If we use the 1990′s as a reference point (and all of you radio pros from that era will back me up on this) the landscape of talk radio has most definitely changed from then until now. In the 90′s the average time allotted for a guest interview was anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes and most of the interviews took place in-studio.

Today if you want to find a 45 to 60 minute interview you have to focus on smaller markets (and/or smaller stations in big markets). Why? It all comes down to format. Today, the format for guest interviews in top markets can be as short as 3 to 5 minutes and as long as 10-15 minutes. So the same major market talk show that used to have one guest per hour will now how 3-5 guests in one hour!

Also, say goodbye to in-studio interviews. Most hosts today don’t want guests coming to the studio. Now with shorter interviews, having to meet and greet an in-studio guest can be an unnecessary distraction, not only for the hosts but for other employees at the station as well. And, where quality of sound used to be a factor, we’ve seen enough technological advances in equipment that phone interviews now sound far superior to those of the earlier days.

Ok, so things have changed. But it isn’t necessarily for the worst. Any opportunity to be a guest on a radio show is an opportunity you want to take advantage of – regardless of the amount of airtime, the size of the market or the power of the radio station!

For years I have told my clients about the power of radio, and have watched many campaigns produce fantastic results. Here are just a few helpful tips I share with my clients about the value of talk radio and how to maximize these opportunities to connect with their audience.

Work With However Many Minutes You Have on the Air!

Be careful not to fall into the negative mindset about short interviews. Even if your interview only lasts say 10 minutes, these are 10 very valuable minutes of airtime…just learn how to maximize it!

• Develop those Sound Bites. If you only have 10 minutes to talk about your product or service you just need to develop your message so that it’s concise and will grab the audience’s attention. The secret for doing this is to make every word count in being able to communicate your message.
• Know Your Message and Stay On it. Figure out what your key message is and stick with it! You don’t have time to be thrown off topic by the host or caller. When that happens, your job is to briefly acknowledge what was said and bring the conversation back to your message. It can be done as politely as, “…yes, that’s a good point, but…” (the rest of your answer would be your message). This kind of response allows you to keep your manners in so that the host doesn’t feel like you’ve ignored his comment, but at the same time, you’re in control of the communication and able to get your point across.
• Know the Host and the Show. If the show is simulcast on the internet, take the time to listen to it before your interview. This will allow you to get a feel for the overall tone of the show and host and how he or she communicates with guests and callers. It will also give you a feel for the pace of the show. Then when it comes time for your interview, you’ll know what’s expected of you as a guest and you’ll be able to stay in stride. I promise you, the host will appreciate that you’re keeping the same pace and tone as he or she is! The benefit to you? The more the host likes you the more inclined they will be to promote your product or service for you!

Bottom line? Advertisers pay hundreds of dollars for a single minute of time on the air. So, a 10 minute interview is very valuable and can be worth thousands of dollars in advertising time!

Only Want a Long Interview? Ditch the Major Markets!

If you only want longer interviews, then look to smaller markets. If you are not sold on the benefits of these seemingly lesser markets, let me share some terrific facts about these rough diamonds:

• Get Your Feet Wet: Interviews in smaller markets give you the opportunity to gain experience as a radio guest providing terrific insight as to the workings and rhythm of talk radio.
• Fine Tune: Knowing your message and knowing the right way to communicate it are two different things. These interviews allow you to test your messages and identify which ones resonate best with the host and listeners.
• Question Time: As a standard rule in talk radio, you always want to provide hosts with sample questions to ask you – as the host won’t always have the time or discipline to study your topic prior to speaking with you. But, after doing a number of small market interviews you’ll know which questions present the best opportunity for communicating your message and keeping listeners tuned into the show!
• …and a higher concentration of listeners!

Yes, it’s true. In smaller markets, there just aren’t as many stations to choose from as in the larger markets. So, what’s the benefit of this for you? Well, simply put, less choice of stations means listeners aren’t able to do as much channel surfing. Think about it: in Gainesville, Florida there are 3 stations that have a talk show format whereas in San Francisco, California there are 10. So even though the population in Gainesville is minute compared to the population of SF – it’s very feasible to have a larger audience listening to your interview in Gainesville, than the one you conduct in San Francisco. It’s the channel surfing factor at play. In smaller markets listeners have less choice of talk stations to listen to and so they tend to have favorite stations and hosts they often view as a trusted advisor or friend. So being on a small market show with dedicated listeners and a host who endorses your product or service, can be far more impacting on your sales.

Not In-studio – Not a Problem!

