@sonyakisa8 😐#cat ♬ оригинальный звук – Cat Sonya
In a media entertainment and news world that continues to expand, local radio stations are discovering their competitive arenas are changing. I continue to strongly recommend stations still conducting perceptual research devote some questionnaire “real estate” to determining where your audience is also spending – or killing – time. I remain convinced that COVID expanded “doom scrolling” due to boredom, anxiety or both. And those habits have likely remained in the months after the pandemic has subsided.
Studies like our Techsurveys and Edison’s Infinite Dials have been helpful in identifying and even measuring how consumers are spending time when they’re not listening to your radio stations. And yet, when it comes to the design and execution of digital assets and on-air content, most programmers (and digital developers) tend to see the world in a “radio vs. radio” context.
Intellectually, PDs and managers are well aware of the increasing role streaming, podcasts, and video plays in distraction time. While research clear shows threat from digital media, the more emotional reaction is to revert to form. That means thinking of the other station(s) they see every week, month, or quarter in Nielsen rankers. Traditionally, other stations in town have always been the enemy. And when you’re living in a revenue world that has narrowed down to “radio buys” and “radio dollars,” it’s easy to get caught up in the trap.
A recent piece in Entrepreneur frames this dichotomy up nicely. Natasha Zo (Zolotareva) is a former journalist who now runs her own boutique Pr agency, specializing in earned media. In “Why Cat Videos Are Your Number One Competitor – And How You Can Beat Them,” she makes her case that marketers – including many in radio – are missing the competitive point.
Her subhead contains the money quote that sums up this post:
“We remember to analyze who were up against in our niche and forget the rest of it: the whole wide web fighting for our prospect’s attention.”
That’s why a cat video leads off this post. It’s creator is @sonyakisa8 and she’s racked up more than 19 million followers with her “Cat Sonya” account. The video I chose isn’t as popular as some, but it’s racked up more than 2 million views.
Now think about your cume audience and how it compares to her platform. And that puts into perspective the challenge every radio station, personality, and show have in cutting through.
That’s exactly what Natasha Zo is talking about, and it’s why people get caught up in TikTok videos and other web distractions when they could be listening to “This American Life,” your station’s morning show, or a Christian radio ministry’s show.
She notes there are two types of people online – those trying to solve a problem or complete a task and those just in relaxation mode.
I’d amend that a bit. While that first group may be in search of knowledge necessary to change the oil in one’s car, it might also be about using a web browser to look for a song, a piece of music trivia, or concert information. And the “relax” group is often just killing some time, trying to amuse themselves while sitting in a waiting room.
It’s this second group that can easily get lost in a web “rabbit hole” – a big part of TikTok’s growing success. In this year’s Techsurvey 2023, we wanted to confirm TikTok’s addictive quality. And not surprisingly, the younger the respondent, the greater the likelihood she admitted just how easy it is to spend lots of mindless time on this platform:
Three of four TikTok users come clean on this question, with that powerful nod from younger generations.
Naatasha Zo says the underlying power is the dopamine rush that comes from this level of scrolling. And she makes the case that content creators have to figure out how their brands must cater to both type of users.
But it’s that second group – the one she calls “scrollers” who likely are the bigger pool of consumers, and the ones more likely to spend more time engaged with content.
I thought about this opportunity over the weekend when I ran across the cover story in the New York Times Sunday Business section:
“Meghan Trainor Made You Look”
The subhead is a little closer to home:
“TIkTok Is Our DJ Now. It’s Playing a Lot of Meghan Trainor”
You remember her. She had a monster hit on the radio nearly a decade ago, “All About That Bass.”
Like a lot of would-be one-hit-wonders, things slowed down for her after that big hit. Radio airplay fell off considerably, and it appeared the world had moved on from Meghan Trainor. That was until older songs of her started charting and selling because of their random appearance on TikTok videos.
When a song from her debut album, “Title,” began to show up in huge numbers, she began to understand and appreciate the TikTok phenomenon. It has never been released as a single, but started racking up millions of views. And millions of streams on Spotify and other platforms.
Seizing the opportunity, Trainor hooked up with TikTok savant, Chris Olsen. He now consults her, even appearing on her videos.
And as you’d guess, the analogies to radio are all over this story. Like this assessment from Syracuse University’s director of the school’s music business program, Bill Werde:
“For the preponderance of folks under the age of 30, TikTok is basically the new FM radio.”
And Meghan Trainor herself sees radio’s reverse reaction to adding songs that have become ubiquitous on TikTok:
“If it’s popping on TikTok, then they’re going to play it on radio. I wasn’t played on radio for a while, you know. And now I’m in the car again, leaving dinner the other night. And I hear ‘Mother’ and I freak, and I go, ‘Turn it up – that’s my song.”
That’s right – it’s an acknowledgement radio still matters. But its under 30 influence has become less and less important to artists, and pretty much everyone trying to get the attention of a y9unger audience.
