It also helps to give qualifying prizes along the way, most of which we can get from secondary sponsors, that way we can reinforce the fact that our winners are local throughout the entire promotion. Obviously, these promotions help drive ratings but they also measure engagement across all dayparts, drive social stats, massively increase station email databases and they generate lots of revenue. Most importantly though, we end up creating an audience snapshot that gives us tangible information to share with advertisers. </p>
<p>We help our consulting clients with these kinds of promotions, supplying digital content to use throughout, tv ads, imaging copy/production as well as help on methodology, execution and sales packages. We also encourage our clients to set aside external marketing budgets to use on social, digital billboards and TV so it doesn’t just become an internal promotion where we’re only targeting our existing listeners. </p>
<p>To be clear, I am in no way advocating for stations not to subscribe to Nielsen/Arbitron or Eastlan, I still think it’s worth subscribing when a group can afford. But for stations that have had to cut back, one of these promotions could help fill that data gap and, for stations that do subscribe, it never hurts to test your engagement score across dayparts while collecting data you own. </p>
<p>Let me know what you think, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by macrovector_official for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66108822021-04-22T08:06:12-05:002021-04-22T08:06:12-05:00You Need Less Content Than You Think By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/41d7bf26aa1ba132f8ad55168bf7762b263b7b9b/original/indoor-shot-multiethnic-young-women-gesture-with-hands-show-something-very-little-invisible-demonstrate-size-gesture-dressed-fashionable-clothing-isolated-white-wall.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Most on-air talent do a great job identifying content that’s likely to interest their listeners. What they struggle with is how to tease it ahead of time, get into the content with a hook, deliver the meat of it concisely, how to get listeners to engage with them and how to get out. When talent master that process they realize that they had much more content than they needed all along. </p>
<p>The key to getting more mileage out of our content is to activate and engage with the listener. When we learn how to pre-build, solicit and receive engagement, and dole it out in bite size chunks, we can leverage that content over several breaks. </p>
<p>I still hear a lot of on air talent just throwing a bunch of content against the wall to see what sticks, grabbing several things from various prep services and basically just filling time. Then they get out of the content breaks by soliciting engagement vaguely and halfheartedly. That essentially leads to a lot of tiny broken promises to the listener because there’s never a feedback payoff. They’d be better served going into those breaks with a few ringers banked and being very specific about how/where they want the listener to interact with them. Here are my <a contents="5 keys to a successful content break" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">5 keys to a successful content break</a>. </p>
<p>Top on-air talent don’t just read the press release, they turn it into content by making it a versus or rank that topic that engages listeners. They understand that to activate listeners they have to personalize or localize it, simplify the choice and be specific about how they want them to engage. Of course an incentive adds fuel to the fire, but talent can still get interaction without one. </p>
<p>Engagement isn’t the only way to get out of a break, we can also use a funny/witty line, appropriate drop, localize it, tease forward or tease to another platform. But, if all we have to say is something generic, ‘Now you know,’ or ‘Sounds cool’, clearly we’re missing the mark. We should hand select the content we have something to add to or we can lead the listener to add to. </p>
<p>Focusing on how to stretch content over multiple breaks allows us to narrow down our prep, making it more manageable and allowing us to be more selective about what we put on air. Plus, along the way we’ll be much more likely to generate content that’s well suited to share on the station website and social feeds. Let me know your thoughts, comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by wayhomestudio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/66039962021-04-14T13:18:37-05:002023-12-10T10:57:12-06:00Stop Bonusing Digital By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/5ace16333be4ed800e0d23cea99be3d9d1a8913e/original/close-up-of-stop-sign-in-forest.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />When we’re launching a station, or one of our existing stations is suffering to sell terrestrial inventory, its tempting to cut our rates drastically and sell spots for whatever we can get for them. Its an understandable decision, after all something is certainly better than nothing. But, as anyone who’s ever been a part of selling dollar-a-hollar spots will tell you, the long-term downside is that it makes it incredibly hard to ever get those rates up. </p>
<p>I fear many groups are currently making that same mistake with their digital inventory by continuing to bonus it or sell it at a fraction of what it’s really worth. As I’ve <a contents="written in the past" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/when-will-digital-takeover-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">written in the past</a>, if its not already here, the day is soon coming when our terrestrial signals will mainly be used to bark about our digital platforms. TV has already gotten that message loud and clear. If you watch the Discovery channel for more than a couple commercial breaks you’ll see several promos pushing you to stop watching them live and switch over to their Discovery Plus streaming platform. Discovery is following a long-term vision. </p>
<p>The future of our industry is providing our radio content, and additional digital content, on as many platforms as possible and finding creative ways to integrate our advertisers into each of those platforms with us. To do so we’ll need to empower and train our terrestrial content creators to be multi-platform content creators that understand how to best use each platform to drive traffic to another by creating exclusive content that’s tailored to that specific platform. </p>
<p>But, none of that will lead to significant revenue growth if we’re having to drag the bulk of our client base up from paying $0 for digital inventory, that’s bundled with overpriced terrestrial, up to reasonable rates for said digital inventory. That growth will also be hampered greatly if we’ve gone the other way and just given up on selling our digital inventory locally and chosen to Nascar out our digital assets by letting third party providers sell it to tons of cheesy pay per click clients. </p>
<p>Radio station <a contents="websites are our most valuable digital asset" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/manning-the-station-website-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">websites are our most valuable digital asset</a>, because unlike social platforms, our website are ours and ours alone. Its our hub for connecting and communicating with our listeners and providing them with additional exclusive content, contesting, local resources, info and entertainment. Plus, they’re a great tool for collecting listener data we own. Our apps and online streams are a close second despite often being neglected and under-engineered, followed by podcasts that are the simplest way for trained broadcasters to translate their skills to digital content. Social is still an incredible promotions and marketing tool that can be used to drive massive traffic to our on-air and online products. </p>
<p>The growth potential for radio in 2021 and beyond is digital. So, its time for us to start valuing and investing in those digital assets and pricing them accordingly now so we have less of a hole to dig out of down the road. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65971402021-04-07T14:28:03-05:002021-04-07T14:28:03-05:00Stay Within Striking Distance By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a163cea410aae377cd2db81fd8d958decf30ec20/original/shutterstock-45759082-150ppi.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" />During Monday’s NCAA championship we all watched a college basketball team on the cusp of the first perfect season since 1976 get totally and utterly dominated. After the high of their Saturday night buzzer beater win, Gonzaga came out flat. Baylor, on the other hand, dominated in every aspect of the game, out-shooting, out-rebounding, out-hustling and out-playing the Bulldogs. </p>
<p>Throughout the game the commentators continuously mentioned that if Gonzaga could just cut the lead down to ten points, they’d be ok. Because what they, and any competitor who’s ever played any sport, knew was that when you’re playing a quality opponent you have to keep it within striking distance or you don’t stand a chance. </p>
<p>The same can be said of any radio station that isn’t leading in a market, regardless of its size. Most markets have stations that have dominated for so long its almost a foregone conclusion that they’ll continue to do so. They have higher ratings, higher digital stats and higher engagement. All of which leads to higher rates and revenue which in turn means higher programming, marketing and promotions budgets that just continue the cycle. </p>
<p>But not unlike Gonzaga who was forty minutes away from immortality in the record books, dominant stations can also get complacent. Maybe they stop going that extra mile to connect with listeners or spending time preparing a benchmark or developing an on-air contest. Often they find themselves simply slapping new dates on promotions, proposals and media kits they’ve used for years. </p>
<p>That’s why it’s crucial for runner-up stations to stay within striking distance. Taking calculated and strategic shots instead of launching wild, contested prayers from behind the arc. It won’t happen overnight, but by out-working their opponents, being purposeful and smart with their limited resources and leveraging any partnerships they can, any station with a competitive signal can be number one. But if they fall too far in the hole by cutting their resources and staff to the bone, they’re doomed to stay stagnant and reliant on the lead stations to mess up to have any shot at winning. </p>
<p>Similar to Baylor, all teams that knock of a dominant opponent tend to have great leaders. On the college level that’s a coach who knows how to work with all different personality types, identify his players strengths and put them in positions to succeed. Whether on the court or in an a radio station, a great leader is part mentor, part motivational speaker, part therapist and part disciplinarian. But, most importantly they know how to bring everyone together to work as a team to achieve shared goals. The main difference between stations that are number one in a market and number ten in a market isn’t talent, format or promotions, it’s leadership.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65905672021-03-31T19:38:30-05:002022-03-21T14:59:53-05:00Dialing Up And Down Your Personality By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ef3535778a563d02cc48eca9318279a016937f95/original/shutterstock-1026108619.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When we start on air everyone tells us the same thing, just be yourself. Its well-intended advice meant to get us to relax and not put on the infamous ‘trying to sound like a dj’ voice, but it’s also a little misleading. Very few successful on-air personalities are truly ‘themselves’ on-air. Instead, they’re well-crafted versions of themselves that dial down certain aspects of their personalities and dial up other aspects to given them the broadest appeal to the demo they’re trying to connect with. They learn to flip the switch before they turn on the mic or talk to a listener at a station event. The variance in those alter egos range from drastic and jarring for people they know and work with to subtle and harder to pinpoint. </p>
<p>Emphasizing parts of our personality while downplaying others isn’t fake or disingenuous. Everyone does it throughout their entire lives in certain social situations. Growing up we all had one way we spoke and behaved around parents and other adults and another way we acted around friends. When we began dating we all learned quickly how important it was to ease into all our quirks and idiosyncrasies that could send a potential partner running for the hills. </p>
<p>Finding our best on-air persona is a process that takes years and never really stops evolving. It starts by identifying the handful of traits within our personality that might not sit well with listeners or, worse yet, turn them away entirely. Then working on minimizing those. While at the same time slowly starting to introduce snippets of our personality through one-line outs or quick commentary on music or content. Paying close attention to how the listeners react and engage with us on-air, on social, online and at events to see what they’re responding to. Once we’ve mastered that its time to move on to bits, benchmarks and features. Again letting the listener’s engagement and reactions dictate which ones we keep and expand on. </p>
<p>Are there rare unicorns out there who can truly be 100% themselves on air and find great success with it? Yes, there certainly are but they’re extremely rare and often when someone thinks they are one they’ve simply been turning the switch on so often for so long that they’ve kind of morphed into their on-air persona. </p>
<p>What do you think, is it important for on air talent to dial up and dial down certain parts of their persona? Also, what’s some of your experiences working with people who were drastically different off air then they were on air? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65835462021-03-24T12:45:21-05:002021-04-17T07:38:52-05:00Create Your Own Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ff354d24a161268c73534c629fdb0fc5f6567005/original/shutterstock-249808387.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Going from being a show prep rip and read DJ to an on-air personality who creates their own multi-platform content is easier than it’s ever been. Information we used to have to dig for is now readily available on every device we own and there are numerous low-cost tools to help us tailor content to work on each platform. Plus, there are literally millions of creators cranking out content daily and all we have to do to make their content our own is personalize and localize it. </p>
<p>The first step is to learn how to harness the power of our station’s digital assets. Here’s my guide for the three ways to use <a contents="social media to promote an on-air show" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">social media to promote an on-air show</a> and here's a simple example using a national survey or study: </p>
<ul> <li>Identify a national survey or study that will interest our listeners </li> <li>Tease it on-air and on social media </li> <li>Read it on air starting with the hook </li> <li>Disagree with it and throw it out to the listener saying ‘What do you think?’ </li> <li>Take calls and put the best ones on air (Can use social or website if tracked) </li> <li>Write a blog on the website with the info/link to the original study/survey </li> <li>Include additional calls from on-air and a poll for more people to weigh in </li> <li>Set an appointment to read the poll results on air </li> <li>Share the blog on station social feeds </li>
</ul>
<p>By doing that we’ve taken what would’ve been one throwaway break where we read a national survey/study and turned it into a multi-platform content break. Essentially, we’re using someone else’s content to spark the creation of our own. Once we get in the habit of doing this we’ll often find that with the right topic we can generate enough interest to have a larger sample base then the original survey/study. I once did a Cinco De Mayo best margarita break following these steps that generated many more votes in 24 hours on our station website than the original survey I based it on. Hence not only creating more personalized/localized content, but also driving a lot of clicks to our web/social platforms in the process. </p>
<p>Add another layer and become fully self-sufficient by learning to use low-cost graphic and video tools that allow anybody to use templates and easily create social and web content that’s a big step above the competition. </p>
<p>What’s some CYO content you’ve created recently? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65768552021-03-17T15:11:54-05:002021-03-17T15:11:54-05:00Programming To Sell By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/59b6c8aeeace1ed7bd96de5a3d32754c454a210b/original/hands-of-agent-and-client-shaking-hands-after-signed-contract-buy-new-apartment.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Every group struggles to balance the push and pull between the programming and sales departments. Sales gets frustrated by programming throwing last minute ideas at them with too short of a ramp up period to properly sell them and programming feels like sales doesn’t support their creative efforts. That’s part of the reason as a consultant I prefer to work with both departments, because working with only one of them really limits how far you can truly move the needle for a radio group. </p>
<p>Here are a few simple steps we can take as programmers to make our sales colleague’s jobs of underwriting our ideas easier to accomplish: </p>
<p>1) Don’t be married to our ideas. If it helps sales to adjust the name slightly to better fit a sponsor then we should change the name. If adjusting the methodology or timeline helps to accommodate a client, then we should be flexible. I’ve seen so many book promotions die in a conference room because programmer’s stuck to their guns, often over minor adjustments. </p>
<p>2) Get sales feedback early in the process. Because there are so many moving parts in programming, many of us have gotten in the habit of completely flushing out one hundred percent of the details before presenting to sales a full, turn-key concept. In some situations we might find success with that approach, but in most I’ve been involved in it helps immensely if we get feedback from sales along the way. Besides the fact that this approach makes it more likely for them to be excited about it and pitch it, it will also make it more effective on the programming side. I’m a best idea wins guy so the more people that weigh in, the more that compounds the potential for great ideas. </p>
<p>3) Take the initiative to project manage. Collaboration is great, but management by committee doesn’t work. Someone has to step up and make the call on a multitude of details, names, times, graphics, etc, before it gets on-air. If its not clear that programming and operations are doing that then sales managers and GMs will certainly fill the void. </p>
<p>4) Most importantly, follow through. Once sales and management lose faith in the programming department’s ability to deliver on what they say they’re going to do, it’s incredibly hard to win it back. I get that sometimes people draw drastic conclusions based on something a client may or may not have heard when they tuned in at the time they thought they were supposed to listen. But, if programming is consistently delivering on its promises than we’ll weather those small flurries and be better prepared to handle the blizzard when things truly do break down. </p>
<p>From a sales stand-point, we know that sales is under enormous pressure, especially right now with revenues still down across the board. Its easy to look across the aisle and think that the on-air talent and the PDs have the ‘fun jobs’, but those fun jobs quite often come with long hours, capped compensation and the pressure of creating content every hour of every day for what seems like the remainder of our lives. If we work together we can create compelling programming, promotions and digital content that simultaneously drives ratings and revenue. Conversely, if we go to our corners and work independently, both will suffer.</p>
<p>Pic by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65703632021-03-10T19:09:47-06:002021-03-10T19:09:47-06:00Follow The Data By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/9cd84160d3a18470497c0582969118dd09201a0f/original/digital.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When I started programming music I made the same mistake most young programmer’s make, I programmed sonically. Being a life-long fan of country music, who happened to grow up in a country station, I thought I had such a pulse on what the modern day country listener wanted that I could simply listen to every song and determine whether or not it would become a hit. I would like to think that I was right more often than most, but the challenge was, when you’re programming sonically you’re always one step behind the listener and any emerging trends within the format. </p>
<p>At that time all you had to go on was feedback from the request line, the word of record promoters paid to embellish the popularity of a song and the various charts that tracked physical sales and adds by other stations. Plus, if you could talk your GM or owners into it, maybe some incredibly expensive call out research that was fairly dated by the time it got to you. So, programmers who had a good ‘gut feel’ for whether their listeners would take to a song were a valuable commodity. Hence why many of us went to great lengths to hone and sharpen that skillset. </p>
<p>But now the guesswork is gone. There are multiple free ways to assess the actual popularity of a new song that everyone has access to. However, that doesn’t mean the programming skills we’ve all acquired over the years are no longer valuable. They just need to be applied differently. All decisions on what to add or cut from a station’s database in 2021 should be 100% data driven. But it takes an experienced programmer to build the category structure for that database, decide which songs to put in which categories, how to code sonically and by tempo or mood to create great quarter hours and so on. </p>
<p>For our new Playlist FM formats we’re tracking the weekly views on YouTube and plays on Spotify for each of our currents and power recurrents. For recurrent and gold we track those monthly. Because seeing the total views/spins just tells you the overall popularity of the song and what matters to a radio station is how popular that particular song is right now. We also closely monitor TikTok for hits and hip hop. Once we launch in April we’ll begin pairing that with local, regional and national data we collect on our own through music feedback we solicit from listeners by offering daily, weekly and monthly prizes. All of which we’ll share with our Playlist FM affiliates and all of our consulting clients. </p>
<p>A few things that stand out recently include a bounce back for the Hits format led by Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande as well as a handful of artists who broke on TikTok. Hip Hop is incredibly strong right now, if a new Hip Hop song isn’t getting 1 million or more plays a week between YouTube/Spotify then it shouldn’t be added. Luke Combs is dominant on country and Morgan Wallen is still strong despite his recent scandal but overall the format is struggling to find its next crop of stars. There are only about 10 to 15 new rock songs that are legitimate hits right now, hence why many rock stations are leaning heavily on recurrents/gold. </p>
<p>How do you feel about following the data or your gut? Comment below or email me your thoughts at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65641562021-03-03T17:29:12-06:002023-12-10T13:08:32-06:00The Truth VS What They Want To Hear By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/4137b39b254a08bde104f1e02f57e9c750793f27/original/focused-photo-suspicious-man-passes-lie-detector-office-asking-questions-polygraph-test.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Any of us who have been in this business for a while have stories of blunt, over-the-top, and often crass, managers we’ve worked with over the years. I vividly remember a program director who was annoyed with two clients that insisted on voicing their own commercials although they were terrible at it. After mentioning it several times to the AE, he took the manner in his own hands, walked into the prod room during their recording session and said, “Is there any way you can do these where they don’t suck.” I’m sure he’d be fired for that today, but at the time he just got a stern talking to. </p>
<p>Personally, I first started managing more than a couple people when I was twenty-three and I made more than my fair share of mistakes. I had a reputation as a straight-shooter, which I was way too proud of, and that led me to cut to the chase with almost robot-like precision leading to predictable results. If someone didn’t have what it takes to be on-air, that’s exactly how I would word it. In airchecks or reviews I would run down a laundry list of everything they needed to work on. </p>
<p>Nearly twenty years later we live in a world where we’re all more cognizant of how we speak to our colleagues and subordinates. But, although it is important to be tactful in how we critique employees, we still want to make sure we’re not encouraging bad habits. Everyone says to wrap critiques in compliments if you want them to land well and be acted upon. I agree with that on one condition, as long as we’re not consciously, or unconsciously, identifying the things people want to hear and praising those. It’s an easy trap to fall into because it’s a great way to manipulate people into doing the things you need them to do to serve the company, and often their own, interests. But doing that will typically encourage or reinforce the bad habits that employee has developed. </p>
<p>A better approach is to identify and compliment a few things the employee is doing well that truly help them efficiently and effectively accomplish the tasks they’ve been given. Then choose one main actionable thing for them to work on improving. Stay on that thing through subsequent meetings, or reviews, until they’ve raised their game, before moving on to something else. </p>
<p>That’s how I’ve approached air check reviews for the past few years, but I believe it can apply to any manager/employee meeting or review. To be fair, I do go more in depth and mention multiple things on the one-time aircheck reviews people pay me to do because I want to give them their money’s worth. But on regular, weekly or monthly meetings its best to focus on one. Getting people to change any habit is challenging, so movement on a single item at a time should be looked at as a win. </p>
<p>What do you think about telling people what they want to hear versus telling them the truth? Also, what’s your approach to employee reviews? Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65577962021-03-03T17:23:10-06:002021-06-12T00:30:56-05:00Working Hard to Create Bad Radio By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/958da6890f52465e6ccd267d658f2f950802a26d/original/businesswoman-goes-mad-because-missing-deadline.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Humans are creatures of habit. When we’re in the middle of something it’s easy to fall into a routine and spend the bulk of our work hours doing the same thing week after week. At various times throughout my career I’ve fallen victim to this myself and only snapped out of it after a colleague, outside consultant or boss brought it to my attention or I took some time away on vacation to reflect. </p>
<p>Truth is, it can be just as hard to create bad radio as it is to create good radio. Staying up on music trends and using publicly available data to narrow down and curate a music database with a few purpose built categories is time consuming, but not nearly as time consuming as managing a huge, bloated playlist with tons of unnecessary categories and out-dated rules. Identifying a few key benefits for our station and writing <a contents="strategic imaging" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/strategic-imaging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">strategic imaging</a> requires stepping back and looking at the big picture. But, it not only saves us from participating in the hours, or days-long, writing sessions to come up with creative, long-form imaging. It also keeps us on message and focused on constantly reinforcing why a listener should choose us over our multitude of terrestrial and digital competitors. </p>
<p>For on air talent, it can be a challenge to set aside two hours a day to prep for our shows and/or collaborate with our co-hosts on team shows. But, a structured prep routine, especially one that <a contents="incorporates digital into the prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">incorporates digital into the prep process</a>, keeps us from having to stop down several times throughout the day to work on show-related things. Saving us time in the long run while vastly improving the content on our shows. </p>
<p>Turning to the sales department. Anyone who’s worked in radio sales, or worked closely with account executives, has heard this phrase, ‘We have too many things to sell.’ That’s because it’s easy for management to default to creating one-sheets and packages for every single available programming and digital asset the station has, leading to binders full of packages nobody but a confused, new rep ever goes through. A better approach would be to focus on creating a concise, professional-looking media kit, two-minute station video demos and a handful of integrated solutions that incorporate all, or many, of the stations assets into a few different campaigns. </p>
<p>The cliche ‘work smarter, not harder’ is kind of a misnomer. In reality, creating great radio is still incredibly hard work. As a consultant the key to helping people with time management is to identify the things they have an interest in and a talent for, because they'll be the most efficient at regularly accomplishing those tasks. Conversely we discourage the tasks they are interested in, but don't have a talent for because those tend to be a huge time-suck. Individually, if we follow that same formula and also focus on eliminating a couple of the things we're doing just because they’ve become routine and refocus those mental resources on a few strategic things, we can be significantly more productive and proficient while working the same amount of hours each week. </p>
<p>Pic designed by yanalya for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65515992021-02-16T06:00:00-06:002021-02-17T16:00:48-06:00Radio's Essential Workers By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/70e5b630fb1307d78f378f728cf09f5ebba7f38e/original/radio-tower-in-snow-cropped.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>During a crisis like our recent unprecedented winter storms people are reminded of the vital role terrestrial radio plays in keeping the public in the know and connected to the outside world. Whether you’re stuck on the roads in stand-still traffic or huddled at home by the fire without power, we will be there. </p>
<p>These kinds of events are also a stark reminder of the many essential employees we have within our industry. The engineer who gets creative and rents a snow-mobile or helicopter to get to the mountain-top transmitter site. The board-ops and producers holding up in a hotel the night before despite being the lowest paid, often most under-appreciated, employees on staff. On air talent who brave the winter weather to drive into the studio at five miles per hour to provide a friendly voice to listeners and let them know we’re going to be ok. The account executives and promotions people who rally to coordinate with clients on cancelled events, promotions and specials. Administrative staff that help make all of these things possible and the forward-thinking PDs, OMs, GMs and owners who put their employees in a position to succeed in these dire circumstances. </p>
<p>When we choose this life we know that we’re not signing up for a normal job with typical hours and off-time. Early in my career I remember how sad my friends thought it was when I told them I had eaten Thanksgiving Dinner at a truck-stop diner on my way to cover an air-shift. Like many within the industry I’ve missed every major holiday at some point in my career. I’ve broadcasted during a tornado that came dangerously close to our studio, and another that I realized was one street from my house mid-sentence. I had to compose myself and crack the mic to respond to 9/11 and other tragic events. Plus, I spent years knowing that at any point during any concert, movie or event I could have to drop what I was doing and head to the station or calmly walk someone through an emergency over the phone. These are just a few of the things expected of us in the unwritten contract we sign when we join the family of radio broadcasters. </p>
<p>Radio certainly isn’t for everyone, but it can be incredibly rewarding. When done well, local radio helps bring communities together during terrible times, reminding them of their shared bond and common goals. It encourages our better angels and leads us to help our neighbors instead of hoarding resources and fending for ourselves. </p>
<p>Huddled in our cars this week here in Texas, warming up and charging our phones while dealing with day-long power outages, it was incredibly comforting to hear our favorite on-air personalities articulating our common experiences and giving us the sense that we were not alone. </p>
