Your news/talk radio station likely has a text line.
Various services are offering this, and it can be another avenue for listener interaction with hosts, anchors, producers, and the brand manager.
The more ways to interact with fans, the better, right? Perhaps not.
Here Are Some Guardrails For You:
Don’t consider the text line to be an accurate representation of your station’s listeners. It isn’t. If your text line is like mine, there are a handful of people who reach out to the show or the station. This is an extremely small sample.
When is the last time that you texted feedback to any organization? I haven’t. I have a life, and your actual target listeners have a life as well. Anyone who is busy with a job is not texting your station. They just aren’t. When have you stopped doing what you have been doing to take a minute or two to text a radio station? This is a communications tool. That is it.
Do use it for actual purposes that help your show. Ask listeners to give feedback on a poll that is of interest and not necessarily a hot topic. Perhaps there is a disagreement with the team on the show — maybe if someone is in the minority of the argument — promote the number to get a feel for whether the outlier is an idiot. Trust me, people will come out to defend the stupidest take. Use it to make the person being made fun of into a hero. Believe me, people will hit it up.
Use the text line for an informal poll. Should all people given temporary asylum be re-evaluated and the problematic people returned to their country of origin immediately? For Christmas, is the main course turkey, ham, or goose? There are a bunch of healthy ways that will help you use your text line for good!
Here is What You Don’t Use Your News/Talk Radio Text Line For:
Don’t use it to replace phone calls where the host is reading texts instead of taking calls. We need to retrain people to call your show. If someone can just text you and get their thoughts mentioned on the air, you are defeating the meaning of talk radio. You could just call us text radio. That is boring as hell.
We have all misinterpreted a text from a friend or family member. A short sentence does not show the tone of the comment. I like the process of exchanging ideas. Yes, callers are a tool that makes your show sound bigger.
We are in show business! Train the listeners to call again. Is there a good acronym for this? TTLOCA? T – Loca may work. This may be out of my pay grade. I am, though, pretty good at giving nicknames. Usually, they are somewhat denigrating. Since I have moved into management, I have learned to be careful to tag someone with a nickname. But I am still good at it!
The text line should never, ever be used as a replacement for calls. The text line is just another touchpoint for the host and the listener. Text these nice people back and don’t validate trolls. For the uninitiated, “LOL! Trolls” are people who comment on social media or text you who are just seeking a reaction. They have zero interest in your show. These people are just focused on getting into your head. Too many hosts allow this. Don’t be thin-skinned. You are a mighty, powerful, and attractive member of the media. Some anonymous dope from a tenement on the poor end of town who works as a part-timer at the quickie mart stocking shelves is not worth it.
The last time that this man knew the delights of romantic attention from an actual romantic partner was before 1999. So why are you giving that person attention? Keep your eye on the prize. Focus completely on your station’s target demographic. If I hear another host tell me about how their listeners are different from the station’s actual fans, I will scream and throw up the now-digested holiday meal.
There are now several ways for you to interact with your listeners: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, text line, and calls. Never ever let these alternatives supplant callers.
Make sure that you recognize those who are communicating with your show. Just a quick reply that you can copy and paste. You can use terms like: Thanks, Good point, I appreciate you listening, etc. Your reply means that you read the message. It does not mean that you should read the message and change your show’s focus. The show always comes first. You can text back something like, call me on this with the station phone number. This is a total win for the station.
Push the interactions on the air above everything. You must be completely focused on those who can make your show more interesting and grow.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
