Say Hello! - Building Relationships With Your Co-Workers From Day 1

I may have mentioned this before, but I think the start of a new school year is the perfect time to bring up an important topic that most people neglect when you work in the radio industry. It is a lesson that is important for any industry at any point in your career and it can be summed up pretty well in two words, say hello!

Yes, that is it. Let me explain a little further.

One of the most important leaders in my life taught me this lesson before I finished radio school to help prepare me for professional life. When you get to the station (or office/wherever you work) stop and take a moment to say a quick “hello” or “good morning” to everyone in the station.

You may be thinking this is an obvious thing to do, especially if you have to walk past everyone as you walk in the door to your office or studio. You would be surprised at many people stop this practice after internship. Radio newbies love the opportunity to network during internship and meet everyone they can during a short term at a station but it is equally as important to develop relationships at a station you are working at permanently.

Taking a moment to stop and greet everyone you work with can build a relationship with everyone in your station and make you a station insider at your station.

Here are a few more quick etiquette pointers for your morning entrance:

-Keep it positive. Everyone is tired, everyone is busy and no one wants to hear about it. It is a fresh new day, save the drama for later and get the day off on the right foot by holding anything negative back.

-Keep it simple. In the morning people have things to do, greet your co-workers and get out of their hair. Save your longer personal chats for coffee breaks and lunch. If you have a work related issue come back to the person after you both are settled into work.

-Do not walk into the office first thing in the morning on your cell phone; take the time to build the relationships with the people in your office. If you have an important call finish it in your car or plan to come in early enough to take it in your office. When you are done on the phone take a moment to get your “good mornings” in.

-If you are new to your workplace try to use names as much as possible.

This is one really easy thing to do everyday that can help build the important relationships that you need to have a dynamic, happy workplace.

The best managers I have ever had do this every day, on the good days and the bad days. On sulky Monday Mornings, dreary Wednesdays and when everyone is happy that it is finally Friday.

Some of the best managing skills are developed during internship, many of the best bosses I have worked with take the skills that are important when you are a new employee or an intern and continue to use them on a daily basis.

Sometimes we focus so much on what we are saying to the listeners that we forget to connect with the team behind the music, production, promotions, contests and sales that build the radio stations brand. When you have a crew of people working together that enjoys working together and is having fun it comes through on-air and is noticeable to listeners. It builds an atmosphere in your building and over the airwaves that people will want to be part of.

Follow April Wine’s advice and simply “say hello”.  Give it a try everyday for the next two weeks and let me know how it goes!

A Great LifeHack Article to Help You Get More Blog Hits!

Looking for more views for your blog?

Check out this blog with these easy tips to help generate hits and make you a blogging star at your radio station.

For the full LifeHack article click here or the image below.

To create great images for your blog make sure you check out my blog on PicMonkey!

For more from LifeHack click here:http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/how-get-more-people-read-your-blog-just-couple-minutes.html

Radio Station Branding and Social Media

The other day I received an email from a higher up on the radio food chain about social media.

To be honest with you I hate the phrase social media. To me it is just a buzz word, as someone who talks for a living, I hate buzz words.

To make it worse, this person has no idea about social media. He does not use it personally or as a representative of our company/station.

The gist of the article was something I have been screaming for months. The number is not important, the service is. Now, since I have joined my team the number has increase by let’s just say a lot. Though we have steady increases in following we have less than stellar interaction rates. This is getting better, but it is still not where I want it to be.

I think all execs and big wigs that run around pushing agendas and performance rates on social media should be forced to watch this video.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vh1I-K15o1s?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Know what you’re talking about. Blanketing the use of the term social media is wrong and so is expecting social media to do your job as a radio service. It brings a new use for the phrase, “crap in, crap out”. Think of how hard it is to fix crappily recorded audio, not everyone can do it and it takes time. It is the same with your social media strategy. If you have a crappy brand no amount of social media interaction will fix that.

This video is right, social media is a communication line. It is a bonus, if you have to use it as a crutch for ending your breaks or as a primary means to communicate with your listeners you are in the wrong industry.

With all of that being said, I am all for connecting with listeners on every platform possible, but know that radio comes first and then social media. Hone your skills, craft your brand at then put the rest of the pieces together.

I have said social media too many times in this post and I hate myself a little bit now. I am a total hypocrite here for using it exactly the way I hate it being used but I really did not want to continuously beat you over the head with specific website names.

To be clear, I actually have no problem using social media as a blanket term in the right places. Like a Social Media policy for example. I have a problem with execs saying things like, “… add this to social media”. 

What works on Facebook will not necessarily work on Twitter. With the increased use of social media feeds on station websites this message is important. I have never been a fan of linking (for example) your Facebook feed to Twitter (and vice-versa). With sites generating your content from social media this looks stupid and boring. Take the time, be original. 