With in-studio interviews you have to:

• Schedule time off from work;
• Be away from your family;
• Spend time and money on travel (planes, trains and automobiles…remember?);
• Incur cost of hotels and meals while on the road.

And what if you arrive at the station and there’s hot, late breaking news and the show cancels or the interview goes short? Yikes! There goes your time and money down the drain. What a waste!

Radio phone interviews are so much more beneficial for you. Travelling isn’t necessary! Time of day is no longer an issue. For example, if you have an interview on a popular overnight show, you can still do it, but from the comfort of your bed! Just imagine, talking to people all over the country while lounging in your pajamas!

And what about those interviews during office hours? Are you a busy executive? You can integrate radio phone interviews into your work-day, around client meetings, staff briefings or in-between those important reports you’re on deadline to get done. You can even coordinate radio interviews when you’re traveling on business. We’ve had clients conduct live interviews from airports and even abroad on an overseas business trip!

Yes, in-studio interviews are great for establishing camaraderie between you and the host – but that same camaraderie can be created with phone interviews. It just requires that you become more adept at your communication skills so that your ability to have a quality communication isn’t hindered simply because the person isn’t sitting in front of you!

The Take Away…

Even though the face of radio has changed, in many ways it has leaned toward your advantage.

While national media exposure is ideal, there is great power in local media exposure as well. By focusing on your hometown media outlets you will be able to build a solid base of fame and recognition from which to grow on. Creating as much “buzz” as you can locally will compliment your national campaign to no end and it also gives you invaluable media experience when the national media starts to knock on your door.

Fortunately many local journalists and on-air personalities enjoy interviewing local businesses and experts like yourself. This gives you an upper hand in grabbing their attention, and you will also gain their support in spreading the word about your company, products or services!

If you want to create solid “buzz” in your hometown, I recommend the following:

• Talk Radio Interviews and Television Appearances: Generally speaking, every city has radio and television programs that have a format for guests. Do your research on the web to find the main stations that broadcast in your hometown. Then go to their website where you will find information about the shows they broadcast. Look for those with a format for guests and find the contact information for the producer. Then call and pitch yourself as a guest. How many should you aim for? AS MANY AS POSSIBLE!
• Local Newspapers and Magazines: When it comes to the print media, at my firm (EMSI) we find that “Tips” type articles have an extremely high pick up rate with newspapers and magazines. If your topic offers any sort of solution to a problem, then a “Tips” article is what I would suggest. Write an article that gives 5-7 helpful, quality solutions (or “Tips”) to a problem that many people face.

Next, identify the newspapers and magazines in your local market, go to their website and find the right “beat” your topic falls in – for example – religious, business, health, lifestyle, etc – and send your article to the journalist that covers that “beat.” If there isn’t one person in particular that you can identify, “as you’ll find in smaller weekly papers” send your article to the editor – in – charge.

Make sure that the article is professional and print worthy, if so some publications will print it “as is.” And once again, get as many print placements AS POSSIBLE!

Although the above just scratches the surface, the takeaway is : when it comes to promoting your company, start locally and aim to get as much coverage as possible!

Women influence 95% of all purchases and control 80% of all household spending.

She specifically points out their spending habits in these categories:

• Domestic Products

“Buying the ‘small stuff’ has always been in the woman’s domain. Part of her domestic duties as wife and mother has been to keep the family healthy, warm, and well nourished. From the family meal to the family doctor, from shirts for her husband to shoes for her kids, chances are those choices have always been hers.

“What many marketers haven’t caught onto yet, though, is that women’s spending power now extends far beyond shoelaces and shirts.”

• Big-Ticket Items

“In the past, the big-ticket items like cars, insurance policies, and major appliances were historically bought by – and therefore marketed to – men. Things have changed! Nowadays, women need their own cars, their own computers, their own cell phones, and their own investment accounts – among many other new big-ticket items – and so manufacturers are facing a whole new market.”

• The Buying Power of Single Women

“Get this: Single women head 27 percent of households in the United States. Did you register that? More than one out of four U.S. households! Thus, a substantial portion of the market for cars, computers, and cell phones, for instance, is dominated by women serving as sole decision makers.”

• The Buying Power of Married Women

“Looking at married households (55 percent of U.S. HH), the fact of the matter is that the woman of the house spends not her own paycheck but a good deal of her partner’s as well. She still handles all the domestic spending. And when it comes to the big-ticket items, not only is she buying her own products – like the single women above – but she also has a disproportionate say in the shared decisions, such as cars, investment accounts, and family vacations.”

So, what’s the “take-away” from all this information? Again, it’s that – Women influence 95% of all purchases and control 80% of all household spending.

