Is Your Content Radio Worthy?
Photo credit: Andy Cook
A few months ago, I was invited to join a new business radio program as the producer.
In this case, “producer” meant lining up guests, and practically anything else I want or have time to do—only three of us were involved initially.
The idea from the outset was to spread positive stories from the local business community (the Spokane, Washington area). Like a lot of you, I’ve learned that a company’s ability to tell its story is vital, so accepting the invitation to produce the program —Business Talks—was irresistible.
It’s turned out to be so much fun, I wanted to tell you about it.
Spokane may not be a major market…
But a compelling, memorable story can come from any kind of organization, of any size, from anywhere.
So on Business Talks, we talk with business leaders of all types. In less than two months, for our once-a-week show, we’ve hosted, scheduled, or are in the process of scheduling: founders of businesses large and small, CEOs, marketing and sales people, a finance analyst, an online retailer, representatives of international corporations, non-profits, an agricultural entrepreneur, leaders of business groups, deans of business schools, the Mayor, the Congressman, the Congresswoman, the Sheriff, the Air Force. It’s exciting.
Note: Audio to all our past programs is posted to the Business Talks website.
Three things strike me.
First, radio isn’t that hard
The process of broadcasting requires some technical chops, but not as much as you might think—considering we broadcast live each week from a noisy restaurant. We get great support from the radio station. A college student engineers the broadcast as part of his studies. He runs the program like clockwork. (If Andy Cook doesn’t get an A, grades have no meaning.) We also have an intern who seems to know all about anything with a wire or a circuit, and takes great photos. Thank you, Andy Mendoza.
Andy Cook, Business Talks whiz kid, showing off for the camera
Here’s the hard part: Your host must come prepared, think quickly, have a good background in the subject area and speak well. We’ve got that covered with co-hosts Tom McArthur and Kent Adams, the guys who invited me onto the project.
Second, there’s a “story gap”
At times, there’s a gap between (a) what guests say when they passionately talk about their business, and (b) what you might learn from their more standard marketing communications.
I’m sure this is because most organizations don’t spend enough time refining their story. So the stories don’t seem as strong in their marketing materials as they are in reality. Or during a radio discussion.
A marketer must listen to a company’s story from a variety of perspectives, then refine it until it makes the biggest emotional impact. I hope our guests, many of whom have not been on radio before, start to think more strategically about their story.
Third: YOU can do this
Would your business benefit from having a radio show? Sure, you could create a podcast series. But if you’re going that far, you’re not far from being in the radio business.
Can you imagine a Gini Dietrich show on strategic marketing? Bill Dorman on insurance? Ralph Dopping on architecture and design? Danny Brown on social media?
A lot of radio stations are desperate for content. Radio interviews can be repurposed in a variety of ways—at Business Talks, we’re just scratching the surface.
Think about it. And share your thoughts below.
February 25th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Thanks for the shout out Barrett.
Great idea and even better to see you are enjoying the ride. The question I have is how do they know who is listening and their saturation? I wonder if a podcast allows for better analytics and sharing? That way you can always listen to it at your convenience.
I probably missed a salient point there somewhere. It’s such a cool grass roots story!
Ralph recently posted..QOTW 2013: Week 9: If you say you’re a Professional then act like a Professional
February 25th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Ralph, you’re welcome for the mention. You do such a great job of stimulating conversation on your blog and tying large issues to your industry — so I thought of you!
You ask a very hard question. The station we’re on is very small, and the size of the audience is hard to measure. We know from experience that the station’s following is very loyal. And we are taking steps to measure web traffic for podcast downloads, click-throughs to on-demand audio and smart-phone app usage during our show. Yep, we have all that stuff. So the radio broadcast is just one arm of our nascent radio empire.
Notice I said “taking steps” — this is all a work in progress. But the first step is creating something worth listening to, and after just 8 shows thus far we’ve done well.
February 26th, 2013 at 5:34 am
Hey Barrett
You get to do all the cool stuff!
My next venture is to make a video for my blog and then maybe a podcast.
It all could lead to a radio show… maybe
.
Tim Bonner recently posted..Could Your Google+ Button Use A Little Love?
February 26th, 2013 at 12:58 pm
I can’t wait to hear all those wonderful accents. Be sure to have a guest who sounds like the Geico gecko!
It really is fun. Of course, you have butterflies in your stomach until the guest actually shows up. Our format doesn’t include telephone calls——all guests join us on location at the beautiful Scratch Restaurant in downtown Spokane.
February 26th, 2013 at 8:09 am
Barrett, I still need to check these out. Any chance you can put this on iTunes so we can subscribe in our podcasts? I know, I know…. always more to do….
Either way, I will check the shows out. Looks like some great guests.
Lisa Gerber recently posted..Taking Risks and Hoping Like Hell They Pay Off
February 26th, 2013 at 1:01 pm
Believe me, iTunes is on our radar. Apparently they have a bit of a process before they’ll accept your podcast. And we’re going by the book, from what the good folks at Zipline Interactive tell us. At any rate, you can download the mp3 using the instructions on the “Hear The Show” page. And you the on-demand audio works very well.
February 26th, 2013 at 9:08 am
I would not call KTW a small station. I produced a program on that station and learned a good deal about it. KTW is the flagship for the Liberty Broadcasting System network which is streamed nationally and KTAC 93.9 FM in Moses Lake is an affiliate. So many of the KTW programs are also aired on KTAC. KTW originally was KUZN but now has a 400 plus foot tower. I receive it in Pullman and here not only your program but Representative Matt Shea, Susan Fagan, and Kevin Parker. It is also the only station that broadcast live events for groups and organizations and I love the old time radio shows and The Right Spokane Pespective with Mike Fagan each morning at 9am. It is also the only Spokane station with a studio in Olympia and co-studios with stations and recording studios in Seattle and Southern California. My experience working with KTW is that it is not a small station, it has the best equipment and technology of all the stations in Spokane. I found it to be a giant.
