New Year Radio Resolutions

So, it's a fresh new year and you may be wondering how it's going to go. Well, in many ways, that's up to you. You can blaze new trails in radio broadcasting history or you can simply follow what others are doing. I suggest you venture out of your comfort zone (and we all have them) and revolutionize your station(s). Here are the first steps or resolutions to take:

• Invest a good amount of time coaching your talent. These people are your front-line and the immediate connection to your audience.

• Research your music using a statistically accurate methodology. This is simply the price of admission to even be able to compete.

• Play only the strongest songs that have "common-ground" appeal to all spectrums of your target demos. This will be a small body of songs that will bring you to the top of the ratings.

• Take the time to actually listen to your radio station outside of your work environment. You can't be objective about your station if you don't really listen to it.

• Know that marketing will be more important this year than any other year in the history of radio. Marketing is not a luxury it is a necessity!

• Align all of your marketing to cycle back to the station to promote appointment listening. This is the best way to secure TSL increases. You can't get people to listen longer per occasion BUT you can get them to listen on more occasions.

• Know your competition better than ever before. Track them once per week. Technology makes this easier than ever.

• Know that your biggest battles will NOT be with other radio stations but within the walls of your own. Learn to fight and win these battles.

• Go to great lengths to creating a winning atmosphere in your hallways. The stations that win in the hallways usually win in the ratings.

• Get to know your audience better by observing and talking with them more. Don't "Think" you know them from what you've read. Instead, know them from what you've seen and heard from them. There are many ways to do this so feel free to call me and I will go over them with you.

• Get involved with some type of "cause" marketing this year. Helping others is seen as a real virtue with your audience and creates a tighter relation with them.

• Clean up your audio chain! From market to market I hear really loud and dirty audio. Listeners hate this. They are not only comparing you to other radio stations but all other media forms. Yes… be as loud as you can, but within good fidelity reason.

• Train your personalities to be highly interactive with their audience. This can be done through phone calls, emails, instant messaging, text messaging and even referencing conversations they have while on location. If you are not interactive in the year(s) to come you will not win.

• Spend more quality and refreshing time with your family. A clear and refreshed mind always functions better than one that is weighed down in one area.

• Take the time to listen to historic radio stations of the past. It will inspire you. A good place to do this is www.reelradio.com.

• Inspire those who work with you. Say something positive and encouraging to your staff at least once per week. If you can't do this then you either hired the wrong people or you need to adjust your personality

Rarely do we guarantee things at Audience Development Group, but I do in this case because I firmly believe that following these steps WILL lead to a better product and a healthier working relationship and will improve your quality of life.