That’s Why They Call It Work

We “Radio Rats” are lucky, even the worst day at work can be fun infused.  It’s show biz baby!  Very seldom (if ever) do you wake up and not want to go to work.   But the reality is it is work.  Now more than ever you have to have an excellent work ethic to survive.  Economic woes, consolidation and technological advances have created the perfect storm.   Everyone is over worked and overwhelmed; many are underpaid.  The survivors are the people with a positive mental attitude who roll up their sleeves and just DO IT.

Don’t let the volume paralyze you.  Take the opportunity to create great radio by using the amazing tools we have at our finger tips.    Yes, you have more jobs than ever before, but parts of that job are made easier by slicker production tools, software programs to help you find the answers and powerful engagement tools to bring you closer to your audience.  Embrace those advantages and put them to work for you.

Here are few reminders to help you tackle your daily work load:

1.      Make a list so you can see exactly what needs to be done.

2.      Color code or rank the items by importance.  Some will be Urgent, some important, some “If time permits”.

3.      Always tackle the toughest item first.  Doing the thing you dread the most first will free your mind to finish the other items and your dread will be gone.  In fact many times you’ll think “that wasn’t so bad.”

4.      Check off each item as you get it done.  That visual representation of your accomplishments will actually increase your productivity.

5.     If an item is on the list for more than two days then ask yourself, “Is this really necessary?”  If you determine that it must be done, get it done on day three.

6.     For e-mail and paperwork, it is best to practice the “touch it once” philosophy.  As often as possible you want to deal with it and file it away or delete it. The reality is you will never get back to it no matter how good your intentions. 

Remember what American Inventor Thomas Edison said, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."   Overalls are pretty damn comfortable to wear and extremely easy to work in.   Strap them on and get to work!!

Welcome To The 140 Character World

If your message isn’t clear in 140 characters, it is TOO LONG!  Brevity is a necessity in the new world order!  Make every word matter.

Role Models & Path Pavers

                       


The passing of Kitty Wells has me contemplating the power one person has to affect change and influence others.   Miss Kitty is one of those pioneer women who paved the way for females in every industry.  She is the original Queen of Country Music.  Her 1952 hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” was banned from radio airplay by NBC.  The Grand Ole Opry asked her not to perform it.   In spite of all that, the song climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart.  It was the first No. 1 country song ever recorded by a female artist.  Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and even Taylor Swift can thank Kitty for being the first. 

Barbara Walters fought her way to the top in a TV world where many believed that no one would take a woman seriously reporting hard news.   In 1976 she became the first female co-anchor of network evening news, working with Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News.  She went on to win many daytime and primetime Emmy’s, lifetime achievement awards and has a long list of accolades covering many decades.

In October, Erica Farber will be honored by the Library of American Broadcasters as one of their “Giants Of Broadcasting”.   Erica is credited with being the first woman to become general manager of a major-market radio station (RKO’s WOR-FM Boston in 1976) and has had a long and successful career in broadcasting & publishing.  She is the only female on the list of honorees.  

These three accomplished women have inspired generations of females in music, television and radio to strive for the top.   The climb is getting easier but it is still a hike.  Yes, “we’ve come a long way baby” but we are far from there. 

I have been asked in many interviews “Why aren’t there more women in radio programming?”  My answer is always, “most women are too smart!”   They want to have a life.  Radio programming is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job.   You have to be willing to battle to break the glass ceiling, put up with the good ol’ boys club and have such a great passion for it that you don’t mind what you are giving up to get there.  Now I’m thinking that maybe those women just needed a good mentor to show them the way. 

Take time today to seek out a young woman in our industry who is just starting out.  Be a mentor and help her see the possibilities.   Never underestimate the power you have to help transform another person’s life.   A huge THANK YOU to Kitty, Barbara and Erica for your drive, determination and dedication to paving a path for the rest of us.

