Pending Business: Don’t Take Your Air Talent for Granted
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts the updated sales facts below are nowhere to be found in your radio station’s collateral material. This bold challenge is in front of you today as a wakeup call before the calendar becomes your frenemy.
The traditional calendarized selling events are about to begin starting with Valentine’s Day and you need to be current. Ratings, on-air lineup, and outside marketing may be out of your control but sharpening your selling skills and updating presentation materials is totally a selfie.
I’ve used many “wow” stats on sales calls – sometimes together, sometimes separately – but they’re always an important part of the pitch. Radio metric showstoppers with local appeal are mission critical in today’s fast-moving sales environment. Here’s a three-point, freshen-up to be integrated strategically when packaging or in stand-alone radio presentations. Use them or lose them, but at least choose to consider them.
— Nearly 80% of listeners say they would try a product or service recommended by their favorite radio personality, so says The Power of Local Radio Personalities study published by Katz last year. Now that is one heavy duty number! Careful about making this a universal, across-the-board statistic. Recommending a retirement community to the Gen Z audience is a non-starter. But when the radio talent is talking to that 55+ crowd in the right talk radio environment, that sound you hear is the phone lighting up with leads. When great creative is delivered by a great radio personality the audience comes alive.
— “79% of on-line searches are initially prompted with hearing an ad on radio,” according to Harvard Media, a Canadian marketing firm. The hard number may seem high for many of us, but the concept of using radio to enhance a multi-platform campaign, especially at the local level, is a tried-and-true formula. Call the concept what you will – media mix, multi-channel/platform – consistent messaging across the board delivers results.
— Digital disconnects. Ad blockers are in. According to a recent Hubspot survey update, 64% of ad blocker users say ads are intrusive while another 54% say ads are disruptive. Talk about negativity compared to the nearly 80% of radio listeners who consider their favorite personalities a trusted friend. We all want to hear what our friends have to say!
Chances are your basic sales materials are 2022 rollovers. Freshen up your look and give yourself a new reason to make the next call.
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
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