<p>Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com with some of the experiences you’ve had over the years responding to a crisis on air or within the building.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65448582021-02-09T12:00:00-06:002023-11-06T18:31:56-06:00Strategic Imaging By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a20a803e3fce543f20abc3ecc2a2215590096695/original/top-view-air-radio-concept.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Every station I’ve worked for, or with, over the years has said the same thing when discussing imaging, ‘We need a lot more imaging.’ They all feel like their programming staff isn’t cranking out enough imaging because they’re ‘hearing the same ones’ too often on the station. Let’s set aside the fact that, similar to the turnover of current music, station staff will always be the first people bothered by the repetition of anything on the station because their listening habits are vastly different from the average listener. In reality most stations don’t need more imaging, they need more strategic imaging. Rarely is it the case that the volume is the issue, typically the bigger issue is that the imaging the station is currently running isn’t accurately defining and selling the key benefits of said station. </p>
<p>Writing and producing strategic imaging starts by first identifying the three to five key benefits the station is offering its listeners. To do that we have to step back and analyze the market and take a realistic look at what our stations are offering versus the competition. For most music-based stations those key benefits will typically be a point of difference on the music, how the station engages with the listener through contesting/events/content, how to get the station’s content on other platforms and what the station is doing to localize and regionalize its content and programming. </p>
<p>As a writer and someone who truly enjoys writing imaging, I’ve often fallen prey to the pressure to sit down and crank out multiple pages of creative imaging every month. That process would generally lead me to come up with some really creative, funny, well-worded imaging pieces that were too lengthy to air, especially for longer periods of time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to freshen up imaging regularly as long as that imaging focuses on selling those key benefits to the listener and fits the pacing and style of the station. </p>
<p>The style that seems to be working the best right now for all new music stations is short, sweet and to the point. With a push to tighten on-air breaks and shorten commercial stop sets, along with the fast pacing established by the music, the last thing we should do is stop down for any long-form imaging. Not only does that apply to imaging between the records, but also station promos going into and out of breaks. Ideally those station promos would be broken into multiple short form imaging pieces to run between songs, or if you have to, in or out of the stopsets. </p>
<p>But what do you think, how do you strategically image your station and what style works best? Comment below or email your thoughts to me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65386442021-02-03T13:00:51-06:002022-07-17T09:21:17-05:00Your Station's Engagement Score By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7462caecc50e8d5620261f00b578f1be83a68d27/original/review-increase-rating-or-ranking-evaluation-and-classification-concept-businessman-draw-five-yellow-star-to-increase-rating-of-his-company.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Terrestrial radio’s biggest advantage over digital competitors like Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music Radio and others is our ability to engage with our listeners on a daily basis. Those consistent calls to action throughout the day with contesting, phone topics and teasing cross-platform content are the secret weapons for how market-leading stations turn passive listeners into loyal, active listeners. So, how well are your stations engaging and interacting with listeners? Rate yourself below to find out your station’s engagement score. </p>
<p>(On a scale of 1 to 10) </p>
<p>Rate the consistency and quality of your morning show contesting? </p>
<p>Rate the consistency and quality of your contesting in other day parts? </p>
<p>How well does your on-air talent engage listeners with phone topic breaks? </p>
<p>How would you rate your on-air talents ability to drive traffic to your website? </p>
<p>How would you rate your staff’s ability to respond listener comments on your website? </p>
<p>How would you rate your on-air talents efforts to interact with and respond to listeners on social, your station app and/or <a contents="yappa" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://yappaapp.com/" target="_blank">yappa</a>? </p>
<p>How well does your station do as a whole at engaging with listeners on social? </p>
<p>Rate the effectiveness of your imaging at driving listeners to engage with the station in any way? </p>
<p>How would you rate the engagement at your station remotes? </p>
<p>Rate the engagement at your station events? </p>
<p>If you scored an 85 or above congratulations, you are well ahead of most terrestrial radio stations! If your station scored 70 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 now more ways than ever to interact and engage with listeners and we’d be happy to share some of the tools we’ve seen work elsewhere. </p>
<p>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, leave a comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com to have me tune in and give you an unbiased, outside opinion on your station’s engagement score. </p>
<p>Picture designed by photoroyalty for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65321682021-01-27T16:02:01-06:002021-01-27T16:26:44-06:00Insulating Against Ratings Ups & Downs By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/048b6c0ab04f3be58c3372b5b0eaaab06601bd9b/original/medium-shot-stressed-man-looking-papers.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We’ve all been there, the sleepless nights before the book comes out, refreshing your screen the day of anxiously awaiting the arrival of new numbers, praying to the radio gods that they’ll take pity on you. Hoping against hope that management won’t overreact to an estimate based on a handful of listeners. On top of that, this year has been especially stressful with covid causing major shifts in listener habits. But, there are things we can do to make our stations less vulnerable to fluctuations in the numbers. </p>
<p>Here are five steps to help insulate our stations from ratings ups and downs. </p>
<p>#1 <strong>Air talent that out-perform the music</strong>. The success of all music formats are directly tied to how popular that genre of music is as a whole within our community at that specific time. The peaks and valleys are especially noticeable at times when music genres are transitioning from one style to another and the torch is being passed from one set of leading artists to a new set of artists. However, hiring air talent, or training existing air staff, to create compelling on-air content that sets daily appointments with listener will help weather those weaker times within the format. </p>
<p>#2 <strong>Building strong social followings</strong>. A bad book performance is a lot easier to defend when we have big social stats to fall back on. But building those platforms from scratch now takes daily content tailored to each platform and a marketing budget to help new stations get over the hump thanks to the algorithm changes that went into place when each social network started trying to monetize their own advertising. Creating well produced <strong>podcasts that attract lots of local downloads</strong> are another good ratings insulator. </p>
<p>#3 <strong>Contests are still king</strong>. One of the major advantages local radio has over Spotify, Pandora or any other digital platform is that local people have a chance to legitimately win a prize just for tuning in. However, thanks to the impact on revenue and the restrictions caused by Covid, many groups have gotten away from contesting. That has to return in 2021. Well planned and executed on-air contesting is still the best way to convince a potential new listener to give our station a try and drive new cume and carry existing listeners over to increase TSL. </p>
<p>#4 <strong>Getting in front of listeners at events</strong>. Sometimes we’re too close to it to remember how big of a deal it is for people to meet that familiar voice from the radio. When you listen to non-radio people talk about some of their favorite stations, they almost always reference some radio event they went to where they got to directly interact with their favorite DJ or they just had a fun, memorable time. Events are what makes radio tangible to people and, as soon as their safe to do again, regular recurring and big annual events, should be a big part of our strategic plans. </p>
<p>#5 <strong>Interacting and engaging with listeners on air and potential listeners on social media</strong>. I’ve literally listened to thousands upon thousands of airchecks over the years, especially over the last two when I started coaching air talent on creating better aircheck demos. Hands down, the main thing I’m listening for is how well they connect, engage and interact with listeners. I’m somewhat of an introvert so I get the desire to just go into a room by myself and create content. Having a good voice and the ability to deliver well structured breaks with a funny out will help keep an on air talent employed. But, the ones that truly dominate markets are all masters of connecting with their audience through interactive and engaging content, features and benchmarks. </p>
<p>Need help insulating your station from ratings ups and downs, email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Comment below with your thoughts. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65260352021-01-20T15:25:13-06:002022-04-15T04:35:02-05:00Addressing Changing Habits By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/81da206590e72636bbd0ff3a7a64304bb39574de/original/concept-solution-domino-effect-slightly-de-focused-close-up-shot-selective-focus.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Whether we like it or not our industry is changing. The changes weren’t caused by the ongoing pandemic, the pandemic simply made it more obvious by fueling the fire and speeding up changes that were already underway. This monumental shift effects all departments equally and will therefore require all departments to address it. For years many of us have been writing off the next generation of potential terrestrial radio listeners and ignoring the changing habits of our existing listeners and advertisers. </p>
<p>On the programming side we have to stop playing it safe. That starts by not defaulting to only running formats that we know appeal to the older demos that are already acclimated to listening to terrestrial radio. We have to find a way to make radio a new music discovery tool again. To do that we’ll need to adjust the model for how we add new music. Right now, most stations still wait to see what other stations add before committing to new adds or they wait until the labels pre-determined release date. Meanwhile die-hard fans of those artists have already had access to those songs online for weeks, months or years (in some cases.) With a little work there are now online tools that will help programmers definitively determine things we were guessing on in the past, how popular a song is right now. By following the old model, too often lately radio seems to be the last to know when a new artist pops and when an established artist’s popularity has faded. </p>
<p>From a promotions and marketing stand-point we need to be on every platform our listeners are on with custom content and tailored messages for each of those platforms. Furthermore, it would be wise to make more of a concerted effort to use our social sites to drive traffic to the platforms we control and monetize, our on-air signal, online stream, podcasts and websites. </p>
<p>The final step is getting our sales departments to embrace selling radio directly online. I know this is tricky because it will be viewed as cutting sales people out of deals, but its inevitable. I’m sure when hotels began selling their unsold rooms online the sales staffs responsible for selling block rooms were furious and pushed back on hotel management. But the hotels who backed down and stuck with the old models, soon found themselves under new ownership. </p>
<p>Fact is we live in a one click world. With every passing year we are less tolerant of jumping through multiple hoops to get something done. If we look at it from an outsider’s perspective, on most terrestrial radio stations, it is a multi-step, layered process to purchase an ad schedule. First you have to track down their info, which is often sparse or hard to find online, email or call a number, a sales manager assigns someone to contact you, they call and set up an appointment, come out to meet with you (Or zoom currently), go back to the office and assess your needs, then return with a radio advertising solution for you. This is an effective way to create and sell a large, potentially long-term, ad campaign to some advertisers, but it’s also a fairly involved process that will turn away a decent percentage of other ad buyers, especially younger ones. </p>
<p>I’m aware there will be pain points for selling radio online, but there are multiple ways to address them. For starters, we shouldn’t sell anything online that the local sales staff can’t also sell for the same price. Obviously, we would also start by setting aside a limited amount of inventory to dedicate to selling this way. Plus, it would be restricted to a few set, pre-built packages, but it’s important that we give the buyer enough options to make it work. Then if they want something more customizable the webpage will direct them to a sales rep to contact them and come up with a custom solution for them. </p>
<p>To make this all work, over time, we’ll need to change our structure in house to look more like an ad agency then a typical radio group. That’s essentially how we’re structuring the new, custom playlist FM formats we will launch in April. You can see the launch trailer here and get more info here. We’ll provide multi-platform programming content for our affiliates, offer the option of joining our revenue sharing program with a portion of their inventory and act as a creative agency to create tailored ads to attach to all of that content on each platform. Email me at andy@radiostaionconsultant.com or call to find out how it all works. </p>
<p>As always, comment below or email me with your thoughts. </p>
<p>Pic designed by mindandi for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65200342021-01-13T15:05:12-06:002021-01-13T15:14:26-06:00Creatives VS Critics By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/7dc87a8bb0bc068526a0f63e7c69ab134abc1b5c/original/versus-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Within any company it’s important to have a healthy balance of creatives and critics. However, since radio groups are responsible for creating and monetizing content on a daily basis, for us that balance is mission critical. That’s because a group with too many creatives will develop tons of ideas and execute very few. While a group with too many critics will struggle to come up with ideas and over-analyze the ones that they do come up with to the point of stagnation. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, people aren’t simply one or the other. Most have a little bit of both in them. But there are people who lean heavily one way or the other and those employees are typically very influential on the team members they work with. That can be good or bad depending on where their fellow employees fall on the creative/critic spectrum. </p>
<p>I’ll give you a real-world example we’ve all probably experienced first-hand. Let’s say you’ve scheduled a brain storming meeting in the conference room and invited ten staff members. If seven or more of those employees lean critic and three or less lean creative you’re likely to come out with very few actionable ideas. Because generally in that scenario the creatives will throw out several new ideas, the critics will shoot holes in them and you’ll come out with few, if any, actionable ideas. On the other hand, flipping those numbers around to seven or more creatives with three or less critics will just lead to a boatload of ideas that don’t get narrowed down enough to lead anywhere productive. If this scenario sounds eerily familiar to you, then you probably work for, or manage, a group that does the same things year after year and wonders why that’s the case. </p>
<p>As programmers, when we’re casting a team morning show we have key roles we’re trying to fill and the longer we program the better we get at matching on-air talent to those specific roles. When we’re successful at it we build a show that everyone can relate to. GMs looking to build a highly productive workforce would be wise to take a similar approach on a grander scale. Striving to put together a team with a healthy balance of idea machines kept in check by realists who bring them down to earth and help polish those ideas into something that will appeal to the masses. </p>
<p>Pic designed by starline for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65149342021-01-06T15:33:52-06:002021-01-07T10:07:57-06:00Stop Winging It By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/5ace16333be4ed800e0d23cea99be3d9d1a8913e/original/close-up-of-stop-sign-in-forest.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The ability to wing it on air is a rare and valuable skill that’s hard to teach, tough to learn and nearly impossible to master. But, it can also be the downfall of an otherwise promising on air talent. That’s because, the better we get at winging it, the more likely we are to lean too heavily on it. </p>
<p>The on-air skill of winging it is similar to being able to freestyle as a rapper or improv as a comedic actor. But, even though Eminem can freestyle, all of his hits were pre-written and just because Will Ferrell is great at improving lines doesn’t mean Step Brothers didn’t have a script. </p>
<p>On-air talent who crack the mic without knowing what they’re going to do are a liability and are often doing more harm than good. Granted ‘knowing what we’re going to do’ varies widely based on what works best for that on-air talent. Some can simply create an outline of a plan for the break in their head and execute it on the fly, or at most, need a couple bullet points. But, other air talent need important content and engagement breaks scripted entirely and there’s no shame in that. If scripting those kind of breaks works best for you don’t fight it, just learn to deliver it naturally so it doesn’t come across like you’re reading. At the end of the day all that matters is the end result, how it comes across on-air. </p>
<p>When I started Solo Show Prep I had a lot of debates with my radio pals about whether or not I should script it where it could be used verbatim. Many of them thought it was insulting to veteran air talent, but I disagreed. For one, I still hear plenty of experienced jocks who think they are better at winging it than they actually are. Secondly, the scripted prep is simply a suggestion to help structure a break. That way rookie air talent can use it verbatim if necessary, experienced talent can strategically reword it to fit their personality/market and pros can use it like suggestions coming from a partner, producer or program director and use it/reword it accordingly. Here are my <a contents="five keys to planning and executing a successful content break" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/5-keys-to-a-successful-content-break-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">five keys to planning and executing a successful content break</a>. </p>
<p>I firmly believe that 2021 will be the year of the content creator and on-air talent who consistently plan out and deliver compelling on-air content will be heavily rewarded. Conversely air talent who continue to phone it in and choose to wing it will be left even further behind. </p>
<p>Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by frimufilms for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65103832020-12-30T14:55:39-06:002020-12-30T15:05:44-06:00Power Through By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/f935b6916c38c022b626338bb6f8ca879d47e36e/original/person-mountain-top.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>With the pandemic lingering on and ad revenues down 20 to 60% depending on market/format/group, its an easy time to worry about the future of our industry. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the vaccine. But, its likely first quarter, which is always tough, will be historically slow for a lot of stations. Most advertisers will need to see somewhat of a return to normalcy before they begin opening up those checkbooks and that won’t happen until April or May when enough of the country has received the vaccine. </p>
<p>However, there are a few good reasons to power through and make it to the other side of this crisis. Covid has impacted everyone, print has been hit just as hard as radio, if not worse. On the digital side, a lot of the mom and pop shops that sell digital advertising on the local level have seen their revenue dry up as well, and many of them don’t have a lot of capital in the coffers to cover a dry spell. TV wasn’t impacted as heavily but they’ve been wading through a transition to digital for years anyway, that not unlike radio, only sped up during the pandemic. So, the thing to remember is at the end of this there will be far less people competing for ad dollars at the local level. The radio groups who are still standing will be well positioned to fight for that money when it returns. </p>
<p>Plus, an economic crisis always rewards companies that innovate and are forward-looking. It’s likely that the stations who go into survival mode, assessing what’s essential, providing a consistent listener experience on-air and adjusting their business model to fit listener’s changing habits, will gain a significant share of traditional dollars and those ever-increasing digital dollars. </p>
<p>I predict that in 2021 and beyond the groups who focus on creating compelling and engaging content, contests and advertising solutions that are tailored to each of their assets will emerge as the new leaders of our industry. </p>
<p>Pic designed by bedneyimages for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/65009642020-12-16T14:02:23-06:002021-04-21T12:09:23-05:00Radio Funny By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/2f6e37df50085a7a5fd3c36be550a27238b68335/original/multiracial-group-five-friends-having-coffee-together-javi-indy.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>My first radio mentor was my father and, to this day, he’s still the one I turn to the most for advice. But, I’ll never forget what he told me when I first starting trying to venture out and do bits on the radio. “You don’t have to be funny to be on air and son you’re not funny. Just rely on those pipes God gave you and you’ll be fine.” I completely understand where he was coming from. Dealing with someone who thinks they are funny that isn’t is awful, in life and obviously on the radio. Plus, you can certainly have a solid on-air career without comedy being your strong suit and jocks that think they are funnier than they actually are, don’t tend to get very far. </p>
<p>That being said, he was wrong, I was funny. But, I wasn’t radio funny yet. It’s one thing to be the guy in your group of friends that makes everyone laugh by doing something over the top or having the timing to correctly place an off the cuff remark. Being able to elicit that same reaction via the radio is an art form that takes a long time to master, especially when you’re doing that on a solo shift. </p>
<p>Growing up my default way of making people laugh was by saying something very odd and quirky. My first attempts to take this on-air were just as awkward as you’d expect. I remember doing a bit called “Five Thingies” where I’d come up with a list of things like “Five Things You Shouldn’t Say to a Cop” or “Five Ways to Tell A Girl You Like Her.” One of which, if memory serves was, ‘Draw her a picture of what you think she might look like naked.’ I can hear the crickets in your head as you read that. </p>
<p>My challenge then, and still today, is that I’m weird. In real life most people don’t like me when they first meet me because I crack the same kind of jokes around brand new people as I do around life-long buddies. I also despise saying things like “I’m kidding” or “I’m just joking around,” because I enjoy keeping a straight, stoic look on my face in those few awkward seconds after I say something outlandish while they try to determine whether or not I’m serious. </p>
<p>None of that naturally translates well to the radio. That’s because, just like how I probably should behave in the real world, you have to let the audience get to know you a little better before you get weird on them. Especially if you don’t have a partner to even it out. Not unlike a new romantic relationship, you have to ease into it, only letting your crazy out in small doses at first. </p>
<p>In my experience, the most universal way to be radio funny on a solo show is by doing single breaks that are similar to late night host monologue jokes. Give them a hook, explain the meat of the story in as few details as possible so they’re not bored or confused, then deliver the one liner joke (What we call an out.) Of course, in a new shift/market those jokes will need to be a little more bland/mass appeal until they’ve to warmed up to you. </p>
<p>Plus, like anyone who has to come up with daily content on a deadline will tell you, they aren’t all going to be winners. Even Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon are lucky if 70 to 80% of their monologue works and they all have a team of writers. Becoming comfortable with that 20 to 30% is critical to getting over the hump of consistently trying to do jokes on air. Lucky for us, you can’t hear people on the other end of the radio not laughing. I call it becoming comfortable with occasional mediocrity. It’s ok if they don’t all work. I’ll take a miss every now and then over a break with a hook and content that just kind of ends. </p>
<p>In markets across the country I still hear lots of air talent delivering decent hooks, followed by content that’s topical and then stammering while they hope something comes to them, or happens organically, to serve as the out. That typically leads to them just throwing out some cliché or platitude and firing the promo. Don’t get me wrong, outs don’t have to be funny, but there does have to be an out. That’s why its always a good idea to have one prepared ahead of time in case we need it. </p>
<p>What do you think, is there a difference between being funny and radio funny? Comment below or email me at <a contents="andy@radiostationconsultant.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://andy@radiostationconsultant.com" target="_blank">andy@radiostationconsultant.com</a>. </p>
<p>Pic designed by javi_indy for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64955132020-12-09T14:41:23-06:002020-12-09T14:41:23-06:00Personalize and Localize By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/8731a66a3b3b4f35620535317933aa95d178c158/original/global-position-system-navigation-direction.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The main reason a lot of on-air talent don’t regularly create content for their station’s websites and social feeds is because they simply don’t know where to start. Just like figuring out your voice and personality on air, figuring out your voice as a blogger or content creator is difficult. Similarly, it can be just as challenging to select online content as it is to choose the content we’re going to go on-air with each day. That’s part of the reason I’m a huge advocate of <a contents="incorporating digital into the show prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">incorporating digital into the show prep process</a>. </p>
<p>The easiest place to start is by simply <strong>personalizing and localizing other people’s content</strong>. For years we’ve all been doing this on air. We read, see or hear about a story, change the headline into an on-air hook, craft a compelling on-air tease to that hook, localize and reword the meat of the story to make it relevant to our listener, inject our personality where appropriate throughout and end with a nice hook that’s either funny or simply brings it to a close. </p>
<p>That same exact approach works well online with a few tweaks. If you’re a writer those tweaks could be expanding on the story to add even more color and depth. If writing isn’t your strong suit you could instead include on-air audio and listener audio, you did and didn’t use on air, along with a web poll and solicitation of comments for additional engagement. Either way, remember to include a credit and link to the original article as well as related videos, social posts and pics. </p>
<p>Another hold up some on-air talent have that keeps them from posting blogs or articles is not knowing what pic to use as a feature image. Sometimes that’s because they don’t know what size it needs to be on their site, or how to crop the photo, and what program to use to do so. In house our graphic designer uses <a contents="Photoshop" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAiML-BRAAEiwAuWVggnUYC7NpADH1fk5w9mBFD4iGs7R8L_EklNtF4McU6HmZHfzfk19Y7RoCbN0QAvD_BwE&sdid=KKQIN&mv=search&kw=photoshop&ef_id=CjwKCAiAiML-BRAAEiwAuWVggnUYC7NpADH1fk5w9mBFD4iGs7R8L_EklNtF4McU6HmZHfzfk19Y7RoCbN0QAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!473182594790!e!!g!!photoshop" target="_blank">Photoshop</a>, but I all also use <a contents="Bannersnack.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bannersnack.com/" target="_blank">Bannersnack.com</a> to create a lot of our feature images. Plus, sometimes I utilize <a contents="remove.bg" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.remove.bg/" target="_blank">remove.bg</a> to quickly take out a background. You can also simply use Paint to crop the pic by imputing the exact size you need, locking the aspect ratio and dragging it until it looks right. </p>
<p>In addition, I’ve often heard air personalities express fear over using a licensed pic and getting the station sued. A good rule of thumb with artists and other celebrities is to stick to press photos put out by their label/management and always stay away from celebrity wedding or baby photos because there’s a 100% chance somebody paid big money for the exclusive rights to those photos. We regularly use <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>, <a contents="shutterstock" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/discover/stock-image-0120?kw=shutterstock&c3apidt=p11277540745&ds_rl=1243391&gclid=CjwKCAiAiML-BRAAEiwAuWVgghnXgf6L3gP6_kgQvWsCsUVKgs6tTya-7sguCbo_7zFb6ZAQLPXsJRoCuYgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">shutterstock</a>, and <a contents="pexels" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.pexels.com/" target="_blank">pexels</a> to get royalty free and affordable stock photos, but there are a multitude of other great sites.</p>
<p>Here are a few reasons <a contents="why its important that on-air talent blog" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/the-importance-of-blogging-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">why its important that on-air talent blog</a> as well as a few blogging idea starters.</p>
<p>Pic designed by rawpixel for <a contents="www.freepik.com." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com.</a></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64904462020-12-02T18:57:04-06:002023-12-10T11:10:28-06:00When Will Digital Takeover? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3bc60666d7ee41e2ecd7ee80e62a5919cfcdb5f6/original/digital.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>A worldwide crisis has a way of acting as an accelerate for change that was eventually going to happen anyway and I believe we’re seeing that within our industry right now. The pandemic has poured fuel on a fire, bringing into light a massive shift in our listener’s lifestyle habits that had only previously been visible to people looking deeply into the shadows. With the pandemic that shift was clear and obvious because it was so widespread. People woke up later, didn’t commute as often, or as regularly, and their overall rituals and patterns were turned upside down. However, for years now people had already been shopping differently, interacting with people differently and consuming media differently than they had been with each passing year. </p>
<p>Those changing habits are the main reason why few young people aspire to the careers many of us did in our youth, like becoming a tv anchor, radio personality or an award-winning investigative newspaper journalist that cracks the big story. Now the young are more likely to aspire to becoming a YouTube star, TikTok dancer, Instagram influencer or gamer on Twitch. I’m in no way knocking those aspirations, in some ways their noble in the sense that they require you to build your following and fame on your own without the help of established companies and industries with clear paths for rising through the ranks. </p>
<p>Exactly how all of these changes affect us is hard to pinpoint but its become clearer recently. There will come a time in the not so distant future where our terrestrial signals are mainly there to promote our digital assets. Outsiders looking into our industry would tell us that time has already come. If that seems absurd to you its probably because your still having success using the same model you’ve used for years and still showing incremental success over prior years. I would argue that some of that is probably made possible by what I call hidden digital dollars but mainly its because the shift hasn’t yet happened completely. </p>
