Radio has always been an industry that attracted its fair share of introverts. Those of us who prefer sitting in a dark room alone talking into a microphone over standing on a stage in front of a crowd. But, with smaller budgets, staffing cuts, lighter event calendars and voicetracking, it seems like we’ve gotten to a point where the majority of our on-air personalities are doing radio in a vacuum. With little feedback from anyone outside of their building. Which leads to shows that are too internally focused and out of touch with what the audience cares about. Here are some thoughts on how to fix that.
Get out of the building both physically and virtually. Schedule more live broadcasts and events, even if they are unpaid at first to put the show in high traffic locations. Then add cameras to the studio and turn them on every show so the audience feels like they’re in the room with them.
Livestream before, during or after the show. One of the big reasons podcasters, streamers and other digital creators are outperforming radio talent is because they’re not confined to a four-hour daily window. Radio talent who embrace the idea that a studio is anywhere there’s a microphone, camera and a broadcaster to talk into them, will quickly close that gap between themselves and outside content creators.
Clip the show every day. With affordable AI clipping tools every show should be able to put out a minimum of 5 to 10 clips a day once they’ve added cameras (Significantly more on morning and talk shows with longer breaks). Even before adding cameras those same tools can clip up the audio and allow us to include a pic so we’re at least sharing something with a visual component. Then watch how those clips do to inform content decisions, respond to comments to increase engagement and highlight some of the top comments on air or, better yet, DM them and get the commenters on the phone.
Work the phones like we did in the old days. Yes, it’s significantly harder to do than it used to be but people will absolutely still call if they’re encouraged to. The best way to encourage them is to start airing calls, seeding it with a few ringers or AI in the beginning if necessary. Great calls turn solo shows into team shows and team shows into a party for everyone instead of a party for two. Plus, callers provide instant feedback on whether the audience is connecting to our content.
Hire a consultant who specializes in talent coaching, like myself, to give talent an additional opinion and a gentle push to get more into digital content creation.
Finally, the best way to keep on-air talent from doing their shows in a vacuum is to incentivize engagement and interaction. Start by tracking both across all platforms, if you aren’t doing so already, and then give bonuses for talent who overperform on those platforms.
What do you think? What are some other ways on-air talent can keep from doing their shows in a vacuum? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.
Pic AI generated using Gemini.