Become a Radio Authority
Define your audience niche by creating content so you’re the “go to” leading expert in your area and become a radio authority.
By definition an authority is someone who's opinions on specific topics are well respected and valued by their industry peers.
You need to turn yourself and your radio brand into something that people can turn to, so when they think of a specific topic, like public speaking or on air talent, then they immediately think of you for your opinion and advice.
Ultimately you want to be that “go to person” for your area of expertise.
The Name Game
You might not believe it, but radio authorities are celebrities in their own right - Now I don't mean hollywood type actors, but people whose names pop into your head when a particular topic is mentioned.
Let’s try it out, what comes to mind when you think of a rock station personality? Got one? I bet it was someone like Howard Stern, Alan Freed, or maybe someone famous in your local area, all of which are well known for their rock backgrounds and knowledge, so it goes to show that a topic can be associated to individuals.
People like this have what’s called “Brand Association”.
Brand Association
It's the link from product to activity, for example Nike trainers are associated with sports activities like running, so they’re seen as experts in that field.
Another example is the well known station: Fox News Radio - One of the biggest radio stations that focus on news, they look for experts when inviting guests that are highly recognisable. Noam Chomsky for example is widely recognised as an expert on American foreign policy and as such is the first port of call when anyone is looking for an expert in this area.
Much like Chomsky, you have to brand yourself and find a market segment known as a niche.
Define Your Niche
The first place to start is to define what your and your station are all about.
Take Fox News Radio for example, they’ve cornered a big chunk of the political news radio industry, so when someone talks about political issues you instinctively think of them.
Now let’s say you start your own radio station without defining your niche - People would ask “Why listen to you instead of listening to the other guys?” They’re essentially looking for an identity and what you have to offer.
Apply this same thinking to concentrate on one specific area in radio, so it helps to start by:
- Analysing your station: What music do you currently play and topics you talk about on air?
- Check out your competition: What do they talk about and who do they target?
- Your messaging: What do you want to focus on and who do you want to attract?
- The audience: Most importantly, what do THEY want to hear? What problems do they have that you can solve? What questions can you answer for them? It’s all about the listener and not about you, that’s what a lot of radio DJ’s sometimes forget.
The point is you want to position yourself with your target audience, then start creating content to build authority and attract the right kind of listeners directly to you!
Create Content
Asides from your obvious on air content, to run a true online brand you need to spread your message further.
Content can be anything like blog posts, videos, presentations, and even answering questions in groups like Reddit, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Keep in mind to focus on places your audience hang out, not your peers.
You just have to remember that whatever you produce it has to:
- Simplify and explain industry issues
- Break new ground with respect to the subject
- Talk to leading experts
- Establish yourself as the best in your area
Eventually you’ll get to a point were more doors open for you as you build a following, so the more you get out there and produce content, the bigger you’ll become.
Promote
As insane as this might sound, content doesn’t just have to be on the radio! You can take the existing stuff you have and turn it into videos or blog posts, this way people have different ways to find out about you.
Let’s put this into practice:
- Say you create and record a broadcast
- You then turn that into a video
- And place it on streaming sites like YouTube & Vimeo
You’re essentially creating less, but promoting more, so you’re getting the content you already have in the hands of more people, this creates awareness and a foundation for your radio authority.
Radio Authority
As mentioned at the start, an authority is someone whose opinions on specific topics are respected and valued by their industry.
Overtime you’ll notice that the more you record interesting conversations with leading experts, brand yourself to your niche, and promote content, you will start to create a reputation as being knowledgeable and eventually build up a level of authority.
So what are you waiting for! Get out there, craft content, promote, and be the best broadcaster on air!