Mass Relevance: Illusive but Powerful

No matter what your product or service, if you can achieve “mass relevance” you are bound to be more successful.  It is particularly important for businesses that rely on advertising revenue to survive.  You have to aggregate a mass audience in order to have something to sell.  

Let’s break it down.  Mass: a body of coherent matter and often of considerable size.   Relevant: bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent.  Put those together in reference to content creation and you have topics that appeal to the masses.  In an age when information is plentiful and communication happens in so many new forms, it is even more critical for content creators to look for subjects that are relevant to the masses.   

Roy Williams’s principle about advertising in 2012 can be directly applied to on-air and on-line content creation:   “I hear a voice whispering in the night:  Relevance and credibility, ad writer, are the words you must engrave on your heart if you will write ads that move the needle.  The customer is asking, ‘Does this matter to me?’ They are looking for relevance. And their second question is, ‘Do I believe what they’re telling me?’ They are looking for credibility.   The public is no longer looking for a perfect icon to worship. Most of them are looking for an equally-flawed friend with whom they can connect.”

Increase your mass relevance by watching and listening for the topics that people are talking about.   Here are a few sites that can help: http://www.trendingtopics.org/, http://www.reddit.com/, http://www.buzzfeed.com/,https://twitter.com/WhatsTrending/

Look for topics that are common to all of us:    

Relationships: (couples, families, friends, workplace)
Pop Culture: (entertainment news, celebrities…)
Personal Growth: (self-improvement, fulfillment at home and job, spiritualism, etc.)
Health and Beauty (Dieting, exercising, makeovers, anti-aging, pampering, etc.)
Shopping-Consumerism: (Example: “Bargain of the Week” )
Style: (trends, fashion, cars, home, personal space, etc…)

Keep in mind that the internet is not the only source for great content.   Google estimates that 129,864,880 different books exist in the world, and it claims to have digitized 15 million of them—or about 12 percent.  Just think of all of the information that has not made its way to the internet.  It gives a whole new meaning to the words “think outside the box”.

Death Of "The Program Director"

It is time to stop mourning the death of the Program Director and celebrate the birth of the Brand Manager.  The days when programming one radio station was a full-time job are gone.  If you are still using the title Program Director, you might want to consider making the move to this more accurate title.   A growing number of radio companies are now calling their PD’s Brand Managers.  It more accurately reflects how the job has evolved.  

When Lay people asked what I did for a living, I used to say “I am responsible for everything you hear coming out of the speakers on your radio; music, commercials and personalities.   A few years ago, I had to start adding the website, stream, Facebook, twitter, e-mail club, text club, HD stations, NTR programs and events.  The station call letters now represent a brand that is used for content distribution on multiple formats across a growing number of platforms.  

There are many, many definitions for a Brand Manager but I like the one found in the Brand Management Study guide:  “Brand management includes developing a promise, making that promise and maintaining it. It means defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. Brand management is nothing but an art of creating and sustaining the brand. Branding makes customers committed to your business. A strong brand differentiates your products from the competitors. It gives a quality image to your business.  Brand management includes managing the tangible and intangible characteristics of brand.  In the case of service brands, the tangibles include the customers’ experience. The intangibles include emotional connections with the product / service.”

As you embrace your new role, one of the key responsibilities will be to develop a brand book for your team.  It will insure a consistent set of core values and standards for the use of your call letters throughout these platforms.   It is critical that you continue to meet your customer’s expectations.  Here is just one of many excellent sites that can help you develop this resource:

http://brandmakernews.com/top-stories/7209/why-your-business-needs-a-brand-book.html

   

It is tough not to long for “the good ol’ days” but remember there are five key stages to mourning; denial, anger, emotional despair & sadness, reorganization and then LETTING GO AND MOVING ON!!!

 

Get On Board the Twitter Train

               






        VS.