As it’s important to me that our clients are groomed to do their best, we provide them with helpful tips they can study and apply. Let me share a few of these tips, in case you’re also using this medium as a means of promotion. These particular tips relate to your appearance: how to dress, which colors show best, make-up (that includes you guys as well) and more. I hope you enjoy them!

1. Wear something that conveys your personality and your message: You don’t want to be judged by your appearance, but knowing that happens, prepare for it. You want to appear confident and professional, so make sure you are comfortable in what you wear and that the color and fit compliment you. Keep in mind that not every camera angle is going to be close up. Your whole outfit will show, including the shoes. Make sure that your shoes are polished and that laces are not frayed or missing all together. Remember, you want to give a good impression so that your appearance speaks to your credibility!

2. Be choosy about color and pattern: Small, tight patterns do not come across well on TV – they tend to shimmer, so solids are better. Certain colors are overpowering on TV or tend to bleed. Black, white and red fit this category. Blue works very well on camera. You want the audience to focus on your message, not your clothing, so keep it simple and classy.

3. Jewelry: Microphones are very sensitive, so although those dangling earrings and that big chunky necklace go beautifully with your suit, you will want to remove them so they do not make any distracting noise. Keep it tasteful and simple; a nice necklace, a ring or two and classic earrings are a good choice.

4. Manicures: Manicures are not just for the ladies anymore. Clean, buffed, trimmed nails are important for men and women alike. When the camera zooms in for a close up on your book or product, your hands will reflect your level of professionalism. For the ladies, if you choose color for your nail polish, tone it down so it doesn’t detract from the cover of your book or product.

5. Put on your face: Not all shows have make-up artists. You should make sure you are made up in an understated and professional manner. Some base and some powder should do the trick. Base will help keep your pores from showing and powder will keep you from looking shiny. This goes for the men, too. Yes, you are going to have to wear make-up, and you may have to apply it yourself! Make sure, gentlemen, that you cover your face and your forehead with powder; you want your message to shine, not your forehead! If the show has a makeup artist, they can then enhance what you have done. If they don’t, then you will look good anyway. Remember…less is more.

Now you can be more prepared for that close-up!

1. THE RIGHT DEMOGRAPHICS. Every year Talkers Magazine does a research project to profile who’s listening to talk radio. And, every year their survey confirms that the talk radio listener is, “diverse, educated, attentive, active and affluent…” If this describes your customer – it’s a perfect match!
2. TARGET AUDIENCE. Not only are the demographics of talk radio great – but with specialty talk shows on politics, health, relationships, lifestyles, finance, consumer advocacy, sports, etc., we can identify shows that are a perfect match for your service, once we know the audience you’re trying to reach!
3. EFFECTIVE SALES TOOL. Publicity is definitely not paid advertising. But it can be far more effective. Just ask Dr. Arnold Goldstein, well-known financial advisor and author, “The interest in our books from radio interviews has far exceeded the response we’ve seen from our advertising campaigns. Dollar-for-dollar, talk radio interviews has shown a much better return!”A compelling radio interview can promote your product or service without the audience even realizing it! And, as hosts don’t want to be bombarded with phone calls with questions about your company, they’re highly motivated to frequently mention your website or toll-free number.
4. THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT. Talk radio hosts have loyal followings – that’s how they maintain their ratings. And listeners tune in daily to hear what their favorite host is talking about. As that host is often thought of as an old friend or even a trusted advisor, when you appear as a guest on their show, listeners hear an implicit endorsement of you, your service and your message!
5. CREDIBILITY. This is a crucial ingredient in every marketing campaign – and talk radio supplies it in abundance. One of our clients told us, “…every show I’ve appeared on – the host tells his listeners about my great expertise, my many accomplishments and how proud they are to have me as a guest! Of course, the more important I am, the more important the host appears to be. As far as promotion and credibility goes – it just doesn’t get any better!”
6. TIME TO TELL YOUR WHOLE STORY. As a guest – you get not just 60 seconds, but ten to sixty minutes of quality time with a very targeted and attentive audience. You have enough time to talk about your service and in many cases you have a chance to answer questions from callers. It’s a perfect way to get your full message heard and understood by the audience!
7. COST-EFFECTIVE PROMOTION. Talk radio interviews are all done by phone. So without ever leaving your home or office you can have a direct and oftentimes live conversation with consumers around the country. Plus our fees for this publicity service are minuscule compared to what you’ll spend in advertising dollars to buy the same amount of air time!
8. IMMEDIATE EXPOSURE. You can be on the air within two to three weeks! And, because talk radio keeps up with changing times and topics, we can continuously create new angles for your topic that reflect current events, to keep you on the air and in the news on an ongoing basis.
9. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK. With probably 1,000 + talk radio interviews under his belt, nutritional products spokesperson, Dr. W. Wong says, “Talk radio is the greatest way to get your message across to a large group of people at one time. There’s a captive audience during morning and evening drive times, in the middle of the day with stay-at-home moms and people in the workplace and for those folks awake late at night. It’s better, cheaper and faster than TV appearances. Without question – talk radio provides the best bang for the buck!”

