'Come on, Mannnn' - Confusing Radio One Person At A Time

If we don’t have an NFL season this fall, we don’t have to miss out on ESPN’s “Come On, Man;” there’s plenty of those moments all over radio lately. We could create our own. If you’re not familiar with “Come On, Man” - here’s a brief example:

With all do respect to the folks who get a “Come On, Man” in this column, the point is this: As mentioned in last week’s Merge, we’re just at the beginning of working out effective conversations, measurable success and how to appropriately increase the bottom line, so when such broad statements are made like the two below, you’re only hurting efforts to even get to the starting line.

“Stop promoting your website, send listeners to Facebook where they can interact with you.”- -Shelly Palmer

I can just hear my Twitter buddy ESPN’s Chris Mortensen go “Come On Man”!

I wasn’t at CRS when that broad statement was made, but a couple Program Directors texted me. These are PDs I work with. They were now confused. We’ve spent nearly three years building up a digital presence, getting the front line (on-air talent) on board in how we always attach something actionable when we discuss our website, how we never use the “get more details at station name dot.com;” how what we’re doing helps your station create another revenue stream and at this point, who doesn’t want to be part of helping your company make more money? And then that. Come on, man ... I get it. Radio station websites are more utility websites. Marc Chase taught me that many years ago,.but you can still make money off these hyper-local sites. There are a few of us out there who can answer digital strategy questions; ask us before you believe a statement like that, okay?

"Least listeners interest on radio station websites: DJ blogs, photos."
- Coleman Insights VPs Chris Ackerman and Sam Milkman

Who else could voice this BIG “Come On, Man!” Besides WNCY(Y100)/Green Bay-Appleton that was used as an example in last week’s Merge going beyond Country radio, maybe we could just get the talented and hard working on-air talents such as Jay Michaels [WMGI (Mix 100.7)/Terre Haute] to give one. Jay has crafted the art of conversation one-on-one on-air and over the past couple years, on a blog, too, which has generated traffic for the station websites’ overall performance for clients.

Blogs have become one of the most essential tools in making websites more effective, which in the end helps sales give our clients more of a return on investment. Blogs are where we can share the inside story of on-air stories, where we can showcase content that eventually goes viral building upon our brand authority, where we can help the effectiveness of our websites search results, where we can be shared on consumers private profile pages and expose our products to hundreds, if not thousands new potential consumer.

Make sure you have a metric system in place to check analytics such as traffic sources, as well as follow these three basic elements to blogging:

1) Reliable Rhythm 
The only way someone can even create a habit of consuming your blog, as well as getting noticed by the search engines, is to become regular readers.

2) Write what people are talking about
Scan sites like tweetbeat.com or google.com/trends to stir creative and blog about the super-shared stories of the moment, using your creative to give your inside story of the story so it’s not just another source for the same story people can find anywhere.

3) When pushing out the content, use search-friendly keywords in the headline
Sensational headlines aren’t always necessary online. Rather than “Can you believe she did that?” - You can say “Can you believe Miley Cyrus did this” - By just adding the words Miley Cyrus, you’ve now increased your opportunity to be found by people who Google those words in search of the story.

Draw on others’ experiences as well; relatability can convert consumers.

Expanding an audience on our station blogs doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent and appropriate digital and social tactics and functions, we go beyond content. We slowly tap into consumer culture, which is really what’s king.

Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Please enjoy MERGE archives here.