I imagine it to be like ripping the audio from a TV ad for a radio commercial and expecting for nothing to get lost in between. Sure it works sometimes, but is it as effective as it could be? 

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this video and find it useful to help plan how you want to interact with your listeners across platforms. 

http://www.fredcavazza.net/files/Q2-08/SocialMediaLandscape.jpg

Branding Lessons From Disney: Experiencing the Disneyside

I am a massive Disney fan. Last night I watched the Oscars only to cheer on this years offering Frozen.

Last week we went to Disneyland for a day and it taught me a lot about marketing and brand value.

I hate to be crude, but here is look at our easily tracked expenses (not including bottles of water and meals in the park). We paid $400 for a night at Disneyland’s cheapest hotel. Add in over $80 for a character breakfast for two the next morning and then just under $300 for two-park hopper passes for the day.

Why?

Well, it sure as hell was not because it was the only hotel room in Anaheim. There were rooms listed near the park for about $70. You can have breakfast of about the same quality at Denny’s for under $20 for two people and two passes to Knott’s Berry Farm Amusement park run about $125.

Could we have had a cheaper day?

Yup. The numbers don’t lie, we could have saved a lot of money that day. Why didn’t’ we? Well, we wanted to let our Disneyside out.

Our trip to Disneyland taught me something valuable about brands and value, Disney Parks are much like luxury products. You are not paying the value of the actual product; you are paying for the experience.

Yes, the hotel room was nice. It was on par with the Holiday Inn we stayed at the last time we went to Disneyland. But, at Holiday Inn you do not get the Disney Experience. They don’t care if you are celebrating at Holiday Inn that is not their job. At Disney they ask and are equipped with things like buttons so that when their cast members pass you in the park they take time out of their day to greet you (I was given a Happy Birthday pin, EVERY Disney Cast Member stopped to greet me like I was a GD princess).

If we had stayed at the Holiday Inn we would not have had an “extra hour of magic at the Park”. Seriously, this was a big selling point. A very pricy experience, but one many people are willing to fork out the dough to have.

The details were key. From the Mickey Mouse emblems throughout the room to the wake-up call from the mouse himself staying at a Disney hotel is about the magical experience.

At Disneyworld in Florida there are more options (price wise) for staying at Disney. This is because more land was snatched up around the property in Orlando for accommodations, this did not happen in Anaheim. This is a fascinating thing to me, but maybe not to you (unless you are launching a theme park). I will skip the details here and say you can save money by staying outside of Disney properties in Florida too (maybe not as much though).

Who wants to wait in line to meet a Mouse? Lots of people, so to ensure we got our photos we were pleased to spend inordinate amounts of money on a character breakfast. At 7:30am we lined up to access our reservation and meet Mickey himself. Throughout the meal Pluto, Minnie and Stitch made their ways over to our table for a picture. $80 later we were off to the park. After spending those pretty pennies we agreed to not wait in line for character interactions.

Just in case you are wondering, the line to see Merinda from Disney’s ‘Brave’ was 30 minutes. The line to see Elsa and Anna from 2013’s ‘Frozen’ was 120 minutes (at least). Insider tip: send someone to wait before the station opens in the morning or you will be waiting for two hours. Clearly, we did not wait.

Now, what really says the most to me about the Disney brand is that it is not necessarily a high quality brand. I am a Disney lover, but I am the first to concede that some of their stuff is crap. That is the way it has always been. Even in Walt’s days there was something to fit into every budget. Today, Dollar Stores are lined with cheap Disney merch. But, places like Disney Stores sell better quality items and even high-end luxury items because there are people out there that forever identify with the brand and will buy them.

This is brilliant. From the child who saves his or her nickels and dimes to the grown-ass woman who sports a Mickey Mouse designer handbag, there is an experience for everyone.  You can see the quality differences from the kitschy crap items sold at throw-away clothes stores like Forever 21 and an actual Disney Store clothing item, but people don’t care. That is not what it is about.

Disney rides are not the most intense rides out there; you are not going to find the most daring rides at the park. In fact, you most likely won’t have to wait that long to go on those rides. The longest wait times I have seen in the parks are for either new rides (sometimes) or story rides.  If you have seen the line for Fantasyland rides like ‘Peter Pan’s Flight’ you know exactly what I am talking about. Again, the experience is key here not the actual ride.

Disney offers an experience for their uber fans that will never bore of in the parks finding things like “hidden Mickeys” and hosting events for their annual pass holders. But, they also offer magical experiences for those young and old who only have occasional access to the parks. They are continuously innovating to find new ways to improve and offer a constantly different experience.