And what about the 10th reason? You tell me! In the comment field below share with everyone your success stories using talk radio and other reasons why talk radio really is a terrific promotional tool.

The face of radio has changed quite a bit over the past decade here are just a few of the changes. The hosts of major-market radio shows, which had extremely attractive audiences, used to bring guests in the studio for long chats. Not three or four minutes, but how about half an hour or longer! This was a time when a guest could knock off a couple radio interviews and send sales soaring. What has changed? First, there are not as many big stations that accept guests – many have changed to a music format or don’t accept guests that have a product or service to sell. Another change is that the amount of guest air-time has been greatly reduced. Radio talk shows nowadays find that listeners are more likely to stay tuned if they have three 10-minute guests per show rather than one guest featured for 30 minutes.

Unless you are a big name, the chances of hitting pay dirt with a couple of large radio interviews are pretty slim.

As a public relations expert who has been in the industry for over two decades, I believe that in order to get your book, product or service the exposure that it deserves, it is crucial that you know what the playing field is like. Now that you are aware of the competitive nature of this media marketplace, let me share a suggestion for anyone who is just starting out with their book promotion: small radio stations.

Below are some great reasons why small stations can really make a difference in the promotion of your book!

The More Interviews You Do…

When it comes to publicity, and in this case radio publicity, quantity is very significant. This means that you shouldn’t scratch a radio show off of your hit list or reject their booking request just because they doesn’t have the hottest host or the highest wattage. Every show counts! The more interviews that you do the more buzz you are building. Although it would be awesome to exclusively book yourself on shows in the top 5 radio markets that are 50,000-watt stations and hosted by a celebrity…but this no longer the norm. Don’t let this be a mental block, there is power in numbers…meaning quantity!

Think about it: even with a 1,000-watt station, you are still reaching an audience. So say a 1,000-watt radio station has around 100 listeners, it’s a waste of time right? Wrong! What if you had the opportunity to speak to an auditorium full of 100 people about your business? Would you go? Of course you would! Keep this in mind when looking at stations. Every small station has value and adds to your overall quantity which fuels the buzz.

Practice Makes Perfect

Imagine it: getting booked on your first show in a major market with a top host. You probably have never even given an interview in your life. Possibly you may do a few practice runs with a friend or colleague, but nothing live on the air. So you get on the air, the host throws you off your topic, you get lost, agitated all resulting in a very unprofessional start.

I have seen it with numerous clients; it takes at least 10 radio interviews before most guests get comfortable behind the microphone. This is the beauty of small stations. With a substantially smaller audience they give you the real live feel without the fear of massive embarrassment. At the end of the day small radio stations allow you to practice how to be not just a focused guest, but one that sounds like a “radio pro”.

No Fear, No Errors

Not everyone is a natural born communicator, and if you are an author whose expertise is in the written word it is rare to find a great author who is also a great verbal communicator. First time authors are especially prone to stage fright – yes, even on radio!

Stage fright on the radio has one major result: errors! Typical errors for first time guests on talk radio include not giving out the web site address or 1-800 number. Or giving them out too much or not enough! A huge mistake is to mention your web address and phone number too often and in turn upset the host, who will let you know in no uncertain terms that this is their show and not an infomercial.

Technical guests have a tendency to slide into techno-babble, and even good guests inevitably walk out of their first few interviews knowing they could have been better. Wouldn’t it best if you are new to the radio game to make your mistakes in front of a smaller audience? Getting your feet wet in on 1,000-watt radio shows will help you remove your fear factor and reduce the amount of error for when you get on the big-time shows!

Give Your Message a Tune-Up

When you are just starting out promoting on talk radio it can be pretty tough to know what your true message is. You know what your business is about and the passion that you have for it, but everything seems relevant! How do you cut it down? This is yet another great function of starting out your campaign on smaller channels….you find ways of trimming down your book’s message to a few powerful words.

The more you get to talk with interviewers, even though the audience may not be huge, will enable you to crystallize your thoughts on your topic. Hey, it may even give you new ideas about your topic that you never realized before the interviews!

