Repetitively brand the station name (especially in diary markets) and positioning slogan, ideally 30-40 times an hour in a diary market.
> Promote listening to the stream (from a website, app, and smart speaker hourly
> Promote at-work listening hourly
> Promote website & social media (FB & Twitter) hourly – and say why
> Promote next hour; next show (recycling)
> Promote the morning show hourly
> Promote station events, contests
> Creative, well-produced imaging sells the brand and continued listening.
But don’t let imaging replace “live” sounding talents between songs. Cold, impersonal imaging is a disconnect with local radio. Use it sparingly.
In the morning show:
+ Present frequent time checks & brief weather for today
+ Be fun, funny, and fast-moving
+ Create a party atmosphere with benchmarks and listener interaction. Be a “cheerleader,” e.g., “we’re having so much fun this morning.”
+ Sound natural, honest, fresh, and local with lots of interesting content
Overall, work on Format Basics
Programming meetings build consensus and morale, and they’re a great way to set the direction and spirit for fall. Consider the topic of Format Basics to discuss in your next programming meeting:
- Gain tune-in with contests, social media and in-person appearances. To stimulate listening, build your TSL. Make your promote-aheads more effective and always give the listener a reason to keep listening.
- Bolster listener usage. Teach listeners how to “use” the station with your live liners. Why is it good to listen to the station at work, at night, on the weekend, at the beach, etc.?
- Sell benefits, not feature names. Begin all liners with the benefit (what’s in it for me!).
Photo designed by 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.