Ruth Presslaff offers a new acronym for programmers to learn: TSR or “Time Spent Relating.” In her latest Programming To Win column, Presslaff gives a few ways that stations can better relate to their listeners, as well as concrete examples of stations’ success stories.
Ruth Presslaff
By Ruth Presslaff
We’ve got a brand new TLA (Three Letter Acronym) for you: Time Spent Relating. At a time when programmers are zealously guarding their TSL and AQH they should be adding another three letter acronym to the mix, TSR. We’ll add some call letters to the mix and review how relating to listeners, and how listeners relating to you increased these TLAs for WTTS/Indianapolis, KPRI/San Diego and WBOS/Boston.
Time + Relate-ability = Loyalty
TSR is not quite the theory of relativity; it’s more like the theory of relate-ability. Time is attention and attention is fleeting. Music, news, weather, information: really, the world is filthy with it. Unless you’re providing something of unique value, your listeners’ time and attention will drift, away from you and toward something else.
The act of Relating creates a connection, an attachment, a personal bond that creates loyalty. Certainly it can be bought with tickets and prizes. But better, it is grown through the consistent conversation and exchange of ideas that will cement loyalty and listening that lasts if not a lifetime, certainly more than a trend.
TSR is Like an Onion. It Has Layers (right, Shrek?)
TSR is a multi-layered practice, albeit one that shouldn’t make you cry. The first layer is engaging your audience. That’s pretty easy to do and there are a wide range of platforms to help.
Your listener database is the foundation. Those database members freely pony up their name, email address, zip code, birthday, interests and most prized of all, permission for you to email them. These listeners have literally asked you to relate to them, giving you the script of what to talk to them about. They’ve told you – because you’ve been smart enough to ask – what bands they like. And you’ve been smart enough to create a listening occasion by alerting them to when your station is featuring that band.
They’ve told you what businesses they frequent – because you’ve been smart enough to ask. And you’ve been smart enough to monetize that by selling sponsorships and providing savings and offers from exactly those businesses and categories.
They’ve told you how much they like your personalities. And you’ve made sure that those personalities strut their stuff on-air and online. Oozing personality on platforms that are not measured by PPM, but by TSR.
In fact in one particular instance, they’ve told you how much your station means to them, and you’ve been smart enough to capture it on video and turn it into TV commercials.
TSR As Creative Content
Brad Holtz, Program Director of WTTS/Indianapolis, spends TSR and earns TSR on a very high level. When considering creative for a TV campaign, Brad realized there was no better way to highlight the station than to highlight his listeners. Brad asked WTTS VIPs (database members) a couple of questions in an online survey. He identified those interested in participating in a video shoot and invited them to visit the station. Then, as I’ve read Woody Allen and Robert Altman would do, instead of providing a script, he let them do the talking. It was fascinating to watch the finished product. Listeners talking about singing along to the station, how long they’ve listened, what they think of the personalities. Completely authentic. Totally relatable. All about the station and yet, truly, all about the listeners. WTTS promoted its most awesome asset: its listeners.
TSR As Cold Calculated Metrics
TSR may sound squishy. It’s in the touchy-feely realm of relating and relationships. But it’s also about ratings and revenue and comes equipped with hard core metrics to support its effectiveness. Want to know how your TSR is doing? Use these measurements:
- Database growth: those who are taking the first step toward relating to you;
- Opt-ins: those who want you to relate back and are giving you their permission to do so
- Valid mailable addresses: the ones who are keeping the relationship alive by making sure you have the right address to contact them.
- Open rates: Those paying attention and open your emails.
- Unsubscribe rates: Those who have chosen to stop paying attention and have rescinded your right to email them.
- Click Through Rates: The CTR (another TLA) is an indication that your message caused someone to take specific actions by clicking on individual links.
Within contests, these same metrics, plus log-ins and participation rates provide the early measurements that you’re heading in the right direction toward increased ratings.
Haley Jones, Program Director of KPR/ San Diego, has done an iPad a Day contest on and off over the last two years. The station would give away an iPad each day, driving listening by asking listeners to collect secret words throughout the day. Haley would check the metrics daily. And every day the metrics told her the same great story. Database growth, log-ins, uniques and entries all grew, every time she did the same campaign. One good metric led to another: The station’s ratings grew to number 1 in 25-54 persons and stayed there with each campaign.
The financial advantage to grabbing the attention and engagement of listeners is clear, and measurable in the sales sponsorships the KPRI sales team built around the contests.
Paint by Numbers TSR
Broadcasters know it’s about Live and Local content. Usually that means local personalities engaging and relating to listeners on-air. Except PPM discourages ‘chatter’. How do you thread that needle, succeeding with PPM without becoming a jukebox, or Pandora?
WBOS/Boston works a successful game plan. They relate to music, the interest they share with their listeners. On-air breaks are specifically about music, new music, releases, concerts, experiential artist opportunities. And it’s all geared around what’s in it for the audience. Whether on-air, on Facebook, Twitter, via Radio Head emails, it’s always about the music.
Ken West, WBOS (Radio 92.9) Program Director, says their goal is to connect Boston’s passionate music community with ‘priceless opportunities’. It’s how he distinguishes this music intensive station. While the on-air music ‘curators’ provide music-related info and opportunities, the station’s digital efforts and promotions make it real.
Ken painted a picture of TSR that revolved around the station’s mission. It was a promotion with the Alternative band Grouplove and a new client, Paint Nite (“We bring the inspiration and the paints. You bring the fun”). Paint Nite is a social low-key, how to paint event done for groups, at bars and different settings. The station brought Grouplove to the station, used cover art from their new album and let listeners paint with the band and Paint Nite. When the painting was done, listeners and band moved to the station studio where the band played their music. The client loved it. The band loved it. Listeners loved it. It put Radio 92.9 right in the middle of that love-fest.
This type of relate-ability has brought Radio 92.9 right into the Top 5, sometimes Top 3, 18-34. The times the station spends relating to their listeners pays back at a high multiple. As Ken said, “listeners help tell our story, and that cuts through.”
Add TSR to your AQH and TSL strategies and instead of getting alphabet soup, you’ll get more listening and more loyalty with the ratings and revenue opportunities to match.
Ruth Presslaff is Founder and President of Presslaff Interactive Revenue, developers of the integrated email, contest, survey and social
Dat-e-Base platform and consultants on the building, utilization and monetization of audience databases. Reach Ruth at ruth@presslaff.com or 310-792-6070. – See more at: http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=2731810#sthash.25MiXMEP.dpuf
