5 Things You Can Do Today to Be a Content Superhero, Part 1

For nearly a quarter-century, I’ve been measuring listener behavior to content, moment-by-moment. At the beginning, we would give each listener a hand-held remote dial in an auditorium environment. We still do that today, but we also have moved a lot of our content testing online.

In both methodologies, we capture a consumer’s reaction to audio and video content. The results displayed are an EKG graph like a heart monitor:

It has been fascinating to watch how consumer behavior has changed and how our radio and TV research clients have needed to adapt, as well. Some of the things that we’ve been coaching air talent to do today are the same things we talked about in the past. The difference is that in today’s fragmented media environment and noisy world, air talent simply needs to work harder and smarter than they did in the past.

The stakes are high: On-air personalities are what will continue to keep radio relevant in the future. The fact is that the radio industry’s survival counts on personalities to entertain and connect with listeners.

There will also be a place for the online playlists from Spotify or other providers, but our “What Women Want” national U.S. study of female consumers shows that woman come to radio for things that online playlist providers cannot provide, including companionship and entertainment (to smile or laugh).

Knowing this, we decided to release to radio personalities and program directors a series of Five Traits of a Content Superhero. Over the course of the next four weeks leading into September, we will share five clear, actionable steps you can take today that will help you perform better in the ratings and connect more effectively with listeners. Our hope is it will boost your star power and make radio even more of a daily habit in consumers’ lives.

I’m going to challenge you to stretch and do things that might be a little uncomfortable. You have built-in “muscle memory” or systems of doing things and I will encourage you to start to think differently.

Today, we want to address the single most important thing you can do to improve your ratings performance: Hook Them. “Hooking” your listeners is your “elevator pitch.” It is an ear-catching sentence to convince the listener to listen to what you’re going to talk about.

You should lead with the hook. Yes, even before the station’s name. Why? Listeners will give you only 7-10 seconds to talk before they decide to listen to something else. The station’s name and position is important, but it can be an “off ramp” for listeners.

Listeners have been conditioned to know that talk could be a transition to either ads or non-music elements that they may or may not like. Start with a ‘hook’ and they may give your content a shot.

Here is a good example of how to lead with a hook:

Sometimes after testing a piece of content, we ask respondents to comment on why they liked or disliked a bit. For the above content, listeners commented:

• “I like that they didn’t linger on any one topic too long.”
• “It was short and to the point.”

“What would you do if your bridesmaids called another bridesmaid fat?”

“There is a sure-fire way to make sure you don’t get sick this flu season. It is (show name) on (station).”

“I’m sure you are Facebook friends with some people you don’t really like – I know that I am – but are you friends with people you actually hate? And you may ask, do they hate me? Well, now there is a way to find out.”

What is NOT an effective hook? A long, produced intro. If your big station voice is announcing the name of the station, show and the feature, you are inviting listeners to leave.

In the example below, you’ll see that there is a 16-second intro for a game and the game itself didn’t start until :59. 10% of the audience tuned out before the good content even started.

If a listener tunes out before the feature kicks in, it is as if the feature never was broadcast… no matter how good it is.

The only rare exception to this “no pre-produced intro” rule is if your feature is known to be a brand attractor… a “lightning rod” that brings listeners to an appointment. You will know this when you test your features in research.

The hook isn’t something you make up off the top of your head. For the hook to be effective, it will take multiple edits and brainstorming. Write three versions of the hook and choose the best one. Then edit and refine it further. You will only get out of it what you put into it. Artfully crafted hooks are a thing of beauty!

Next week, we will cover what happens after your amazing hook: How you keep forward momentum in your content and how long your content can be? Is there a minimum and maximum you should shoot for?