Conclave 37 got underway with Jacobs Media?s Summer School 3. I have to tell you that after doing these the last three years, this was the best of the bunch ? really well attended from the early 9 am start (and they had to drag in more chairs). You can look at the tweets from today at #Conclave37 and for Summer School at #JMSS3.
A few highlights from our 8 Summer School sessions (9a-12:15p):
1. Lori Lewis: ?The same standards you have on the air should apply to what you communicate via social media.? Her ?5 Zuckerisms? session broke down Mark Zuckerberg?s thoughts about the true purpose of Facebook from that company?s IPO filing. Lori also talked about Facebook?s algorithm and some great information to help ensure your posts are seen by as many of your ?likes? as possible. Lori: ?If you want ?shares? and ?comments? and Facebook, stop chasing ?likes.??
2. Paul Jacobs hosted ?There?s An App For That? and reminded everyone that while the mobile space is exciting, ?Everything that is great now will be old within six months.? He also encouraged stations to use apps like TuneIn and iHeartRadio but achieve deeper mobile branding with individual station apps.
3. Consultant Michael Brandvold (music industry strategist and former web guru for KISS and Gene Simmons) ran ?Tweet Like A Rock Star.? His best quote, ?Tweeting is a reality show.? He encouraged stations to tweet as often as 12 times a day because the Twitter audience turns over. A lot like scheduling promos for radio stations.
Brandvold also talked about how fans of bands (and radio) just want recognition, and that a simple thank-you goes a long way. This is simple to do but SO powerful. Brandvold told the room that when it comes to social media, CARE. Connect, Acknowledge, Request, Engage. What?s the dumbest thing a rock star can do on social media? Brandvold: Not be there.
4. Arbitron?s Jenny Tsao attributed the difference between top-rated PPM stations and also rans that play the same music with the same basic rotations to branding. She highlighted some of PPM?s top performers ? among 18-34s, WHMH of Greensboro/Winston Salem-High Point, and among 25-54s, KGMS in Memphis.
5. I spoke about the ?Emotional Triggers? of broadcast radio from Techsurvey8, and the line that got retweeted and talked about??The number one negative about Pandora ? ?I miss hearing people.?? And: ?The way to beat Pandora? Do great radio.?
6. Coleman Insights? Chris Ackerman discussed the balance of winning in PPM in the short run and branding benefits in the long run. A good example is the 20- 30% ratings hit you take with a fundraiser vs. the value of doing great community service and supporting your brand strength.
He did a great job of explaining the trade-off of in-the-moment content versus branding. An example was Whole Foods. They might make more money by carrying Diet Coke (in the moment) but by doing so might erode their brand equity.
7. Jacobs Media?s Lori Lewis on how the Department of Defense uses social media. She talked about the importance of using metrics that matter, as well as monitoring online chatter ? especially about the competition.
Lori: ?Loose tweets sink fleets.? She also reminded the room that ?You can?t force trust. It?s about affinity and authenticity.?
8. Chris Iles, Corporate Communications Manager for the Minnesota Twins was a killer guest, and did a great job of talking about ?Socializing Baseball.? People were really buzzing about this session which closed out Summer School 3. The Twins are very active on the social media front. They have specific revenue objectives to their social media activity, but he explained that 80% of it is still about relationships and fan engagement - and that allows for the extra 20% to be about making money.
Even though they?re very active on Facebook and Twitter, the Twins also use Pinterest ? a great way to engage their female fans. He also noted the Twins? president is on social media. ?It?s a big priority for the team.? Chris talked about how the Twins essentially did ?random acts of social media at the beginning, but got more strategic as time went on. Today, they use social media to allow fans to tell stories on their
Facebook page ? like ?What?s your opening day tradition?? They also use a Tweet Board at Target Field, and fans enjoy the acknowledgment of seeing their tweets on the big screen.
After Summer School?
It?s interesting that it?s called the Conclave Learning Conference. I don?t think any other radio event truly gets to the fundamentals like this one. A case in point, two concurrent sessions?
Ratings 101 featuring Arbitron?s Jon Miller and Harv Blain (Vallie, Richards, Donovan). These guys really broke it down, brining in paper diaries and a meter to literally illustrate the way that ratings work. As Miller called it, showing ?how the sausage is made.? It was a great X?s and O?s look at the Arbitron system. Across the hall, Time Management for Dummies. (Ironically, the session was late in
getting started.)
Jim Hopes, CEO of the Center for Sales Strategy was the presenter, and he went right to the basics of prioritization. In fact, he told the room that it?s impossible to manage time because it?s fixed. ?Effective time management is really priority management.?
Later, ?The Voice-Over Edge? was an upbeat panel moderated by Dennis Green (Cumulus) featuring Pat Garrett and Rachel McGrath (both very talented VO people), Jhani Kaye (CBS/LA), Nate Zietz (agent/CESD) and Mark Todd (Ops Mgr ? Journal Omaha).
Fun session with some great quotes?
Jhani Kaye on selecting VO talent: ?It?s all about casting.? He told the room that when it?s time to bring in a new voice person, he refuses to look at the packages, pictures, bios. He judges solely on the sound. Mark Todd: ?Radio stations are communities?so the voice that runs through the station is the common threat 24/7 365.?
Rachel McGrath talked about how she gets in the right mindset for the audience she?s talking to: ?I imagine the listener right there in front of me.? And ?A voice person is a dime a dozen these days. A great voice person is a gem.?
Nate Zeitz went a little baseball on us: ?The most important thing?is to have the five- tool VO actor. If you are versatile, you?ll have longevity in this business.?
Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
