7/15/2011
As we look at the landscape of radio in 2011 we see three kinds of managers. When I say managers, I am talking about GMs, Sales Managers and PDs. The leaders of the radio station have and always will define the culture and the success of the medium. Here are the three types of managers as I see it:
1. Managers that ?get it? ? These men and women understand where radio is and where it is heading. They don?t dwell on the past and they move forward. They create a culture of learning and progress with their staff. They don?t talk something down simply because they don?t understand it. They LOVE the business and do what they can to be successful in an ever shrinking world. If you are one of these HEROES of radio, this article is probably not for you. You will read this and say ?No kidding.?
2. Managers that DO NOT ?get it? and likely never will - These folks are probably small markets men and women that long for the days of carts and paper logs. They want a simpler time when direct mail worked and the biggest challenge was how to get the sales people to stay out of the control room. They fought CDs in the 1980s and fought computers in the 1990s. They are now fighting the internet and social media. The say phrases like ?damn computers? or ?What is the point of this Facebook thing if we can?t sell it?? ? This article might be for you, but you probably aren?t reading it anyway
And finally?
3. Managers that WANT to ?get it? but don?t know where to start ? These folks are trying. Chances are good, they work in medium or small markets for independent ownership. They SEE what is out there but they don?t know where to start. If you just nodded your head. This article is for you.
The one thing lacking in the majority or our references, magazines and online sources is a starting point. I was watching the Conclave seminars online today and the majority of the questions involved things that some of us consider simplistic and others are baffled by:
I have a website. Isn?t that enough?
What is the point of Facebook?
What is the point of streaming?
What the hell is a ?tweet? and why should I care?
These kinds of questions filled the joint! They also fill my inbox. My inbox is also teeming with questions from frustrated middle managers who are desperate for answer but can?t get them from their GM or upper management.
Education in any staff, any business, starts at the top. If a PD or Sales manager is banging his head against the wall trying to get the GM to get on board with something that they should have been doing two years ago, it frustrates the staff and creates an ?us against the suits? mentality among the troops. When a sales staff doesn?t know the answers to questions from their clients like ?How many LIKES does your station?s Facebook page have? or ?What is your morning show?s twitter name?? then there is a problem.
General Managers must be in the impetus for change. They must spearhead the rest of the staff to action. If you are a GM that WANTS to jump on the 2011 trolley and head towards progress, you must seek out these answers. Don?t hide your head in the sand and pretend these things will go away. They won?t. Seek out people who know. HIRE people who understand. We have always had sales meetings, programming meetings, promotions meetings etc?it is time for a ?Social Media? meeting. It is time to learn, brainstorm, pass down and implement strategies. Contact people (like me he writes, humbly) who are willing to teach. Demand that your trade magazines and industry newsletters expand their sections to answer your questions; when you go to conferences and conventions, SEEK OUT the people with the answers. Don?t just hang out with the same old cronies that don?t know any more than you do. We do not need to WEATHER a storm, as I have heard so many people say and write. We must launch ourselves AHEAD of the storm. Radio is not dying. It is just confused. We must educate ourselves and then our staffs to embrace the progress?embrace the abilities to connect with our audience on levels that are unprecedented. EMBRACE THE FUTURE!
Kit Mann (The Kit Mann Morning Show) can be reached at 214-702-MANN http://www.kitmannmorningshow.com or http://www.facebook.com/kitmannrocks or http://twitter.com/kitmannrocks
(7/16/2011 9:40:14 AM)
You are both right and THANK you for your comments...In my world, (trying to build small market stations into regional giants), the #1 excuse that I hear from management is "we are so small, why do we need to do that." They say this as if their listeners are too stupid to know what's out there, simply because they choose to live in a small town.
It is time we ALL WAKE UP!
Thanks again...
Kit
I have found that the most unwilling to change are those that have been in it the longest. Market size has nothing to do with it, and I'm really tired of reading that kind of tired old excuse. Small markets have pioneered and mastered things such as voice-tracking, due to smaller budgets, and have proven it can be done.
(7/15/2011 11:49:42 AM)
Finally some words backed by solid logic! It is time to embrace all the exciting aspects of broadcasting in today's world and that definitely means staying ahead of the game as far as social media goes, instead of behind it. This isn't going to go away so get in the game and make it yours. Twitter, Facebook and streaming, with or without an app, merely give depth to radio - they don't replace it. And that also goes for the ongoing debate regarding Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark, etc...today's listener is a master at multi-tasking. They go from radio to mp3 player to pc and back again. Stop doubting them and give them what they want - everything!
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