The debate rages on, twitter vs. facebook, which is the most engaging and deserves your attention in order to keep you “connected” in the future.   The reality is, you need both.  They each have a different function.  facebook will continue to be the place to share stories, photos, videos and more, with your friends.  In fact, you can include much more because you have more space to work with.  Plus, you have the attention of the audience for a longer period of time.   

The power of twitter is its mass reach, ease of mobile use, immediate call to action and entertainment value!   It is so much easier to create and post a 140 character tweet than it is to craft a well thought out facebook post with great content.  twitter is a great tool for our changing human behavior.

Columnist Will Robinson writes “We think quicker and are distracted easier. According to the BBC, ‘The addictive nature of Web browsing can leave you with an attention span of nine seconds.’ That’s the attention span of a goldfish! Thus, we must learn to be compelling in that short time frame. Craft your message to engage the goldfish, and you will win by being heard.”  

The impact of this shift in human beings is huge!  Not only does it affect our ability to completely digest any knowledge or communication, it makes us impatient, unforgiving and sometimes a little cranky.  In Fact, right about now you have either stopped reading or are wondering “When will this end?”

For all of the ‘goldfish” humans, Twitter is the perfect communication tool.  The expectation from the user is totally different than with facebook.  When people follow someone on Twitter it is because they enjoy that persons quick witted observations about life OR they want to get up to the minute reports about a topic or a service.   They like the simple “broadcast” messages without a lot of interaction.   If you do want interaction, the world of hashtags awaits.  The advent of hashtags has allowed communities of followers to share thoughts on all kinds of topics. 

 
The Twitter Train has already left the station but it is never too late to jump on board!   If you don’t have a Twitter account, get one.  If you do have one, work on expanding it.  Improving your tweetablity will help you communicate more effectively in our A.D.D. world.   Study the Twitter policies and best practices, learn to use and understand this new form of communication and Enjoy The Ride!!! 

We Need New Lyrics & A New Melody For This “Same Old Song”

Today was the day to dissect the newly commissioned CRS Research Study and I have to say that I felt like I was hearing the same song I have heard over and over again.   So I got to thinking, how can we apply David Houle’s futurist mentality and attempt to write some new lyrics and a fresh melody?

According to Larry Rosin, Edison Media Research, the top three things listeners want and expect from their favorite radio station continue to be what they have always been:

*The Best Music for My Tastes

*Presented by people I know and trust
*Who Support and care about their local community

And by the way, Rosin pointed out that he does research in many countries and the findings are similar.

Knowing these to be facts, how to we use the forces of the “Shift Age” to create a more relevant, engaging product for the communities we serve.   First and foremost, you must focus on local with a global perspective.  Let’s treat the “Flow to a Global World” as an opportunity to create a community of local listeners who share their thoughts and opinions about how the changes in the world are affecting their lives.  You need your TRIBE (the right individuals bragging endlessly) to be interactive and vocal.  

Radio has a unique advantage to other products and services because we already have a built in community of fans who love what we do and are willing to tell their friends.   Recognize the power of the “Flow to the Individual” and the effect of the “Accelerated Connectedness of the World” and take advantage of the technology available to allow increased two way communication.  Listeners must be able to take ownership and believe they are running the radio station.   We cannot remain a passive, “one to many” medium.  You must be active on Facebook.  You need text messaging capability.  Your station content must be available on multiple platforms on the internet.  The new digital natives expect all of this and you will lose them if you do not deliver.    

And last but certainly NOT least, you must continue to support your local community.   Gen Y is quickly becoming the largest segment of our coveted 25-54 demo.  This generation is the first in decades to truly believe they can make a difference in the world.   They want life to be better for all.  They believe in giving back and they look for opportunities to help.  Enlist their services.  Join forces to do “good in your neighborhood” and allow them to be the ones to brag about it.  

Finding a new twist on an old theme is never easy.  Seeing the possible is a gift and I may not have even scratched the surface here, but my creative juices are starting to flow and I hope to find a way to write a brand new song for this industry I love.