Word of Mouth is Getting People Talking about Something Worth Talking About
Word of Mouth is Getting People Talking about Something Worth Talking About…what’s your message?
10 Tips to Make Your Periscope and Facebook Live Broadcasts Successful
From the looks of it ‘live’ video on social media has become a thing. And to help it not turn into a monstrous thing from the deep I’ve put together this list of 10 tips to make your live Periscope and Facebook Live broadcasts successful and help you connect with your audience.
1. Your Title Should Grab their Attention
Think of the title of your Periscope like a newspaper headline. Write a great title that tells the viewer what it’s about and what they will see or learn. It should entice them to tune in. ‘Untitled’ isn’t an option for success.
2. Don’t Waste Time
Don’t spend the opening seconds of the broadcast swinging the camera around the room showing us stuff, print out a copy of your company logo and slogan and shoot that as you welcome us to the broadcast and verbally tell us what’s going to happen.
3. Stay Calm
When you point the camera towards you don’t act surprised by the people logging in to watch, it’s what you were expecting so go with it. Likewise, don’t start giving shout-outs to viewers unless someone of note shows up…like The Pope. It could happen…
4. Don’t Wait to Start
You should be starting the actual content of your live video broadcast within the first :60 seconds, don’t forget that people who joined late will be able to watch the replay for anything they may have missed.
5. Horizontal Please!
It’s one of my biggest pets peeves. My eyes are side-by-side on my head, not one on top of the other. Also, be sure to keep your head in the middle of the frame with your eyes on the imaginary line between the top 3rd and middle third of the frame. In the case of Periscope, when the comments and hearts begin to fly we will be able to still see your head.
6. Have An Agenda
As a guy who spent 25+ years working in radio and TV Studios, and doing hours of show prep before each broadcast…please, please have an agenda. Before you go live, outline what you’re going to say and the points that you intend to make. Then follow that outline.
7. Do A Midstream Recap
If you notice a huge spike in viewers, it’s OK to do a quick recap for those who just joined you, but again remember they can watch the replay later. Be brief about it and unless your broadcast is going to be an epic, don’t recap more than once.
8. Questions At the End
During the broadcast, if audience members start asking questions let them know that you will take questions at the end of the broadcast. This will help you stick to your agenda. And unless you have a fantastic memory (I don’t) have them re-ask their question later. Just like your midstream recap be brief and get on with the task at hand.
9. Leave Them Wanting More
After you’ve finished your presentation stay on to answer a few questions from your audience but don’t let this drag on. A good broadcaster knows to leave on a high note. Let them know if they have any further questions to contact you by email or via Twitter.
10. Use Graphics
Any URLs, email addresses, Twitter handles, etc. that you mention during the broadcast should be printed out on a sheet of paper and held up to the camera for people to take note of. Finish off the way you started with your company logo and slogan. Maybe a URL for your product or service.
Bonus Tip
Make an appointment with viewers. Either do your broadcast on a regular schedule (though this may not always be ideal) or Tweet 30 minutes in advance to your followers and friends that you’ve got a broadcast coming up. Mention the title too!
It’s a brave new world out there and everybody has the tools to be a broadcaster. As I’ve said before, the artist, broadcaster or craftsperson knows it’s not about the tools…but how you use them.
Let me know if I can help you or if you have any other tips to add to my list.
David Tyler – Profile Video
David Tyler is a voice over talent based in Montreal, Canada. This is a 2 minute profile video of who he is, what he does and why he does it. Find out more: davidtyler.com #communicatingideas
Radio Is Dead
I remember the scene vividly. It was the Christmas episode of WKRP called “Bah, Humbug” (Episode 0052 to be exact) a WKRP version of ‘A Christmas Carol’. In the episode Mr. Carlson is haunted by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Dr. Johnny Fever, as the ghost of Christmas future, shows Mr. Carlson that the station has become totally automated, in fact Herb, who has taken to talking to himself is the only employee left. At the time I saw this I wasn’t working in radio but thought, ‘what a sad thing to happen’!
Well folks get your bags and get ready to disembark because we have arrived at Christmas future! While it takes more than one person to run our radio stations our on air product has become as homogenous as a computer chip generated playlist could make it. We only play the songs that have been tested and we only test the songs that are already being played by everyone else, not wanting to ‘take a chance’ on an unproven song. The focus of our marketing is on the morning show because that’s the only live, local part of our day…if that. To make it worse new radio talent isn’t being developed or can’t be developed because of the state of radio. Does this really mean that radio is dead? Not necessarily.
The Future
What radio has failed to learn are the tricks that marketers have been using for decades, despite having the concepts poured out right in front of us in the form of national commercials. So what can we learn from them? Simply put, ‘Branding’!
Understand How Your Audience Sees You
McDonalds made a mistake when it introduced the ‘adult meal’ because they forgot how their customers saw them…as a restaurant for kids. While it made sense for them to introduce a McMeal for adults, after all it is adults who are bringing their children to eat at the golden arches.