<p>For years now, first as a colleague and now as a consultant, I’ve been talking to radio people about the importance of creating clickable, shareable digital content. Some of the arguments I was met with a decade ago still persist today, although with much less vigor and angst. Why would I spend an hour writing a blog that nobody is going to see, spend time posting on social media or creating a podcast in a crowded marketplace that doesn’t make any money? Wouldn’t that time be better spent working on my show that has a massive audience and generates a lot of revenue already? But all of that terrestrial value only exists because you, your coworkers and the institution you worked for created that value. Besides, properly using a station’s digital assets only improves a radio show. Its hard to think of a better way to fine tune a stations content than by adjusting it to fit other platforms and getting real-time tangible feedback on it. </p>
<p>About a decade ago if you were in charge of building and managing websites you were seeing the monthly stats clearly indicating a shift toward mobile and tablets and away from laptops and desktops. Because of that we all started to design our websites to look and function best on a mobile and tablet first while still remaining aesthetically pleasing and functional on a laptop and desktop. I’m simply trying to make the case that we take that same approach to radio. Asking ourselves, what would our station sound like if we programmed it for digital first, but in a way that still worked on terrestrial? How long would our stopsets, our talk-breaks and imaging pieces be? How would we shift our music programming to ensure that we’re still a new music discovery device? What would our promotions look like? How would we incorporate our sponsors into this new model? </p>
<p>We can’t judge our future success on our past failures. If you’ve tried to devote man hours and budgeted dollars to digital only to see minimal results for either, don’t let that discourage you from doing either going forward. People’s habits are changing, now more drastically then ever, but the question is are our habits changing? We can’t cram an old media and model into new platforms and expect it flourish. </p>
<p>I was incredibly inspired by some of the innovations I saw from radio people during the pandemic. The rush to build home studios so we could still provide a friendly voice to the people of our communities, embracing new technology like Zoom to still do contests and benchmarks and coming up with inventive ways to support our local businesses and charitable organizations. Now let’s turn that innovation toward reinventing our industry in a way that will work now and going forward for the next hundred years. </p>
<p>What do you think? Comment below or email me with your thoughts at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by starlite for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64807322020-11-18T16:13:00-06:002022-01-24T21:58:05-06:00Podcast Ideas For Broadcasters By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/a56a5ca368bb3faa312a77896f1e6287dd0906c4/original/flat-lay-podcast-items-arrangement.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Nobody is better suited to podcast than a trained radio pro, yet many talented on-air personalities are still reluctant to start podcasting. I understand why some assumed it was a passing fad when it began, but now there is mounting evidence that podcasting is here to stay. A solid <a contents="55% of the US Population" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://musicoomph.com/podcast-statistics/" target="_blank">55% of the US Population</a>, 155 million people, have listened to a podcast and 37%, 104 million, listen to a podcast at least once a month. Plus, there is money to be made. The average podcast now has 3.2 ads per episode and podcast ad spending has been steadily increasing each quarter for the past few years. </p>
<p>Beyond that, it’s a great creative outlet and an opportunity for on-air personalities, and stations, to expand their brands. It can also improve programming by tightening up the on-air product and getting content that is too lengthy for terrestrial radio off the airwaves. </p>
<p>While they can be slow to build at first, once they take off podcasts are one of the most valuable digital assets radio stations can create. That’s because their long-form style means more opportunities for potentially viral moments. It’s hard to get much more than stock answers during terrestrial interviews with how tight we have to keep them on the radio. But, during longer, relaxed podcast interviews people tend to open up and give more authentic, personal and potentially buzz worthy answers. </p>
<p>Want to know more about why broadcasters should podcast? Pick up my “From Broadcast to Podcast” ebook for just $3.48, %50 off, through the end of November <a contents="at this link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://books2read.com/u/bP9P5d" target="_blank">at this link</a>. </p>
<p>In the meantime, here are a few podcast ideas for broadcasters: </p>
<p><strong>Turn Your Best On-Air Feature of Benchmark into a Podcast:</strong> Take one of your most popular on-air features or benchmarks and do them long-form first as a podcast. Use one of the <a contents="five podcast hosting sites" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/best-podcast-hosting-sites-for-broadcasters-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">five podcast hosting sites</a> I recommend for broadcasters to post your podcast on every available platform. Then edit out the best parts for on-air so during the on-air break you can drive traffic to the podcast and use the podcast, and associated web/on-air/social promos to drive traffic back to on-air. </p>
<p><strong>Phone Topic or Video Submission Topic Podcast:</strong> A personality that’s regularly creating phone topics on air that get a lot of engagement, should consider creating a phone topic-based podcast. The podcast could use even more calls that didn’t make it on-air or the unedited versions of the calls that did air. Another variation is to turn the on-air phone topics into video submission topics then use the audio from that for the podcast, a snippet of the audio on the air and a portion of the videos in a video promo to use on social and the web. </p>
<p><strong>Content Segment Podcasts:</strong> On-air personalities with a talent for creating good on-air content breaks could easily turn segments they are knowledgeable about, interested or have a passion for, into a podcast. Using the podcast to do a deep dive into that content and bringing on related guests or using relevant audio drops to make it even more compelling. </p>
<p><strong>Celebrity Interview Podcasts:</strong> If interviewing is your forte that easily translates to podcasting and broadcasters typically have the advantage of using their contact list to get artists, athletes, comics, celebrities, local celebrities or newsmakers to join them for an episode. </p>
<p><strong>Expansion on a Blog/Article:</strong> Many of the top downloaded podcasts are from journalists that are essentially doing an extended audio version of an article that includes drops and actuality audio. There’s no reason a radio personality couldn’t host a similar style podcast acting as the narrator that leads listeners through the story. </p>
<p><strong>Expansion on a Contest:</strong> A radio pro with an aptitude for doing engaging on-air contests might consider doing one of those contests as a long-form game show either as a video, a podcast, or both. Then they could use a portion of that audio on-air as well. </p>
<p>Let me know what you think of these podcasting ideas or podcasting in general in the comments below or by emailing me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Free pick designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64750952020-11-11T12:49:02-06:002023-12-10T10:51:20-06:00Should Music Stations Avoid Politics? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/d99d056c7e4bbe0c00e8d4967cbe5e9b4828b6d3/original/politics-3.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>My entire career in radio I’ve been told to stay away from politics on any music format radio station and for the most part I’ve agreed with that, adhered to it and preached that same philosophy to most of the air talent I’ve managed. Makes sense, we’ve all been told that politics is one of the two subjects we should avoid in our everyday conversations with friends, family and strangers. So, shouldn’t the same apply to on air? Wouldn’t it be smart to avoid alienating the percentage of the station’s audience who don't agree with you politically? </p>
<p>On the other hand though, I’ve never been comfortable with blanket statements. The truth is the decision on whether to avoid politics completely is a lot more nuanced and complicated to determine. The true answer to the question, should you talk politics on a music station is, it depends. If you’re on a team show, what’s your role on the show? If you’re on a solo show and still do bits, can you pull them off in a way that’s funny but still lighthearted and non-partisan enough that neither side is that offended? How does your core audience lean politically and how open are they to opposing viewpoints? </p>
<p>Over the past few years tensions have run so high that some music stations have avoided talking about major news events simply out of fear that even mentioning them could be construed as being biased or partisan. I understand their concern but that’s going a bit far and taking a whole lot of potential content topics off the table entirely. The way I handle it in the daily prep I prepare is to try and keep the meat of the content middle of the road and then give a few out options, one that leans left and one that leans right so the local air personality can decide which one fits their audience. Or I try and come up with something that pokes fun at the situation instead of the players involved. I’m not sure exactly how well that’s working but I know I haven’t had anyone cancel yet because they felt I leaned too far one way or the other. </p>
<p>Trump presented an interesting challenge for radio stations, especially in deeply red states, because he doesn’t just have voters he has fans. Typically you could poke fun of virtually anyone in power, or most celebrities, as long as it wasn’t too mean spirited. But, Trump supporters take slights against him very personally. I'm assuming that's because they feel like they are getting bombarded with them from everywhere, especially the late night TV shows. So, a good general rule on country stations, or virtually any format in a red state that doesn’t lean young, is to steer clear of the Trump jokes. But, it will be interesting to see how the political climate changes on both sides of the aisle in a post-Trump America. </p>
<p>Obviously, the final decision will need to be made by each station’s management team and the air talent will have to follow whatever directive they give. I’m simply urging those managers to think hard about exactly where to draw that line so you can protect your brand while still allowing air talent to have some creative freedom. Comment below with your thoughts or email them to me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64701702020-11-04T14:01:54-06:002020-11-04T14:17:14-06:00Is Noon the New 7am? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/b87721effc9540c1d238ffb9e66bc36fb3fce3ad/original/raining-money-noon.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Even prior to the pandemic we were seeing a trend toward increased listening in middays across most markets. But after Covid uprooted all of our lives and drastically altered our daily routines, that shift became much more pronounced. That’s why its not shocking to see that according to Nielsen noon to 1pm is now the most listened to hour of the day on terrestrial radio across the PPM markets. I suspect that’s because the daily work commute was the most effected part of our routines and, regardless of where we’re working, a large percentage of us still venture out during the lunch hour. The 7am hour has been hit especially hard as virtually everyone wakes up later when they don’t have to make that daily morning commute. </p>
<p>With just under forty percent of American workers still working from home, and the recent surge in covid cases, the heavier noon listening isn’t likely to change anytime soon. While listening trends are starting to shift back to normal, where it finally lands will essentially be our new normal as <a contents="studies suggest" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://advisory.kpmg.us/content/dam/advisory/en/pdfs/2020/automotives-new-reality.pdf" target="_blank">studies suggest</a> around ten percent of workers will continue working from home permanently. A transformation so drastic that it’s actually created a new trend called ‘Zoom Towns’ where people are choosing to live two or three hours away from the metropolitan areas and work remotely while driving in once a month or so for meetings. </p>
<p>It’s impossible to predict exactly how this will all shake out in the end, but a few things are clear. </p>
<p>1) We have to find a way to <a contents="drive more in-home listening" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/3-ways-to-drive-in-home-listening-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">drive more in-home listening</a>.</p>
<p>2) Every station should be doing something in the noon hour that sets a listening appointment and is promoted heavily. </p>
<p>3) Radio listening habits will never be exactly how they were before. </p>
<p>4) It might be time to re-assess the allocation of our programming resources. </p>
<p>If you need help determining how these changes effect your stations within your local market, reach out to us for a free assessment, followed by a strategic plan to grow your ratings, digital stats and revenue. Email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by creativart for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64651202020-10-28T13:53:24-05:002020-11-13T00:31:00-06:00Manning The Station Website By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/9f55295ff9f827030c7e5381e8e9211ae5c226b7/original/close-up-male-hands-using-laptop-home.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>A website is still a radio station’s most monetizable digital asset. Beyond that it’s a great branding and marketing tool to introduce new listeners to our stations and educate them on what we do. But, for a station’s website to work effectively it has to be a priority and it should be manned and updated seven days a week. By that I mean someone should be in-house or on call to post breaking content as many hours per week as is reasonably possible. </p>
<p>That responsibility shouldn’t fall on one ‘web person’ either, it has to be a team effort with all of the programming and even some non-programming staff getting involved. That way anytime a story breaks within our formats someone on staff can write a paragraph to personalize and localize it, grab a pic and post it on the station website so the content shared to social originates from us as opposed to someone else. </p>
<p>The easiest way to schedule having someone manning our station websites seven days a week is to start with making each on-air personality responsible for doing so during their shift. That should apply regardless of whether they are live or tracked. Or, if its more manageable, it could be something the air talent does for a set time after they get off the air. Then we can fill in the gaps with other employees, paid part-timers or even a few trusted freelancers. </p>
<p>It may sound like a lot of work but there’s also a lot of upside. When used properly as a digital hub to stream the station, get fresh daily content and stay up to date on the stations air talent, a website is an incredibly powerful tool for driving cume by reaching new listeners. But none of that works if there isn’t regularly updated, clickable, shareable content being posted to, and shared from, that website. </p>
<p>Make it a goal to man your website seven days a week starting in 2021 and stop sending your listeners to other outlets with your social shares. </p>
<p>Pic designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64604902020-10-21T12:40:39-05:002021-12-31T09:07:03-06:00It All Starts On-Air By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0b3200c1287d832afb277fee985fef640ef695be/original/car-radio.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>If a station isn’t creating digital content it’s often an indicator that their on-air product is lacking. When an air-talent are just reading station liners and the weather there’s nothing to work with on the digital platforms. I talk a lot about multi-platform content, creating something on-air that can be tweaked or extended to work on the website, social media, as a podcast or an on-site element. However, that all breaks down if we’re not creating engaging and compelling on-air content to begin with. That’s because, if we don’t know what to talk about on-air then we’re certainly not going to know what to talk about online and on our social pages. </p>
<p>Here are six simple steps to create on-air content that translates well to digital. </p>
<p>1) Know Your Audience: Regularly creating compelling and engaging on-air content starts with truly knowing and understanding our station’s audience. Not just the demographics, but also the psychographics, what they’re interests are, how they lean politically and religiously. All of that informs the content we choose and how we deliver it on air and online. </p>
<p>2) Prioritize Show Prep: A minimum of thirty minutes of prep for every hour the air talent is on the air, regardless of whether the shift is live or tracked, the daypart or the market size. In business the old saying is ‘Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.’ Well on air one of the quickest ways to move up the ranks is to prep for your current shift like it’s the shift you ultimately want, IE prep for a night shift like it’s a drive-time shift or a small market morning show like it’s a big market morning show. </p>
<p>3) Incorporate Digital Into the Prep Process: We have a free downloadable <a contents="weekly and daily show planner" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/downloads" target="_blank">weekly and daily show planner</a> meant to help on air personalities decide which digital platforms to use for individual segments and features while the content is being developed. The idea is to game-plan which platforms we’re going to use to pre-promote, promote during the show, or post promote our content after the show. </p>
<p>4) Add Content Segments: Outside of mornings many air-shifts have gotten away from doing any real content breaks, especially during the pandemic. But even just planning out one content break per hour would give each air talent multiple potential blogs to extend with a couple sentences and copy/paste to the website CMS. </p>
<p>5) Increase Listener Engagement: Creating daily contests, features and benchmarks to get the listeners interacting with us will open the door to several creative ways to turn those segments into digital content. Here are a <a contents="few examples of digital content" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfbgy11d96ajxgt/AAA-MX_hjXCFSMElEvCuOXbDa?dl=0" style="" target="_blank">few examples of digital content</a> used to pre-promote and recycle features and contests. </p>
<p>6) Tease Often: If it’s worth airing then it’s worth teasing. Every content segment, phone topic, feature and benchmark should be teased in the prior break. Plus, some of that same teaser verbiage will likely work on social media or the web to tease that same segment digitally. Here are some social teaser examples. </p>
<p>Want some feedback on your station’s on-air content or digital content? Email me some audio and examples at andy@radiostationconsultant.com and I’ll give you my feedback.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64555602020-10-14T14:10:20-05:002020-10-14T14:10:20-05:003 Ways to Drive In-Home Listening By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ea1a4fb7bb976531d83cc70ba11d729f01fdedd1/original/stay-at-home-8photo.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Currently about 40% of American workers are working from home due to the ongoing pandemic. <a contents="Recently several companies" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/technology/offices-reopening-delay-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">Recently several companies</a> including Google, Target, Microsoft, Ford and the New York Times have extended working from home through the summer of 2021. Across the country smaller companies have followed suit allowing many of their employees to do the same. </p>
<p>With listeners spending less time in their cars now and going forward, here are a few ways we can drive in-home radio listening. </p>
<p>1) Contests, features and virtual events targeting in-home workers. Just as we’ve often tailored midday contesting and features toward in office workers, now would be a good time to create some contests directly targeting people working from home. That could be an on-air, online and social game with a food delivery prize. Or we could steal a page from companies that are offering <a contents="creative new perks" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/success/fun-employer-pandemic-perks/index.html" target="_blank">creative new perks</a> for their work at home employees including virtual wine tastings, craft project contests and picnic boxes. Additionally, stations could offer exclusive artist zoom concerts for a group of lucky at home listeners. </p>
<p>2) Direct mail and digital ad campaigns aimed at in-home workers. A good way to promote those contests, features and virtual events would be by reviving a direct mail campaign or using a targeted digital campaign that markets them as well as in-home listening in general. </p>
<p>3) Become their connection. The biggest thing that at home workers miss out on is the comradery and sense of community that comes from being surrounded by coworkers every day. This creates an opportunity for local radio stations to step in as a surrogate by getting the on-air talent to engage more with listeners on-air and online, letting listeners behind the curtain a little. Plus, we could build on something we should’ve been doing all along by creating a connection for those at home workers to the community through more local news and info. </p>
<p>It’s hard to say exactly how many of the current forty percent of American workers that are working from home will continue doing so going forward, some studies estimate ten percent or more. But, its safe to assume that through the majority of 2021 that number is likely to be remain pretty high and, regardless of the timeline, we would be wise to use this time to create relationships with those workers instead of waiting around for the day that they get back into their cars.</p>
<p>Pic designed by 8Photo for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64511322020-10-07T15:19:51-05:002022-07-21T06:00:34-05:00Keep It Positive On-Air By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0fc916d16f14c7b99702c3fac97e8d9870d4c790/original/positive-apples-smiling.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As the pandemic looms, and sadly surges in some states, it continues to impact every aspect of our lives. Since Covid-19 hit the <a contents="US depression rates" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/depression-triples-us-adults-amid-covid-19-stressors" target="_blank">US depression rates</a> are three times higher than normal, illegal <a contents="drug use is up 36%" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/alcohol-and-drug-use-on-the-rise-during-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank">drug use is up 36%</a>, <a contents="alcohol sales have risen 32%" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/alcohol-covid/" target="_blank">alcohol sales have risen 32%</a> and there are <a contents="34% more divorce filings" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wate.com/news/coronavirus-divorce-rates-climb-during-pandemic-study-says/" target="_blank">34% more divorce filings</a> compared to the same time last year. Plus, while <a contents="job numbers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.axios.com/us-jobs-report-what-you-need-to-know-e55a853f-675f-430a-8e7a-ab38f30c989a.html" target="_blank">job numbers</a> are beginning to bounce back there are still 32 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits. On top of the pandemic we’re also dealing with record wildfire and hurricane seasons and the Dallas Cowboys are a dumpster-fire, something that probably effects disgruntled Cowboys superfans like myself more than others but I thought it was worth mentioning. </p>
<p>That’s why it’s more important than ever for us to keep it positive on-air and create good vibes whenever we can. Here are a few ideas on ways to stay positive on-air. </p>
<p>What’s Got You Smiling phone topic segment or feature. The on-air talent starts off the break by mentioning something good that happened to them recently and throwing it to the phones with the simple question, ‘What’s got you smiling today?’ The segment could also be called ‘One good thing,’ similar to the dining table game that many families play where they go around the table saying one good thing that happened to them that day. </p>
<p>Brag A Little phone topic segment or feature. Another variation would be to have the air talent talk about something they are proud of and then solicit listeners to call in and tell them something great about their spouse, their job, their city, their neighborhood, etc. </p>
<p>Pay It Forward contest. Without warning or pre-promotion do something nice for a handful of loyal listeners and encourage them to pay it forward, keeping track of their progress and other listeners who take the initiative completely on their own on-air/web/social, sharing examples of kind deeds throughout, then rewarding one listener with a grand prize at the end of the contest. </p>
<p>Highlighting bright spots whenever and wherever we can is another general thing we can all do to lift listener spirits. That could include shout outs to health-care workers and first responders, uplifting stories from artists, and forward focusing features and contests. </p>
<p>Outside of the on-air talent we should also lean more positive with our station imaging. New rounds of imaging should focus on touting our strengths more with less shots at our competitor’s weaknesses for now and steering away from anything that disparages commercials in a time where every ad dollar is mission critical. Don’t get me wrong I’m not advocating nixing all of the funny, self-deprecating, or light-hearted on-air and imaging shots at the state of our country or current events. Quite the opposite, I think there’s certainly a place for comedy right now as long as it’s tasteful, done strategically to fit the format/demo and, most importantly, actually funny. Musically it also couldn’t hurt to be especially mindful of tempos and mood for the time being. </p>
<p>I’ve always been a proponent of staying positive during drive time because the last thing somebody wants to hear on their way to and from a job they don’t like is someone complaining about what they perceive as a dream job. Negativity can be especially harmful in formats where the music tends to be more positive and upbeat. But, in our current climate, keeping it more positive across the board would be a smart programming strategy in all formats. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64462322020-09-30T13:09:00-05:002020-09-30T13:09:00-05:00What Are You Listening For In An Aircheck Demo? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/bb9deda4e51532f9968380527a8188b2060a0cf0/original/headphones-white.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When I hired and managed air talent there were a few key things I listened for when going through aircheck demos to fill open positions. They varied slightly of course depending on the daypart we were trying to fill. But, as I combed through the multitude of submissions, these were the top nine things I listened for. </p>
<p>Voice and delivery? Although not as important as they use to be with the focus now being on personality driven radio, the voice and delivery of the on-air talent is still the first thing that jumps out at you when you listen to a demo. It’s not the end of the world if either aren’t great, but it’s certainly a big check in the plus column if both are solid. </p>
<p>Does their personality come through and does it match our market/demo? Live and local terrestrial radio is personality driven. So, the demos that move to the top of the pile will clearly showcase an air talent’s personality that we assume will be a good fit for our audience. For talent coming from a market or format that are screwed down really tight it’s certainly more challenging to inject personality, but it is possible, and we want to hear it in the demo. </p>
<p>Do they choose relatable content? The content a personality decides to include on their aircheck demo tells a lot about how they select content for their shows. If there’s no true content breaks in the demo, then we’re going to assume that there’s no content in their shows. But, we’re also listening for whether the content chosen fits the demo for the station they were on. I would never knock someone because it didn’t fit our station perfectly as long as they’re showing that they can hit the strike zone for their current/former stations. </p>
<p>Can they tease that content? Teasing is one of the most important elements of an airshift yet it’s often neglected, and even more often, left out of an aircheck demo. But, it’s importance can’t be overstated. The number one thing any air talent can do to improve a station’s ratings is to increase their TSL through effective teases. </p>
<p>Do they set the hook? Anyone with a decent prep service can probably figure out how to choose relevant content, but learning how to set the hook is an acquired skill that sets the pros apart from beginners. Hooks are the short, turn up the radio moment that should kick off any content break. </p>
<p>Do they engage listeners? With more stations filling shifts with syndicated and voice-tracked talent, unable to engage with local listeners, it’s critical that on-air personalities being hired to fill a live shift know how to work the phones. That talent requires an air personality that chooses content that gets them to call and knows how to lead them into giving them usable audio when they do. </p>
<p>Do they take the out? Whether it’s theirs, their co-host’s in a multi-person show, or the caller’s, all air talent will miss the out occasionally, but hopefully the break segments included in the aircheck demo showcase times when the out was correctly identified. </p>
<p>Can they cover other roles too? It’s not a necessity but it’s always a bonus if the aircheck shows that the talent could cover multiple roles, host, co-host, instigator or solo talent.</p>
<p>HOST ROLE ONLY Do they have chemistry with and know how to utilize a co-host? It’s hard to know whether or not a new on-air team will have chemistry. But, if an aircheck demo shows a lack of chemistry with former coworkers we’re probably going to assume chemistry with other talent is an issue. We’re also listening for smooth handoffs between talent and hosts who know how to leave some space for their co-hosts and utilize them well. </p>
<p>Obviously it’s hard to do all of that in two to two and a half minutes, which is about what I recommend for the initial aircheck demo submitted for open positions. But, the goal should be to check off as many of those boxes as possible in the main demo and then have supplemental audio in your back pocket to send during follow ups that check the rest of the boxes. </p>
<p>Those are the main things I, and the other consultants and hiring managers I’ve worked with over the years, listen for. But, if you’re a manager who hires on-air talent what do you think? Comment below, or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com, to let me know what you’re listening for when going through aircheck demos so I can pass that info along to air talent looking to improve. </p>
<p>Pic designed by lifeforstock for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64412462020-09-23T15:52:33-05:002020-09-24T08:13:46-05:00Radio Is Changing, Not Dying By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/2c45df9a4cd0c0009de61693573b68c5ba2608f0/original/domino.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Despite what many outside of the industry might tell you, terrestrial radio isn’t dying, but it is changing. The problem is, not everybody has gotten the message. For years that change has been slow and gradual, but the pandemic has certainly sped it up over the past few months. </p>
<p>There are two ways to respond to any tragedy, or drastic change in life as we know it. We can make excuses, ignore the signs and stubbornly plow forward doing things the same way we’ve done them year after year. Or we can stay calm, assess the situation, and adjust our game-plan. </p>
<p>Even prior to the pandemic terrestrial ad spending had been flat, or declining, in a lot of markets and the only reason radio revenues were still projected to grow annually is thanks to the increase in digital ad spending. I believe this shift toward digital dollars will be even more drastic post-pandemic as companies that are strapped for cash scrutinize every ad dollar and lean toward advertising solutions that are easily trackable. </p>
