Everybody wants to be with a winner. Bragging about getting a reservation at the best restaurant with an award-winning chef. Getting tickets to a college football game between two highly rated schools. And, telling anybody who asks, you had the #1 doctor at the top-rated hospital in the country take care of your mom.
How does this happen?
Somebody at sometime promoted an award, ranking or earned reputation. Just like many sports radio stations across the country have a chance to do if they made the BSM Top 20. Don’t let this opportunity pass to honk your own horn. We need to take features and turn them into benefits.
It’s great that you now have a Top 20 morning show or sports radio station, but what is the benefit of that if not enough advertisers take notice? In other words, if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it even make a sound?
NO.
Promoting awards your station’s or personalities’ wins is good business. It helps create a reputation of excellence and advertisers want to identify with that. It is a great time to give them one more reason why your station is the best place for their money. Here are some easy ways according to leading PR company JConnelly to take advantage of a spot in the BSM Top 20.
POST IT ON YOUR WEBSITE
Put it out in a news release and make a brief statement. “Top 20 Mid-Day Show” “#1 Sports Station in Birmingham” you get the drill. Archive it on your web site. Add it to your bios and station one sheets.
The more you do that, the more those keywords may show up in a google search by advertisers looking for the “best”, “award winning” or “top ranked” personality or station.
GET SOCIAL WITH IT
And make sure you have some modesty. Tag the other winners so they can all retweet on Twitter. Make an Instagram post with photos and use it as a sales piece and email it to your client list. Make sure that every advertiser who buys endorsements from a winning show gets your email!
Go ahead and add it to the signature line in your emails under your station. It will help you stand out.
REBRAND YOUR BRANDING MATERIAL
Update sales pieces and signage used at remotes or trade shows. If you make it a tag line it will be subtle but still get your point across.
PUT IT ON AIR
That may not be your job but it doesn’t hurt to remind your PD that you would appreciate his support in attracting more business with efforts like this.
Take advantage of this moment. Be humble and be proud, but remember that it’s okay to GET LOUD.
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
