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How Close do you Want to get to your Listeners?

Edited by Andy Beaubien, BPR

What does Brand Intimacy mean? Quite simply it is how you bond with your listeners. Bonding is something we all understand and hopefully practice in our everyday lives. We bond with school friends, work colleagues, family members and, in general, the people with whom we come into contact throughout our lives. Radio can do this too! Bonding creates a personal relationship between the listener and your station. Recently Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media, listed a number of steps that we can take to make our station more “intimate” with the listeners. Here is a distillation of his key points.

1. Fulfillment– This is when the brand suits the audience’s tastes and culture so well, there’s no reason to spend time with other stations.
2. Identity– This one is so key to creating an intimate brand. It is where a radio station intricately weaves itself into reflecting a listener’s persona. Whether it’s riding a Harley or toting around a Louis Vuitton purse, identity brands create that unique connection.
3. Indulgence– This is where a brand honors special occasions that mean something to consumers.  Radio stations can do this by recognizing key milestones that matter to their listeners.
4. Ritual– Brands can become part of a person’s daily life. Habit is an important part of why consumers connect to a favorite station or morning drive show.  The term “ritual” is a better way of expressing how radio can become part of the fabric of people’s lives.
5. Enhancement– This archetype is more nuanced, but it’s an important one.  It’s about making life easier for customers – or listeners.  And as we’ve learned over the years, providing convenient ways of tuning in and consuming a station is congruent with this value.  It could mean developing a great station app, an Alexa skill, an easy-to-navigate website, or even a way for listeners to easily provide input about their favorite station.
6. Nostalgia– By evoking “fond memories” a station can help listeners relive important moments from their past.  Every generation, has its own nostalgia and your station can help them re-live those memories.
7. Acknowledgment– This is a pathway that was barely in existence a decade ago.  But thanks to social media, it is possible for a radio station to seamlessly connect with listeners on their favorite media platforms.
8. Community–Radio stations have the ability to create their own communities – or tribes – through a sense of commonly shared values or tastes, from music to social causes.   And the other side of this archetype is connecting with the actual community.  In a media world that’s gone global, radio’s ability to be part of the local community is precious.
9. Fame– Reality TV has taught us that deep down inside, ordinary people want their 15 minutes of fame.  Or at least recognition.  Posting a contest winner’s name on the station website or putting their voice on the air makes the listener feel important.

We have talked and written a lot about the importance of connecting with listeners on a personal level. If you want to add value to your brand and make it stand out from the competition, connecting with your audience is essential.

Read original here, on Jacob’s Media.