Don’t Let Size Fool You: Be Prepared

Booking small stations can be an adventure. Be prepared to run into some hosts who are unprofessional. To beat this make sure you confirm an interview at least twice before you are scheduled to appear on the air. These hosts may also not be as prepared as their big-time counterparts (meaning they probably have not read you book). So you will need to be ready to walk them through your major topics.

The best idea is to prepare for these interviews by considering how you would explain your book to a stranger on the street that you have met for the first time. Just know that some very bright people listen to some very small radio stations; make sure not to talk down to your audience.

Last week I sent you Part 1 of my interview with Lee Habeeb, a friend and business associate who is a “Talk Radio Coach to the Stars.”  To refresh your memory, Lee currently coaches 7 of the top 10 talk show hosts in America; people like, Michael Medved, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt and Bill Bennett.  He also developed “The Laura Ingraham Show” and was Laura’s Executive Producer for many years.

Below is Part 2 of my interview…I hope you enjoy the information!

Warm Regards,
Marsha

My Interview with Lee Habeeb: Part 2

Marsha Friedman: One thing I regularly tell my clients is the importance of not only being interested in the talk show host who is interviewing them, but also demonstrating a caring for him, his show and his listeners.  In your opinion, how important is this?

Lee Habeeb: In my opinion listeners are attracted to this sort of caring.  Take the case of Click and Clack, the two car brothers.  I don’t really care about car repair or cars, but every time my wife and I are in the car and those guys come on, we tune in because there’s such energy there.  You get the sense that they live, breathe and love cars.  But furthermore, they love each other.  The audience loves them!  The show is so rich in detail, in warmth and humanity, you can’t help but tune in whether you like cars or not.

The best performance comes from those who are relaxed.  These brothers are so relaxed because they prepared for so long, they’ve got the details down so well that when they get on the air, they are ready to go.  And this is what happens as you can probably imagine for most guests doing a radio tour.  The more prepared they are and the more interviews they do, the better they will get!

MF: That’s a great example of how to manage the expectations of a guest.  After booking guests for 20 years, I know that by their 15th interview, that’s when they start hitting their stride.

LH: Yes. The staged interviews you do in a room that aren’t real can be a real waste of time.  It’s like scrimmages.  If you ever coached college basketball and said, “Hey, let’s scrimmage and then we’ll play one basketball game” no one would ever get better.  That’s why there’s lots of practice, but then you get right into the season and you start playing games.  And luckily, there are a lot of games before the NCAA tournament so you can get really good.

It’s the same with radio interviews.  There’s generally a progression.  In the beginning – you’re awkward, not sure what you’re doing, and after all, it’s your first time.  Then step by step, interview by interview, you get better at it.

MF: I often try to explain to people that this is an art – a skill that you develop.  It’s not the same skill as being a public speaker or being a professor.  Just because you’ve done hundreds of public speaking engagements or talked in front of groups, it is not the same thing.  It’s very different, and that difference really needs to be understood.  I emphasize the fact that there is a skill attached to this kind of activity.

LH: Well, look at E.E. Cummings – I think if you had stuck him in sonnets, I don’t know how good he would have been.  So even with poets or even actors who are great on the stage, they just may not be as good in front of a camera.   A good 100 meter sprinter is a different runner than a 440 or a 400 meter.  And I get this all the time.  “Man, he’s such a good guest.  He should host a radio show.”  My response is, “Oh, no, no, no, no.”  Most people who are good guests can’t host a show because they’ve been so good at reducing stuff to six minutes that the idea of carrying a show for 15 hours a week doesn’t work as well.  They’d rather spend 15 hours in a week to get six solid minutes.

So if you’re a professor and you have an hour a day, three days a week, 15 school hours, and you’ve had 8 years to prepare this, that’s a lot of time to make your point, get those ideas across, and do all the goodies and magic you do in that classroom.  But it has nothing to do with coming on a radio show and having seven minutes to impress the listeners.  It’s a totally different format.

MF: You know you’ve really sent home the point that being a good guest is a craft.  You’ve got to study, prepare and drill.

LH: I can go to a basketball game and during the practice, I can pick out who the captain is by how he walks around.  He’s not the guy slamming the ball down and trying to impress the cheerleaders.  No, he’s the guy in a quiet conversation over here because he’s actually the leader.  He’s acting like it; he’s talking like it.  The best way to credibility is to be credible.

The best way to be credible is not to talk about yourself.  Talk about the problem and the solution.  Talk about the audience’s problem, the host’s problem, not your own problem.  Here’s the solution.  I’m not the solution.  This is the solution.  And then your credibility goes up the more comfortable you are in your own skin.  The more you try and sell yourself, the less credible you sound.