<p>Many groups have seen the writing on the wall for some time now. Hence why they have shifted their corporate structure, created new digital positions and began expecting on-air talent to create content across platforms including web blogs and podcasts. This approach not only improves digital content creation, and therefore digital sales, it can also drastically improve terrestrial content creation, ratings and revenue through consistent cross-promotion. However, many of those same groups are carrying assets that are worth a lot less than they were a few years ago, forcing them to run lean and struggle to fill shifts with live and local talent. That's one of the reasons why <a contents="self-sufficient employees" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/self-sufficient-employees-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">self-sufficient employees</a> and <a contents="lead by example managers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/lead-by-example-managers-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">lead by example managers</a> are more valuable then ever.</p>
<p>As an industry radio isn’t going anywhere, but we do have some challenges ahead. We have to address how we’re going to appeal to younger audiences, instead of just writing off an entire generation of potential radio listeners, as well as the changing listening habits of listeners from all age groups. Plus, we have to stay attuned to listener’s <a contents="changing commuting habits" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/programming-for-commuters-changing-habits-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">changing commuting habits</a> during and after the pandemic as more companies choose to let their employees continue to work from home. But, instead of stressing over these hard to answer questions, we should look at them as creative challenges and an opportunity to out-maneuver our competitors within, and outside, the industry.</p>
<p>Pic designed by mindandi for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64352902020-09-16T15:03:08-05:002022-01-24T21:56:37-06:00Why Air Talent Should Blog By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/b42d86716bf42fd2e7d12d7369bde4daeca3b081/original/writer.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Blogging is one of the most effective ways to organically increase the traffic to a station’s website. That’s because blogging drastically improves SEO, search engine optimization. Websites with regularly updated blogs have 434% more indexed pages. Indexed pages are the pages that a search engine has visited, analyzed and added to its database of pages. Plus, companies that blog get 97% more links to their websites and more than three quarters of internet users regularly read blogs. </p>
<p>However, over the years when I’ve talked to air talent about blogging on a station website the pushback I typically get is, “I’m not a writer.” Which I certainly understand. I’ve always been a big believer in not forcing people to do something that doesn’t fit their talent and skillsets, but we’re not looking for Pulitzer prize winning journalism. All we’re really asking the on-air talent to do is add a few sentences to a content break, feature, contest or phone topic they’re already doing on air. Along with periodically taking someone else’s content and adding a paragraph to localize and personalize it, with a link to the original story, so we can share the content from our site instead of someone else’s when they talk about it on-air. </p>
<p>Above and beyond that, here are a few blog ideas for air talent: </p>
<p><strong>Commentary on any pop-culture, news ,or local topic relevant to listeners </strong></p>
<p><strong>Any breaking news related to artists within the format </strong></p>
<p><strong>Album Reviews, Artists You Should Know, New Station Music on Vinyl </strong></p>
<p><strong>Best in Town (Ranking the top margaritas, burgers, tacos, etc) </strong></p>
<p><strong>New in Town (Sales feature focused on a new business) </strong></p>
<p><strong>Weekly update of a regular station promotion or event </strong></p>
<p><strong>Anything Holiday or Seasonal or Silly Daily Holiday Related </strong></p>
<p>It’s also important to keep in mind that there are over thirty million bloggers in the US. So, in a pinch there are scores of freelance writers available for hire at unreasonably low prices through sites like <a contents="www.freelancer.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freelancer.com/" style="" target="_blank">www.freelancer.com</a> and <a contents="www.fiverr.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.fiverr.com/" target="_blank">www.fiverr.com</a>.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64291372020-09-09T13:31:02-05:002022-01-24T21:55:04-06:00A Winner's Mentality By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/dbdf752689d7afd6c02bf108c3a96f3234f49cf1/original/shutterstock-165529670.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As radio stations transition to multi-platform content creators we face more competition than ever. At one time our only concern was outworking, outsmarting and out-performing our fellow radio stations across town. But, for years now Pandora, Spotify and Satellite Radio have been trying to chip away at our local market shares. Plus, starting next week we’ll begin competing with a tech giant as <a contents="Apple announces their plans" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/08/apple-announces-apple-music-radio/" target="_blank">Apple announces their plans</a> to launch two new live global music radio offerings. </p>
<p>On top of all that, we now have to train our on-air content creators to teach them how to fight for clicks, fans, likes and shares. That’s why it’s more important than ever that we adopt a winner’s mentality and apply it to how we prepare, execute and work to get better every single day. </p>
<p>What does that mean? Winners don’t make excuses, they don’t fear change (they embrace it) and, most of all, they never shy away from competition.</p>
<p>Here are a few quotes from some of the greatest winners of all-time. </p>
<p>Vince Lombardi <em>“Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” </em></p>
<p>Kobe Bryant <em>“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” </em></p>
<p>Tiger Woods <em>“Winning solves everything.” </em></p>
<p>Joe Torre <em>“Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It’s about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people, and heart. Winning is the result.” </em></p>
<p>Mia Hamm <em>“The person that said winning isn’t everything, never won anything.” </em></p>
<p>Roger Staubach <em>“Winning isn’t getting ahead of others. It’s getting ahead of yourself.” </em></p>
<p>Babe Ruth <em>“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” </em></p>
<p>In the end, it doesn’t matter how many others try to dip their toe into our industry. As long as we’re constantly working to improve our craft and put a product on the air that caters to our local markets, we’ll be just fine.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64232032020-09-02T15:23:37-05:002020-09-03T13:20:56-05:00Growing Cume, TSL & AQH Between Songs By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/991f58f262ce44d24e8fb7c1a9030eb73698078e/original/grow.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There are only so many songs you can play within any given format if you want to win the ratings game. That’s why the old adage, <em>‘Its what you do between the records that makes the difference’</em>, still holds true. With that in mind, here are the key non-music areas to focus on to raise cume, TSL and AQH. </p>
<p><strong>Value every second we air:</strong> Nobody responsible for creating any audio that runs on air should ever fill time. Whether that’s making a promo that could be fifteen to thirty seconds a sixty, including excessive and unnecessary details in a talk break or doing multi-question live on air interviews with artists, local celebrities or sponsors. Across the board we should all be strategic with our words. </p>
<p><strong>Prioritize show prep:</strong> Whether an on-air personality is live or voice-tracked should play no role in how much they prepare for that show. Every on-air talent should do a minimum of thirty minutes of show prep for every hour they are on the air. Some of which, of course, can be done the day prior. How each personality preps is unique to them and improves with experience, but typically the talent that preps the best comes out on top. </p>
<p><strong>Regular content segments: </strong>Regardless of their airshift, all on-air talent should be doing a minimum of one content segment an hour. Outside of mornings a lot of air talent have gotten away from doing regular content breaks because they have been coached to stay tight and bright and feel like they can’t deliver a content break within those restrictions. That’s simply not the case. A single-thought content break can easily be executed in twenty to thirty seconds once all the facts/details that don’t matter to the listener have been trimmed out. </p>
<p><strong>Increase listener engagement:</strong> If a station’s phones aren’t ringing, it’s because their listeners have been trained not to call. Injecting a healthy does of daily on-air <strong>contests, features, benchmarks</strong> and phone topics will cure that problem very quickly. Especially since today’s on-air talent have a whole host of digital platforms at their disposal to engage with listeners and drive them to those segments. </p>
<p><strong>Tease often</strong>: All content segments, phone topics, features and benchmarks should be teased at the end of the prior break. If a segment isn’t good enough to tease, then it’s not good enough to air. A great tease with a specific time frame, ie ‘7 minutes away’ instead of a vague ‘coming up’, will intrigue the listener and convince a good portion of them to stick around, boosting that TSL. </p>
<p><strong>Regular airchecks:</strong> Everybody needs a coach, even Tom Brady has one and he’s basically perfected football. Aircheck sessions are still the fastest way to improve on-air talent and nobody, no matter how long they’ve been on-air, outgrows airchecking. Granted there’s an art to conducting aircheck sessions so they are more like constructive brainstorming sessions where everyone shares ideas and gets on the same page about goals and objectives, and less like disciplinary meetings. </p>
<p><strong>Book promotions:</strong> Even with recent budget cuts making everything more challenging, we absolutely cannot get away from doing major book promotions. There’s still no better way to drive Cume, AQH, and TSL than by finding big sounding prizes and creating on-air promotions that are strategically built to set listening appointments at key times throughout the day. Then promoting that contest well on all the stations platforms and as heavily as the budget will allow outside of the station. </p>
<p><strong>Outside marketing: </strong>Regardless of what we do on-air, we can only hope for slow incremental growth if we don’t’ budget for outside marketing. Luckily now we can pair new school technology like SEO, online ads, boosted/sponsored social posts with old school standards like on-site remotes and events, billboards, tv and print. </p>
<p>If you’d like a free assessment of your entire operation and a strategic plan to grow your Cume, AQH and TSL, email me at andy@radiostationconsulatant.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64177552020-08-26T14:15:24-05:002020-09-01T04:41:48-05:005 Keys To A Successful Content Break By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/4948ed8c1ba1cddb2f20d4702d1922c484fdda87/original/keys.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Creating multiple, well-executed content breaks is the fastest way for an on-air talent to separate themselves from competing talent. But, doing that on a daily basis requires consistent show prep and a mastering of how to structure an on-air content break. </p>
<p>Here are the five keys to creating a successful content break. </p>
<p>1) <strong>Content selection</strong>: Obviously knowing which content to select starts with understanding the station’s core demographic. But, beyond that, we should dig deeper to identify the interests, lifestyle, political leaning, religion, and other characteristics, of the station’s P-1. That way we can tailor our content selection to relate to the majority of them and personalize and localize stories to fit our specific audience. I talk, and write, a lot about digital content creation. However, if we don’t know what content to talk about on-air, via our main platform, then we’re certainly not going to know what to talk about on our digital platforms. Nor will we know how to properly use them to drive traffic to those content segments and set those always important listening appointments.</p>
<p>2) <strong>The tease</strong>: If a content break is worthy of being on the air, then its worthy of a tease. A tease is a short statement at the end of the prior break that is specific enough to pique their interest, but vague enough to keep them guessing. NOTE: The tease should always point to the hook and not the out. </p>
<p>3) <strong>The hook</strong>: How we get into the break is often more important than the content itself, because if you don’t catch them with the hook they won’t hang out for the content. The hook is that attention grabbing comment that makes the listener turn up the radio and focus in on what your saying. Once identified the hook can often be used as verbiage for when the content break is shared to the web or social. </p>
<p>4) <strong>Content delivery</strong>: There’s an art to knowing just how many details to include in a content segment to set the scene and bring the listener along for the ride without confusing them. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but in my experience solo shows can typically deliver that content in thirty seconds or less and team shows can do the same in roughly sixty seconds. Often one or two details are left in for the sole purpose of setting up the out. </p>
<p>5) <strong>The out</strong>: I’ve caught a lot of flack for this opinion over the years, especially from seasoned broadcasters. But, I don’t think anyone should go into a break without at least a basic idea of how they’re going to get out of it. Granted that pre-determined, or backup out, should be abandoned if another out that’s better comes up organically. I stand by that controversial opinion because I still hear talented broadcasters who choose content that’s perfect for their audience, tease it well, set the hook, concisely and strategically work their way through the content and then lay an egg on the out because they expected to come up with something and clearly didn’t. It never hurts to have a backup plan and every out doesn’t have to sound like it was written by an award-winning comedy writer. Funny is always great, but outs can also be something that personalizes or localizes the content or just a statement that brings the thought to a close.</p>
<p>If you have not seen our daily Solo Show Prep, designed specifically for solo midday, afternoon and evening shows, then check out some of the <a contents="previous days here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/example-show-prep" target="_blank">previous days here</a>. You can also request a free two week trial. It’s written verbatim because it’s also meant to be used as a rough template for how to construct breaks. I’d love to get your feedback on it. Email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com and let me know what you think.</p>
<p>Pic designed by www.freepik.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64128752020-08-19T13:40:17-05:002023-12-10T12:53:26-06:00Affordable Video Tools By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/6b19a3dd06002893fd60572de674bda0e503bb56/original/camera-shot.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Creating original video content doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are a handful of affordable video tools to help you build a budget-conscious video studio and up the quality of your web and social content. </p>
<p><strong>Editing Software:</strong> We use the pro version of <a contents="Hitfilm Express" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-express" target="_blank">Hitfilm Express</a> for video editing in-house, however the free version has everything you need to get started. Plus, since it’s open source there are multiple title and overlay templates you can download for free, or cheap, and plenty of YouTube tutorials that will teach you all of the basics. Anybody proficient in audio editing can teach themselves how to edit video, it just takes time and effort. </p>
<p><strong>Lights: </strong><a contents="Smaller ring lights" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P3HGX1P/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07P3HGX1P&SubscriptionId=AKIAIPFZKKNXUR5ABTTA&linkCode=as2&tag=bestprodtag95179-20" target="_blank">Smaller ring lights</a> are an affordable way to improve the quality of zoom calls, selfies and webcam video. But, jumping up to a slightly <a contents="larger 18” ring light" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXDNNBW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01LXDNNBW&SubscriptionId=AKIAIPFZKKNXUR5ABTTA&linkCode=as2&tag=bestprodtag95179-20" target="_blank">larger 18” ring light</a> with an adjustable tripod will suffice for any live stream or single-person hosted video. If you’re looking to diffuse harsh light in an existing room and eliminate shadows go for a <a contents="softbox" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Standard-Softboxes/ci/1337/N/3662541013" target="_blank">softbox</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Green Screen: </strong>There are countless inexpensive options for greenscreens. If you already have something to attach it to you can simply by the <a contents="green screen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Photography-Backdrop-Background-Chromakey-Muslin/dp/B07G7NSSZ9/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=green+screen&qid=1597859394&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQ0g2UkRKTjFQT1RZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjU0MTUxOFA0QzVVMzE5QkpCJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5MTQ3ODgyQldDTEdFT0I5VzNUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==" target="_blank">green screen</a> itself. Or here’s a <a contents="whole kit" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Background-Backdrop-8-5x10ft-Photography-Backdrops/dp/B00MTHP8CW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=green+screen+kit&qid=1597859416&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWEpJVjRSM1I2WE1aJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTI1MDAxMVQ0R0RSMVMzTUFXOCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDc3MDI2MVQ5MUVZVlhBSTA5VyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=" target="_blank">whole kit</a> that comes with the stands included. </p>
<p><strong>Microphones: </strong>A lavalier lapel mic is the easiest way to elevate the audio quality of your videos. For single camera, stationary videos you can save money by starting with an inexpensive wired lavelier mic like <a contents="this one from Shure" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Shure-MVL-Omnidirectional-Microphone-Windscreen/dp/B010W6WESM?tag=paidinsi-20" target="_blank">this one from Shure</a>. If you need to go wireless, I would caution you to be leery of cheap, wireless lavalier mics. But, here’s a reasonably priced <a contents="remote lavalier setup from Rode" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Rode-RodeLink-Wireless-Filmmaker-System/dp/B00TV90DX0?tag=paidinsi-20" target="_blank">remote lavalier setup from Rode</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Camera: </strong>Obviously the camera is the big-ticket item for any video studio. Professional, broadcast quality video cameras are anywhere from five to ten thousand dollars or more. However, unless you have someone on staff trained to take advantage of all the bells and whistles they offer, it will be a huge waste of your money. We’re currently in the process of upgrading our video studio and adding a <a contents="Sony XDCam Exmor" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222976-REG/sony_pxw_z150_4k_xdcam_camcorder.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAjwm_P5BRAhEiwAwRzSO0S-xNFmv5ScUp_lA3uOn51-6H26gbUW7DLIPtn9jsyap5c0S1wTlRoCR40QAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Sony XDCam Exmor</a>. But, as of right now we still film the bulk of our videos for web and social on a <a contents="Canon Vixia HF R80" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1308393-REG/canon_1959c001_vixia_hf_r80_camcorder.html" target="_blank">Canon Vixia HF R80</a> that only costs $250. Then, we partner with a video production company if we need something more high-end. Also, for stationary cameras to use in on-air studios you can’t beat GoPros for the price and quality. </p>
<p>The only other accessory you’d need to add is a good quality tripod and you’re rolling. If you need someone to handle all of your video content creation, supplement the video content you create or just give you a few custom open/closes for your station, email us at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by BiZkettE1 for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64079702020-08-12T14:08:28-05:002020-08-13T11:47:55-05:00Self-Sufficient Employees By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/afa77290fabb6cc8caee97da1f260303e779f9f9/original/business-woman-multitasking.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One thing the pandemic has taught us all is the value of being self-sufficient. For most people getting I.T. help, or a graphic designed for a web post, used to be as simple as pressing a button on an intercom or walking down the hall. With those resources taken away we’ve all grown to appreciate their value. Also, hopefully we’ve used this time to broaden our own skill-sets. Because frankly radio could use more self-sufficient employees. That’s one area where we are falling behind other industries because of compartmentalization and years of supplementing terrestrially skilled employees who lack digital savvy with a handful of digital savvy employees that lack terrestrial skills. </p>
<p>Over the weekend I watched the new <a contents="“On The Trail” documentary" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJBcY0lPWKc" target="_blank">“On The Trail” documentary</a> on HBO Max that follows several women reporters imbedded with political campaigns. I was struck by how talented and self-sufficient all of those women were. Each of them were copy writers, bloggers, make-shift videographers and editors, investigative journalists and, when necessary, on camera talent. They likely picked up those skills out of necessity, because it’s way too expensive to send huge crews along with each potential candidate. But, regardless of the cause, the effect is an incredibly versatile employee with a wide range of options for their future. </p>
<p>As a life-long radio guy, and now a consultant, I’m often asked by young people looking to get into the industry for my advice. My response has always been, “Learn everything you can, accept anyone’s offer to train you on anything and never utter the phrase ‘that’s not my job’.” Which I’d follow with, “The more you know, the harder you are to fire,” for effect. I always assumed that mind-set came from growing up in our family owned small market station where being chief, cook and bottle washer was a means of survival. But, I also think it stemmed from years of working with and observing radio groups that were so compartmentalized that they often missed, or at the very least under-utilized, the handful of self-sufficient employees they had. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for structure and delegation, just not to the point that it creates a bottle-neck for innovation, creativity and ultimately, execution. </p>
<p>If we, as an industry, hope to compete and thrive in this new digital world, we’ll have to start valuing self-sufficient employees. The radio groups that create an environment that encourages this, and rewards it, will prosper. Conversely the ones that don’t will lag behind and suffer the consequences. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/64026982020-08-05T12:21:19-05:002020-08-05T12:21:19-05:00Refocusing Post Pandemic By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/d3fd61379c3dc8568df0dcb4eb8b076012434100/original/bullseye-success.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Out of necessity many groups have been forced to make cuts, furlough employees or reduce wages across the board to stay afloat. This pandemic has also caused us to take a hard look at what roles are essential within our organizations. But, as light slowly begins to appear at the end of the tunnel, we should take this opportunity to consider restructuring our radio groups to better position them to compete for ad dollars in the years to come. </p>
<p>Part of the challenge existing stations face is figuring out how to create content for all their new digital platforms with a staff that was built around creating on-air content. Many groups have ten to twenty people responsible for creating on-air programming within a market but still rely on a single employee to handle the bulk of their digital content. That’s why over the past few years we’ve seen multiple groups start creating positions like Content Managers, Digital PDs, and Brand Managers to help refocus their staff on digital. </p>
<p>This refocusing can be done by retraining, restructuring, outsourcing or a combination of all three depending on a group’s specific circumstances. Asking ourselves this question can help. How would I structure my radio station if I started it from scratch today? What positions would I hire first, how would I allocate my budget and what would the organizational chart look like? </p>
<p>Retraining: If a group is lucky enough to have programmers and on-air staff that are digital savvy a heavy focus on retraining that existing staff could be enough. Working with the ops managers and program directors to help them lead by example and create some of their own content while setting the expectations for their staff. Then teaching that on-air staff to incorporate digital into their prep process and ensure that their utilizing each platform to drive traffic to the other before, during and after their shows. To be clear, I’m not suggesting we should force employees to create content they don’t have an aptitude for, I’m suggesting evaluating employees to determine what kind of content they would be best suited to create and encouraging that. </p>
<p>Restructuring: Hiring a digital savvy employee from outside the industry and just lumping them into an existing structure is better than nothing, but it’s really just a patch. Often that leads to the rest of the staff dumping all of their own digital responsibilities onto that person and it ends up being counter-productive. A better way to restructure is to evaluate our existing staff, create an org chart based on if we were starting the group today, figure out the position or two we could realistically hire within our budget locally and outsource any gaps. </p>
<p>Outsourcing: Today in our remote-working, gig economy, anything can be outsourced. Copywriters, blog writers, graphic designers, photographers, videographers, video editors, and social content creators can all be hired for reasonable rates to supplement what the local staff is doing. </p>
<p>When we’re putting a station on the air we evaluate the market to determine which shifts we need to fill live to be competitive. Then we supplement that with voicetracked or syndicated shows. To get our share of digital dollars we should assess how big our total digital audience needs to be. Figuring out how many pageviews we need to get monthly on our websites, how many social followers we need, podcast downloads and app users. Based on that we can determine how much original content we should create every week. Then, by incentivizing and rewarding our staff we set a goal for creating that content in-house and, if necessary, we set aside a budget to supplement that with freelancers and outside content creators. </p>
<p>Pic designed by Waewkidja for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63966542020-07-29T15:12:54-05:002022-01-31T21:02:47-06:00Listener Generated Video Content By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/4bbace3f77e81cda7f5cff9289ac2cb3cbb96815/original/selfie.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>All veteran on-air talent understand the value of banking audio. That’s because strategically collecting and storing audio drops from listeners, artists and other guests, gives them a treasure trove of files they can later use to add drops to tracked hours, encourage calls on a slow day, or spice up a live liner or recorded promo. Plus, the more years we spend on air the better we get at directing listeners and guests to give us the specific audio we need. </p>
<p>These same skills can be applied to soliciting and collecting listener, artist and guest generated video content. After all, the smart phone we all carry in our pockets twenty-four-seven has a built-in version of what would be considered a high-end digital video camera just a few years ago. According to <a contents="Pew Research" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/" target="_blank">Pew Research</a>, 96% of American adults own a cell phone of some kind and 81% own a smart phone. All we have to do is come up with some creative ways to get them to hit that record button and send us some video content. </p>
<p>Here are a few kinds of listener, guest and artist generated video content that any station could solicit and use. </p>
<p>Listener generated content ideas: (All of these should be tied to a prize of course) Ask listeners to record themselves doing an album or single review, their opinion on a hot pop culture topic, opinion on a local news story, or simply what they love about station name. Plus, we can easily turn any on-air phone topic into a video submission topic where we solicit it one-day, tease to the pay-off later, collect and edit that video together and share the audio part on-air and video online/social. </p>
<p>Guest generated content ideas: For starters we can clean up our on air interviews by recording them all to video first, chopping them down and using the meat of the content on air and the longer form as a video for the web and social. Plus, we can have local news makers send us direct video commentary they record (or call them via zoom and record it ourselves) to turn our local on-air news casts into a video to post online. Another easy to create segment is 60 Seconds With, where a local celebrity or an advertiser talks about what they do or how they got into it for sixty seconds. Then we package it with a branded open and close to share online. </p>
<p>Artist generated content ideas: Before agreeing to any artist related promotion with their label or management we should make sure they commit to record a short video promo we can use on social/web throughout the promotion. We can also hit artists up anytime to record themselves telling a short story behind their new single or a beloved recurrent. Those are great because you can use the audio from it on-air and pair the video of it with their music video as long as it’s sourced and credited. We should also move to doing all of our artist interviews on video first (Zoom for remote interviews) then chop that down for on-air with the longer version offered exclusively online and a short teaser loaded directly to social with a link to see the full video. </p>
<p>The more video content we collect and post, the easier it gets to convince listeners, artists and guests to send in video. Because just like hearing listener audio on air gets more listeners to call in and participate, more people are likely to contribute video if they see others doing it. Then, overtime we’ll collect a large bank of video we’re free to use however we’d like in our own video ads and promos. </p>
<p>If you’d like help soliciting, producing or packaging video content email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by diana.grytsku for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63898502020-07-22T12:44:44-05:002022-02-02T02:01:34-06:00Are Your Sales Materials Sending The Right Message? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3d0492479ae31ea20e9530df5d78bd00380a3f16/original/impressed-cookie-studio.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>With face to face meetings harder to schedule as the pandemic lingers, the quality of a station’s sales materials are more important than ever. A great sales rep can often overcome poorly produced presentations during an in-person pitch, but that’s not easy to do via email and zoom. </p>
<p>Experts say that <a contents="55% of first impressions" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://institute.uschamber.com/what-makes-a-good-first-impression/" target="_blank">55% of first impressions</a> are made by what we see visually, while only 38% are made by what we hear and just 7% are based on the actual words said. When we’re trying to convince a company to pay us to market their brand, but we hand them something that doesn’t market our own brand very well, we’re fighting an uphill battle. So, what message does your sales material send? Do you look professional, current and cutting edge or do you look amateur and dated? No matter how good your station sounds, if what you’re presenting looks unprofessional, then many potential new customers will assume that everything else the station does is unprofessional as well. </p>
