More and more of our fans are choosing to listen on their computer or their phone. However, not all radio stations are available on the web. Why? Plus, not every station that is streaming has figured out how to make money which maybe a reason they hesitate to stream. How do you get from Point A, adding the stream, to Point B...making money from the stream? If you?re in the position of making it happen, here?s a practical three-step process.
BUILD FOR IT
If you?re not streaming yet, you are missing out on some listening; you just don?t know how much. A chunk of your listeners automatically expect to be able to listen to you on their computer, tablet or phone. Whether it?s the perceived start-up costs or the lack of knowledge of how to do it, this is a hurdle to be jumped. The cost of getting online is a cost of doing 21st century business. It?s how we get more listening and more revenue.
James Derby, Chief Strategy Officer for Federated Innovative, says, ?We had to be where our listeners were going.? His seventeen-station group across five Indiana markets spent months upgrading their websites, before they committed to raising revenue with their streams. He added that the cost of getting started is not as expensive as what many might think.
COMMIT TO IT
The commitment has to come from the top, too. Michael Dalfonzo, Sales Manager of streaming provider Abacast, says ?it doesn?t just happen without senior management and ownership being involved.? Those top people need to make it clear that this is a priority, and that they expect streaming revenue to happen. When it comes to setting goals, Derby says his group decided they would view their foray into digital as a question, "how much profit could we generate?? He looks askance at arguments that streaming spots are so much cheaper than broadcast spots that it?s not worth it to sell them. ?Yes, you can make money, and you can make a lot more than you think,? but management has to be there, shepherding the change into place.
TRAIN FOR IT
?If the seller?s not comfortable with digital, the customer sees right through that, and thinks, ?Maybe it?s not a good deal for me,?? Dalfonzo points out. The good news, he says, is , with training, salespeople find digital easy to sell, once they know what they?re talking about and feel comfortable with it. ?They know how to sell; they just don?t know how to sell digital. Yet.?
The training period offered salespeople a chance to get immersed in what they needed to know about streaming and website sales. That was a key part of the ramping-up process that the Federated group went through. Derby explained that, after training, all their sellers took part in a one- or two-day sales blitz. All they did during that time was focus on digital sales. They widened their scope to target smaller operations than they normally do, ?who could get some reach and frequency from spending three or four hundred a month for a year.? That focused digital sales blitz helped sellers use their new-found knowledge in a real-world environment to successfully bring in new business."
THE RESULTS
Federated Interactive is tight-lipped about their financial data, but Derby says that, with their relatively recent move towards digital sales, ?We?re making about three times the cost of getting into it.?
Streaming clients see a benefit, too. Dalfonzo observes that they like knowing that ?streaming numbers are real, and not ratings. They also appreciate that you can also invite people to click on the screen to receive a coupon? and other direct response tactics that drive business to local retailers.
Chris Miller has been a major-market PD in Atlanta, Portland and Cleveland. He now operates Chris Miller Digital, which he launched. Visit his website at www.chrismillerdigital.com.
Contact Chris via e-mail, chris@chrismillerdigital.com or 216-236-3955.
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As they continue to work out the kinks and put their entire news and information plan together, Merlin Media's two new all-news stations are now up on the Internet streaming. You can catch the Chicago station at http://www.fmnewschicago.com/ and the New York City station at http://www.fmnewsnewyork.com/. The streaming players are very user friendly, in the upper left had corner of the websites.