MF: That brings up the question about how someone should pitch themselves as a good guest?

LH: For starters, don’t pitch yourself.  Talk to the host, engage him and then through him, define a problem and offer the solution.

These hosts and producers could care less about you…they care about their show!  Every day they look at the pitches they get and think, “Hmm, what would make this show work today?”  And in the timing of the news cycle, what would make the show work.  No matter what business you’re in, there’s a news cycle.  If you’re in the vitamin business, it’s vitamin news.  I’m just trying to make the point that there’s always news you can tie your message into.

MF: Lee, you’ve given us so many nuggets.  Is there a final piece of advice you would like to share?

LH: Get with a professional media coach.  You’re not going to get good as a talk radio guest by yourself.  And, if you’re going to spend x amount of dollars on a PR campaign, make sure you’ve got the coaching.  And make sure you get coached from a seasoned professional who’s actually done it as this is a specialty.  If you’re going to get out there, be prepared.

MF: Lee, thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and speak with me today.

LH: It has been my pleasure Marsha!

###End of Part 2###

Click here to read Part 1.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed my interview with Lee and found some interesting points to consider when thinking about your own talk radio publicity campaign.

Talk radio, (one of the most under-utilized goldmines I can think of), can be a powerhouse in terms of promoting your book, your products, your company and services.  As I write this to you, I’m reminded of a great example of this.  A few years back we worked with Dr. Will Wong, a phenomenal media spokesperson who represented two different companies with natural health products.  Both companies focused all their marketing efforts on ongoing talk radio campaigns.

Now listen to this….

The first company went from $55,000 in sales to $7 million in a two year period.  The second company went from zero in sales to $6 million in the same amount of time.

Will called me one day so excited, to tell me, “Every morning now, I come into the office to the sound of our phones ringing off the hook and a very happy sales staff!  We’ve not only increased our direct sales, but our stores are calling to restock their shelves and we’ve obtained more distributors.  In the past we’ve tried all sorts of marketing, advertising and PR, but this talk radio campaign has been by far the most productive!”

The winning formula that I’ve seen work over and over is simply this:  having a message with mass appeal; a spokesperson who can talk about their message as it relates to top news stories and is skilled at using the air time to effectively promote their product without sounding like an infomercial!  A winning combination!

And it really does make sense.  The beauty of talk radio is that you are having live conversations with people all over the country.  Even better, you are talking with a host who invited you on because he or she felt their audience would be interested in what you had to say.  The result: instant credibility with a very captive audience.

But Will isn’t the only example.  Over the years I’ve seen many talk radio successes which is why I’m such a believer in the power of talk radio as a great promotional vehicle.  Who knows, this could be just what the doctor ordered to explode your own business!

A maverick in the world of radio broadcasting, in addition to being a weathered trade journalist, Harrison has been at the center of many of the most exciting radio revolutions of the past 30+ years.  As you know, Talkers, is the leading talk radio publication and was one of the first radio trade journals to expand into the cutting edge technology of the “New Talk Media” which includes talk on the Internet and satellite radio as well as cable television.

Recently, Marsha Friedman, News & Experts Founder and CEO of Event Management Services, sat down with Michael and interviewed him about the changing landscape of talk radio and how these changes will revolutionize the industry as a whole. Please click here to read Part 1 of this interview.

Marsha Friedman: First off, what effect do you think the new Arbitron Personal People Meters will have on talk radio?

Michael Harrison: I think that Arbitron is having a difficult time rating radio accurately.  It is not their fault, it’s just down to the fact that radio is almost impossible to rate accurately.  It’s so large, mysterious, idiosyncratic, fractionalized, unstable and spread out in so many different directions.  There are so many things going on at any given moment that there are numerous ways of slicing and dicing the ratings for specific target audiences.  Thus, there are lots of ways of being number one in something. Also, it’s so unwired, meaning there’s no way of really attaching a meter to the reality of the act of listening to the radio without interfering with how a person listens to the radio.  All of that combined makes it almost impossible to accurately rate radio.

The diary method worked for a long time, although it was extremely inaccurate.  There was a huge “guesstimate” element involved in terms of a margin-of-error and it was very chancy depending on many factors: who got the diary, how it was distributed, and even if the person could recall what they listened to.  Everybody in the business knew that it wasn’t a very good method, but the diary method was geared to dealing with the mom-and-pop culture of radio that existed before corporate consolidation and everybody had a stake in it.

