Articles by radionewsfeeds

Content from BPRSocial media platforms have become an extremely effective way to share information and build brands.Radio stations use it to engage with their audiences and clients, presenters use it to engage with their fans and their sponsors.However, an Australian TV journalist learnt the hard way recently that it’s essential to think before you post.As news.com.au reported on September 10 this year, Georgia Love was removed from her on-air role as a reporter at Channel 7 Melbourne over a social media post. Georgia had posted a video to Instagram earlier in the week of a cat which was sitting inside an Asian restaurant.Accompanying the video was the caption: “Shop attendant or lunch?”The response was immediate.Georgia deleted the video about an hour later but the damage had already been done.Her employer, The Seven Network, was swift in its actions. It issued a statement which said: “We have addressed this matter internally and disciplinary action has been taken. Seven does not condone this inappropriate conduct and all of our staff have the right to work in a safe, nurturing workplace free from prejudice.”She was moved to the production desk, undertook counselling and issued an apology to her colleagues.To rub salt into the wound, Georgia was also dumped as an ambassador for Melbourne’s prestigious Chadstone Shopping Centre. No doubt a nice little earner for her.So, here are five points to remember as your station and your talent leverage the power of social media platforms to build their profiles:
Nothing is private.
Anyone who follows you or is otherwise connected to you online can take a screenshot of your social media post or image and “share” it. There’s a high degree of probability that your competitors are following you on social media platforms to see what you’re up to and to catch out a mistake.
The Internet is forever.
Content shared on the internet is never deleted….it is out there, waiting to be found. Yes, you may have deleted content that you thought, in hindsight, was inappropriate for your brand but you don’t know who has already seen it, stored it or shared it. The reality is that you can never completely remove yourself or your information from the internet. 
Your posts are searchable.
If there is even the slightest chance that your station or your talent may regret posting a photo, a joke, a comment, or a complaint online, then don’t do it. Anyone with the right tools can look you up and find old posts that you had long forgotten about.
Talent – this one’s for you. Your posts could cost you new job opportunities.
Employers are looking online. Before you’re even hired, and possibly before you’re even interviewed, potential employers are looking through your social media posts to learn more about you. Your current employer may be reviewing your social media profiles when evaluating you or considering you for a promotion. Your clients and sponsors search online. As Georgia Love found out, one post cost her a lucrative promotional contract. If sponsors or potential sponsors find content that you shared that does not align with their brand values, there’s a strong chance you won’t get that MC’ing gig or TV commercial endorsing their product. Distasteful comments can come back to haunt you. It’s your image…….protect it.
Not All Jokes Are Funny.
You might think you are the funniest person you know, but when an online “joke” falls on the wrong audience, it can cause offence. You might also think that your meaning is clear when you post a comment, but it’s easy for misunderstandings to occur. Always think twice before you post.Your reputation is your greatest asset. Radio stations and talent must do everything they can to build and promote their reputations in a POSITIVE way, not to destroy them. There are enough people out there on social media only too willing to do that for you. Don’t give them the ammunition!By David Kidd, BPR […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonWhat CAN advertising do for businesses?In their heart of hearts, businesspeople want to run an ad today and have teeming multitudes run into their store tomorrow screaming out our call letters.Since they all start with “K” or “W” in the US at least, customers will find it confusing at best to attribute their arrival to ads heard on our stations. Also, it’s not their job to help businesses know how their advertising is working. Customers want to get their needs met in the most expeditious way and go on with their lives.Measuring traffic flow is the best way to know if advertising is working. Over time, traffic should increase if advertising is effective. Note, I didn’t say “sales”. Once a potential customer crosses the threshold, it’s up to the business to sell them. Often, we get an interested potential customer into the store, but the “friendly, knowledgeable personnel” fail to sell them.Most advertising is designed to work over time. Why? Because on any given day, the national average for people who are “hot” consumers (those who are planning on buying TODAY) is only 2%. “Warm” consumers (those who are thinking about buying and developing their criteria for a purchase) make up only 8%. That means that statistically, 90% of the population is “cold”. They are NOT planning on buying today and aren’t even thinking about it.Our clients seem to think that every time one of their ads airs, everyone within their trade area is wanting to buy what they are selling. Not so.The main objective of advertising should be to predispose the 90% and the 8% to buying from our clients when they have the need. And no one, not us nor our clients can determine exactly when that need will arise. Advertising’s job is to make sure that customers will at least go into our clients’ stores or call them, or go online to their websites and give them a chance to serve them. Otherwise, if our clients’ names are not in the customer’s mental file drawer, they will never see that person. The customer will end up in one of the national chains that does have space in their file drawer.As we are in the sales process, we need to explain to our prospects how advertising works. The 2%, 8% and 90% also explain why advertising should be consistent and long-term. As advertising professionals, it’s up to us to craft campaigns that will work. Higher revenue awaits for our clients and for us.Pat has a New Book […]

For this December IBC event, DRM is going hybrid with an intertwining two events under the overarching theme “DRM – Smart Radio Accessible to All”.Virtual and free, the DRM Consortium’s first IBC 2021 event is scheduled for December 1  and promises to be an exciting showcase of the practical advances of DRM in various parts of the world. The focus will be on the recent tests and improvements to the DRM performance, equipment, and receivers. New and older members of the Consortium will give a well-illustrated, quick, and global view of DRM so that you can get the best and most reliable information from the specialists, a chance for you to ask questions and see the great progress made by DRM in 2021.The event hosted by the DRM Consortium will be completed by the live streamed Nautel hosted DRM event on Saturday 4th of December.Those who will be in Amsterdam will have a chance to get a real feel for and more details on some of the DRM developments already introduced before. The live event will be an extension of the virtual DRM event on December 1st but also a rich standalone moment. It will also be a chance to reconnect, network and re-establish the much-needed face-to-face contacts so severely disrupted over the past 18 months.“The DRM event at Nautel’s IBC stand has become a space where all participants in the DRM ecosystem can gather to learn about the latest developments in the DRM world, celebrate DRM’s recent successes, and, as a DRM community, share stories, experiences, and refreshments,” said John Whyte, Nautel Head of Marketing. “Join us live at the Nautel stand or watch remotely via our Facebook live stream.”Ruxandra Obreja, the Consortium Chairman, says that: “It is the first time that at IBC 2021 we are blending a virtual event with a real one. By doing this we hope to enhance our IBC presence and also impress on all those interested how much progress DRM has made in both takeup and receiver solutions over these last trying months. It will be a recap of the great activities of 2020-2021 and a good starting point for next year’s decisions and steps. DRM is more attractive and in tune now with the needs of the world than ever, with its energy and spectrum cost savings and some its extra features and possibilities like delivering education and emergency warning.”Register here […]