<p>That’s why every station should have a full-time graphic designer on staff dedicated to creating sales materials. However, with dwindling budgets that’s not always an option. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to out-source that work to freelancers using companies like <a contents="Fiverr" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.fiverr.com/categories/graphics-design" target="_blank">Fiverr</a>, <a contents="Freelancer" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freelancer.com/" target="_blank">Freelancer</a>, and <a contents="Upwork" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.upwork.com/hire/graphic-designers/" target="_blank">Upwork</a>. </p>
<p>We also provide graphic design services that we scale and customize to meet a radio group’s specific needs. Whether that’s handling all of their programming, digital, promotions, and sales graphic design or simply supplementing their in-house work with a couple of projects per month. Plus, unlike the graphic designers you’ll find on the freelance sites, we speak the radio lingo and we barter. We also create <a contents="two minute station audio/video demos" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/2-minute-station-audio-video-demos-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">two minute station audio/video demos</a> that are great for succinctly telling a station’s story. </p>
<p>If you’re interested or you’d like our feedback on your existing sales materials email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by cookie_studio for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63856322020-07-15T13:07:47-05:002023-12-10T10:44:23-06:005 Steps to Grow a Station's Total Audience<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/96ddf1c39a31e1af3b6511e3628ab6ce887a23bd/original/macro-vector.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Cume, TSL and AQH are important but the stat that matters the most is a station’s total audience number. Plus, one doesn’t come at the expense of the others. In fact, it’s just the opposite because, if used properly, they all feed off each other by creating a snowball effect. I’m a firm believer in selling <a contents="integrated solutions" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/stop-selling-ads-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">integrated solutions</a> instead of just selling ads, but to create integrated solutions with real value for advertisers we have to start by building up our station’s total audience number. </p>
<p>Here are five steps to do just that. </p>
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> Determine the current total audience. A station’s total audience is made up of their on-air cume, social followers on every active platform they have, website uniques, streaming uniques, app active uniques, podcast downloads, and, when we’re not in a pandemic, on-site event impressions. All of those digital numbers are easy to pull and most of the platforms will even allow you to go back and retroactively look at past numbers as well. </p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> <a contents="Originate, don’t just aggregate" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/aggregate-vs-originate" target="_blank">Originate, don’t just aggregate</a>. Resharing digital content somebody else generated is better than nothing, but it pales in comparison to creating our own digital content. To do this we can’t just rely on one person. Creating digital content is a team sport. All of the on-air staff can get involved by incorporating <a contents="digital into their prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">digital into their prep process</a>. Jocks are on-air content creators and all of them are capable of creating some kind of digital content. But, we shouldn’t fall into the trap of forcing them to do things that don’t fit their aptitude. If they’re not writers we shouldn’t make them to blog, instead encouraging them to utilize video or podcasts instead. Program Directors and Ops Managers should also take an active role to <a contents="lead by example" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/lead-by-example-managers-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">lead by example</a> and create some original digital content themselves. But, it doesn’t have to stop there. It’s also a good idea to open up and train anyone else on staff who has an aptitude for creating content. </p>
<p><strong>Step 3:</strong> <a contents="Track and reward progress" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/tracking-and-rewarding-digital-performance-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">Track and reward progress</a>. Once we’ve got the staff on board it’s time to introduce the carrots. After all, incentives drive innovation. We should start by tracking engagement weekly across all platforms and choosing a different platform to focus on each month. Then we can reward the staffer who created the Facebook post with the most organic reach, Twitter post with the most impressions or retweets, web blog with the most pageviews or Instagram post with the most likes. This will not only encourage the creation of clickable, sharable content, it will also help pinpoint what kind of content works best with our format’s listeners on each individual platform. You can use this spreadsheet to track it or create your own. </p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Make everything multi-platform. I always like to begin by taking things stations are already doing on-air and come up with ways to pre and post promote them on social media and drive the listener back to the station’s website so they land on a page we can monetize. But once we’ve done that it’s a good idea to start thinking of everything we do going forward as multi-platform. To really grow a station’s total audience, digital can’t be an afterthought. It has to be a part of the planning process across the board. Writing a new round of imaging? Write a handful of social posts. Creating an on-air promo, turn it into a video promo to share on the web, as a video pre-roll on the stream, or on social. Planning a book promotion? Plan out the web and social components before even proposing it, much less launching. </p>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Spend Money. Heritage stations who’ve been around since the inception of social media were afforded the benefit of building their social audiences before all the social sites began monetizing their platforms. Once those social sites began selling ads they also began choking down the organic reach of everyone’s posts to get companies to spend ad dollars. It makes sense and it’s hard to complain about a free platform. But the end result is, organically growing a station’s social following is now a slow, uphill process. So new, and relatively new stations, will need to budget marketing dollars if they want to get where they are competitive with those heritage stations. It also helps immensely if groups can budget a little money to outsource some of their digital content creation to video producers, video editors, blog writers, graphic designers and photographers. </p>
<p>Throughout the process of building a station’s total audience a number of ways to incorporate advertisers will emerge. Which will allow stations to create, custom integrated solutions that surround the listener with multiple touch-points per day. Plus, with steady incremental audience growth on each platform, the value of each one of those ad campaigns will also steadily rise. </p>
<p>Email me <a contents="andy@radiostationconsultant.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://andy@radiostationconsultant.com" target="_blank">andy@radiostationconsultant.com</a> if you need help building your total audience, creating compelling digital content or training your staff on how to create, price and sell that content. We can also calculate your current total audience as part of a free remote assessment. </p>
<p>Pic designed by macrovector for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63797472020-07-08T10:37:23-05:002020-07-08T10:37:23-05:00Create Your Own Social Teaser Videos By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/1de6c418113758b20af4cc52372e96c150809842/original/social-icon-pile.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Social media platforms offer stations a great way to set daily listening appointments and <a contents="drive new cume" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/using-social-to-drive-new-cume-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">drive new cume</a>. If our on-air personalities can incorporate <a contents="digital into their prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">digital into their prep process</a>, they can do their part to use each platform to drive traffic to the other. But, how can station managers give their staff the tools to create high-quality digital content that will grab the attention of potential new listeners and interest new advertisers? One simple way is to create some short, social media teasers for things they’re already doing. These teasers can promote upcoming contents, music, on-air features, and virtually anything a listener might find compelling. Basically, they are short five to nine second videos that feature a sleek design, pictures, logos and text with some motion to catch people’s eye. </p>
<p>We create several of these each week for our consulting clients that we schedule daily to supplement their local content. We also recently started including those for free in our video bundles, lumped in with the more elaborate video content we originate. However, if you’d like to create them on your own, here are a few online sites that are easy to learn and include multiple templates. All of them range from $200 per year to $588 per year and come with free trials so you can try them out. </p>
<p><a contents="Bannersnack.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bannersnack.com/" target="_blank">Bannersnack.com</a>: The website many have used to create banners online for years, now allows you to create videos as well. Easily customize templates and use stock footage and pics to create short video ads with motion graphics to use on social media and the web. Or sign up for their Onstage-online video maker to do even more. Bannersnack is about $200 per year, the additional online video maker adds another $200. </p>
<p><a contents="Promo.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://promo.com/cat/video-editor-2s/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_generic_video&utm_camp_id=10065066374&utm_term_id=100799353586&utm_kw=online%20video%20editor_e&utm_creative=445478825746&utm_extension_id=kwd-71966008&gclid=CjwKCAjwxev3BRBBEiwAiB_PWJL_h2OW5IsivgJmGcnWVq8AlKn2Hjy4xKhyPY_jHgmLJiK5T-cxCRoCDQsQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Promo.com</a>: A simple video editor that includes stock footage, royalty free music and copy to create motion ads. They boast twelve million stock videos you can use along with thousands of royalty free music selections. </p>
<p><a contents="Magisto.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.magisto.com/pricing?prev_path=/&via=top_menu" target="_blank">Magisto.com</a>: A Vimeo company that helps you create engaging videos in minutes. Includes templates, stock footage, commercially licensed music and allows you to embed the video directly on any website or export to creator studio in Facebook. Plans range from $120 per year to $420 per year. </p>
<p><a contents="Animoto.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://animoto.com/apps/online-video-maker?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us-general-dsa-google-web&utm_term=&utm_content=non-brand&gclid=CjwKCAjwxev3BRBBEiwAiB_PWMqEnFEDp8sYNJ-B59afvfI_C7h_4OIcubd5pl9aQSJXFn8F2L2yKxoCoasQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Animoto.com</a>: Create unlimited branded videos. Team plans allow you up to 3 users, plus you get a 30 minute consultation with a video expert. That plan is a little pricey though, $588/year, but there is a $396 plan as well. Both come with licensed music tracks. </p>
<p>If you’d like to see some of the examples of social teasers and other video content we create for our clients, <a contents="click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hrb269gy3xmj836/AADhkvB_TRDDJrllGe3hL6iVa?dl=0" target="_blank">click here</a>. Have questions? Email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com or comment below. Pic designed by natanelginting for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63726822020-07-01T14:29:51-05:002023-12-18T07:09:00-06:00Programming for Commuters Changing Habits By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/dacafebf69094ddc3f45c9a5dbe594b1189733ba/original/traffic.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’ve always been a proponent for building programming clocks based around the commuting habits within a local market. For instance, if the average commute is 17 minutes and the majority of listeners within the stations target demo get to work at 8am and leave at 5pm. That station should build their clocks to make sure they are delivering their highest value content within the 17 minute windows before 8am and after 5pm. Depending on the format and on-air talent, that might be a popular on-air feature or just leaning more heavily on the station’s strongest music categories. Plus, it certainly means avoiding a long stop-set during those windows. </p>
<p>However, during this extended pandemic here in the US those commuting habits have drastically changed. In most states traffic is still down 20% or more. But, during the shelter in place orders, which could certainly be reinstated at any point, <a contents="traffic volumes dipped" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ite.org/about-ite/covid-19-resources/covid-19-traffic-volume-trends/" style="" target="_blank">traffic volumes dipped</a> more than 50%. None of that should cause us to totally abandon any formatting we’ve done for commuting habits within our market, as those are still likely the heaviest traffic times. However, it does mean we should try harder to consistently deliver strong content and music throughout the typical office hours where people are now more likely to be out and about running midday errands. Plus, it’s all the more reason to step up our game and use our other platforms, social media, websites, and apps, to set multiple on-air appointments by teasing specific music and content throughout the day. </p>
<p>Programming isn’t done in a vacuum. We have to be willing to adjust our on air strategies to fit our rapidly changing society. Asking ourselves questions like, if more people are working from home and therefore spending shorter intervals in the car, how should we adjust for that? Should we commit to <a contents="shortening stopsets" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/my-blog/blog/switching-to-the-minute-model-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">shortening stopsets</a>, emphasize better on-air teases, spread our programming resources out throughout the day instead of focusing on mornings? Depending on market and format each of those answers will vary. But one thing is clear, when listener habits change, so should we. </p>
<p>Pic designed by welcomia for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63648492020-06-24T10:49:45-05:002020-06-24T11:54:37-05:00Daily DIY Features By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/cb07cad3bffb00f854d99c495a91760fb1b39068/original/what-in-the-world-wednesdays.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>This week we began including a daily DIY Feature with our Solo Show Prep and we’d love your feedback on them. The features include graphics for posting on station websites after a shift and some of them also include audio clips or beds. Our hope is that it will give on air personalities another turnkey, promotable and sellable feature for their daily airshifts. </p>
<p>Here are the five daily DIY, Do it Yourself, features: </p>
<p>Monday: <strong>Name That Movie Mondays</strong>, a guess that movie segment that can be carried over for three segments. We provide a hard clue that goes with a 3 second clip of the movie for the first segment, a slightly easier clue and 6 second clip for the second segment and an easy clue with a 12 second clip for the third segment. The included graphic features a blurry picture from the movie that’s hard to make out. </p>
<p>Tuesday: <strong>Knockout Trivia</strong>, a trivia game that’s meant to be hard to win so it can be linked to a sizeable prize. The on-air personality asks one general knowledge trivia question on air and when a listener calls in and gets it right the clock starts and they have twenty seconds to answer three more questions to win. If no winner emerges, they can play the loser audio and ask a second general question with a second round of follow up questions. </p>
<p>Wednesday: <strong>What in the World Wednesday</strong>, is a riddle clue game that can be about a place, person or thing. It’s kind of similar to the board game Smart Ass, but with only three clues spread over three segments that get easier with each clue. </p>
<p>Thursday: <strong>Throwback Thursday Name That Year</strong>, the DJ mentions a few key events from a specific year and plays an audio clip clue we provide along with a second set of clues for an additional break if there’s no winner yet. We also include a graphic that incorporates pics related to those events for a web post. </p>
<p>Friday: <strong>Fast Five Fridays</strong>,This game is meant to sound like it’s easy with broad, mass appeal topics. However, like a carnival game it’s not as simple as it sounds because you have to name five things associated with that topic in 5 seconds. For instance, if the topic mentioned on air was Football, when the listener calls the on-air personality would ask them to name 5 NFL QBs who have won more than one Super Bowl, but they only have five seconds. The graphic features a pic related to that Friday’s topic. </p>
<p>If you’d like to see some more examples of the graphics, audio or content related to these DIY Features, email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Also, send us your feedback on these features and any other suggestions for things we could include that would help personalities create compelling content on a daily basis. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/show-prep" target="_blank">Click here</a> to sign up for Solo Show Prep for just $40 per month or <a contents="click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/example-show-prep" target="_blank">click here</a> to see examples of past prep and sign up for a free two week trial.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63565112020-06-17T12:10:42-05:002021-01-07T03:44:30-06:00Does Your Branding Attract or Confuse? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/15aaf9a1ef60e3c2bf06d3619627a4ad371b1449/original/confusing.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Are you sending the right message with your branding on-air, online and on-site or are you confusing and turning away potential listeners with mismatched branding? The terms we use to define our formats mean different things to different people based on their age and life experience. So, we have to rely on everything else, positioning statements, imaging voices and production, on air talent, station logo and website design, to make sure we’re attracting the listeners who are likely to be interested in our stations. All the compelling content in the world won’t lead to ratings success if our branding isn’t ensuring that we’re getting that content in front of the right people. Could most people correctly guess your format without hearing or seeing your positioning statement?</p>
<p>From a sales stand-point why would an advertiser want to hand over their ad dollars to market their brand on a station that doesn’t clearly market it’s own? </p>
<p>Here are a few examples of how a station can stumble into a mismatched branding conundrum. </p>
<p><strong>Updating the music databases without updating everything else</strong>. Reprinting banners, rewrapping vans, redesigning logos and changing out the station voice is not only incredibly time consuming, it’s also expensive. But, you’re better off waiting until the budget allows all of those changes to happen at once then piece-parting it and confusing listeners until it’s all done. </p>
<p><strong>Creating a point of difference but then keeping it a secret</strong>. If there’s a good reason why a listener should listen to your station as opposed to a format competitor and that’s not defined in your branding, then you’re conceding a lot of cume to that competitor. Tell that story clearly and often with everything you do on air, online and on site. </p>
<p><strong>On air talent that don’t fit</strong>. There are many talented on air personalities that can work on multiple formats by tweaking their style and content choices to fit that format. But, some great personalities are more specialized and are best suited to work on one or two specific formats. A talent that fits enhances the listeners experience but one that doesn’t just gets in the way. </p>
<p><strong>Too many messages.</strong> There’s nothing wrong with creating a station that appeals to a listener on multiple fronts. But, the more crowded a market it is the more a station needs to choose the few messages they want to market around and run with that. </p>
<p>If you’d like an outside opinion on your station branding email us your links at andy@radiostationconsultant.com and we’ll look and listen then give you some feedback. </p>
<p>Pic designed by drobotdean for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63489492020-06-10T14:35:15-05:002020-06-10T14:35:15-05:00How to Get More Calls On Air By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/6bcffc5685c5af2d66e9c52cf2e435db89019fd6/original/phone-free-pik.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Getting listener calls on the air is still the best way to set a live air shift apart from a pre-recorded shift. Yet I consistently hear on air talent complain that they, “Just don’t get a lot of calls.” But, if listeners aren’t calling into your shift it’s because you’ve trained them not to call. </p>
<p>Here are a few tips on how to get more calls on air: </p>
<p><strong>Fake it ‘til you make it</strong>. Just like a middle school dance where nobody wants to be the first person on the floor, listeners don’t tend to call into stations when they aren’t hearing calls on the air. So, there’s nothing wrong with getting things kickstarted by having a few of your office coworkers, friends or relatives call in to play the part until those phones start ringing. </p>
<p><strong>Answer every call you can</strong>. Whenever possible pick up the phone and mine for that caller gold. There are certainly plenty of things to do during a shift nowadays, but interacting directly with listeners is the fastest way to develop a connection and relate to the broader audience. Plus, airing good quality calls does more for improving the quality of a personality’s on-air content than virtually any of those other tasks. Taking meter readings is important, but nobody hires an on-air personality because they’re good at taking meter readings. They hire them because they’re good at working the phones. </p>
<p><strong>Lead, coach and direct callers</strong>. Only a small percentage of callers are going to give us something useful on air without being lead, coached or directed. Get them to comment on a station promotion or event to spice up your next live liner, find things in your show prep that they might have an opinion on, or ask them about an upcoming tune to make something that is already scheduled sound like a request. </p>
<p><strong>Seed phone topics</strong>. Before cracking the mic and throwing out a phone topic, bank a few by asking every single phone caller the topic throughout the shift leading up to when you go on air with it. That way you’re not solely reliant on the people listening at that exact moment. It also takes some of the pressure off the turnaround time on editing the calls and getting them on air. </p>
<p>The ability to turn around and get local listener audio on the air quickly is a big advantage that terrestrial radio has over satellite and internet radio. So, lets stop looking at the phone as an outdated tech device, or a nuisance, and start getting more calls on the air.</p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com.</a></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63407642020-06-03T13:08:58-05:002020-11-12T02:49:40-06:00Programming At, Near or Away By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/c0a797a9ec2c2f37001f6e86bc8629fabde5369b/original/away-near-at.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Anytime you’re programming a station in a crowded market you only have three options, to program away, near or at the competition. Just like it sounds programming away, or counter programming, entails doing something completely different from the competition. Programming near is doing something similar with a strategic difference to hang your hat on and programming at would be doing something very similar in the hopes that you could do it better. </p>
<p>There are a handful of criteria to look at to help make that decision starting with the basics. Determining the population breakdown by age, gender, ethnicity and income. Then assessing whether every major format that fits that demographic is covered. If not, then a format hole exists and the process stops there because there’s room to program away simply by choosing a mass appeal format. In most medium and almost all large markets that’s obviously not going to be the case. </p>
<p>If no major format hole exists things get a little more complicated, IE fun. It might be that because of shifting demographics in that region a new, yet to be identified, format hole is emerging. One way to help identify this is to look at online data for that area to see if there are songs/artists people there are listening to more frequently then elsewhere in the country. A great free tool for this is Spotify’s <a contents="Music Map of the World" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://spotifymaps.github.io/musicalcities/" target="_blank">Music Map of the World</a>, that shows just that, what people are searching for on Spotify more in that region than nationally and globally. So, songs that are popular everywhere don’t really show up but a few that are having more regional success do. In most markets there’s only enough of these songs/artists to create spice categories for existing formats but sometimes there’s enough to build an entire format around. </p>
<p>When neither an obvious major format hole exists or a new hole emerges in data, then the decision comes down to whether or not to program near a competitor or directly at them. The answer to that will lie in identifying how many vulnerabilities the market leader in a major format has. Do they have strong on-air talent in all day parts, only a few or none? Are they running incredibly long stopsets jam-packed with units? How event intensive are they? How involved are they in the community? What’s their online presence and social engagement look like? Are there a handful of songs they aren’t playing that they should be or, vice versa, are playing that they shouldn’t? Do they offer compelling on-air contests? How well is there station branded on air and in outside marketing? Are they clearly defining their benefit to the listener? </p>
<p>If they’re lacking in a few of those areas then there’s room to program near them with a small, but well defined, point of difference. If they’re falling short in several of those areas then a station with the resources to do what they’re trying to do, only better, can find success as a direct competitor. </p>
<p>As a programmer I thoroughly enjoy niche formats created by forcing a hole in a market that doesn’t exist, but generally its an exercise in working countless hours, and killing tons of brains cells, to maybe pull a one share. Resisting that programmer’s urge to create something truly unique is hard, but it’s usually the right answer. </p>
<p>If you need help determining which direction to take format-wise, email me at <a contents="andy@radiostationconsultant.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://andy@radiostationconsultant.com" target="_blank">andy@radiostationconsultant.com</a>. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63322182020-05-27T13:32:33-05:002020-05-27T13:32:33-05:00Lead By Example Managers By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/d3f7b640d9b75a79b1dc87927ff69b96481b18c0/original/lead.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As the world, our economy and our industry begin to bounce back, managers who lead by example will have an edge. With recent cutbacks on stations that were already running pretty lean, groups will be asking more from every employee in the building. So, if managers don’t step up to help pick up some of the slack, important things will begin to fall through the cracks. </p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that managers shouldn’t still delegate certain tasks, especially time consuming ones that anyone can do. But, now would be a great time for managers to ask themselves what skills they could personally improve on, or new skill they could acquire, that would help to take some of the load off of their staff. </p>
<p>Here are five advantages of being a lead by example manager. </p>
<p><strong>Motivation</strong>: Nothing motivates a staff faster than a boss that jumps down into the trenches and helps them execute tasks. Plus, when the boss who has a ton on their own plate is getting something done, it’s hard for the employees to say that they don’t have the time to do it. </p>
<p><strong>Innovation</strong>: Working hand and hand with their staff on a project, and possibly working on something they haven’t for years, will get most managers wheels turning on ways to do it better or more efficiently. Then, those suggested innovations will work as idea starters to get all of the staff to start thinking of their own. </p>
<p><strong>Encourages self-starters</strong>: Employees that happily accept any task that’s delegated to them are great. But, employees who take the initiative to complete tasks that they know need to get down, without being asked, are even better. Working under a lead by example manager leaves more room for those kind of employees to step up, because they aren’t being delegated one hundred percent of their tasks. </p>
<p><strong>Lights that competitive fire</strong>: The smaller a staff the less likely there will be multiple high achievers that naturally encourage each other’s competitive spirit. In that circumstance a lead by example manager can often act as a substitute challenger to light that competitive fire. </p>
<p><strong>Teams win</strong>: If the Last Dance documentary about Michael Jordan and the Bulls reminded us of anything, other than the fact that Jordan was incredibly hard to play with, it’s that teams win. Before Phil Jackson taught Michael how to play team basketball, they never won a championship. When employees see that a manager won’t ask them to do anything that they aren’t willing to do themselves, it creates a ‘We’re in this together” team atmosphere that will lead to a lot of wins. </p>
<p>Leading by example is a great way to manage and motivate any staff, but it’s especially helpful now that we’re asking most employees to handle multiple roles. However, it’s important for managers to pick their spots and only lead by example on projects and tasks that play to their individual strengths. </p>
<p>Pic designed by katemangostar for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63238452020-05-20T13:55:19-05:002020-05-27T13:28:32-05:00Aggregate Vs. Originate By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/f4abb20baf4074db21aec498581b0fd9fffa98cb/original/content.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Since radio began the industry has been a hybrid of content aggregation and content origination. The original content being what happens between the records, on-air announcements by the disc jockey, imaging, promos and ads. The aggregated content is made up of the popular songs we identify that were obviously produced by others as well as the actuality audio we use when reporting on news or entertainment news stories. Plus, with songs especially, we used our announcers and imaging to somewhat repackage them and present them in a way that increased their appeal to the audience. Through trial and error each format eventually found the proper balance of the amount of original content it should provide and how much aggregated content to include. </p>
<p>In this digital age we’re faced with figuring out that same equation on the digital content side. Which leads us to several questions. Should we just share other people’s digital content? How do we repackage that content and make it our own? How do we create our own original digital content? How much digital content can we realistically create? </p>
<p>When you look across the industry, most radio stations are simply sharing other people’s digital content. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that and it’s better than nothing because at least it gets the stations branding in front of whoever sees those liked, shared and retweeted posts. But, really the biggest beneficiary of that is the outlet that originated the content. </p>
<p>A better approach would be to figure out how much original digital content we can realistically create on a regular basis and use outside freelancers and third party content creators to help supplement that content. Then, do our best to aggregate, credit/source, and repackage other people’s content to make it our own as opposed to just sharing it. We would still outright share some content, but the more we can originate from our platforms that we monetize the larger our share of the digital dollars will be. </p>
