Great products can be ruined by poor packaging, big retail brands never rest on their laurels when designing wrappers and boxes as they know that’s the best way to catch the customers eye. When it comes to radio imaging, which is the packaging of a radio station, are you putting in the same effort? It’s not hard to create effective, engaging radio imagery. With these 5 tips, you can start to improve your imaging today.
Create a simple message that resonates with your listeners.
It is common knowledge amongst seasoned radio professionals to keep your points simple and clear for the listener, but how do you decide what the message will be? The best idea in developing your message is to get advice from the people who matter, the listeners. Try gathering a group of your most vocal fans for an informal get together and chat, listen to what they have to say and note down any helpful feedback. You’ll have to listen carefully; this is not a corporate meeting, they won’t regale you with sound-bites like ‘I love example.fm, you play the best hits from the 80’s, 90’s and beyond.’ You’ll be looking for statements like: ‘’I always feel comfortable listening to you.’ Or: ‘You always play my favourites.’
When crafting your message keep in mind the things you learned from your listeners, it’s the best way to speak directly to their interests, which leads us to…
Talk to them as if they were there.
Once you have pinpointed the kind of listeners you have and fine-tuned your ideas about their tastes and lifestyles, you can start to speak to them through your message on a personal level. A great way to simply achieve this is by using the words ‘your’ or ‘you’. Encourage a sense of ownership or friendship for your listeners, if you can get the listener feeling invested in your station, then you have them hooked. Your listening community doesn’t care that you broadcast nationwide or that you have the most extensive range of 80’s music, but they will care when your message speaks directly to them.
What’s happening now?
Stay topical and current by adjusting your imaging to suit the times. Each week sit down and discuss current events, local news, popular culture topics and figure out how you can use it in your imaging and message. Be sure to retire the script if the topic becomes stale though, to make sure you stay relevant. There’s nothing more cringe worthy as when a brand keeps hammering on about something the public has deemed passé.
Make your point already.
You love your station and could talk about it ad-nauseum. Persistent enthusiasm is ideal for a radio professional but your listeners don’t want to hear it. When crafting your imaging, make your point clearly and quickly. Don’t clutter it up with too much detail or information.
Keep an eye on production.
Imaging production is a way to reinforce and highlight the simple message you have carefully crafted. Too many production teams throw elements in that sound impressive, but do nothing to support the message. In fact, it distracts them away from it! If you want to do crazy voices or an impression that’s fine, just make sure the message lends itself to that style.
Ready to start revamping your imaging style? Follow these five key tips to simplify, strengthen and pull together your brand.