What elements make for a successful radio show? For some advisors it’s making an emotional connection with the audience, for others it’s giving good news, and for others it’s having strong calls to action throughout the show. What do you get when you combine all of these elements in one show? 55 calls and 15 web leads in one weekend. Here’s some insight into one of our advisor’s strategies when it comes to broadcast marketing.
The Emotional Connection
Every advisor has a different style and persona, but it’s always important to make a connection with the audience. There are many ways of doing this, but the most obvious is talking about yourself. The more an audience knows about you, the more they can feel like they know you. Some advisors are big on presenting themselves as locals or natives to the area where they practice. They might make a point of saying how long they’ve lived in the area, and that their staff is local as well. It’s important to note that this advisor has his own staff answer the phones during the show instead of outsourcing it to a call center. This means callers go from hearing about the “Alison” who works at the company to getting Alison on the phone, consistently delivering that personal touch.
Giving the Good News
Rather than use scare tactics by presenting a near retiree’s money with the volatile market’s grim reaper lurching over it, this advisor focuses on the good news – that listeners may be able to retire three to five years earlier than they thought! This is combined with the wisdom that time is the most valuable commodity – and no one can buy more of it. He focuses not on what someone’s retiring from, but what they could retire to – a vacation, a mission trip, time with the grandchildren, even their life-long dream of owning a horse ranch. It’s emotional and it’s focused on the ultimate goal of retirement planning – a better life. Even a topic as mundane as Social Security (the topic of the free content offering pushed on the show) is put in the context of the listeners: It’s ‘your money’ and ‘you deserve to get everything you’ve worked for.’
Strong and Frequent Calls to Action
Having a variety of content offerings is always recommended, but how you promote the content is crucial. This show made sure to emphasize their Social Security guide offering frequently, which is important for driving home the message and catching listeners who are just tuning in for the first time. For every mention of the complimentary Social Security guide, the phone number is repeated over and over in a way that creates a sense of urgency without being an aggressive sales pitch. The advisor and host make it clear that one doesn’t need to become a client first in order to get the guide, and also specify what the guide will do for them. They explain what happens at the first, second, and third meetings, assuring listeners that they are not pushy sales people. The marketing Rule of 7 says that someone needs to hear a message at least 7 times before they take action, and repetition helps people remember information like names and phone numbers. This show doesn’t take the chance that someone will miss hearing their number, or not hear it enough times to remember it.
The Bottom Line
A show is successful when it’s created with the audience in mind. It should be focused on what people want to hear and what an advisor can offer them, with a frequent invitation to pick up the phone and call a number that they should know by heart by the end of the show. Want more insights into what makes a successful radio broadcast? Get in touch with Simplicity Lone Beacon today!
