How do you enhance a great station and create successful personality shows? Consider these nine “basics:”
- Master and re-master the basics.
- Understand your target listener’s needs.
- Combine focusedtargeting with broad sensibilities.
- Position quality personalitiesinside the radio brand.
- Include humanity and emotionto build your brand.
- Use social media to make tune-inappointments.
- Create a balancein program content and flow.
- Make programming special so people talkabout your station and shows.
- Know when to move onto avoid listeners turning off the station.
These tips were adapted from a speech by Dennis Clark, VP of Talent Development at iHeartMedia.
Air Staff Development
Coaching improves talent performances. A major responsibility of programmers is to motivate, stimulate, counsel, and critique the staff. These intangible “show improvement” sessions should take priority in your organization’s structure.
Aircheck sessions are essential for talent growth. These frequent coaching sessions help talents discover ways to improve their performances and build their skills.
Conduct a weekly coaching session with the DJs, or daily ones with the morning talent(s). Consider these guidelines for analyzing airchecks and offering guidance:
- Some basics are determined by format, yet the station brand name should be the first thing at the end of a song set before commercials and the last thing going back into songs coming out of commercials. This is the key ingredient to brand-building.
- Talents don’t just say the station name; it is sold clearly with enthusiasm as if it is being delivered to a stranger for the first time.
- The station name is attached to each feature, like news, traffic, and weather, to take ownership and used after stop sets going back into music.
- Plan every show. Use a show prep planner to map out every show element and break. Follow it with focus and discipline. Evaluate the planner in aircheck sessions.
- Localization and relevance are essential. Talents should know what is on their listener’s minds – the big events of the day – and talk about them. Reliability is connecting to the audience.
- Start each segment by immediately getting into the subject. Set the hook with a compelling topic or headline. Listeners leave if the talent doesn’t grab attention within the first eight seconds.
- Telegraph your punches. Set expectations when going into a break of what to expect afterward. Tease the next topic, song, breaking news, or guest.
- Don’t be vague; be specific. Timestamp our appointments. ‘Coming up in the next hour” or “hour number three” is like requesting a doctor’s appointment and not knowing what time to show up. If a topic or guest is coming up later in the hour consider saying the exact time.
Pic designed by azerbaijan_stocker 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.