February 26th, 2013 at 9:29 am
Ralph, thanks for visiting and I completely appreciate your perspective. KTW/KTRW is small in some regards, but it has more heart than a bunch of corporate stations combined. As our dear leader the President likes to say, it definitely punches above its weight: http://youtu.be/GlkWHLWWzY0
February 26th, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Who’s the other Ralph? What? There’s another one?
Ralph recently posted..QOTW 2013: Week 9: If you say you’re a Professional then act like a Professional
February 26th, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Wow, Barrett. This is so cool. Ralph Dopping mentioned this in a comment at my place and I’m sure glad I came over. I had the iTunes question, but it looks like Lisa beat me to it. Very interested to hear how something like this works in a market like Spokane. I’m thinking more and more of doing a podcast … but not sure I’m ready for radio
“must come prepared, think quickly, have a good background in the subject area and speak well” One of the reasons I jumped back into Toastmasters 
Craig McBreen recently posted..4 Ways to Fall in Love with Content Marketing (NOW)
February 26th, 2013 at 8:23 pm
Ha! Tom and Kent amaze me with their sharp questions. Not sharp in the cutting sense, but in getting to the point. I suppose a podcast is good way to get into it… I was a deejay in college and learned very quickly to be prepared when it came time to talk, and ready to start up Stairway To Heaven as soon as I was done.
barrett recently posted..A Marketing Lesson From Farmer Fred
February 28th, 2013 at 8:01 am
Ralph, Tom McArthur was kind enough to send me your nice comments regarding KTW. Thank you. I do remember the program you did and the fact that you asked a lot of questions and knew a good deal about radio.
When Barrett said that Business Talks was on a very small station, I think he was correct and meaning that we only have two stations IN SPOKANE. The other local, major station owners in Spokane, like Clear Channel, have almost six stations, all IN Spokane. We have six stations but spread them out to cover all of the major cities in Eastern Washington. So our ACN Radio Network with its six stations, covers a huge area in three states and about 2 and a 1/2 million people. That makes Read Broadcasting the largest group owner in Spokane in so far as coverage FROM Spokane is concerned. Our station “cluster” IN Spokane is small but ACN covers a much larger area than any one newspaper, TV station, or other Spokane radio station. In fact, we are the only regional radio network of which I am aware in the Western United States. We are the only major Spokane station/network that uplinks from Spokane to a satellite for national satellite distribution.
So yes, our cluster IN Spokane is small in comparison but our total outreach is the largest in Spokane.
I think I am also the only broadcaster in Spokane who has ever been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters and to serve on the FCC/Industry Advisory Committee on Radio Broadcasting.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:50 am
Tom, when it comes to our region’s great business stories, the ACN radio network has to be one of the most interesting. Would you be our guest on Business Talks to share the story?
barrett recently posted..Marketing Your Startup Business: A Quick Guide
March 3rd, 2013 at 6:11 am
Whoa, Dorman live on insurance….weekly no less. I’ll furnish the beer so everyone will feel free to speak candidly…:).
I think it would certainly have merit but I’m afraid I would try to be too much of a jokester with it and they would run me from the show.
Plus, if I’m on radio no one could see my great hair.
Good post, I’m glad you are organizing it and not me; that’s where I fall down in the world of blogging too. I’m the ‘just show up guy,’ remember?
Bill Dorman recently posted..Unarmed but dangerous, leave your clothes in the car
March 4th, 2013 at 7:21 pm
Well if you’re so concerned about your great hair (hey, I had some too — when I was 19) you can always use UStream and simulcast. Which is something we’re considering.
I’m not sure if insurance is an exciting topic for radio. But why not? It would take a lot of personality. Judging from your blog and your sporadic comments here, you’ve got personality in spades. I hear lawyers and investment brokers who’ve had shows for years. And in Florida, don’t hurricanes come around every so often and blow the place off the map? Seems like a lot of people will be awfully interested in insurance issues, even if only on occasion. If they’re your clients, they may want to call in and give you some guff. (Notice, we don’t do call-ins, only live guests at the remote booth!)
March 4th, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Barrett,
You have some special going on with this. I have been thinking about doing something along these lines for a while, there is opportunity and upside.
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March 4th, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Thanks Josh! There really are nice moments. The best part of it so far for me: All the great guests we’ve had. A close second is working with a really nice crew. I’ve somehow managed to fall in with a nice crowd.
If you have questions, or want to talk, let me know.
April 10th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Barrett? Where the heck are you? Is all well and why aren’t you writing the good stuff? You are very missed, and I hope you come back.
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April 10th, 2013 at 3:11 pm
Jayme! It’s nice to have friends on the other side of the screen.
I’ve been fortunate to have a few projects taking up some of my time. There haven’t been nearly enough, and the problems I’ve been asked to solve haven’t been all that significant. So I haven’t been all that eager to blog about them.
But I will be back, and it could be any time. I do miss my blogging “partners” and just this week I’ve made a weak effort to reach out. You may be seen my name pop up here and there. The blogs I spend the most time (and will focus on going forward) are those where I learn stuff.
So you KNOW I’ll be back at your place, and soon. I have some catching up to do.
Thanks so much for checking up on me.
April 18th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
As a band member we often deal we people who don’t really know how it works. They don’t know how to talk or what button to press… I must say there’s great radio shows but my point is that radio is not that easy…
April 18th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
You’re right, it’s not easy. But it’s not brain surgery, either.
There are definitely some technical challenges to live radio (which is what we do). But a lot of programs are recorded for playback later. If you can work Garage Band, you can put together a radio show.