How do you attract more listeners and keep them engaged? Here is a winning framework for branding, relevance, and audience growth in today’s competitive radio landscape.
Implement these six sizzling tactics to stay dynamic, engaged, and innovative. Stations deepen audience engagement and drive growth by focusing on local relevance and consistent branding.
1. Sound Contemporary, Compelling, and Essential
Listeners have choices. Competition is fierce from web-based streaming services like Spotify and YouTube, thousands of stations streaming live, and your terrestrial stations in town. These rivals are strategically gunning for your audience. Help your station to become a daily habit—something your listeners can’t live without. Become indispensable.
Know your brand, your position in relation to your competitors, and what makes you unique. Find ways to best connect with your audience to make you relatable and essential to your target audience. Client stations of Lund Media Consulting team receive ongoing guidance via talent reviews, marketing ideas, push notifications, and social media enhancements to attract more listeners.
Make your station sound fresh and focused. Don’t be stale. Predictable is boring. Make your station pop! Update your imaging often. Target younger demos and older demos will also listen. But if you sound dated, you lose everyone. A contemporary presentation attracts all demos. Energize your content and sound irresistible. Have a sense of humor and be playful.
2. Be Current and Locally Relatable
Listeners want localism. Talk about what your audience is thinking and talking about. Be locally relatable to your audience and reflect on the moment. Be timely, relevant, and plugged into your listeners and advertisers. Talk about what is fun or interesting to see or do in the local area and help plan the listener’s leisure time.
Embrace your local community. Become an integral part of their lifestyle. Identify your target audience, including their location, occupation, shopping habits, educational background, gender, age range, and interests. Topical content is most relevant. Sounding local is what separates you from Satellite Radio or Networks and offers listeners a primary benefit to tune into your station.
3. Create a Strategic Plan
Set audience and ratings goals, coach your air talent to improve their performances, market your station aggressively, and optimize your playlist and music software. Lund Media assists client stations with our software analytical tool. Develop strategies to attract and serve more listeners effectively.
Be true to your goals. The audience senses “fake.” Be genuine and relatable. Authenticity goes a long way in building relationships, and trust is crucial to a radio station’s branding.
4. Out of Sight is Out of Mind
Be accessible to your community, involved with local organizations, and make appearances at major community events. Partner with local social influencers to engage with your community. Be everywhere your listeners are and become the face of the radio station. Show up and stand out.
Woody Allen said, “80% of success is showing up.” When people call the studio to request a song, attend a sales remote, or attend a station concert, add them to your database. Capture their name, phone, and email address.
5. Capitalize on Social
Own social media. Engage fans on Facebook, Instagram and X and communicate with the audience where they spend time. Create and utilize a frequent listener database and send them text and email messages often to encourage them to listen. Capture every listener’s email address so you can send them updates on your show and contests. Use your app to send push notifications daily.
Maintain a constant presence in their daily lives—even when they’re not on the air. Engage with your listener and make “eye contact” by addressing them individually, whether it be on air, texting, via email, or on Facebook.
6. Branding and Sales
Make your station name and image unforgettable. Consistently brand your station name by saying it repeatedly. Consistency in branding builds trust, top-of-mind awareness, and a strong emotional connection with your audience.
On-air delivery should demonstrate enthusiasm in selling the station’s benefits, its musical brand, and both sales and station promotions.
In summary:
- Brand boldly.
- Engage consistently.
- Win daily.
