When was the last time someone said, “Wow, you have a terrific-sounding radio station?” When listeners and clients agree on that accolade, you’re on top of the world. Not there yet? Here is how to deliver “wow” and “sizzle” to your audience and advertisers.
The Power of Wow
“The Wow factor is a quality that makes people feel great excitement or admiration,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary. It requires doing something extraordinary for your audience that makes them say or feel “wow.”
+ Deliver more than they expect.
+ Provide outstanding programming quality.
+ Make your audience feel special and show that you appreciate them.
+ Every talent over-delivers on providing something special to listeners.
+ “Wow” is what people feel when they tune in to your station.
The mission is to enhance the audience experience and deliver programming beyond listener expectations.
What Wow Isn’t
> Mundane liners that haven’t been updated for months.
> Overplayed imaging with too little “live” talent.
> Uninspired talents who never talk about what’s happening locally.
> DJs “going through the motions” acting as jocks, not personalities.
> The same music is programmed without hand-editing the software.
> Sounding boring without any sizzle.
> No fresh contests and promotions every few weeks.
> Not promoting ahead and giving no reason to tune in again.
What Wow Is:
Create a top-notch listening experience that positively impacts listener satisfaction. Meet and exceed audience expectations. A great experience not only improves satisfaction but also increases the likelihood of listeners coming back. This increases your revenue and generates word-of-mouth marketing.
So how do you meet and exceed those high expectations? It’s all about delivering a unique listening experience.
5 Ways to Wow Your Audience
Excel at one or more of the following five qualities to build Wow into your station.
- Outstanding. Define your programming assets so they stand out. Research will help. Execute your formatics – and do it better than the competition. You’ll recognize the listener excitement when it happens.
- Simplicity. Create a terrific listening experience. Don’t overcomplicate things with too many features or format-jarring diversions.
- Expertise. Sound professional. Execute radio basics superbly. But it is what is done beyond the basics that make the station interesting and fun. People love the experience, so deliver sizzle every hour.
- Authenticity. Do something so well that it can’t be replicated by another station. That requires originality. Be authentic with an element of innovation. Take programming to a new and unprecedented level. People tune in to be wowed and entertained.
- Responsibility. You are responsible to management, clients, and listeners. Once the station has a reputation for being innovative, don’t let up. Continually deliver a creative surprise to every programming element. Make the radio experience fun and exciting. Program the “wow” experience every hour of every day.
Pic designed by Benzoix for Freepik.com.
John Lund is President of the Lund Media Group, a radio programming consulting firm with specialists in all mainstream radio formats. Did you find this article useful? You can leave a comment below or email John at John@Lundradio.com.