Speak To Your Audience
Back in the days when there were no other real entertainment options it was easy for radio to take itself too seriously, believing listeners to be mere minions cowering beneath powerful broadcast towers. Well, it’s not so much like that anymore. Speak to your listeners in a human voice, both in your promos and imaging as well as your live on-air presentations. As often as possible include the listeners point of view in your promos. Stop trying to “sell” your listener and talk to them as an equal.
Stay Focused
Whenever you sit down to write promos/liners keep your ‘brand’ in mind and never stray from the vision of who your listeners believe who you are.
One of the advantages we have over the Coca-Cola’s of the world is that we ARE a broadcast medium. So why don’t we use that to our advantage?
Branding your radio station should be the singular focus of your ‘anti-Christmas Future’ efforts to increase market share and to make yourself stand out as a viable entertainment option for your audience. Here’s one last thought to help motivate you: imagine your sales director running your radio station, alone from a single computer terminal…scary thought? Get to work on your brand quick!
Why Fit In When You Can Stand Out
Why fit in, when you can stand out. #ideas #creativeideas pic.twitter.com/gvk22PH36x
— David Tyler (@DavidTylerVO) October 27, 2015
Better Radio Imaging Through Better Understanding
Admittedly, one of the hardest things for radio people to do is to listen to their radio station the way a listener listens, but it remains a crucial skill that broadcaster’s need to develop before they can properly brand their radio station.
For far too long radio programmers have thought they heard listeners say they wanted “Less Talk, More Rock”, yet that was an over simplification of what listeners were asking for from their radio station.
With radio’s ever increasing competition from satellite, streaming, and internet radio, not to mention a flotilla of other entertainment options like digital TV, home theater and video games, we have to better understand what listeners come to our stations for and echo that proposition in our imaging statement.
It doesn’t matter how hard you want to be “The Rock Station That REALLY Rocks”, if the audience doesn’t see you as being that then you will only be “The Rock Station That THINKS It Really Rocks”. Branding begins in the consumers mind so the first step to better branding is to understand how we are perceived.
What’s For Dinner
As an entertainment option, let’s try to understand why people turn to radio. Imagine this: You and your significant other go out to a restaurant for dinner with a couple of friends. What are you actually going out for, the food? Not necessarily. While the food is the object of the get together, it isn’t the reason for getting together, you want to talk, catch up and share stories. In the same way, your listeners are coming to you for the music (or information if you are a News/Talk station) but what’s making them stay and what compels them to come back time and time again? As I’ve said in other articles, songs (or information) are the bricks of this ‘radio house’ if you will, but what holds it all together is the mortar…what’s holding your ‘radio house’ together?
Better Radio Imaging Through Better Understanding
So how does all of this relate to imaging your radio station? As soon as you realize that the reason your listeners are listening to your radio station isn’t just for the music you’ll see that “Less Talk, More Rock” isn’t a very good way to brand yourself in fact it’s quite limiting. Saying that you play “10 Songs In A Row” or “100 Songs In A Row” for that matter, doesn’t cut it either. If that’s what they really want they’ll just plug into their iPod and get 1,000 songs in a row! It’s necessary to understand what makes your listener listen and then give them that wrapped up neatly in your imaging. If your audience’s understanding of what your station is doesn’t match yours then ask yourself why? Then decide if you should change your station or adjust your imaging to match your listener’s expectations.
Time to Rethink
Branding is an art that honestly, most radio people haven’t mastered yet. You need to capture your listener’s imagination while reflecting their perceptions. To help make my point I use this example often: if a radio person were in charge of coming up with the imaging statement for Coca-Cola it would be something like, “Your Favourite Blend of Sugar, Water and Artificial Coca Flavouring”. Uh, yeah, that’s what it is, but how is it perceived in the mind of the consumer? It’s seen as being the number one Cola on the market, they defined what all Cola’s are, Coca Cola was the first cola drink most of us ever experienced, which is why it is better branded as: “The Real Thing”.
-
- The Hudson’s Bay Company isn’t branded as “Cloths, Perfume, Kitchen Appliances and Furniture”, it’s branding statement is “More Than You Came For”
- Hewlett Packard is not “Printers” it’s imaging statement is “Invent”
- Bell Mobility isn’t “Cell Phones and Accessories” it’s “We Are All Connected”
- Microsoft isn’t “Computers”, it’s “Where Do You Want To Go Today”
Do you see how brand savvy companies have captured the spirit of how the consumer sees their product? So why would you brand your radio station as being the station that “Plays Your Favourites Of The 70’s 80’s, 90’s and Now”. It’s time to rethink the way you brand your radio station. Ask yourself, what is the unique proposition that you can offer a listener. Or better yet ask your listener what they think of your radio station.
Conclusion
While a perceptual study is a good idea I would never rely entirely on its outcome, the way they are done can be misleading. Remember it was a focus group that gave us “Less Talk, More Rock”… That being said listen to what your jocks are saying about the calls they get, at public events strike up a conversation with a listener or even hang around in the lobby and listen to what contest winners are saying about the station to your receptionist. You may be surprised at what you actually hear your listeners say about your station…because it won’t be about the food!