I do not think we need to get too much into films here. I think Disney’s incredible list of animated films speaks for itself. The 90s were an amazing period to grow up in with Disney’s animated films. They were more than cartoons; they were an expansion on the genre. Back then there was a huge gap in the field. It was like a NHL team playing against Junior B players, thanks for coming out. Disney continues to innovate with film and bring the magic we all experienced as children to the next generation. BOOM! Instant lifelong fans.

What can your brand learn from Disney?

The lesson here is not that you should have a dollar store and designer brand offering (that is not realistic for every brand).

The lesson here is to have an inclusive marketing plan that attracts people to your brand for the experience. If you can give them something they will appreciate when they only have pennies there is a better chance they will stick with you when they have gold.

Radio: If you can deliver a product that is free, informative and entertaining why would your local listeners (or online listeners) ever pay for satellite radio?

Think about the impression you leave on the listener and their experience. Put yourself in their shoes, and like Disney, craft experiences for them that are detail orientated and magical.

Launch campaigns like Disney’s show your ‘Disneyside’ (#Disneyside) to get your fans to do the marketing for you. Word of mouth is the fastest way to spread the word about you and your brand, give your cult like followers something to tweet/talk about!

Keep innovating! You never know when the Dreamworks in your life will release a Shrek! Or maybe you’re Universal, find your Gru and get to it!

Read This Book: Mark Ramsey's '10 Ways of the Radio Ninja’

I have been reading a lot on my vacation. Call me crazy, but most of it has been about radio. Live to work or work to live, I think you can guess how I feel about radio.

Just a quick note here on a great short read I just finished from Mark Ramsey called '10 Ways of the Radio Ninja’. It was a great way to start the day; it made me think about a lot of things on a individual level as part of a team of on-air talent and on a branding level for our entire station.

I do not want to give to much of it away, or make this blog post longer than the book (it is only 13 pages) but I do want to highlight a couple of points. I am going to stay out of the ratings part, working in a small market station it is not something I really have to worry about right now so that message was not as important to me.

The most important point to me was number three, “The Radio Ninja Creates Unique and Compelling Content”. I love the idea of not caring what has worked at other stations and going with something unique rather than tried and true. Each market is unique, what works in Toronto will not necessarily work in Tijuana. This extends from on-air breaks into contesting, even websites. Radio is an extremely personal medium, using blanket campaigns and templates (in my eyes) is a massive roadblock to creating the content that changes passive listeners into fans (Ramsey has a great chapter on passive listeners vs. fans in this ebook too).

Another great point made in ’10 Ways of the Radio Ninja’ discusses the fact that radio is not a stagnant, stationary thing; it is a platform that now crosses into other mediums (social media, web, mobile phones etc.). Most stations that I have seen cross platforms successfully are doing it by innovating and giving their listeners something fresh and new that fits for their demographic. Its not something they have done under the corporate umbrella in another market successfully, it is something they have come up with or borrowed with a unique spin to make it their own. Using the radio platform to help reach out to connect with listeners through other mediums helps build further relationships with interaction.

I am going to stop there because I am in danger writing a longer blog post than the e-book.

Checkout ’10 Ways of the Radio Ninja’ for FREE, yes I said for free! You can downloadit on Mark Ramsey’s website here: http://www.markramseymedia.com/.

While you visit Mark Ramsey’s website checkout the rest of his informative work, his blogs bring up great points on the state of contemporary radio. Make sure you read the comments as well, valuable discussions are happening that present other points of view.

Here is a preview of the book via Slideshare:

10 Ways of the Radio Ninja from Mark Ramsey

Read This Book: Steve Jones's 'Brand Like A Rock Star'

From BLARS's Facebook page.

If you like music you should probably read this book.

If you enjoy rock music (especially classic rock) you should read this book.

If you work in radio, read this book.

If you work in marketing or promotions, you need read this book.

If you have made it this far in the blog and are still not sure if you should read this book, keep going and then read this book.

Steve Jones’ ‘Brand Like A Rock Star’ is a niche book that everybody can find something to like about. I could not put it down; I absolutely loved every page of  ‘Brand Like A Rock Star’.

Yes, I work in radio promotions/marketing at a classic rock station so it fits perfectly into my niche; but I have shared the stories and messages from this bible of rock marketing with lawyers, sales reps, stay at home moms (I could keep going)… and everyone finds the stories/reasons they love (or hate) the most influential rock stars interesting and I bet you will too!

 Seriously, this book is like a textbook for branding and marketing your station.  It is smart, preachy in the right way and written so smoothly that you will want to consume it all in one sitting. I had to keep reminding myself to stop, reflect and think about each chapter rather than continuing on for the finish.

I know I will have to read ‘Brand Like a Rock Star’ again, the lessons and messages are so valuable that I would be a fool not to!

