(By Loyd Ford) If you are doing a morning show, you are about to graduate to 2021. The future may not resemble the past. There is no question that the landscape is shifting and changing under and around all media. There has never been a better time for you to reinvent or at least reinvest yourself in a strategy to grow more intense relevance, connect more deeply and to capture attention from those you most want to attract in 2021.
Here are some elements to give serious thought to as you consider making your moves in 2021.
- Vulnerability and compassion have never been more important. You must work on ways to expose your human vulnerability on-air and you absolutely must build compassion into your morning show because the world seems less forgiving today that ever, but listeners will deepen their relationship with you if they see you are human and you have compassion for them and others who are certainly vulnerable in 2021.
- You must value consistency in performances and be dependable inside your morning show. It is so difficult to trust in today’s world; everything moves fast and no one in media is believable anymore. Time must be taken to develop trust and trust is most likely deepened when you show consistently that you can be dependable.
- Why does your show exist? If you cannot answer this question with some pretty strong passion, you’ve got work to do for 2021. The question ‘Why?’ might be the most important question in your career going forward if you want to build a large tribe or following.
- Where does your influence extend beyond the show in your market? A lot of people don’t even try to do this – that is a mistake. Each person on your morning show should have a specific role, but they should also have something in the market with a strong constituency (important to your format life group) that they are involved in. This should not be a faked interest. You are in the business of drawing more people around you and causes are great vehicles to help that occur. Causes give you access to highly passionate people who want their opinions to be heard. Many are also influencers and you need as many of those as you can get in 2021 to help grow your show. You showing up in their lives will help electrify and drive that.
- How relatable are the people on your morning show? It’s not enough to be on in the morning; in today’s world, those who are more relatable are more likely to pull ahead. If you don’t think this can be studied, you are not paying as much attention as you should now.
- As much as consistency is important (and it is), you must work to bring an inconsistent element of the unexpected to your morning show. This is designed to wake people up and show them interesting developments that keep them coming back specifically because there are new developments regularly in your morning show.
- Are you focused on how your morning show can become more famous in your market? If not, you are failing no matter if you realize it or not. Whoever you depend on for coaching should be focused on fame development because that will be how your show gets separated from the herd and that is how you grow a monster. Local shows only become irreplaceable if they achieve high intensity fame and dominance. Otherwise, in today’s world, the bean counters and bone crushers may simply short cut to the next syndicated show.
- How likeable are the characters on your morning show? You can study this, too. Start with “How To Win Friends & Influence People.” Look it up. Spend time studying likeability. It is the most meaningful currency for morning show talent today.
This is your career. If you want to be a morning show superstar in 2021, you have to bring enough talent and key strategies together to build a tribe or following large enough to be listened to by radio executives. If you have been given an opportunity, don’t take it for granted. Elevate. The future is changing fast, but if you bring great content, they will come. Those are the real morning show laws of attraction that will elevate your star in 2021 and for many more years to come.
Loyd Ford consults radio stations, coaches personalities, and provides behavioral and strategic programming to radio with RPC. Reach him anytime. 864.448.4169 or [email protected].