You heard broadcasters say things like, “Well, it’s not a good system, but it’s the only system we have, so we have to live with it.”  But in corporatized radio that doesn’t cut it anymore, especially since we’re in a highly technical era where people want exact numbers.  They want specifics and they want them now. The whole diary method being old and last quarter just doesn’t cut it anymore.  The problem with the People Meter goes back to what I said before about radio.  It’s so difficult to track that in order for Arbitron to do it truly accurately from a standpoint of mathematical science, they have to have so many units out there and painstakingly monitor the distribution of these units – which would make it nearly impossible for them to make any money in doing it.  So, that’s why they keep having these fits and starts and different factions complaining that it’s not accurate, that it’s not fair.  Of course, Arbitron won’t admit this… and I can’t really blame them.  They are doing the best they can.So to answer your question, they have a lot of work ahead of them and there are a lot of problems that are deeper than Arbitron can really be responsible for.  What are the big problems facing terrestrial radio as we enter into the 21st Century?  A big one is the fact it’s almost impossible to rate accurately.

Marsha Friedman:  You say it is nearly impossible to rate accurately Michael, but do you see a better solution in sight?

Michael Harrison: Well, I don’t really see much of a better way to do it because you can’t attach a wire to everybody’s radio in their car and at home to really be able to monitor accurately.  We have to come to grips with the situation and deal with it honestly.  We have to have better salesman in radio, better account executives that go out and educate their clients as to how to really buy radio.  We have to educate the agencies because you can’t just sell PPM and radio by the numbers.  It’s not good for radio or the clients, only the agencies because it makes their lives simple. Cost per point should just be one element of the marketing equation based on the premise that it is a guess at best.

There has to be a massive education as to the qualitative nature of radio beyond just a quantitative nature of radio, and that burden falls on the shoulders of the marketing departments of radio stations.  Clients out there also need to be educated and demand more of their ad agencies.  Putting money out there based upon cost per point is not going to give them the effectiveness for their dollar that they seek.

Even deeper, as we enter the age of the Internet, you cannot talk about the future of radio without talking about the future of the Internet. We’re going to reach a point where, because people will be able to find whatever they’re looking for using search engines, the nature of the programming will define the nature of the audience.  If you’re doing something either on the radio or the Internet that people want to hear, see or consume, common sense will indicate that you’ve got an audience.  And the key is for us in the marketing world to understand the nature of the programming will be defining the audience.  If you build it, they will come.  But if you build it and they don’t come, it’s because they didn’t want it or need it.  I guess, simply put, radio sales people have got to sell the idea of common sense.

Marsha Friedman: In this electronic age, what do you think that terrestrial radio needs to do to survive?

Michael Harrison: For terrestrial radio to survive it needs to have the best programming available anywhere, and that programming has to be exclusive to AM and FM radio.  If they stream on the Internet based upon the current conventional wisdom that people will hear it on the Internet and thus go back to listen to the radio…they’re not going to.  Once they’re listening on the Internet, they have no reason to go back to the AM or the FM dials.

They should create different programming for the Internet and leave their best programming, or their real meat and potatoes, on the AM and the FM dials.  On their Internet site, the people will hear clips, excerpts, cutting room floor stuff, special programs which will compel them to go back to their AM or FM radio to hear the station itself.

That’s the only answer.  The current model of streaming your programming, although in the short term it gives your advertisers and your brand more exposure (which is a good thing), but in the long run it’s quickening the demise of the AM and the FM channel having any value whatsoever.  But because corporate radio lives in a world of quarterly reports, there is the irresistible urge and pressure to sell the future out for immediate gain.

Marsha Friedman: Do you propose this to save their lives or just prolong the lives of the AM and FM stations?

Michael Harrison: I want to point out that this is only a measure that will prolong the life of AM and FM.  It will not extend it indefinitely. The only thing that AM and FM can do today that makes sound business sense is to prolong their life an extra few years because I think the handwriting is on the wall.  I don’t believe that AM and FM can survive for very long one way or the other in the wake of the Internet. The Internet is going to continue to change everything. These websites that we now consider to be adjuncts to the radio station, or promotional vehicles for the radio, will actually replace the radio station.  And, they’re going to do so a lot quicker than we realize.

Marsha Friedman: Wow. So Michael, what happens to the whole terrestrial radio industry?

Michael Harrison: It moves to the Internet and becomes bigger and better than ever before. It becomes more diverse. It becomes multi-channeled. It becomes infinite in terms of its real estate, inventory and creative ability. It becomes unfettered and unrestrained by FCC regulations. It will be superior. Today’s AM and FM radio station will evolve into tomorrow’s “media station” – a broadband superstation, if you will. The only parties that have anything to lose by this transition are the people who have serious money invested in the licenses.

