By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
How about a collective “thank you” to the 45th president of the United States for keeping your talk radio programming relevant, timely, unpredictable and most of all engaging?
The interpretation, speculation and compilation of facts, opinions and reporting will be non-stop until this chapter of the news cycle meets the next chapter. This is a never-ending saga that keeps the dial locked into your talk radio frequency. This is the content that keeps the electronic water cooler crowded with listeners who can’t get enough.
Whatever comes next in this chapter of history unfolding in front of our collective ears and eyes is the oxygen that keeps the talk radio world alive and well every day. By the way, the 45th president of the United States just may have pulled your typically soft talk radio summer sales out of the basement and pushed you into an express elevator to the penthouse.
Are you still feeling the drumbeat of the naysayers predicting how talk radio will age out? Or better yet, run its course? My prediction is talk radio is about enter a phase previously unmatched in American broadcast history. Seriously. When was the last time a former president of the United States owned the headlines and collective headspace of talk radio hosts and listeners worldwide for so many years? Never.
Let’s get ready to refresh our summer vacation schedules, seasonal sales packages, rates, and most of all strategies. Start here:
— Sell the concept. Leave the opinions and banter about indictments, politics and the law to your on-air talent. Focus instead on the unique value of the engaged audience.
— Experts are important. Chances are your talk radio hosts will be smart enough to break down the issues and lean on experts to help the audience understand the ramifications. Credibility and consistency can make your coverage stand apart. Show your advertiser what makes your coverage different and better.
— Talk radio goes where TV and video can’t – the car, the beach, even the backyard. Sell the need to know on the go.
— Unfolding the unpredictable. Your listeners want the “inside scoop” on what the next chapter of this saga looks like. Your on-air talent look for every opportunity to give their listeners a peek behind the opinion curtain. The seller’s job is to bring the value of that connection to life on every sales call.
Talk radio is alive and well every day. It’s up to you to show your advertisers the value of instant access to a trusted voice.
Steve Lapa is the president of Lapcom Communications Corp. based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Lapcom is a media sales, marketing, and development consultancy. Contact Steve Lapa via email at: Steve@Lapcomventures.com.