All the same, radio stations complete against everybody – that hot podcast, curated playlists, commercial-free music channels, and social media sites like YouTube and TikTok that understand the concept of “time spent.”
So what to do. Natasha Zo says its helps to think in terms of “scroll stoppers.” That is, what can
you program or post that will capture the attention and the imagination of the typical user, phone in hand, looking for that next shot of dopamine?
She suggests three pieces of content:
1. Stories – Radio people know the power of great storytelling. If you’re a music station, you know there’s a story behind every song. And likely a biopic behind most artists. How can you leverage these stories to make your music and the people who write and perform it come alive. (For reference, look up Nick Michaels who passed away five years ago. His content and delivery style of showcasing the music and musician was a “scroll stopper.”)
2. Curious facts – Morning shows often use this material well, and it works. Preston & Steve’s “Bizarre News” is a great example, but there are scores of shows and personalities that make smart use of this stuff. Beyond news of the weird, Natasha suggest stories about topics of importance to people: home, happiness, and food. At Frank Magid, we referred to it as “health, heart, and pocketbook.” Yes, same thing.
3. Scandals and gossip – It’s hard to go wrong here. As Natasha says, interest in dirt and rumors is simply “human nature.”
All good suggestions, but the challenge is bigger than that. It involves asking the question, “What does your show or your station do to stop that incessant scrolling?” If Natasha Zo will permit me, I’ll add to her list:
4. Dare to be different – A bit harder to define, this is where stations and shows have to throw a bit of caution to the wind (careful, now) and take a risk now and again. It could be a bit, a guest,
the right song at the right moment – something that gets the listener to stop in her tracks to appreciate a little something off the beaten path. An interesting example is the old “Wizard of Oz” / “Dark Side of the Moon” stunt – always a eyebrow raising way to get the audience’s attention. Read about it here.
5. Shake up the usual format – Benchmark bits are great because they mean doing the same thing at the same time. But if your “evergreens” are five years old or more, this might be a good time to reassess. And maybe come up with a new daily antic that has the desired effect. Along those same lines, a little “logged spontaneity” can go a long way toward creating what NPR used to call “driveway moments.”
6. Show up – Doing things Spotify or SiriusXM cannot do can stop that scrolling in its tracks. Maybe that means taking the show or the station out on the road, performing in a public place or setting. Eye contact with real listeners is unforgettable when it’s done right
7. Make the audience the star – This is something radio has always done well – giving the listener a chance to shine. It could be that weekend concept, “Hey, mom – I’m on the Drive,” where the listener visits the studio to play her hour of favorites, or even audience driven “Youfer Twofers.” Voices on the air from the community leapfrog your station past podcasts and DSPs in a unique memorable way.
8. Give them an experience – Preferably one they can’t get anywhere else. And because you’re local, you might be able to create some memorable moments for your audience. It could even be that contest where the winner gets to sing the National Anthem before the hometown team takes the field. Or even an “open house” to visit your station and meet the team.
9. Make me smarter – This is public radio 101 and it is effective. Whether it’s a morning show guess or “impossible trivia” throughout the day, giving the audience something to buzz about can help spread your brand’s uniqueness.
10. Battle of the Bits 2.0 – I know Morning Show Boot Camp has made the process of comparing hot bit and benchmarks popular. Can you take it to that next level with something that really jumps? “Carpool Karaoke” and “Mean Tweets” started somewhere. Why not seek to invent that next big benchmark no one’s done, that (hopefully) only your station or show can do?
11. Be kind – I blogged about this last week. The right cause at the opportune moment can resonate in big ways. You’ve got to look for it and seize the opportunity when it happens. 
These days, doing charitable things for your audience or your community matters.
Can these activities and concepts stop all the doom-scrolling and recapture an audience’s attention?
They’re a start.
You might also open a TikTok account and see what you can do. Look what it’s done for Meghan Trainor.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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These suggestions are key for any show and any daypart. Really good article full of many takeaways. Thank YOU, Fred.
Lots of good thoughts here, but there’s one thing that Tik Tok allows young people to do that radio can’t. I’d love to see statistics on how many Tik Tok users listen to an entire song before moving on. Increasingly, the attention span of young people is decreasing. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of Tik Tok scrollers are hearing a verse and a hook, then moving on to the next video. Radio can’t do that unless they edit the heck out of the original composition and turn everything into a musical sound bite. (Hey, maybe I’ve stumbled onto the next hot young format). Radio does have an advantage if it’s being used as “atmos” (as the Brits say) or background music while people perform other tasks. Radio can still command attention when something big happens IF there’s someone paying attention and getting that information on the air in a timely fashion. Radio can also be a lot more relatable than the mish-mash of videos on Tik Tok.
Radio has edited the heck out of songs. Anybody remember the Top-40 version of “Do You Feel Like We Do” vs the AOR version?
It was the difference between running to the bathroom and back to the studio or leisurely walk to the bathroom, then the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and something to eat, and finally clear the news wire.
And don’t forget to put the sports copy on the sports peg or you’ll hear it from the News Department.