Even though social media has become the new media, radio still carries some significant weight as a traditional marketing tactic.
Advisors can gain credibility from PR. Once they are seen as an expert in print, on TV or on the radio, prospective clients become aware of the advisor, build a virtual relationship and in some cases become clients. This was proved at the recent media training for the FPA of Massachusetts, conducted by Byrnes Consulting, LLC, which concluded with a panel of four industry success stories, all of which had radio experience.
Panelists included John Napolitano, author of a weekly column on finances for the Patriot Ledger and syndicated through Gatehouse Media; Marc Freedman, host of “Dollars & Sense” broadcasting on 104.9 FM radio; Chris Boyd, host of “Something More with Chris Boyd” broadcasting on WXTK 95.1; and Mike McNamara, the host of “McNamara on Money” broadcasting on WATD 95.9 FM. The panel was moderated by Kevin Feehily from Byrnes Consulting.
Here are a few of the questions that were asked.
Feehily: How did you get started with radio and how did radio benefit your business?
Napolitano answered first and said being on the radio generated a crazy amount of interest. Although he cautioned they are not all the right types of leads.
McNamara shared advice, saying, “Treat your listeners like they are your real clients. Empathy is really powerful.”
Boyd said, “I wanted to be likeable. I wanted to be perceived as intelligent and entertaining.” Ultimately it is the hope that a radio program will lead to new business.
Freedman said, “I wanted to build a brand that people can trust. There is a lot of crap out there.
A lot is salesy and not authentic.” He wanted to share real-life situations that people can relate to. By doing so, hopefully the listeners will want to work with you.
Feehily: What was it like getting started with radio programs?
Boyd spoke about the learning curve, saying, “There isn’t any training. I wasn’t very good at it. The B-D was happy for me to be on the radio, as long as I didn’t say anything.” (This brought lots of laughs.) He added, “That’s not really practical for a live radio show.” As a result, he did a lot of interviews so he would not get himself in trouble, but eventually the restrictions led him to leave the broker-dealer channel.
Freedman said, “I have done a lot of performing.” Getting on the radio and talking was not difficult for him. Listeners (and most clients) do not want anything technical. Supporting why this was ok, he asked, “How can we make a specific recommendations in a 60-second sound bite?” For him the challenge was around getting people to call in for the live show at 4 pm.
Eventually he went to a taped show and found the program vastly improved, as it eliminated the constant requests for listeners to call into the program.
McNamara cautioned the attendees that might want to get on the air, saying, “There are only so many radio shows. It is a time commitment. Nothing is going to happen for five years.”
He shared more advice saying that you cannot talk numbers on the radio, as the listeners will not understand them. He uses six co-hosts to help shape the content.
Feehily: What are some of your other lessons from doing radio?
McNamara said when he is out and about, sometimes people recognize his voice. He also was honest saying the radio program can lead to doing pro bono work.
When it comes to taking a radio slot, Boyd said, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” He explained that his experience is that a later listener is a different type, but he makes the most of the slot he has.
Freedman stated, “If you want a radio show, you write a check. I did have to do a mock show for them (as a try out.)” He shared numbers stating it can be $100,000 a year - $2,000 a week. It also can be $200,000 a year on a bigger station.
He advised doing research to find out what listeners the radio show has and was honest that in the first year his revenue from the program was less than half of his expense.
Although it has been some time since Napolitano has been on the radio, he joked, “I still meet people in the supermarket that still say they listen to me all the time.” (This also brought laughs.)
To win over the radio station, Boyd answered, “Have twenty shows of what you will do. It was helpful to have stuff to shape the show. I didn’t want to be answering mutual fund questions on the show.”
He added that he was persistent calling the contacts over and over again. “Sometimes is a contest of wills,” said Boyd.
Feehily: Has your time in radio lead to other media appearances?
Napolitano received other PR from newspapers as a result of being on the radio.
He added, “They want you, you better be there.” He explained how he got his first shot to be on radio on the Friday after Thanksgiving. At first he turned it down. He then called back and agreed to do it, flying back just for the program. It turned out they really liked him and by getting his foot in the door it lead to much more of the same.
McNamara shared that radio can be used to leverage it for other things. He gave an example of his daughter promoting that they had more spots open for a Social Security seminar and the listeners called to fill them.
Freedman mentioned that the radio program has led to him doing seminars.
The panel also said they get a certain amount of advertising slots to promote the program.
Boyd puts his show on podcast to further leverage it. He shared that he is already recording it for regulatory purposes, so he just cuts out the commercials and puts it up on iTunes.
Overall Lessons
Feehily wrapped up the panel’s thoughts with these ten key takeaways:
1. Be empathetic
2. Be authentic
3. Tell stories
4. Be persistent
5. Be passionate
6. Know your demographic
7. Start local
8. Build credibility
9. Leverage your content
10. Take time to get results
Mike Byrnes is a national speaker and owner of Byrnes Consulting LLC. His firm provides consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. Need help with business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness? Read more at ByrnesConsulting.com and follow @ByrnesConsultin.