Seth Resler
By Seth Resler, Jacobs Media
The holidays usually provide radio broadcasters with some downtime to focus on things that get crowded out by the day-to-day bustle of the station during the rest of the year. Unfortunately, this can also be the time when radio broadcasters find themselves out of work. Whether you’ve got time to kill because you’ve been laid off or simply because the record labels aren’t pestering you, it’s a good time to develop new skills that can further your career. With that in mind, here are five places to start:
- Learn to Podcast
If you haven’t dipped your toe into the podcasting waters yet, now is the time. I don’t mean repackaging your existing on-air content as a podcast; I mean creating something new that exists first and foremost as a podcast.
While a lot of on-air skills are transferrable, podcasting is a different medium than a radio show and those differences matter. Take this season to learn the intricacies of the format and figure out what those differences are. A great way to start is with a pilot season consisting of a limited number of episodes, as opposed to an open-ended commitment. This will reduce the stress and give you an opportunity to pause when your hectic schedule kicks back into gear. If you need some ideas to get you started, check out this list.
Once you’ve found a concept that excites you, download our Podcasting Guide for Radio Broadcasters, which will walk you through the process one step at a time. For more support, I recommend joining the Podcast Movement Facebook group, where you will find thousands of podcasters with a wide range of experience levels. The friendly folks there can answer any questions that you might have.
- Master Video
These days, every radio personality must be a multimedia personality. It’s no longer acceptable for DJs to hide behind the “face for radio” excuse; fans want to see you, in addition to hearing you. It’s time to learn the art of video production.
This doesn’t mean you need to teach yourself to be the next Steven Spielberg, but you do need to learn how to create short, competent, compelling videos that can be used – and shared – online. If you’ve got a smartphone, you’ve got a video camera. Figure out how to use it to make videos that look good, but also contain compelling content.
In addition to video production, also teach yourself about video distribution. Learn the differences between videos designed to be used on Facebook, Facebook Live, Instagram, IG TV, YouTube, and other outlets. What works on one doesn’t always work on the other, so experiment and learn the intricacies of each channel.
Here are some tips to get you started.
- Go Deeper on Social Media
Most broadcasters have picked up basic social media skills by now, but this space evolves so quickly there’s always more to learn. If you’re already proficient on Facebook, take time to figure out Instagram. If you’ve mastered Instagram, tackle Twitter. If you’re already competent on Twitter, move on to YouTube. Or Tik-Tok.
If you’re not using a social media management tool, like Hoostsuite, Buffer or TweetDeck, now is a good time to learn how. These tools can save you a lot of time when the job returns to its breakneck pace.
- Pick Up WordPress
About a quarter of the world’s websites are built on the open-source platform WordPress, including the majority of radio station websites that I have encountered during my tenure as Jacobs Media’s digital consultant. The software is so ubiquitous that learning it is a skill that is very likely to come in handy as you move from job to job, even if you find yourself leaving the radio industry at some point.
A great way to do this is to build a personal website using WordPress. Register a domain with your name — for example, my website is SethResler.com — and take advantage of WordPress’ famous 5-minute installation process. (Note there’s a self-hosted version of WordPress found at WordPress.org and a hosted version at WordPress.com; you want the self-hosted version.) Within a short period of time and for just a few dollars, you’ve got a website that you can use to teach yourself the ropes. Pick up an introductory book on WordPress for guidance. The good news is that even if you’re not technologically inclined, there are lots of resources out there and plenty of people who can help.
- Teach Yourself Google Analytics
Every radio broadcaster should understand the basics when it comes to the Nielsen ratings. After all, this is how your job performance is judged. These days, however, it’s important for radio broadcasters to not engage with audiences on the air, but also online. So it’s also important to understand how your online performance is measured. Understanding concepts like traffic sources, goal conversions and bounce rates are just as important as mastering time spent listening, cume and target demographics.
While there are a number of different places you can find digital analytics, including social media and email marketing dashboards, perhaps the most important is Google Analytics. It tells you how people are using your radio station’s websites.
If you have the code snippet installed on your site, Google Analytics will provide you with a ton of information — so much that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The key thing to remember is that when it comes to your website, the basic concepts are the same as your radio station. For example:
- “How many website visitors do we have?” is the same as “How many listeners does our station have?”
- “Where is our website traffic coming from?” is the same as “How are people finding out about our radio station?”
- “Which blog posts get the most visits?” is the same as “Which of our songs are the biggest hits?”
Once you realize the concepts involved with Google Analytics are the same as those in programming a radio station — it’s just a different set of tools — it becomes much less intimidating. You can teach yourself the basics by starting with our Guide to Google Analytics for Radio Programmers.
Whether you’ve got time to kill because you’re in between gigs or just in between cups of ‘nog, take advantage by teaching yourself a couple of these skills. In the long run, they will benefit your radio broadcasting career — or wherever you’re headed next.
