Radio Ink Magazine June 6, 2022

This issue coincides with the 13th Hispanic Radio Conference. While on first blush that may sound like something of interest to only a segment of readers, it shouldn’t. Hispanics, along with other minority groups, are rapidly becoming what Rick Santos and others have dubbed “The New American Mainstream.” More than even the explosive increase in population would indicate, this new mainstream stems from the organic adoption and growing influence of Hispanic and Latin cultures on the general population. From food to music, fashion to sports and entertainment, the Hispanic and Latin cultures have made an indelible mark on American society and are projected to continue to grow and expand in influence. So yes, if you are reading this, you should sit up and take notice. Radio listeners with Hispanic ties represent an…

An affinity group is composed of people who share an identity marker. Backpackers are an affinity group. Corvette drivers are an affinity group. If you like to sew, you are part of an affinity group. Every sports team has “fans,” an affinity group. If you like wine, you are in that affinity group. People who like science are part of an affinity group. If you would rather drive than fly, you are part of an affinity group. In a class he taught at Wizard Academy, Ryan Deiss said, “Identify a tribe. Develop the tribe. Market to the tribe.” Ryan was talking about affinity groups. Affinity groups have an affinity for — an attraction to — a particular thing. Marketing to affinity groups is a smart thing to do. Do you know the…

The cost of customer acquisition should already be motivating a hyper-focus on renewals. Renewals are the most valuable opportunities in sales, yet they do not always get undivided attention. A lyric from “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone,” should be displayed prominently in every sales department. How can we set up measures for the best chance for renewal earlier in our customer relationships? Seven Steps to Plug the Drain These steps are in sequence relative to the customer journey and are designed to build a stronger foundation with each step. Each one carries its weight in the process, and you can emphasize one over another as you evaluate and strengthen your renewal strategy. 1. Manage expectations. Disappointment is the first crack in any…

There’s audio competition everywhere you turn these days. The radio is harder to find on vehicle dashboards. The phone has new audio apps popping up every week. What will it take to keep radio at the top of the audio mountain? We asked some of Radio Ink’s Top Leaders if radio needs a spark to add a little life back to the medium. Radio has the spark to move forward. It’s in the people who are in the industry. The great part of radio is the fact we have such a wide array of positions and need a variety of personalities to fill the spots. Radio is still free to the listener, and radio is a part of our communities. Over the years we have had to learn and adapt and make…

In December 2004, 32-year-old John Clay Wolfe was doing well. He had a successful car dealership business in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He had also figured out how to make good money buying and selling used vehicles via auction. That’s when life, as it is apt to do on occasion, threw him a nasty curve. He crashed in a motocross accident, damaging his spinal cord so badly that he was looking at life in a wheelchair. “I was in a bad wreck,” he says, “and when I was in the wheelchair, I was trying to figure out what I could do. That’s when the radio piece came in — because that was something I could do when I was in a wheelchair.” Months in the hospital and rehab, along with a good dose…

The answer to the question above is a resounding yes! Podcasting is a great way to build the brands of your station, shows, and personalities, as well as another way to bring in revenue. You may have heard that before, but the question is, if the market is smaller, can podcasting really help build a brand and bring in revenue? Yes, but you need to keep a few things in mind when launching your station’s podcast strategy. Where To Start: Tech Get your tech right first. Make sure you pick an RSS feed company that will deliver your ad inventory through dynamic audio insertion (DAI). It needs to be easy to use and have a marketplace to tap into when you don’t have any ads. A good marketplace can bring in passive…