In the radio listening experience, the role of the DJ is one of the few unique benefits of radio. Members of today’s music audience want to learn more about the people who guide their listening experience. No longer content to simply listen to the recommendations of a self-proclaimed (or executive proclaimed) expert, listeners want to connect with DJs and learn more about them. Radio, by investing time and resources in their DJs will strengthen the role radio plays in audio entertainment.
The only thing that separates radio listening from uploading music to an iPod is that on radio, someone else plays deejay. [Source: CBSNews] Because technology allows listeners to create playlists of their favorite songs without interruption, DJs can be perceived as an annoyance or inconvenience when listening to the radio. But the importance of a DJ led experience should be enhanced, and listeners should be educated by radio stations about how a DJ is vital to the discovery of new music. The DJ, who understands both a particular musical genre and the listening audience, is the perfect person to screen, review and recommend new music. Without this process music discovery will stall as listeners look exclusively to old favorites to fill their music needs.
More than ever before a sense of trust between the listener and the DJ is what will make or break the listening experience. Audience members want to know that DJs and the music they play represent the desires and needs of the audience and aren’t just preprogrammed radio shows packaged by executives. Today’s listening audience wants to connect with the DJ and feel like they have input into their own listening experience. This change is based on a fundamental shift away from music being the commodity. Instead, it is now the listeners time and attention which is in demand.
In order to elevate DJs into a position of trust and gain the attention of listeners, radio stations must provide DJs with tools such as Listener Active to facilitate interaction with the audience. Increasing the methods of interaction will result in more opportunities to build listener trust. A DJ, based on his/her taste, and the knowledge of his/her audience, selects quality records and tests them. [Source: The MoTownElevator] Combine the natural affinity of a quality DJ to pick relevant music with instant feedback from the audience and this method takes most of the risk out of new music discovery. If the DJ has built up enough trust with the listener, the listener will be willing to forgive a bad recommendation, advise the DJ and the overall music experience will benefit.
Giving the DJs more control over guiding the listening experience will reduce the growing resentment towards canned repetitive programming. By capturing instant statistics, radio executives can free themselves from the paranoia that an unproven song will cause listeners to tune out resulting in lower ratings and less revenue. By embracing the unique role a DJ plays in guiding listening experiences, and allowing the audience to partake, the radio industry can once again reclaim its title as the leader in new music discovery.
]]>The Internets ability to provide results has overshadowed the importance of a complete marketing campaign. In some cases, clicks on ads are a result of interest piqued by traditional media. Consumers may have initially heard about a product on the radio and then clicked on an ad because they remembered the original advertisement. Or, they may have heard an event sponsored on the radio while driving home and then searched Google to find out more. Radio, in many cases is the hook that brings the consumer to the Internet to make the final purchase.
Radio does much of the dirty work. It woos the consumer over to the product and it helps to develop brand recognition. Unfortunately when it comes to radio, they are missing out on the area where most of the profit is generated these days: upon final sale. Advertising trends are moving away from potential sales to actual sales as demonstrated in pay per click advertising. It is conceivable that advertisers may start to request pay per listen advertising and radio stations will be forced to change the business model from potential listeners to actual listeners. Thus forcing radio revenue even lower.
Radio must not hesitate to educate businesses about the function of radio in a marketing campaign. Unless new means of transmitting are found, this will require a hybrid model of radio, the Internet and mobile devices. Thankfully, innovative internet applications are now being developed which allow radio to expand its reach. These applications are allowing radio to utilize internet and cell phone technology to both gather statistics and become a part of the entire process – pitch, discovery and sale. Applications like these will allow radio to remain a dominant force in the music world and maintain or exceed revenue expectations.
The needs of small business owners will not change as we move out of a recession. Small business owners are likely to continue wanting to see conversion rates, click trails and specific audience trends. In order to survive this change in advertising, radio must experiment with new solutions that combine the best of both worlds. Then, armed with statistical data that shows how marketing campaigns are directly impacted by radio advertising, small businesses will return to radio for a complete solution to their advertising needs.
]]>