Connecting with AC Radio Listeners: One Size Won’t Fit All

How do you communicate with your listeners?

Even when most of our hours are unmanned or voice-tracked, we should open the avenues of constant communication with our AC listeners. The AC audience appreciates the attention.

The majority of the Adult Contemporary, Classic Hits and Oldies audience are open to a dialogue and as 93.9 Lite-FM Chicago Morning Host Melissa Forman said in last week’s piece, “Radio is a two-way street between you and the listeners”.

What we’ve discovered through Executive Coaching (like The Values Conversation) and HR Services (like Purple Ink HR Services) is that communication preferences are generational in the way they choose to interact.

From your oldest to youngest potential target, the differences are stark:

Baby Boomers

• DOB – 1946 –1964
• Preferred Method – Email, then telephone, followed by online
• Response – Generally high
• Attributes – Comfortable with phone calls and email communication, a clear purpose while enduring longer detailed communication if they feel useful

Generation X

• DOB – 1965 to 1980
• Preferred Method – Email, web-based surveys, SMS
• Response – Moderate
• Attributes – Tech-savvy and distracted while preferring short, crisp communication with transparent authenticity

 Millennials

• DOB – 1981 to 1996
• Preferred Method – Mobile-friendly or social media interactions
• Response – Moderately low unless the communication response contains a target-friendly incentive
• Attributes – Brevity, easy to follow with instant gratification and increased response with a game-like look to the message

Generation Z

• DOB – 1997 to 2012
• Preferred Method – Mobile, app-based communication or response to social media posts
• Response – Low unless there’s a highly instant, targeted incentive to respond
• Attributes – Short attention span as communication must be quick, interactive and visually appealing with true marketing authenticity

To identify the most effective communication for your listener, you need to incorporate strategic targeting into your process.

In May, we wrote about just that.  Identifying your target – thinking small for big results.

Depending on YOUR AC target, the listener is exposed to five to ten thousand messages a day. For radio personalities and programmers, your communication needs to be seen, heard and felt to the end user.

Let’s outline each category of communication and how different platforms are designed to work smarter for your back-and-forth dialogue.

Best Practices by category:

Email Communication

If there’s a database at stations we begin to consult, it’s more likely than not woefully out of date and hasn’t been added to for several seasons, if not years.  An email database is free to build and maintain.

As for the basics:

Develop Email Databases Legally

• Permission marketing is a must to avoid legal issues
• Every contact with a listener needs an email ‘ask’
• Contests, events, web forms, pre-roll on streaming

Be Consistent

• Email Frequency – biweekly is ideal
• Avoid long stretches of no contact and keep your list engaged
• Optimal send time is mid-morning or early evening

  Focused Content

• Have talent write content in their authentic voice – write how you talk
• Include incentives for a response – as little as a client $10 gift card
• Experiment with different formats for open rate and response rate
• Email database and programs should be a basic no-brainer for your marketing efforts. Plus, it is universal among all target ages.

Mailchimp, Audience.io and Hubspot are the best programs to start, and each has limited free options to demo.

Social Media

Once again, be strategic and keep your target in mind when choosing digital platforms.  You do NOT need to be on every platform.

Focus on one or two appropriate for your AC target.  Delete old accounts. It appears you’re lazy if you’re not feeding fresh content.

Top Platforms

• Boomers – Facebook followed by YouTube, with Nextdoor a favorite among neighborhood groups
• Gen X – Although fading, Facebook remains #1 in this group, followed by Instagram and YouTube for music discovery
• Millennials – Instagram is king in this group, with TikTok gaining steam while gravitating towards LinkedIn
• Gen Z – By a long distance, TikTok is heavily used by this group along with Snapchat, with gamers leaning to Discord

Social Tips

• Facebook leads platforms for contesting, Instagram for Reels and TikTok for show recaps.  TikTok has the most engagement ratio of any social platform.
• Create visual and short content.  Attention spans were around 15 seconds for a piece of content 20 years ago.  Today, that span is eight seconds.
• Avoid promotion in daily posts and think ’24-hour cycle’.  For example, when you return to work after a time away, ensure what you post isn’t from a few days back when you were vacationing.

To many readers who are on their social media game, this appears basic and remedial.  Treat social media just as you do on-air – strategically and tactically.

Text Programs

Texting among all generational groups is strong, leaning younger, but seasoned listeners have more than caught on.

All the outlined generations text and the AC audience respond.  Here are a few platforms to investigate.

Textel

• Big market groups utilize Textel.  Benefits for AC Radio include two-way texting from your studio landline or Voice Over IP while supporting contests and keywords

Zipwhip

• Allows using your existing landline/studio number/VOIP and supports group texting, scheduling in advance and automation

Text Request

• Top-rated among broadcasters, supports a shared dashboard among multiple users, custom auto replies and scales through market clusters.

Telephone Panel

If you include Boomers and Gen Xers in your target, consider building a Loyal Listener Telephone Panel.  Easy and free.

For Programmers:

• Identify fifteen to twenty raving fans through contesting or remote visits
• Schedule one-to-one calls quarterly with each panel member
• Pick their brain on events, contests, music, and anything programming

For Morning Show Hosts:

• Choose five people who are consistently interacting with your show
• Call them every month to ask about content, benchmarks and contesting
• Refer to this panel on-air and give them a catchy name (Secret Agent, Radiohead, Super Fan)

Recruiting on-air for any of these programs acts as a marketing device for your brands. It demonstrates that your brand cares about their opinion. The best news out of building these connection programs is each one is sponsorable!

Connecting with the Adult Contemporary listener while understanding generational preferences makes all the difference.

Baby Boomers tend to favor phone calls, email, and face-to-face conversations as they appreciate clarity and personal interaction, with Facebook being their go-to platform.

Generation X values efficiency, often preferring email for work and texting for quick communication, while still picking up the phone when needed. They’re strong on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Across all adult age groups, email remains dominant in professional settings while texting and phone calls are staples for personal or service-related matters.

Boomers lean into Facebook, Gen Xers like Facebook and LinkedIn, and younger listeners favor Instagram, WhatsApp, and shiny new platforms.

Meeting listeners where they are is key to a successful communication strategy.

Again, how do you communicate with your listeners?

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