If you're piloting a radio station (or any organization for that matter), the winds are shifting again. Like a sailboat captain, you see--no make that feel--when shifts could pull you off the course you prefer to go. But the sailboat captain knows that you need several ways to get to your destination when (not if) the winds change.
Growing up, I sailed quite a bit on small boats (check November 2008 post) so when my father, brother and I recently visited San Diego, I discovered a sailing experience that we will long remember.
The America's Cup is the world's premier sailboat racing event. The sailing vessel, Stars and Stripes 11 (pictured on both pictures on this page), competed successfully in the America's Cup in 1992 and now is available for public sailing. The Stars and Stripes requires a crew of 6 plus 6 more passengers to work the sails, lines and grinders. The sailcraft can accomodate up to 30 people on board. The best part is that the captain permits each passenger to pilot the craft for a good, long time.
But he also can see the wind change and prepare the boat for adjustments. Several times during our Stars and Stripes sailing experience, Captain Lynn Hanna would look at the top of the water and say, "Here comes a little puff of wind" and he would help the pilot adjust position to make a safe ride. Other times a large cruise ship or naval ship would pass and block the wind. Captain Hanna would alert the pilot and even take the wheel, if necessary to keep the boat heading toward the destination.
As leaders, we need to 'read the water' and observe any obstructions.
Right now, the digital 'wind' is impacting income to almost every commercial radio station and most non-commercial radio stations. It isn't that listeners are leaving our station, but national advertisers are experimenting more with online advertising. Soon, local advertisers will follow. Regardless of success, advertisers are excited about the promise of online and are quick to forget the power of radio to influence listeners.
So what does the captain do?
One solution is to view the radio station as a 'Relationship Factory'. The radio signal is the mass producer of relationships with listeners. Direct mail (receipts, newsletters, fundraising appeals) and email (eletters and updates) are more customizable communications with audiences. Blogs provide a collaborative way to deepend relationships. Facebook (and other social media) pages grow a spontaneous, instant base of fans for interaction. Radio is unusually well-positioned to create the 'Relationship Factory' and attract interaction with listeners.
Any interaction with audiences can be monetized--from businesses through advertising, promotion or publicity and from listeners through donations, major gifts and volunteerism. The point is to invite more people into a deeper relationship with your station and then invite an appropriate response--whether to a specific donor campaign or to a business.
What are you doing to engage your audience with a deeper relationship?
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