Seriously, the $6 I paid for this e-book has already paid for itself.

You know what they say in radio school about proving yourself and giving away your work first, well Steve Jones has done that too. Click here to check out the first chapter for free.

I do not want to give too much away here. But, I think that one of the great elements of this book is how many titans of rock it covers. It does not dwell too much on the history it gets right down into the nitty-gritty quickly with short (to the point) chapters.

I cannot say enough good things about this book, I know I will be reading again in the near future and gifting it to any friends entering professions in radio and TV.  If I were teaching I would have this book on the syllabus for radio school that is for damn sure!

Read it. Give it. Live it. Brand yourself like a rock star!

For more on 'Brand Like A Rock Star' from Steve Jones you can like the book on Facebook and check out the book's website! 

Great Read: Using Images in Your Blog

Lots of stations like to drive web exposure by blogging. I have been at stations that don’t bother with it; I have been at stations that require multiple blogs a day from on-air talent. Some people are really good at blogging, some people are not. Not everyone who can orally communicate well can do it in writing.

I love blogging (clearly). 

One hot topic that has come up with station blogs is the use of images. Now, I am expecting your station will have a social media policy. Sometimes it is overlooked to include basic copyright rules when applying a blanket policy to blogs and social media. I am guessing some stations assume that these rules are universally understood, but really I think there is a grey area with the internet and it is important to explicitly get the message out there to protect the station from lawsuits.

Copyright infringement with blogs usually does not happen spitefully, people are very busy and do not have time to follow around Kay Perry to get their own photos of her for their own blogs, think of how much more annoying that would be for celebrities! Often images are borrowed as I like to think of it.

Here is a great article from John Saddington about using images in blog posts. It is pretty clear and easy to read, without all the legal mumbo-jumbo. We went to Radio School, not Law School for a reason, right?

Click here to read John Saddington’s ‘The Complete Guide toUsing Images in Your Blog Posts’.

More tips on blogging to come… 

Here are some articles on stations getting in trouble for using photos they were not necessarily supposed to be using:

http://radio.about.com/od/controversyandscandal/a/Radio-Station-Sued-Over-Using-Photo-From-Internet-Meme.htm

http://www.radioink.com/article.asp?id=2668881&spid=24698

http://petapixel.com/2013/03/05/photog-gets-into-nasty-tussle-with-radio-station-over-copyright-infringement/

Pic Monkey - The Easy and Cheap Alternative to Photoshop

(Logo from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PicMonkey_Logo.jpg)

Before I started my full time job this summer I was working and interning part-time at a major market station in Canada. I was looking for ways to improve one of my side blogs and increase traffic from social media sites like Pinterest. This example blog was about recipes. I had read how important images are to increase traffic through social media and witnessed it with the use of memes (etc.) used on radio station postings; but I really did not have time to sit at home and Photoshop pictures of the food I was making.

One day I was on remote with a member of the stations very experienced on-air team and we were talking about passive income and blogging (he has a VERY) popular blog and he told me about the easiest way to create great graphics. He told me about a site called PicMonkey. I have used this site everyday since taking on my new role as Midday Host and Promotions Coordinator; PicMonkey has been essential for creating graphics for my everyday blogs and web work. 

This has been perfect, at the current station we send everything we need for graphics out to be done. This makes it hard for whimsical changes to things like social media profiles for things like seasons. PicMonkey has made it incredibly easy to update my stations specific graphics in house myself without a computer that has Photoshop. 

Here are the things I love about PicMonkey:

-PicMonkey is extremely easy to use, seriously anyone can use it. 

-With files with a transparent background you can put your logo pretty much everything,

-If your logo file does not have a transparent background you can use the eraser function to remove it.

-You can make collages. 

-PicMonkey is FREE and you DO NOT have to register on the site, you can upgrade and use more of the PicMonkey tools for a small fee.

-There is a good base of free features that are usually seasonal and change to keep you relevant.

-You can make basic Photoshop brightness, contrast, crop (etc.) adjustments.

-You can save your files in various file formats and resolutions for file size.

-You can produce great graphics very quickly. 

I love PicMonkey. It is perfect for making more attractive photos to draw people in with your station blogs, even if you don't have to blog I am betting you have to use social media and PicMonkey is perfect for making one-off posts or things like Facebook cover photos. 

I think everyone in the radio business can benefit from PicMonkey. From promotional graphics and branding social media imagery to throwing a potential client's logo into a presentation; PicMonkey is an easy way to step up your graphics game if you don't know how (or can't) use Photoshop. 

For examples of how I upped my game on my recipe blog you can check out www.cookketo.com, look at my old posts vs. my more recent posts and you will see the difference.