As the radio industry struggles to find its place in a new media world (with all of the buzz centered on the digital universe), do the radio industry leaders "get it?" After spending much of this week at the NAB Show, I believe that a few do and many don't. The radio business is just not going to be like it was . . . ever again. So if you are struggling to understand what is really going on with our listener communities (and our advertisers), here are a few quick, easy, and cheap suggestions. Try them, and at least you will be able to converse with the black tee-shirt crowd.
Kids simply do not have the same passion for radio and TV that we, the Boomers, had when we were growing up. My focus group (daughters ages 16, 19, and 22) gets their music from multiple sources. And they live via texting, Facebook and iTunes. They are tired of hearing the same dull crap on the radio.
So here is your investment to teach the old dog a few new tricks:
1) Buy an iPhone. Cost: $300
2) Sign up a Twitter account http://www.twitter.com/. Cost: FREE
Search a subject (try your home town or "Radio") and follow some people.
3) Start a Facebook page. http://www.Facebook.com. Cost: FREE
4) Read "What Would Google Do?" http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=what+would+google+do.
Cost: $17.81
5) Set up a My Yahoo or Alltop page http://www.yahoo.com/ http://www.alltop.com/ with relevant news and blogs. Cost: FREE
6) Seek out and listen to your programming people and make a few local sales calls while you're at it. Cost: FREE
7) Start thinking about how to program your station(s) to get your listening communities truly involved. Cost: PRICELESS
Those are my thoughts . . . what are yours?
George
Media Services Group
This would make for great copy for a radio commercial, George. All we need now is a special network listened to only by "radio leaders" on which to play messages like this one. And messages from guys like Mark Ramsay.
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm being a little overly sarcasting.
But what scares me about the current state of the industry is that so many of these "radio leaders" are reading and following a different book: "What Would Newspapers Do?"
Hi George! I couldn't agree more with your blog! I'm an old-school broadcaster who has been enormously engaged in the new trends! (I have a Facebook page, IPOD and young adult children whom are my own personal focus group too!). I've been working as an FCC Compliance Consultant for nearly 10 years, visiting stations all over the country and literally SEEING their struggles first hand. I participated in the MBA style Leadership program with the NAB in 2008 and was working on aquiring a couple small market stations in my hometown when the credit market came crashing down (not to mention that the seller wanted WAY to much for the stations)! I want to operate stations as I have the passion, education, experience and vision to move into the future of the digital world with old school experience. We can't leave our industry to people with no passion for the radio industry!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight! You are speaking my language!
Kelly Orchard