<p>If you need help creating original digital content, like videos and blogs, email us at <a contents="andy@radiostationconsultant.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://andy@radiostationconsultant.com" target="_blank">andy@radiostationconsultant.com</a>. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63151632020-05-13T14:32:40-05:002020-05-14T06:02:38-05:00Stop Selling Ads By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/fe3cd55a38a315465b7111b0b87dadb44f7923a5/original/stop-sign.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Stop selling ads and start selling integrated solutions. Today’s stations have a lot more to offer than just thirty and sixty second commercials. We’re connecting with listeners throughout their day using several station platforms, let’s bring all of our advertisers along for the ride by moving them into custom, integrated solutions. </p>
<p>Here’s a day in the life of a die-hard P1. They wake up listening to our station terrestrially on their clock radio, get in their car and tune in terrestrially on their way to work, hit that mid-morning wall and check our station website, tune in again at lunch, listen on our app at their desk in the afternoon, scroll through our social sites to stay up on what’s happening locally, then listen to us terrestrially again on their way home or to one of our events. </p>
<p>If a station hasn’t built up all of those platforms and created content catered to each one, now is the time to get on that. Stations that are already successfully reaching their audience on each platform should look at creative ways to bring the advertiser along for each step of the process. Hence creating multiple, ready-made, integrated solutions for the sales staff to pitch. </p>
<p>The best integrated solutions feature a compelling on-air component, that is good enough to pre-promote on air, the app and on social media and has enough legs to post-promote on social media and the website. Then, all of that is bundled with traditional thirty and sixty second radio ads as well as station events. </p>
<p>If you need help creating integrated solutions for you advertisers, email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Also, if you already offer integrated solutions but you need a media kit that reflects that, we can help.</p>
<p>Pic designed by gstudioimagen for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/63068232020-05-06T13:00:47-05:002020-05-06T13:00:47-05:002 Minute Station Audio/Video Demos By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/e4901fe732ef4680518efd0a27750335ff9200d8/original/tablet-video.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The trend in aircheck demos for on air personalities over the past few years has been to get them down to two minutes, start with the strongest audio and use the rest of the time to showcase the air talent’s range. We’ve moved to this because we realize how limited a hiring manager’s time is when they’ve got hundreds of airchecks and resumes to comb through. A decision maker at a potential new advertiser is in a similar situation, being hit up on multiple new fronts by ad categories that didn’t even exist a few years ago. </p>
<p>So, stations should follow the lead of on-air personalities and shorten their station demos to around two minutes. Many of the station demos I’ve heard stretch to four minutes or longer, include entire breaks by each DJ, multiple full imaging pieces and tons of longer song clips. But, do we really want a potential new client’s first impression of our station to be how boring our long station demo was? The audio demo is simply there to intrigue them, give them a basic idea what we do and leave them wanting to know more about the station. It’s a book synopsis not a first chapter. </p>
<p>Also, just like aircheck demos, station demos should start with that particular station’s biggest strength. If the station has the best on-air staff in town, put that at the top. If station events, contests or online and social engagement is what sets that station apart, then mention one of those early in the demo. Of course, the biggest draw on most music-based stations is the music but, if that’s what we’re going to showcase first, we should make sure that we highlight a clear point of difference between our music and our format competitor’s music. </p>
<p>Ideally the demo would include the highlights of on-air segments from each full-time air talent specific to that station, clips of imaging that tells the story and sells the attitude of the station and music hooks from core songs within the format. </p>
<p>I would also suggest writing something specific for the station voice to supplement any existing imaging clips that might be used in the demo. Using that verbiage to create the narrative of why someone should advertise with that specific station. If it makes more sense, the station’s most notable air personality could be used instead. </p>
<p>Once station audio demos are produced we can turn them into video demos using high res pictures, video footage of air talent and events, if available, and music videos in place of song audio clips. Pairing that with a few of the notable graphics from the station’s media kit will produce a compelling station video demo and give sales reps something simple to email potential advertisers. </p>
<p>If you need help producing station audio or video demos we can help, email us at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62989492020-04-29T14:46:39-05:002022-04-07T17:02:41-05:00Grading Your Media Kit By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/9f5e8403cb6cad87506ad96e6a21b41a53807ab9/original/grading.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When we’re getting ready for that initial sales meeting with a new client we all make sure we’re dressed appropriately, our hair looks good and maybe we even pop in a breath mint. Why? Because we all know the value of making a good first impression. </p>
<p>But what kind of first impression does your media kit make? Is it professional, well-produced, recently updated and easy to understand? Is the main thing you’re trying to get across to your new potential advertiser popping off the page? </p>
<p>Here are a few of the common mistakes we’ve seen with station media kits. </p>
<p><strong>Outdated info:</strong> Some stations go years without redoing their media kits and often have outdated information about DJs, promotions, events and sometimes even positioning statements. </p>
<p><strong>Too wordy:</strong> Too much verbiage can kill a media kit. Nobody wants to read a novel written by someone they just met. Editing copy to take out redundant or unnecessary words and phrases will help make the important info jump off the page. </p>
<p><strong>Too many pages:</strong> Resist the urge to include information on every single thing the radio group has done over the past year or worse, drop in a boatload of one sheets. </p>
<p><strong>Amateur graphic design:</strong> When we’re trying to sell ourselves as marketing and advertising experts the last thing we want to do is hand someone a media kit that looks unprofessional and dated. Groups that can’t afford to keep a professional graphic designer on staff should at least hire a third party to have their media kits professionally designed. </p>
<p>Here are a few good examples of media kits from outside of radio: </p>
<p><a contents="Fast Company" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://images.fastcompany.net/image/upload/v1579638927/fc/Mediakit_2020_1_21_20_yizyxd.pdf" target="_blank">Fast Company</a> A+ Incredible! </p>
<p><a contents="Runner’s World" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://assets.menshealth.co.uk/main/assets/RW_Brand_Feb17.pdf?mtime=1489058982" target="_blank">Runner’s World</a> B+ Pretty good. </p>
<p>Conversely, here are a couple outside of radio that aren’t that great: </p>
<p><a contents="A&amp;E" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://cdn.aenetworks.com/2020/03/AE_Networks_Ad-Specifications_Q2_2020.pdf" target="_blank">A&E</a> D- Looks a little dated. </p>
<p><a contents="Vanity Fair" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uLs4mC8ZfD-kOJ2NDpLp8e4PWDKROLBd/view" style="" target="_blank">Vanity Fair</a> C- Not very visually pleasing. </p>
<p>With all of that in mind, how would you rate your media kit?</p>
<p>If you’d like a free outside opinion on your media kit, email it to me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. We also do graphic design in house and can recommend other outside graphic designers as well.</p>
<p>Pic designed by creativeart for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62908252020-04-22T14:47:28-05:002020-04-22T14:47:28-05:00Switching to the Minute Model By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/e8738a1a19584ce585717e5c2f8bc62bc8770a2b/original/stopwatch-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>It’s no secret that I believe radio stations should shorten their stopsets to fit listeners’ changing habits and advertisers’ expectations. Here’s the <a contents="‘Making the Case for Shorter Stopsets’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radioink.com/2019/11/05/making-a-case-for-shorter-stopsets/" target="_blank">‘Making the Case for Shorter Stopsets’</a> article I wrote for Radio Ink laying out my thoughts on break length. </p>
<p>However, I certainly understand how challenging that can be. When a station is closed to sold out it’s virtually impossible to cut forty percent, or more, of available inventory on the assumption that the new limited inventory will demand a higher rate. So, I've mainly suggested the minute model for new market entrants, format flips or underperforming stations. </p>
<p>Then a global pandemic changed everything. Now, unfortunately, almost everyone has a lot of unsold inventory. Most are choosing to just run their normal traffic clock with fewer spots or loading up some hours and doing other commercial free hours. But, this would be a great time for stations to consider making the switch to the minute model. That way when the ad dollars do return they’re better positioned to hold their rates and they’ve already trained their listeners for the adjustment. </p>
<p>The minute model I’ve used gets a maximum of seven minutes of inventory into the hour. Traditional wisdom says that stopping down for spots that often would kill pacing. But, it doesn’t have to. Strategically placed imaging throughout the hour, and going into each break, lets the listener know that the station will never stop down for longer than a minute. Pairing that with commercial production that sounds more like entertainment elements creates a station that has even better pacing then one with a traditional three break clock. With the minute model ads are woven into the programming more seamlessly and don’t seem like an unwelcome necessity to listeners or a forewarning that it will be awhile before the content they came for returns. </p>
<p>The listeners are an easy sell though, convincing the advertiser to pay a premium for it is the challenge. The first step is educating the sales staff on positioning the inventory as exclusive, because if someone buys a sixty second spot within the minute model they’re the only commercial in the break and they’ll be surrounded by entertainment elements. Then, teaching them to explain how radio ads are traditionally scheduled with only the biggest advertisers, or ones that pay a premium for fixed position spots, getting the coveted first slots within a long-form break. While others can get buried behind upwards of twelve or more units. </p>
<p>The goal of the minute model is for our listeners to stay with us throughout our commercials as opposed to bailing because they know they’re several minutes from more music or content. </p>
<p>It also pairs well with branding advertisers as partners on the air, and the website, instead of commercial advertisers. Especially if other stations within the market are running any imaging that makes commercials sound like a nuisance. </p>
<p>If seven minutes an hour isn’t enough, that inventory can also be paired with a handful of sold imaging pieces per hour and a sold live mention without overwhelming the listener. </p>
<p>Plus, it obviously translates much better to streaming online and competing with Pandora and Spotify. </p>
<p>A variation would be for a station to just run their breaks as scheduled but cut them to two minutes to set them up for transitioning to sixty second breaks later. </p>
<p>If you’d like more info on the minute model, including clocks and imaging, email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Pic designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62832322020-04-15T12:43:18-05:002020-04-15T12:43:19-05:00Interactive Voicetrack Shifts By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/93dd909f508ea2cfa266072f4853e4ef46b4f961/original/interactive.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>With the pandemic forcing air talent to broadcast from home, many DJs who are used to being live everyday are now forced to voicetrack their daily shifts. However, that doesn’t mean we have to abandon engaging and interacting with our listeners entirely. </p>
<p>Here are some ways to make a voicetracked shift interactive: </p>
<p><strong>Be live elsewhere.</strong> On-air personalities might not be able to broadcast live on the air right now but they can still be live and engaged in real-time on the station’s other platforms. Interacting with listeners on social media and the station app during their shift makes them sound live and helps to maintain the relationship the air talent have developed with their listeners. </p>
<p><strong>Bank phone calls.</strong> If engineering a way to take live calls from home isn’t an option, setup an inexpensive web-based phone line, like <a contents="Grasshopper" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://grasshopper.com/remote-work-tools/" target="_blank">Grasshopper</a>, to forward request line calls to. These services allow for anyone with a username and password to log in and grab banked voice mails. Plus, multiple mailboxes make it easy to forward listeners to specific DJs or specific contests. They are also inexpensive and simple to setup and edit. To save money a group could setup one main number for all stations to forward to but obviously having one for each station would work best. </p>
<p><strong>Polls and Surveys.</strong> Use the station websites, google forms or social media to post daily polls using things we would typically do as on-air phone topics. Then take multiple poll topics and bundle them together into longer listener surveys with prizes tied in and sponsorship opportunities. </p>
<p><strong>Getting creative with content.</strong> We should all take a cue from the late-night TV hosts who’ve transitioned to doing their shows from home and get creative with our own clickable, shareable content. Brainstorming how to do every benchmark, feature and contest we were doing prior to the health crisis within these new constraints. Then, coming up with additional web, on-air and social content that our listeners might find relevant and compelling. Here’s some <a contents="digital content idea starters" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/home/blog/digital-content-idea-starters-by-andy-meadows">digital content idea starters</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Going old school.</strong> Now would be a good time to revive texting platforms for contesting to fill the phone void and regularly give out DJ email addresses to interact with listeners via email. </p>
<p><strong>Embracing new technology.</strong> <a contents="House Party" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://houseparty.com/" target="_blank">House Party</a> is a popular new app people are using to do virtual game nights with their friends and family. Air personalities could use House Party to set up exclusive contests for station VIPs with the DJ either playing along or acting as the host. </p>
<p>Comment below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com with your feedback and questions. Pic designed by slidesgo for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62762882020-04-08T14:32:49-05:002020-04-08T14:32:49-05:00Time for Local Radio to Shine By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/ea09fb4425169d7f7f9347776dc9f228e59f681a/original/sunshine-jannoon028.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We’re currently in the midst of a crisis unlike anything any of us have seen in our lifetime. A global pandemic in a world more mobile, and more populated than ever. A pausing of the global economy in a time where all of our economies are interwoven and interdependent. If there ever was a time for local radio to step up to the plate and show it’s value, that time is now. </p>
<p>So, let’s play to our strengths. </p>
<p><strong>Community Involvement: </strong>Even though most of our on-air personalities are broadcasting from home and unable to do on-site remotes and events. Let’s use this time to get creative and find ways to ramp up our community involvement through Facebook and Instagram lives, videos on web and social media promoting important community issues along with plugging businesses that are still open and of course regularly updated, timely on-air updates. </p>
<p><strong>Flexibility:</strong> It’s hard to think long term when being flooded by cancellations and worrying about how to keep the power on at the transmitter site. But, if its at all possible, working with our local advertisers by deferring payments or running additional bonus spots to help them survive will be remembered when things get back to normal. </p>
<p><strong>Turn-around Time:</strong> Virtually every spot a station is running for a local advertiser should be revised. If we want to keep the bulk of them advertising through this difficult period, then we have to do everything we can to make sure the ads they’re running are effective. If it isn’t relevant to the listener tuning in mid-quarantine then it should be revised. </p>
<p><strong>Personnel:</strong> When staring at projections that are now worthless, and facing the uncertainty of what everything will look like in a few months, it naturally leads us to consider layoffs. It’s easy to think ‘Let’s cut a little now so we don’t have to cut a lot later.’ But, qualified and professional broadcasters are unique and increasingly rare. We should be open and honest with them about the situation and then do whatever we can to keep them. The idea that there are a whole bunch of broadcasters out there looking for work after the recent layoffs is a false narrative with many of them likely to change industries all-together. The same goes for managers. It takes a special combination of coach, cheerleader, therapist and disciplinarian to manage on-air talent. GMs, PDs and OMs who have mastered those skills are very hard to replace.</p>
<p>Pic designed by Jannoon 028 for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62686942020-04-01T15:18:22-05:002020-11-11T04:25:01-06:00Broadcasting During the Pandemic By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/6cfc9a889d6874b61e03673cb0b9423ee69a5785/original/radio-tower.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As the world struggles to adapt to our new reality, we are all scrambling to figure out how to continue broadcasting during this once in a lifetime pandemic. Rushing to setup home studios, limiting access to our buildings and finding ways to keep from hemorrhaging ad revenue. Meanwhile, many markets are actually seeing a spike in radio listening with local radio providing a comforting and familiar voice to our communities. </p>
<p>There’s no better time than now to think outside of the box and come up with some creative solutions for our staff and our advertisers. Sometimes our temporary inability to do things the way we usually do them spurs our greatest innovations. </p>
<p>Here are a few unconventional ideas for these unconventional times we’re living in. </p>
<p><strong>Social Media Live Remotes</strong>: With most of our air talent broadcasting from home, we could be doing some Facebook and Instagram live remotes to help get the word out on businesses who are still doing takeout, delivery or shipping their products. The on-air personalities would simply jump on the station’s social pages, alternating between Facebook and Instagram probably, to promote the business. Plus, if possible, they could do some product placement by strategically placing products from the businesses. </p>
<p><strong>Facebook Live Takeovers</strong>: We’ve all seen stations allowing artists to take over their Facebook pages to do live shows. What about allowing a key advertiser that’s currently offering delivery, or shipping products, to take over the station’s Facebook page for a couple of minutes to promote their business? Then boosting and resharing that video to get extra reach. Sure, they could do that on their own if they have a fan page, but more than likely the station’s page has more fans. Obviously, it would have to be a client that coud be trusted to represent themselves and the station well. </p>
<p><strong>Daily Delivery Updates</strong>: A sixty second pre-recorded daily update that runs a few times each day listing some of the specific delivery deals from local restaurants. Then taking that audio and turning it into a video to share on the website and social media. </p>
<p><strong>Sponsored PSAs</strong>: Low cost or no cost opportunities for local advertisers to attach to a message that’s important to them during the pandemic. IE saluting local medical personal, grocery store and pharmacy workers, takeout and delivery restaurant employees, or just a message to stay home, stay safe and wash your hands. </p>
<p><strong>Virtual Happy Hours with the Air Staff</strong>: Everyone’s already doing them anyway, why not have one, or more, of your air talent host a virtual happy hour sponsored by a local bar that’s still offering takeout or delivery. </p>
<p><strong>Virtual Concert Calendar</strong>: Update on all the artists within a station’s format playing live at home shows on social media that week. Cut as an audio promo for on air and a video to share on social and the web. </p>
<p><strong>Zoom Interviews</strong>: Have a member of the air staff do zoom interviews with artists, local celebrities and local officials powered by a local sponsor. </p>
<p><strong>Local Coronavirus Updates</strong>: Team up with local experts for daily local coronavirus updates that run throughout the day. Similar to weather reports only a little longer. Rotate between the county emergency management coordinator, local law enforcement, hospital administrators, the chamber of commerce and local government officials. If it gets traction turn it into a weekly podcast and tie in a sponsor who tags into a local PSA message about whatever that week’s biggest coronavirus-related need is in the community.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62615952020-03-25T13:15:27-05:002020-11-03T09:23:22-06:00Best Podcast Hosting Sites for Broadcasters By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/1cb3cc65399fd10736d084d4442d15e9d0ddd6ee/original/podcast-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Although all of the companies that radio stations use to host their websites allow them to upload audio, our podcasts are much more likely to grow a legitimate audience if we use a podcast hosting site that distributes to all the major players. Simply put, if we want podcast listeners, we have to go to where people are getting their podcasts. </p>
<p>After reviewing several of the popular sites, here is my list of the 5 best podcast hosting sites for broadcasters. I put them in no particular order because the one that will work best for any individual podcaster depends on how tech savvy they are and which features are most important to them. All of these distribute to every major podcasting platform (Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.) and offer unlimited storage with paid plans. </p>
<p><a contents="Simplecast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://simplecast.com/" style="" target="_blank">Simplecast</a>: (Showtime and Nike) Like the name implies Simplecast is very easy to use with one click publishing. It also boasts advanced analytics, customizable show websites, embeddable web players, and allows multiple podcast managers. This one made my list because their recast feature makes it simple to post podcast trailers or promos to social feeds to help drive traffic. They offer a 14-day free trial and monthly plans that range from $15 to $85 per month. </p>
<p><a contents="Buzzsprout" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/" style="" target="_blank">Buzzsprout</a>: The biggest selling feature of Buzzsprout is how they help you sell with some pretty cool monetization tools in their affiliate marketplace. Their platform also schedules podcasts, comes with an embeddable player and analytics. Plus, there’s a feature that allows us to create chapter marks so listeners can skip right to specific content within the podcasts. Buzzsprouts free trials last a full 90 days, plans start at $12 per month and for 25 cents per minute they will transcribe the podcast. NOTE: If you plan on including live music performances in your podcast you should probably pay the extra $6 per month to add 192k stereo optimization. </p>
<p><a contents="Transistor" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://transistor.fm/" style="" target="_blank">Transistor</a>: (Cards Against Humanity) Transistor is a good option if the goal is to upload multiple different podcasts because they allow a single account to do that with no additional charge. They also pack a fair amount of features into their cheaper plans with multiple users, live customer support and advanced analytics. But, that’s because they do include some branding in the players on the lower cost plans. To get rid of the branding step up to the $99 per month business plan. Transistor also offers a 14-day free trial. </p>
<p><a contents="Captivate" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.captivate.fm/" style="" target="_blank">Captivate</a>: Their goal is to help podcasters grow their audience through Captivate’s helpful marketing tools and websites with calls to action. Like most of the others they offer unlimited podcasts, multiple team members, custom players and analytics. But, unlike many hosting sites they have 24/7 live support. Monthly plans start at $19. </p>
<p><a contents="Podbean" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.podbean.com/" style="" target="_blank">Podbean</a>: Podbean is one of the original podcast hosting sites and it’s still a great place to get started as a podcaster because of their totally free basic plan. It only comes with 5 hours of storage though so it’s basically like an extended free trial. For someone that’s just planning on doing audio podcasts their $14 per month unlimited audio plan should suffice. It comes with unlimited storage, unmetered bandwidth, embeddable players and ties in their ads market rev sharing program. The $29 unlimited plus plan supports video and adds their Patron Program and PodAds for additional monetization. </p>
<p>There are multiple other podcast hosting sites but these five stand out to me as the best options for broadcasters that want to get into podcasting. Comment below with other sites that you’ve used and their pros and cons. Also, <a contents="click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://books2read.com/u/bP9P5d" target="_blank">click here</a> to get a copy of my new "From Broadcast to Podcast" ebook.</p>
<p>Pic designed by ijeab for <a contents="freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62539122020-03-18T14:03:13-05:002022-02-21T08:37:25-06:00Building a Home Studio By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/b014f9e4085c49365125e81d386b14752581c585/original/houses.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />With companies across the country telling their employees to work from home amid the Coronavirus outbreak, now is a good time to beef up our in-home studios. Luckily with affordable USB mixers and the improvement of audio transmission over IP, the barrier for entry to create a professional home studio is much lower than it was just a few years ago. </p>
<p>If someone is trying to match up their audio with the station’s studio audio the best option would be to use the exact same mic processors and microphones that are used in the station’s studios. Otherwise, here are some of our equipment suggestions for building a home studio. </p>
<p><strong>Microphones:</strong> For broadcast and podcasting we’d suggest an <a contents="Electrovoice re20" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wwbw.com/Electro-Voice-RE20-Dynamic-Cardioid-Microphone-270009.wwbw?source=TWWR5J1BC&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmsrxBRDaARIsANyiD1q1rIPEl1UzKYXjcLPy7g6iWMDjOXnvkemZoaCRrLSgH3kT3iR2WyMaAhGgEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Electrovoice re20</a> or <a contents="Shure SM7B" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.guitarcenter.com/Shure/SM7B-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone-1274034493929.gc?source=4WWRWXGG&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6sHzBRCbARIsAF8FMpUwIG346jj0H3FOKEHpliplKkOHbmnwUe9C_0bymEDaPWN2Eyf6tL0aAoAZEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Shure SM7B</a> with a pop filter. Either of those work well for voice-tracking, production, station voicework and podcasting. However, someone that’s looking to get high-end voice work might want to step up to the <a contents="Sennheiser MKH-416" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.markertek.com/product/senn-mkh-416/sennheiser-mkh-416-super-cardioid-short-shotgun-microphone-matte-black?ne_ppc_id=1776332787&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmsrxBRDaARIsANyiD1qETIvKy0EUWJfvmwQF18_KQtFHEci-eIzJ1x05Xr-t6iTEcCE6pQ8aAosQEALw_wcB" target="_blank">Sennheiser MKH-416</a> or, of course, a Neumann. </p>
<p><strong>Mic Processors:</strong> In my home voiceover studio I use a Symetrix 528e, which they don’t make anymore. But personally, I’ve been happy with every Symetrix mic processor I’ve ever used. A cheaper alternative is a <a contents="DBX 286s" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/182685-dbx-286s-microphone-preamp-and-processor?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmsrxBRDaARIsANyiD1r-pT8ROuKECu_Z8Mf8fTlf-YhmnjHZSnauU2gj_jOly6cG0D9-PAAaAsUAEALw_wcB" target="_blank">DBX 286s</a>. I’m also considering stepping up to a <a contents="Wheatstone M1" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bswusa.com/Voice-Processors-Wheatstone-M1-P5952.aspx" target="_blank">Wheatstone M1</a>. A workaround for podcast studios that need several mics but can’t afford to buy a processor for each mic, is to run multiple mics into a mixer and then run the output from the mixer into the mic processor. Obviously going that route means each mic would be processed the exact same, minus whatever tweaks can be made through the mixer EQ, but it saves a lot of money. </p>
<p><strong>Mixer:</strong> There are several quality USB mixers that basically act as a replacement for the $1,500 sound card most radio automation and production computers have in them. The two I use are the <a contents="Alesis Multi Mix 8 USB" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Alesis-MultiMix-USB-FX-Eight-Channel/dp/B00404E7VK" target="_blank">Alesis Multi Mix 8 USB</a> and the <a contents="Behringer Xenyx X222" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/X2222USB--behringer-xenyx-x2222usb-mixer-with-usb-and-effects?mrkgadid=1233692429&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gdsa&mrkgbflag=0&mrkgcat=studio&recording&&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=39700048796760939&&device=c&network=g&matchtype=b&locationid=%7bloc_phyiscal_ms%7d&creative=408044624304&targetid=aud-297527862690:dsa-625703110307&campaignid=6730319008&gclsrc=aw.ds&&mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=1233692429&rkg_id=0&campaigntype=dsa&campaign=aaDSA&adgroup=1233692429:DSA%20-%20Analog%20Mixers&placement=google&adpos=&creative=408044624304&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6sHzBRCbARIsAF8FMpUS_3TZn0RK-TBdUdJXW3OvUO4wG3oXCTXFzu4oXKab03zHKrd53_gaAvqGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">Behringer Xenyx X222</a>. They are both plug and play for any computer with a USB input. The Alesis has plenty of inputs (4 XLR inputs for mics) and EQ capabilities for broadcasting and it’s half the price ($150). Alesis even makes a <a contents="MultiMix 4 USB" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Alesis-MultiMix-USB-FX-Eight-Channel/dp/B00IPF9DX2?th=1" target="_blank">MultiMix 4 USB</a> now that’s $50 less with 2 XLR inputs. The Behringer is really overkill for most home broadcasting and recording. For someone that’s looking for something that’s closer to a typical broadcasting console the <a contents="RodeCaster Pro Podcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rode/RODECaster-Pro-Integrated-Podcast-Production-Console-1500000270788.gc?rNtt=rodecaster%20pro&index=1#productDetail" target="_blank">RodeCaster Pro Podcast</a> Console might be a good fit but it’s a little pricier. A lot of people skip the mixer and mic processor all-together by getting a USB mic but personally I haven’t been able to produce broadcast-quality audio doing that as of yet. </p>
