Dynamic and powerful on-air personalities like Angela Yee of New York’s Power 105.1 FM can be your best salespeople.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons Obviously, programming and format are the building blocks for any radio station. But the personalities that people recognize on their airwaves are what keep the building standing. This is the main reason most jukebox formats fail to deliver long-term results.
Well-coached, developed on-air talent can be extremely influential when they understand that they are professional persuaders and sellers.
People tune to radio for various reasons: music, talk, humor, news, information and relaxation. It’s that basic. When listeners tune into a station, they must be sold on the idea that what they are hearing on your station is what they want. Music sells a station. Information sells a station. Personalities sell a station through creativity, voice quality, humor and relevant information such as traffic and weather reports, topical discussions, and so on.
The better the information, humor or entertainment, the easier it is to keep listeners tuned to your station. Once listeners are sold on the idea that your station is the one they are searching for, they will be hooked until the time when another station sells them a better product.
The best on-air talent sells the station to each potential listener in an emotional manner, one person and one element at a time. It’s the program director’s job to see that every air personality understands how to accomplish this through coaching and air check sessions. Done properly, your station will see enormous benefits through better programming and higher ratings and revenue.
Gary Begin, with partner Steve Bianchi, is a radio consultant, researcher and strategist with Identity Programming, a multi-format consulting firm specializing in small and medium growth markets. It is based in Jackson, Tenn., with offices in Warwick, R.I.
