Podcasting may have just put numbers to something radio has known for decades: people come back for people.
In a recent study, 82% of respondents who had a favorite podcast said the host was a major part of, or the only reason for, listening. That’s podcast research, but the question it raises for radio is hard to ignore: Why do we treat air talent just as a programming expense while expecting them to create the listener loyalty and advertiser trust that make a station valuable?
There’s a challenge for talent in that question, too. A familiar voice alone doesn’t earn a relationship. Do listeners know what you care about? Do you sound like you know their community? Have you given them a reason to seek you out tomorrow?
And there’s an even bigger challenge for those of us who coach talent. Are we spending our time perfecting the length of a talk break while failing to develop someone listeners would miss if they left? If a personality disappeared from your station tomorrow, would listeners notice? Would they ask what happened? Would an advertiser lose a voice they trusted to speak for their business? Those questions tell us a great deal about the value of talent.
I know many PDs barely have room to breathe. They’re managing schedules, budgets, promotions, sales requests, and everything else that lands on their desks. It’s easy to become a program manager when the job leaves so little time to be a director. I understand how it happens. I also believe we have to change it.
A director gets to know the person behind the microphone. What interests them? What do they care enough about to talk about without a script? Where do they already have a connection to the community? Then a director helps that personality bring more of their real self to the air, take an occasional risk, and learn from what works. That takes regular one-on-one time. It takes feedback that goes deeper than “tighten the break.” It also means giving talent opportunities to build relationships with listeners and, where it makes sense, advertisers. Those opportunities shouldn’t be reserved for the morning show. The next person your audience could grow to love may be working another daypart right now.
The podcast study didn’t measure radio. It did remind us of something we already know from experience: a person can be the reason an audience returns. If we believe that, talent development can’t be whatever we get to after everything else is done.
Would your listeners miss your personalities? What are you doing to make sure the answer is yes?