<p><strong>Sound Proofing: </strong>The reason most of the studios we’ve all broadcasted in have sounded so good is because they’re technically rooms within a room. They are built using <a contents="sound isolation clips" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://acousticalsolutions.com/product/resilient-sound-isolation-clip-rsic-1/?attribute_pa_box-quantity=50&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=All_Products&utm_campaign=Shopping_-_Main_-_Google&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6sHzBRCbARIsAF8FMpVxY8OaOML09W4oYTXpnYOpnuCj3R-YHSlfxH-zzb22A5ZbqQG__08aAnWNEALw_wcB" target="_blank">sound isolation clips</a> so no metal or wood is directly touching another wall and transferring sound between rooms, staggering studs, using acoustical insulation and, if possible, quiet rock instead of regular sheet rock. The best way to recreate this scenario at home is to use an interior room, with little-to-no windows, use a towel or blanket to better seal the door and a couple of <a contents="acoustic sound blankets" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.vocalboothtogo.com/product/vb-80-group-product/" target="_blank">acoustic sound blankets</a> to create a small studio. The sound blankets are inexpensive and they have a better NRC, noise reduction coefficient, than most sound proofing you see in professional studios. I always add the grommets so they’re easier to hang. Closets work great because they already don’t have windows and they are easier to sound-proof because of their size. </p>
<p><strong>Cables: </strong>Other than the power cables that come with the processor and mixer, along with the mixer’s USB cable, the only other cables that are needed are two XLRs for each mic (One to the mic processor first and then one from the mic processor to the USB mixer). </p>
<p><strong>Audio Over IP: </strong>Turn it into a live studio by adding a codec that uses audio over IP like a <a contents="Comrex Bric Link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bswusa.com/Codecs-Comrex-BRIC-Link-II-P11106.aspx" target="_blank">Comrex Bric Link</a>, <a contents="Comrex Access" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bswusa.com/Codecs-Comrex-ACCESS-NX-RACK-P14099.aspx" target="_blank">Comrex Access</a>, or <a contents="TieLine" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bswusa.com/Codecs-Tieline-Bridge-IT-Pro-P5857.aspx" target="_blank">TieLine</a>. A much cheaper alternative is a <a contents="Barix Instreamer" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bswusa.com/Codecs-Barix-Instreamer-P8850.aspx" target="_blank">Barix Instreamer</a>, but that will cut down on the audio quality. </p>
<p>For production and imaging work where headphones might not be sufficient, powered speakers can be added for playback and there are several good options in the $100 to $200 range. Personally, I use a pair of Tannoy Reveal 501a powered speakers. An equipment rack helps to house everything and make it easier to transport if you’re moving it into and out of rooms (Mic processors will last a lot longer in a rack.) Plus, a few boom or tabletop mic stands and an audio editor like Adobe Audition will also be needed. </p>
<p>Especially if we’re willing to buy used the basic home studio can be built for under $800 (Plus the cost of the audio editor). However, it can get pricey quick depending on the mics and processors we choose. But it’s well worth it after about the hundredth time you can re-voice something instead of driving into the studio. </p>
<p>Comment below with your thoughts or email me with any questions at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Pic designed by macrovector for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62453412020-03-11T12:12:59-05:002022-01-24T21:56:17-06:00Digital Content Idea Starters By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/de4fa2f15b2ac149c64224789b48b5ea89c5487c/original/ideas.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />If we want to drive significantly more traffic to our digital assets we have to create compelling, clickable, sharable content. But, with the laundry list of other daily tasks that have to get done within any station, finding the time to be creative can be a challenge. Sharing content other websites have curated is better than nothing, but to really move the needle we need to post a handful of original digital content every week on each of our station’s sites. </p>
<p>With that in mind here are a few digital content idea starters: </p>
<p>60 Seconds With… (Video with a Celebrity, Athlete, Artist, Chef, Bartender, or an Interesting Advertiser) </p>
<p>Top 5 Songs This Week on <em>Station </em>(Video and Blog) </p>
<p>Virtual Music Meeting (Video with link to a web poll helping to decide the station’s adds for that week) </p>
<p>New <em>Station</em> Music This Week (Blog, Video or Podcast once the new songs have been chosen)</p>
<p>Video Concert Calendar (Video version hitting the highlights of your online concert calendar) </p>
<p>Album Reviews (Blog, Video or Podcast) </p>
<p>Artists You Should Know (Blog, Video or Podcast) </p>
<p>Jock Commentary on a Major Local News/Sports Story (Blog, Video or Podcast) </p>
<p>New in Town (Blog, Podcast or Video Sales Feature that focuses on a new business) </p>
<p>Taste of What’s Coming Up This Hour on… (Teaser Video for social promoting upcoming songs or content that’s easy to sell a sponsor into and helps drive on-air traffic) </p>
<p>Song of the Day (On air feature with web/social video component) </p>
<p>Featured Artist of the Month (On air feature with web/social video component) </p>
<p>Artist Takeover (Recorded on air feature where an artist jocks an hour with web and social components) </p>
<p>Things to do in <em>Your Town</em> This Weekend (Video linked to event calendar) </p>
<p>New <em>Station</em> Music on Vinyl (Blog) </p>
<p>Best in Town (Blog, video or podcast ranking the top margaritas, burgers, tacos, signature cocktails, etc in your area) </p>
<p>Today in History (I’ve never been too fond of this on-air unless the personality is good at making it funny but it is an easy segment to turn into fun video content for social/website)</p>
<p>5 Things to Know and/or A Daily Phone Topic with a Web Poll (Topical content from our prep service, Solo Show Prep, that you can copy/paste to your website. Here's <a contents="some examples" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/example-show-prep" target="_blank">some examples</a> from previous days and here's <a contents="the link to sign up" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/show-prep" target="_blank">the link to sign up</a>)</p>
<p>Turning An On-Air Feature/Benchmark Into a Podcast (Take your best on-air feature and extend it into a podcast. Some features will work even better when they are done long-form first for a podcast and then edited down to shorter segments for on-air. Plus, then the digital component is ready to go when it hits the air.) </p>
<p>Beyond those suggestions look at content that works well on websites that survive solely on online advertising and come up with ways to tailor it to your format or region. Most of those sites are really just curating other people’s content anyway. There’s no reason we can’t do the same as a radio station as long as we credit, and link to, the original site. That way instead of sharing a Buzzfeed, People, or TV station’s story on our social sites we’re sharing original content from our station websites that we monetize. </p>
<p>Of course any original content you create is easy to sell sponsors into so you can set aside a small budget to boost or sponsor your social posts and extend their reach. </p>
<p>If you’d like spec videos of the custom, video content that we can create for your station email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. </p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/">www.freepik.com.</a></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62372782020-03-04T14:00:48-06:002022-03-16T09:45:13-05:00Using Social to Drive New Cume By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/91d1f5a1c823037f01392507dc7600188a3cbe72/original/3107569.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Social media isn’t just a useful tool to promote our events and promotions, it’s also a great way to drive new cume and new ad revenue. Every year there are more free built-in, or inexpensive, third party tools available to help schedule social posts to set those critically important listening appointments. Now all we have to do is create some professional-looking digital content that catches the eye of potential new listeners and advertisers. Then we take a portion of those ad dollars and put money behind boosted and sponsored posts to extend their reach even further and allow for targeting. </p>
<p>The first trick is to take a few things that we’re already doing and come up with some creative ways to pre and post promote them on social media. For instance, after music logs are scheduled we could look at a handful of hours and produce some “Here’s a taste of what’s coming up this hour” graphic or video teaser posts for social media. Those teasers would feature a few of the big hits that will play that hour and be scheduled to post right at the top of that specific hour. It works well to reinforce the station’s brand and it’s a perfect tie in sponsorship for a restaurant, grocery or convenience store. </p>
<p>On any station that’s playing new music there are always a few songs per week that are being considered for adds. We could grab the hooks from those tunes, debut the songs in an on-air segment and create an audio promo for the promo rotator. Then turn that audio promo into a quick video that’s linked to a web poll on the station website. It will look good on social media, make the listeners feel like they’re included in the process and it gets us some free local music research. It also creates another attractive integrated solution for an advertiser. </p>
<p>Synching up contest giveaways with scheduled social posts that run a few minutes before a giveaway is another easy way to drive cume. But, just like on-air teases, its important that we’re specific, “You’re next chance to win X is coming up in less than 10 minutes, tune in now.” </p>
<p>Virtually any content segment worthy of being on air can be turned into digital content in one form or another. But if on-air personalities can learn to <a contents="make digital a part of their prep process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/blogs/applying-radio-rules-to-podcasting/posts/making-digital-part-of-the-prep-process-by-andy-meadows" target="_blank">make digital a part of their prep process</a> than they can identify multiple specific times throughout each day to utilize social to drive new cume. Doing this during the planning process also helps us strategically match up content with the platform that’s best suited to promote it and vary it up so we’re not over-sharing on any one platform. </p>
<p>If you would like us to create a few spec videos for any of your stations or you’re interested in having us train your staff on digital content creation, email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Pic designed by pikisuperstar for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62288802020-02-26T14:58:13-06:002022-05-31T02:37:17-05:00Engineered For Success By Rob and Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/248bd76fda76a1c6e0ab1e102c240f1d48bd722f/original/engineering.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Every radio group spends a lot of time and energy identifying their target audience, developing all of their on-air content and an effective sales strategy. Yet all of it can be negated in an instant if our facilities aren’t properly engineered. </p>
<p>From the tower site to the studio, and even their remote vehicles, most market leading stations are engineered for success. Are you? </p>
<p>Here are a few common engineering mistakes we’ve seen countless times over the years. </p>
<p><strong>Poorly Processed:</strong> Nothing you do in programming will help you win if you’re audio quality is compromised. Some common mistakes include trying to be the loudest station on the dial or over-compressing to the point where the songs have no dynamic range. </p>
<p><strong>Death by Dust: </strong>Clean studios, engineering rooms and transmitter sites aren’t just easier on the eyes and better for showing off to potential clients. They also extend the life of critical, and expensive, equipment and cut down the time spent scrambling to fix emergencies. If you see a layer of dust on the equipment then its a safe bet there will be other maintenance issues. </p>
<p><strong>Being a hard act to follow:</strong> It’s never a good sign when an engineer says, “Nobody knows how any of this works but me.” A good broadcast engineer takes pride in wiring studios and engineering rooms in a way that is simple for the next person to understand. Every second spent tracking down wires that aren’t labeled during an emergency is another second the station is off the air. If it looks like a rat’s nest inside that cabinet then someone’s been wiring on top of problems instead of rewiring. </p>
<p><strong>Confusing instead of communicating:</strong> Many engineers have a tendency to talk over everyone’s head. It’s not intentional it’s just hard to gauge another person’s level of technical expertise. Some people will stop you and tell you to put the technical jargon into plain English but others just nod along not wanting to admit that they don’t understand. Finding ways to communicate complicated processes without insulting or overwhelming non-technical people is one of the greatest skills an engineer can develop. Fielding repetitive questions can be annoying, but it’s a good sign when they’re asking questions because that means they’re trying to comprehend what we’re teaching them. </p>
<p><strong>Not putting everything in writing:</strong> It’s wonderful that everyone feels comfortable stopping the engineer in the hall and giving them a list of the 10 different problems that need their attention. But, that’s just not a realistic way for anyone to manage their workload. Putting everything down in a google doc or an email makes it easy to prioritize. Plus, now all of those engineering issues are documented so we can track them to see patterns developing and better allocate resources. </p>
<p><strong>Trying too hard to stretch a dime:</strong> It’s tempting to purchase inexpensive equipment even though it will have a significantly shorter life span or much higher operating and maintenance cost. But, it’s an engineer’s job to understand those variables and explain them during the planning process so they don’t come back and bite everyone down the road. </p>
<p>Need help with planning and executing your next engineering project? Email us at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. Picture designed by ijeab for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>
<p>Comment below with your thoughts.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62202802020-02-19T11:49:13-06:002021-04-14T23:54:31-05:00Daily Benchmarks: Promotable, Memorable, Sellable By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/10ecb53bc4f935342cffe02890dfb534dd7ff894/original/daily-appointment.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>There’s a good reason why we push personalities to package on-air segments into benchmarks and features. Put simply, they work. Listeners are much more likely to recall and recount on air content they hear if it’s consistently branded with a catchy name that’s easy to remember. </p>
<p>Sometimes features become so popular that they outshine the show themselves, like James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. It’s considered a good night when The <em>Late Late Show with James Corden</em> gets more than 1.6 million people to tune in. Yet, YouTube clips of his Carpool Karaoke segment routinely get more than 50 million views and some have had more than 211 million. A <a contents="recent episode" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh2qGWfmESk" target="_blank">recent episode</a> with pop-singer Billie Eilish racked up 42 million views in just one month. That’s probably why CBS extended the host through 2022 last August despite his less than stellar ratings. </p>
<p>Benchmarks and Features work because they are promotable, memorable and sellable. </p>
<p><strong>Promotable:</strong> Setting that appointment for a benchmark with a daily on-air promo, a few live teases and a social post the day of, will train listeners on when to tune in and if the contents strong enough they’ll even move their schedule around it. But it’s important that we’re specific when teasing, giving them an idea of what we’ll be doing instead of just saying the name of the benchmark. </p>
<p><strong>Memorable:</strong> It’s a lot easier for people to recall something we did on-air if it’s got a catchy moniker. If we want to be part of that water cooler talk, we better make it easy for people to tell their coworkers about that great segment they heard. What sounds better, “Did you see Carpool Karaoke last night?” or “Did you see James Corden driving around England with Adele while they sang in the car?” </p>
<p><strong>Sellable:</strong> Once a benchmark has proven itself as a solid programming feature that we’re confident we can pull off regularly, its time to incorporate a sponsor. We all know advertisers love to sponsor on-air content. Plus, if we’re promoting it like we should be through on-air promos, web blogs and social posts, we’ve already created a built-in integrated solution for that advertiser to utilize several of our platforms with one single sponsorship. </p>
<p>Before they become household names, all radio benchmarks should start as weekly features to see if they connect with listeners and if it’s realistic to create them daily. If they pass that test, then they can get their own spot on the clock as a daily benchmark and hopefully take on a life of their own. </p>
<p>Benchmarks are not just for morning shows either. Every on-air shift should have, or work toward having, a daily benchmark. Need some ideas? Email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com for a few benchmark and feature idea starters for your show. </p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="rawpixel.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rawpixel.com/" target="_blank">rawpixel.com</a> for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62131642020-02-12T12:56:49-06:002020-02-12T12:59:27-06:00Adapt and Thrive in 2020 By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/afc9e2fb983e0307f85c9d309707c5aaa79df6d9/original/thrive.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />While the overall size of the ad spending pie has steadily increased over the past few years, radio’s slice of the pie has slowly declined. In 2007 11.9% of ad spending in the US was going to radio, but that figure has gone down every year and, if forecasts hold, it’ll be a mere 7% by 2021. Over that same period internet ad spending is expected to go from 8.2% in 2007 to a projected 53.3% by the end of next year. Meaning that more than 50 cents of every dollar spent on advertising in the US will go toward internet advertising in 2021. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/11f3cb14e2a6872471952e76671e485761c3b82a/original/ad-age-stats.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><strong>Source: Zenith and <a contents="www.adage.com " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://adage.com/" style="">www.adage.com </a></strong></p>
<p>Yes radio ad spending is expected to grow by <a contents="nearly half a billion dollars" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/272412/radio-advertising-expenditure-in-the-us/#statisticContainer" target="_blank">nearly half a billion dollars</a> by 2023, but with OTA (Over the air) spending steadily decreasing virtually all of that growth will come from digital. The fastest growing overall advertisers are all online based, Facebook, Netflix, Chewy and Overstock. Plus, some of our top traditional ad spending categories in radio are struggling, like retail and <a contents="auto" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/auto-industry-shrinking-at-peak-car-dragging-global-economy-lower-2019-10-1028644883" target="_blank">auto</a>. </p>
<p>However, if we commit to change our approach in 2020 radio can prove those bleak forecasts wrong. 2020 can and should be the year we experiment with formats, find new ways to create digital content, adapt our sales approach to better monetize that new content, and embrace new and emerging technologies. </p>
<p>2020 would be a great year to reevaluate and adjust our <a contents="hourly spot-loads" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radioink.com/2019/11/05/making-a-case-for-shorter-stopsets/" target="_blank">hourly spot-loads</a> and utilize every platform we have to <a contents="surround our listeners" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radioink.com/2019/11/25/surrounding-the-listener/" target="_blank">surround our listeners</a> throughout the day. We have a megaphone that still reaches an enormous amount of people and our industry is full of incredibly creative and innovative content creators. Now is not the time for us to double down on all the things that have worked well in the past. It’s the time for us to innovate, adapt and embrace change. If we do, we’ll find new ways to attract and retain an even broader audience and we'll better serve our advertisers. </p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/62047302020-02-05T14:16:57-06:002022-04-06T11:14:24-05:00Making Radio a New Music Discovery Tool Again By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/fcd03b0d6130ad503c21373620c4a0669a036414/original/1773.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When you ask anyone under the age of thirty how they find new music you’ll get a lot of answers, but terrestrial radio will probably not be one of them. For years now radio’s role as a <strong>New Music Discovery Device</strong> has continued to diminish as people shift to other platforms. </p>
<p>Artists, labels and promoters are well aware of this fact, with many of them waiting to see how many Spotify streams a new song can get before releasing it to radio. </p>
<p>How do we win at least some of that market share back? </p>
<p>I think we start by being more open about our process for adding music, creating a place on our websites for submitting music that explains how we add tunes. This could look similar to a literary agent’s submission page where artists submit the work they’re trying to get published. But ours would spell out what info we need, types of music we’re looking for, audio format, etc. Plus, it would create a nice place to gather all of that music instead of simply filling up the PD or MD’s inbox. Maybe only a handful of those songs will make it on-air but more of them could be showcased in a specialty show or online. </p>
<p>It would also help if we got back on the front end of adding new songs. I understand there’s a solid strategy behind waiting to see if something works, but experienced radio programmers are some of the best in the business at predicting which songs are going to be a hit. We need to utilize those skills and move a little faster on new adds. </p>
<p>The general perception about terrestrial radio by non-radio people is that all of our formats are the same from market to market and to be fair we’re not doing a lot to change that perception. Yes, it’s true that on mainstream formats 80 to 90% of our playlists are going to be the same regardless of our market. However, what we do with that remaining 10 to 20% can still have a big impact. If we commit to using local music testing to identify some local and regional differences within our markets, and then highlight those songs or categories with imaging and outside marketing, we’ll slowly start to change that narrative. </p>
<p>Local music testing helps on two fronts, branding to listeners that our stations are still a tool for discovering new music and getting us valuable research we can use to localize our formats. Plus, it’s now much more cost efficient and less complicated to pull off than it used to be. </p>
<p>Online testing services like <a contents="Test All Media" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://testallmedia.com/marketing/" target="_blank">Test All Media</a> work well for creating weekly new music tests and for testing recurrent and gold categories over longer stretches of time. Plus, to extend the reach even further we can use it on a tablet on-site at events as well. But, to truly get a response from the masses it’s critical that we tie in incentives for everybody taking the surveys which should be easy to get from a sponsor (Free taco, small drink, or a digital download of something.) If that’s not possible at least a big overriding prize that they all have a chance to win, but everyone getting something small for participating seems to work best. </p>
<p>Recently I started using short videos to create what I call <strong>Social Media Music Meetings</strong> for some of my clients. It’s pretty simple, I just take three songs we’re considering adding, grab the hooks, pictures, logo, have the station voice record an intro/outro, and create a poll to let listeners weigh in. They work best if we throw a few dollars behind a boost on Facebook. Besides the marketing and feedback component, it can also help drive clicks to your website if you link it to a page to see full music videos and a web poll to choose the song. Plus, it’s easy to tie in a sponsor. </p>
<p>Contact me if you’d like me to send you a demo or if you’re interested in having me come on as a consultant and train your staff on creating local music tests and other digital content. </p>
<p>Pic designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/61954212020-01-29T09:46:18-06:002020-02-05T14:23:00-06:00The Single Station Strategy By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/3d39000295c52bd9261745f6f97226faba9c82c2/original/strategy.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>How would you run each of your radio stations if it was the only station you had? What format would you choose, which on air shifts would you cover live, how often would you hit the streets, what kind of on-air promotions would you do? </p>
<p>Having multiple stations within a market has a lot of benefits, consolidation of resources, the ability to bundle and cross-promote. But, the major downside is it almost always leads to neglecting one or two under-performing stations to shift resources to the top billing station(s). </p>
<p>From a purely financial standpoint this can be problematic. As we all know, there are some hard costs that are the same regardless of a station’s performance, utility bills, transmitter, tower and equipment maintenance. Plus, stations aren’t sold on potential anymore, they’re sold based on a cash flow multiple, so under-resourced and under-performing stations lower the value of the entire group. </p>
<p>Ratings and revenue-wise those stations leave groups vulnerable to competitors with less stations that are able to focus their on-air and promotional resources. Also, groups with multiple stations tend to be uniform on things like spot break length, website design and overall sales strategy for a whole host of good reasons. However, that gives them less flexible to tailor any of those to a specific station or format. </p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that groups with multiple stations in a market shouldn’t share resources where and when it’s appropriate. I’m simply suggesting that stepping back and asking ourselves how we would run each individual station if it were our only one, will lead to a better overall approach that helps to maximize the value of each individual property. </p>
<p>Picture designed by ijeab for www.freepik.com.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/61390152020-01-21T10:00:46-06:002022-01-24T21:52:41-06:00Network to Get Work By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/fbe0ad01072d4b2979767a6c5d7e23746b3cca51/original/networking-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Ever wondered why most jobs go to someone the hiring manager already knows? It’s simple, we’ve all been burned by someone who looks good on paper and interviews well, then turns out to be a dud or a problem employee. </p>
<p>With their years of training and experience interacting with people, on air personalities tend to shine during in-person interviews. But, it’s very hard to judge how well someone you just met will get along with your existing staff, fit in with your company culture, and react to your coaching and direction. So, managers tend to put available candidates they know, or have at least met and spoke with, at the top of the list. </p>
<p>That’s why networking is so vitally important in our industry and it can be more affordable than you think. Most of the radio conventions are in cities that are fairly cheap to fly to, you can generally get discounted entry and there are always cheaper hotel alternatives. However, there are some real benefits to staying at the convention hotel. The lobby bar and hotel restaurants are often the best place to network in the entire convention. </p>
<p>At those conventions, the Exhibition Hall isn’t the best place to make connections. It’s way too crowded, you’re being pitched something every few feet you walk and after a while it’s all kind of a blur. So, make sure you take part in sessions. Particularly sessions that you know Program Directors, GM’s and OM’s will be attending. </p>
<p>Ask questions and don’t be shy letting people know that you’re available. Also, come prepared with a business card that links to your personality website and make sure to get their card as well so you can follow up with a “Nice to meet you” email. </p>
<p>When it’s not convention time, do your best to stay in touch with your radio contacts by reaching out to them every few months. They are often your best resource when looking for a new gig. So, stay on their radar and make it easy for them to pass along your info by emailing them a link to your personality website with your audio, bio and contact info. </p>
<p>We all know there are less jobs every year in this highly competitive business. According to the <a contents="US Bureau of Labor Statistics" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/announcers.htm" target="_blank">US Bureau of Labor Statistics</a> there will be a five percent decline in the number of Radio and Television Announcers over the next ten years. They don’t break out radio and television so it’s hard to get an exact number, but I’d be willing to bet that on-air positions at radio stations will easily decline at that volume or higher. </p>
<p>On the bright side there are fewer young people getting into this industry and many on-air personalities have left the business all-together. That means there are far less qualified broadcasters every year as well. If you’re one of those experienced, talented on-air personalities, make sure that you’re doing everything you can to stand out amongst the crowd. </p>
<p>Download a copy of my new eBook <span style="display: none;"> </span><em><a contents="7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tjohnsonmediagroup.com/books/7-habits-of-high-performing-radio-shows-ebook/" style="" target="_blank">7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities</a></em>. </p>
<p>Picture designed by Jannoon028 for <a contents="www.freepik.com." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/">www.freepik.com.</a></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/61052812020-01-15T13:30:21-06:002023-12-10T11:02:19-06:00Tracking and Rewarding Digital Performance By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/bfaec39e785126ea96b06c14dbb963f8b02df1fe/original/digital-pic.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Ratings are no longer the only measurement of performance that matters for programming departments. We should all be tracking our performance across our various digital platforms weekly to see what’s working, and what’s not, and to create incentive programs to reward employees. </p>
<p>One of the great things about this move into the digital world is that it’s very easy to track everything and you can do it yourself for little to no cost. With a few clicks you can see how many impressions you’re getting weekly across your social feeds, how many unique visitors went to your website, your stream, your app and a whole lot more. Plus, groups that haven’t been keeping track of this information can still easily go back and dig up that past data. </p>
<p>Here are the main things I track on a weekly basis when I’m working with a group. Total Facebook post impressions, Total Twitter post impressions, Total Instagram Impressions, Streaming Uniques, App Active Uniques, Website Uniques and Request Line Calls (For stations using VOIP lines). I also add Youtube, Snapchat and Tik Tok if the stations are regularly using those platforms. Pulling the info manually takes about an hour a week for a couple of stations, but there are third party apps and software that can cut that time down with a small investment. </p>
<p>This information helps you brag on stations that are excelling digitally. Plus, you can use it to create an incentive program to reward the employee who has the social post with the highest reach that week/month or web post with the most clicks. That incentive program will reinforce the importance of quality over quantity and encourage the staff to create clickable, shareable content. </p>
<p>Not only is this information a great indicator of how much engagement your programming department is driving, over time it will also create some impressive stats for sales to share with potential clients. Especially as you increase your broader social numbers like fans and followers that are on display for everyone to see. </p>