Marsha Friedman: So what you are saying is that in the future you won’t need licensing?

Michael Harrison: No, you don’t need a license to be a broadcaster in this new era that’s unfolding.  What you need is to have a product that people want to hear, and not only will they hear it; they will also look at it and read it.  Again, I predict that we’re going to see the rise of what I call a media station which will be oriented to audio, video or to text.  It’s going to replace the radio and television stations, magazines and newspapers.

For example, the media station of The New York Times will be oriented to text because its history is that it has writers.  The heir to WABC-AM will be a media station oriented to audio because it is the heir to great speakers, talkers.  The media stations of the big television stations will be video oriented, again because their roots are in video.

The only difference is that they will all have elements of each other.  They’ll be no such thing as what I call “monomedia” – media that exist independently of each other with special appliances necessary to receive them such as “radios” and “television sets” or “CD players” and “DVD players.”  Audio-only in this new environment will seem archaic because the appliance that you’re listening to it on now has a screen.  And will the screen be blank?  Of course not, you’ve gotta put something on this screen, and it doesn’t mean that you have to have a television show.  It just means that there will be a video accompaniment to whatever it is that you’re presenting in an audio way.

For example, say you are interviewing an author of a new book.   While the author is being interviewed on the radio, people who are consuming this on the media station will also have a chance to see a picture of the author, a picture of the book cover, maybe a coupon that they could print out, maybe extensive information about the subject in text form that they could download and print out and on and on.  We are adding to the dimensions that we’re playing with and this requires intelligence and abstract reasoning.  It’s a completely new paradigm and it’s unfolding before our very eyes.  My educated guess is that within 10 years it’s going to be a completely different landscape.

And the only thing standing between websites being an accompaniment or an extension of 20^th Century media (radio and television stations) is a couple more clicks of the technological evolution towards cars having Internet radio in them and video monitors being standard equipment.  In other words, cars being completely Wi-Fi’d and people being able to click on any of an infinite number of media stations with the same ease they can now turn on a radio or television station.

Marsha Friedman: I had another question about the quality of weekend programming for radio stations.  We’re seeing far less radio infomercials being produced and time being bought which certainly affects the revenues of the radio stations.  But also you have the issue of the quality of weekend programming being so inferior.  How do you see all of that playing out?

Michael Harrison: Well, I think that it’s self-defeating for radio stations to have to broker time to inferior programming on their precious airwaves in order to make money which goes back to what I said before about selling out the future for immediate survival.  Unfortunately, the reason they are forced to do this is because of the problems they are having selling spots and advertising.  So sadly they have to resort to a method of generating revenue that at one time was considered embarrassing. It would behoove the stations to be as selective as possible in their choice of brokered shows and help their clients produce as decent a product as possible. Not likely to happen, though.

Marsha Friedman: I remember back in the early 90′s when I first got into business, there were a few stations that brokered time.  Boy has that changed!

Michael Harrison: Correct, correct.  This is an unfortunate thing, but I understand why they’re doing it because we’re in a period of time when we’re seeing the decline of the radio spot as a workable unit of measurement.  It’s getting harder and harder to sell these things and as a result, they have to do whatever they have to do to survive.  But again, it’s killing the viability of radio and its future unless, of course, they put good shows on.

I have to say out of fairness, there are a percentage of brokered shows out there that are actually very good.  It is not a majority percentage, but they do exist. So let’s not paint all brokered shows as being bad.  That’s one.  Two, there are a lot of shows out there that are not brokered but are still paying to get on and that’s called compensation where the syndicators are paying the stations, not the stations paying the syndicators, but the syndicators paying the stations to get on. They’re calling it by the more positive term “compensation” because it’s more mainstream well-known talent than your local chiropractor promoting his practice. But it’s still a form of brokered show.

So, again, it comes down to the fact that terrestrial radio is having a terribly difficult time generating revenue via traditional advertising sales and this ties back into the discussion we had earlier about the difficulty in getting accurate ratings and selling this product quantitatively in a marketplace that understands radio has serious, serious problems.

Without quality content there can be no future for AM and FM radio.  It can’t be because you can get better stuff on the Internet.  And then as soon as the Internet is a few notches more accessible and ultimately ubiquitous – it’s over.  Ah, but out of the ashes of good ol’ 20th century terrestrial radio will rise the phoenix of exciting, unlimited media station broadcasting – and what a wondrous scene that will be!

Please click here to read Part 1 of this interview.