<p>If you’re interested, email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com and I’ll send you the example form I use to track digital performance. </p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.rawpixel.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rawpixel.com/" target="_blank">www.rawpixel.com</a> for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/60679162020-01-08T09:28:34-06:002023-12-10T10:41:33-06:00Making Digital Part of the Prep Process By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/8766d409342b6f3a593e74661dfe40cb7a112fca/original/planning.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Adding digital responsibilities on top of everything else an on-air personality handles on a daily basis can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Incorporating digital into the prep process will not only make it more manageable, it will help personalities think of how and when to use which digital platform ahead of time. </p>
<p>This will help them take advantage of the three main ways to use social media to help their shows:</p>
<p>1) <strong>Pre-promotion</strong> to set an appointment and drive listening </p>
<p>2) <strong>During the show</strong> to drive instant listening </p>
<p>3) <strong>After the show</strong> to get more mileage out of good on-air content </p>
<p>Plus, it will reinforce the importance of good teases, single topic breaks and outs. </p>
<p><a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radiostationconsultant.com/downloads" target="_blank">Click here</a> or go to the download tab to download the weekly and daily show planners for free. </p>
<p>Here’s the code for the digital boxes: </p>
<p>WB = Website </p>
<p>FB = Facebook </p>
<p>TW = Twitter </p>
<p>IG = Instagram </p>
<p>SC = Snapchat </p>
<p>TT = Tiktok </p>
<p>The idea is that the personality would jot down a note in the weekly planner about the main content for that segment, then put one of these codes under the digital box to denote which platform they’ll use to pre-promote (P), promote during their show (D), and after the show (A). Then the day of they’d jump to the daily planner and add a tease and a potential out. </p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that a personality should use the station’s digital platforms to promote several segments a day. But, even using a few digital platforms a day for a few segments can have a major impact. Plus, thinking about which one to use as the content is being developed will help them figure out which platform works best for them at driving listening to different kinds of segments. </p>
<p>Let me know what you think of the show planners in the comments below or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/60307402019-12-19T08:28:55-06:002022-05-27T05:31:15-05:004 Tricks Terrestrial Can Steal from Internet and Satellite Radio By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/68dc1ee9baefff6f8379810664142cb628015be9/original/steal.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>For years internet radio stations and satellite radio have been applying radio lessons and techniques that broadcasters spent years developing, honing and perfecting. So, I think it's time we turn the tables and steal a few tricks from them. Here are four things we can learn from internet and satellite radio.</p>
<p>1) <strong>Unique formats: </strong>Across the board we all need to take a few more chances with some of our formats. Whether that’s turning an under-performing station into something that pushes the boundaries of traditional formats or just adding a few strategically placed spice categories to a core format. Ironically, the same thing that can help us compete better locally can also help us compete better digitally. Using a handful of songs to localize and regionalize our formats while using creative imaging and personality based jocks will help to make those mass appeal formats a little more unique and appealing to online audiences as well. </p>
<p>2) <strong>Cross promotion between stations: </strong>Satellite radio is doing a much better job at cross promoting their stations. Yes, that’s a luxury they are afforded by not being tied to their performance in each book. But, there’s a way to do it on terrestrial without sacrificing the performance of each station as long as it’s all reciprocated. One of the big advantages of owning multiple stations within a market is that you can use each station to drive traffic to another, similar to how we should all be using our additional digital platforms. </p>
<p>3) <strong>Synergy Between Platforms:</strong> We’ve got them beat on ease of use, but they’re winning on the user experience across platforms. While we can’t be as responsive as they are, we do have access to those same platforms (Website, app and social). It’s time for us all to step up our game by regularly updating each of those platforms before, during and after every live air shift. That way our listeners are seeing fresh information and content regardless of how they’re listening to us. It can seem overwhelming at first, but it’s necessary and once we incorporate it into our prep process it <em>is </em>manageable. Here are some more of my thoughts on <a contents="surrounding the listener." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radioink.com/2019/11/25/surrounding-the-listener/" style="" target="_blank">surrounding the listener.</a></p>
<p>4) <strong>Shorter Stopsets:</strong> I’m an outspoken advocate for <a contents="shortening our stopsets" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://radioink.com/2019/11/05/making-a-case-for-shorter-stopsets/" style="" target="_blank">shortening our stopsets</a> and I won’t rehash all of that here. But, this is the MOST important trick we should steal from streaming and satellite radio because, like it or not, they’ve changed how listeners consume commercials and we can’t ignore that. </p>
<p>Picture designed by vectorpocket for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a></p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/60038592019-12-11T08:31:57-06:002022-05-19T04:38:10-05:00What's Your Station's Personality Score? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/6f66ec11a8b58119a0cb5686bb6b08009bee7a7b/original/station-dial.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>What’s your station’s personality score? Answer these ten questions to find out. </p>
<p>(On a scale of 1 to 10) </p>
<p>How much personality does your morning show have? </p>
<p>How much personality does your air staff have in other day parts? </p>
<p>How much personality is in your recorded imaging? </p>
<p>How much personality do your on-air promotions have? </p>
<p>How much personality do your commercials have? </p>
<p>How much personality does your music have? </p>
<p>How much personality does your station website have? </p>
<p>How much personality do your station social feeds have? </p>
<p>How much personality does your station app have? </p>
<p>How much personality do your on-site promotions have? </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Picture designed for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a> by Molostock.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59897432019-12-03T08:24:51-06:002019-12-04T10:19:19-06:003 Steps to Create Revenue Generating Station Websites By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/996d00d743d835793a50dd4494da038020845445/original/revenue-websites.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When social media platforms became popular and created a unique and innovative way to connect with listeners organically, many radio stations shifted their digital focus solely to social sites and started to neglect their own station websites. While social media is an important part of any radio group’s digital presence, it’s also important to remember who really owns those platforms and therefore who monetizes them. When we’re only creating content for Facebook we’re really just helping Mark Zuckerberg get richer because once we post anything it essentially becomes their content, the same goes for YouTube and many others. </p>
<p>Station websites, however, are 100% owned by a radio group. Yet, so many of us neglect our websites, cluttering them with static content that stays the same for months, failing to update info when we make programming changes and bypassing them by posting the bulk of the local content generated straight to social media. </p>
<p>If a radio group really wants to turn their station websites into revenue generators, they should take a step back and follow these three simple steps. </p>
<p>Step 1: <strong>Focus on clickable/shareable locally generated content</strong>. Without growing their terrestrial audience at all a station can quadruple their website traffic just by turning a monthly visitor into a weekly visitor, but that’s only possible if the content above the fold is dynamic instead of static. The premium featured real estate of a website should highlight things that people are most likely to click on and share. Instead of looking at other station websites we should look at how websites that generate all their revenue from web clicks are designed. <a contents="Deadspin" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://deadspin.com/" target="_blank">Deadspin</a>, <a contents="BroBible" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://brobible.com/" target="_blank">BroBible</a>, and <a contents="Tasty" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tasty.co/" target="_blank">Tasty</a> are just a few that come to mind. We should follow their lead and get rid of the flipper scrolling through graphics, that look like ads, showcasing promotions that typically run for weeks. Then use that featured premium space to highlight clickable/sharable, recently updated local content. This still allows stations to highlight those same on-air and big station event promotions, but in a way that’s timely, drives specific listening appointments for the current week, or promotes a specific aspect of an event. Ex: “Artist A Talks About Playing Station Event A” instead of a “Station Event A is INSERT DATE HERE” post that stays the same until the event ends. </p>
<p>Step 2: <strong>Make ads that look like content</strong>. There’s nothing wrong with selling web banners, but there’s also no law that says they have to look like ads. Finding ways to make advertiser’s banners look more like content will help drive those click through rates and keep the clients coming back for more. Then those banner ads can be supplemented by advertorial content that looks just like one of the posts the programming staff would create. We’ve all seen this done with sponsored posts on other platforms and it’s actually a trick that radio invented years ago. Anyone who ever listened to radio legend Paul Harvey will remember how he seamlessly transitioned from a daily news story to talking about Bose headphones and, thanks to his smooth baritone delivery, you were twenty seconds into it before you realized it was an ad. </p>
<p>Step 3: <strong>Create synergy with your other platforms</strong>. The big advantage radio stations have when competing in the digital world is our big terrestrial megaphones, but to be effective they have to be used properly. Just like vague on-air teases don’t work, neither do vague mentions of your website or social sites. Don’t just tell me to like the station on Facebook or check out the station’s website, tell me why I should do those things. We’ve got to be specific when using each of our platforms to drive traffic to the other, telling listeners exactly what they’ll get, where they need to go to get it and a specific time to do so. I can’t tell you how many stations I’ve seen promote listen to win contests without narrowing that window to listen at all or, worse, make it complicated to figure out what time a specific DJ is even on the air. We should constantly be asking ourselves what we can do to create calls to action that will drive traffic from each of our platforms to another one of our platforms. What’s the most effective way to use the website and social media to drive on-air listening and vice versa what’s the best way to drive our social following and website pageviews on-air? </p>
<p>Station websites should still continue to have all of the important information that every station puts online, event calendars, on air schedules and advertise with us, either as their own tabs or as a scroll down on the homepage. But, only if all of those contain current, accurate information. A station website should never have a tab that leads to a back-page that’s outdated or completely empty, even temporarily. If that’s the case, simply deactivate it until new content can be generated. </p>
<p>It’s also vitally important that all websites are responsive, automatically adjusting to different devices and screen sizes. As of 2018 more than half of all web traffic, <a contents="52.2%" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/241462/global-mobile-phone-website-traffic-share/" target="_blank">52.2%</a>, was generated through mobile devices, and that number will only grow. So, station websites have to look and function well on laptops, tablets and mobile devices. </p>
<p>Need help creating dynamic station websites, turning your on-air staff into digital content creators, utilizing freelance content creators, figuring out how to create synergy between your platforms, or pricing and selling digital? Call me today to schedule a free assessment of your entire operation at 817-600-9398 or email me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com.</p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59681052019-11-21T09:34:17-06:002019-11-22T07:49:24-06:00Who Are You and Why? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/90913c3b2832dfe3c5ebeb6690e940226fde5c26/original/why.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>These are the two most important questions a radio station can ask themselves. If you can’t or if it takes you several sentences then it’s time to rethink your format, your branding and your overall on-air delivery. <strong>Successful stations have succinct and easy to understand elevator pitches because they know exactly who they are and why. </strong></p>
<p>As a life-long radio nerd who loves to analyze a market and dig into the minutia of how to program radio stations based on that analysis, it’s easy for me to get buried in all that data and miss the obvious if I’m not careful. </p>
<p>I’ve also fallen into the trap of being too close to a station I personally programmed and losing my perspective. Frankly, it’s hard not to when you live it day in and day out. It’s simply human nature to develop an affection for the station that you work so hard on with people you consider friends. But, that affection can cloud your judgement. </p>
<p>If you fear you’ve fallen into a similar trap, step back and ask yourself those two questions. </p>
<p>It’s important to do because <strong>your answers should effect every decision you make going forward with the station</strong>. Every playlist decision, who voices your imaging, how that imaging is produced, on air content selection, every promotion you do and most importantly everything you pass on doing. </p>
<p>If you’ve answered those questions well, every one of those decisions will be fairly simple to make. Conversely, incorrectly answering those questions will make it incredibly difficult to make those same decisions. </p>
<p>Successful stations don’t struggle to tell you who they are and why. They don’t search for words, hem and haw, or have to point to a somewhat similar station to define what they’re doing. They also don’t fall back on having to use stock radio terminology that few people outside of our industry understand. Successful stations are purposeful, strategic, and confident in their direction because they know their identity and are therefore well positioned to build and defend it. </p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59580422019-11-12T14:11:21-06:002022-05-25T04:00:13-05:00Avoid These Application Email Mistakes by Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0817fe3d95a3fc3dced91268e216b81d97f020cd/original/laptop-hands.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One of the main questions I get from broadcasters looking for work is, “How do I stand out when there are hundreds of submissions for every job posting?” That conundrum forces a lot of us to do some ill-advised things that can end up costing us a chance at a good gig. You never want to miss out on a job you’re fully qualified simply because you had a misstep when you wrote the submission email. </p>
<p>The vast majority of my professional experience is in radio, but I’m fairly confident through conversations with other managers that many of these mistakes and suggestions apply to other industries as well. However, I’m going to stick to what I know and talk specifically about radio. If you’re a hiring manager and you’re reading this chime in with your thoughts in the comments or email me. I would love to hear your opinion. </p>
<p>Here are a few suggestions based on personal mistakes I’ve made, things I’ve seen countless times in my years as a hiring manager and conversations I’ve had with others. </p>
<p><strong>Shorter is better.</strong> I know it sounds simple, but resist the urge to write a telenovela in your introduction email. Especially if you’re applying for an on-air position a long rambling email can give off the impression you are long-winded on-air as well. Plus, nobody likes long emails, especially from strangers. </p>
<p><strong>Don’t come on too strong</strong>. Just like a new romantic relationship you don’t want to seem desperate or needy on the first date. Take it from me, a guy who’s written several, terrible love songs after first dates. Resist the urge to go into too much detail or, worse yet, beg for a gig. </p>
<p><strong>Do your research and include a quick compliment</strong>. Personalizing the email to show them that you’ve done a little bit of research and know something about their station is a plus. But, keep it quick. Something like, “Your station is very well imaged,” or “I love the music rotation.” </p>
<p><strong>DO NOT do an in-depth analysis of their programming.</strong> Besides the fact that it’ll be too lengthy, you also run the risk of inadvertently offending someone by critiquing something they’re personally responsible for and proud of. Save those strong opinions for a face to face, or phone conversation so you can be more strategic with your responses. </p>
<p><strong>Include any local connection you have.</strong> If you have any family in their area, a best friend from college, or even if you’ve just visited their city before, mention it. Most people start local and then work their way out, so showing any type of connection to their city might help you move toward the top of the list. </p>
<p>Obviously, <strong>if you have a friend or former coworker in common that’s worth including as well. </strong>Everyone has hired someone who looks great on paper and/or has a great aircheck, only to be burned by them once they’re in the building. Hence why it’s often someone the hiring manager knows that gets the gig. In the absence of that, showing that you at least have some contacts in common can’t hurt. </p>
<p>Finally, don’t overthink it. The best way to stand out with a submission email is a <strong>concise, professional, well-written email</strong> that’s paired with a great resume and, for on air jobs, a great aircheck. </p>
<p>If you need help with your aircheck I’ve teamed with Tracy Johnson Media Group to offer affordable, one on one <a contents="aircheck reviews" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.aircheckcoaching.com/">aircheck reviews</a>. </p>
<p>For tips on writing your resume, scroll down to read my “Is Your Radio Resume Holding You Back” article.</p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59437002019-10-30T08:08:09-05:002022-12-01T00:24:51-06:00How Live and Local Are We in 2019? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/c9897dbb573c25ff1a4d8336241e0b1dfa815b9b/original/live-and-local-map.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>If you ask most experts how terrestrial radio can compete with newer mediums like satellite or internet radio they’ll all tell you virtually the same thing. “We’ve got to be live and local, that’s still our competitive advantage.” But just how live and local are we in 2019? </p>
<p>I did my own informal study of the top 10 stations in the top 10 markets and here’s what I found. 83% or more of those one hundred stations are live and local in drive time, 86% in morning drive and 83% in PM drive. That drops to just 76% in middays, 61% at night and a mere 15% in overnights. Those numbers are probably a little generous too because I’m making educated guesses on which shifts are voicetracked and I’m sure I missed some. I also counted syndicated shows as “live and local” in their home markets even though many of them aren’t localizing much content. </p>
<p>Markets 51 through 60 paint an even darker picture. Only 63% of those one hundred stations are live and local during mornings and 65% in afternoons. Middays drop to 49%, evenings are barely above a quarter at 27% and I don’t believe any of the overnight shifts are really live in these markets. </p>
<p>Those numbers will probably continue to go down too. The <a contents="US Bureau of Labor and Statistics" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/announcers.htm">US Bureau of Labor and Statistics</a> projects that we’ll see a 5% decrease in on air announcer positions over the next decade. However, if you’re an experienced, talented on-air personality I wouldn’t worry about that number. I would argue that the 5% drop is more than off-set by the number of people getting out of the business and the low percentage of young people going into broadcasting. </p>
<p>But, I do believe the continued rise in tracked and syndicated air shifts in prime dayparts should cause us to ask this question. <strong>If we’re lucky enough to have a live shift, are we doing everything that voicetracked and syndicated national shows aren’t capable of doing? </strong></p>
<p>Voicetracked shows can’t actively work the phones, so ALL live shows should be. They also can’t update their content, so we can’t just prep hours in advance and then run with that. It’s important to refresh that show prep during the shift to stay up to date on breaking news. Doing creative daily features and interactive contests, instead of caller 9 wins contests, are another way to get an edge up on tracked shows. Finally, we should let those listeners know we’re live by engaging with them on social media, and other station platforms, throughout our shifts. </p>
<p>Syndicated shows can’t localize very often so live and local shows HAVE TO. There are little ways to do this, like putting a local angle on a national story, name dropping different area towns during forecasts and referencing landmarks that only a true local would know. Most importantly, getting out of the house and experiencing things locally allows us to talk about stuff on air in a way that someone out of market never could. </p>
<p><strong>The fastest way to get replaced by a voicetracked, or syndicated show, is by doing a live shift that sounds like it’s been tracked. </strong></p>
<p>Get a copy of my new <a contents="7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tjohnsonmediagroup.com/books/7-habits-of-high-performing-radio-shows-ebook/" target="_blank"><em>7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities</em></a> ebook for just $9.95.</p>
<p>Picture modified based on a design by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59341412019-10-21T16:40:24-05:002022-04-05T16:39:24-05:00Is Your Radio Resume Holding You Back? By Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/13b5d75f370da3f5b408466c3ccc9b27c0fdb88a/original/sad-man.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>When you’re applying for an on-air job, nothing is more important than the aircheck you attach to your email. However, the resume you include with your email is a close second. </p>
<p>Over the years I’ve hired, coached, worked with and known some incredibly talented on-air personalities. But, their level of talent and experience on-air often did not translate to a strong and effective resume. Some of them even missed out on opportunities they were fully qualified for because of those weak, poorly formatted resumes. Is the same thing happening to you? </p>
<p>Here’s a few simple things to do, and not to do, when putting together your resume. </p>
<p>Not unlike an aircheck, DO start with your strengths. If your work experience is your selling point, then put that towards the top. If it’s your special skills that make you stand out, or awards you’ve won, then list those first. </p>
<p>DO NOT list every special skill you have. DO list the unique skills that you’ve acquired. </p>
<p>Similarly, DO NOT put every single job duty under your work experience. We’ve all read the weather, taken meter readings, etc. Things that are a given can be excluded. </p>
<p>DO summarize your job responsibilities to eliminate redundancy. Someone who repeats things on their resume will probably do the same on-air. </p>
<p>DON’T confuse them. Make it simple and easy to read. Remember, you’ve got limited time to catch that PD or hiring manager’s attention. Don’t make them search for the important stuff. </p>
<p>DO get everything on one page. Only using a second page to list references if necessary. </p>
<p>DO include references. If they’re interested than they’re going to ask for them anyway. So, save a step. </p>
<p>Download my new <a contents="7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tjohnsonmediagroup.com/books/7-habits-of-high-performing-radio-shows-ebook/" target="_blank"><em>7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities</em></a> ebook to learn the 7 traits shared by successful air talent for just $9.95. </p>
<p>Picture designed by jcomp for <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59222132019-10-10T13:32:18-05:002022-03-31T04:50:04-05:00Every On Air Personality Needs a Coach by Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/0c180df28f388cc9ede8e5f36bc2ecd0f5becbc0/original/coach-rawpixel-dot-com.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>We’ve all heard it before, “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I don’t need anyone telling me how to do my job.” Regardless of your line of work this is one of the most short-sided statements you could possibly make, but if you’re in radio it’s hard to quantify just how damning this line of thinking can be. Complacency doesn’t work well in broadcasting, especially when the medium is changing on an almost daily basis. There’s no such thing as reaching a point where you’ve learned everything you need to know and you no longer need to be airchecked, coached or even self-analyze. The sad fact is, in this industry, if you’re not getting better, you’re actually slowly getting worse. We aren’t afforded the luxury of plateauing, because if you’re coasting I’d be willing to bet that the other on air personalities across town, and maybe even on your staff, don’t have the same mindset. </p>
<p>Tom Brady was born with some incredible natural abilities and an insane work ethic for self-improvement, however he still has a coach who just happens to be one of the greatest football coaches of all time. It’s hard to argue that Tom Brady wouldn’t have excelled no matter where he landed, but do you really think he’d have been this dominant for such a long time if it weren’t for Bill Belichick? To truly master any craft you have to be open to studying, analyzing and developing that craft every single day and the best way to do that is with the help of a good coach. </p>
<p>The truth is you’ve been assigned a very complicated and challenging daily task, to capture the interest of, and then entertain, a large group of people who have their own set of daily distractions and countless other mediums, devices, and people fighting for their attention. Once you’ve gotten over the hump of attracting their attention, every single second you talk you’re either convincing them to keep listening or to tune out. If you’re compelling, entertaining, concise with your words and tease well, you’ll keep them listening for long enough to dominate your market. If you wing it, get too wordy, too self-focused, or you’re just disorganized with your thoughts you’ll cause them to tune out and spend their commute listening to the competition, which nowadays is much more diverse and interactive than just your typical terrestrial competitors. Being on air is like being both a writer and your own copy editor in real-time. Which is why it’s absolutely crucial that you learn to cut out unnecessary, irrelevant details from your on-air anecdotes and stories and a second opinion helps immensely in that process. </p>
<p>Finally, ask yourself these simple questions, do you really have a pulse on your audience? Do you know what they’re listening to, watching, reading, talking about with their coworker? Do you know the average commute in your market? Is your show truly tailored to your audience’s listening habits, interests and how they consume radio today?</p>
<p>Delivering consistently interesting, appealing, relevant content on an hour by hour basis every day is a very daunting and overwhelming job that no one should try to accomplish on their own. A competent on-air coach can help you improve your prep process, create great features and benchmarks, schedule them at the best possible times to maximize their value, outline and structure each break, effectively tease it, and even get additional mileage from your content in other day-parts, on the web and through social media.</p>
<p>Picture designed by <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consultingtag:radiostationconsultant.com,2005:Post/59063742019-09-26T12:58:46-05:002021-10-23T05:49:55-05:00Applying Radio Rules to Podcasting by Andy Meadows<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/354216/8b5d2e67e1cb9eabb90ba639f3b29368e033a8dc/original/338.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone has a podcast, print journalists, tv anchors, comedians, the guy who cuts my hair, even fictional characters like Ron Burgundy. If you’re not already doing a podcast, or two, or three, you certainly will be soon. </p>
<p>Unlike most people who get into it though, having a radio broadcasting background equips us with all the tools needed to create a successful podcast. They just need to be tweaked slightly to apply to this different, but similar media. </p>
<p>We SHOULD NOT fall into the trap of abandoning all our principals and good broadcasting habits because we have been given the blank canvas of this long-form, seemingly wide-open platform. More than likely we are still reaching the same kind of listener, so many of the same rules apply. </p>
<p>Identify the hook in the first topic for each podcast and <strong>set the hook early</strong> in each show. Skip the long pre-produced intro, that we’ve all hopefully gotten away from on terrestrial radio, and get right to the hook. If it’s a team podcast also leave out the pointless “How are you doing” chit-chat. </p>
<p>Remember to <strong>stay listener focused</strong>. It’s even more of a commitment to download and listen to a podcast then to listen terrestrially so we can’t make it all about us. The goal is to find relatable, relevant topics by asking ourselves that all important question, “Does the listener care about this?” </p>
<p>We should be purposeful and strategic with everything we talk about so that we <strong>never waste our listener’s time</strong>. Just because there’s no hard limit on how long we can talk in a podcast doesn’t give us the leeway to wander, wing it and fill time. It’s still vital that we are concise with our words, make well thought out, or researched points, and edit out unnecessary words and descriptors that don’t really add anything. </p>
<p><strong>Take the out</strong>. When that great line happens, whether organic or planned, we need to seize that opportunity and move on to the next topic or angle similar to how we use that moment to fire off the next song or go into a break terrestrially. Talking past that out by reiterating something and making the same point several times is just as deadly to a podcast as it is to an on-air show. </p>
<p><strong>Tease</strong> upcoming content within the show and in upcoming podcasts. The competition for attention is incredibly fierce. So, once we’ve gotten over the hoop of getting someone to sample our podcast, we want to keep them listening throughout and to additional episodes with great teases. </p>
<p><strong>Build that relationship slowly</strong>. The whole point of a radio personality doing a podcast is to reach a new, broader audience. So, just like when we start a new on-air show, we have to ease into that relationship and move through each phase slowly over time. We have to be careful not to overshare too early and drive them away. Just like in a relationship, it’s best to wait a little while before we let them see all of our crazy quirks. </p>
<p>Finally, there is nothing more important to the development of an on-air show than regular, <strong>consistent air-checking</strong>. Air-checking is just as crucial when podcasting, so find yourself a good coach and get professional feedback early and often. While many of the same radio rules apply, podcasting is a new skill and learning any new skill is easier with outside input.</p>
<p>For more helpful tips, download a copy of my new eBook <strong><em><a contents="7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tjohnsonmediagroup.com/books/7-habits-of-high-performing-radio-shows-ebook/" target="_blank">7 Habits of High Performing Radio Personalities</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p>Picture courtesy of <a contents="www.freepik.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freepik.com/" target="_blank">www.freepik.com</a>.</p>Radio Consulting