Oakland A's move to 95.7 The Wolf in SF

With lower than expected ratings and surving the Classical and Classic Rock flip, will this echo a move to Sports on FM for the Entercom Bay Area Country Music station?

CMR’s @TONYandKRIS Host LIVE @ACMAwards Tweetcast/Facebook Party

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NASHVILLE, TN-Nationally Syndicated Country Music Morning Show “Tony and Kris”will host a LIVE Tweetcast/Facebook Party on Sunday April 3rd. Join Tony Randall and Kris Rochester beginning with the Pre-Show at 6:15pm ET /3:15pm PT all the way through the Awards Show on CBS.

 

"We're looking forward to this digital ACM Party! On-air promotion combined w/ digital media is the future & we're excited to be in the lead!"

A few of us will be headed to Las Vegas for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards but the rest of you watching from home are being offered a unique way to participate in the festivities. Tony and Kris will be tweeting and posting updates as they happen. They will offer trivia, predictions, prizes and more.

 To participate just use the hashtag #TKACM on Twitter or you can go to Facebook.com/TonyandKrisShow. For more details visit TonyandKris.com

 POWERED by Finger Candy Media, LLC, Jessica Northey and Stacey Soleil

Welcome to Spring, April and the start of the Spring ratings survey!

Is your Country Music Radio station shaken the doldrums of Winter, Christmas, bleak weather and the "can't do's?" Time to put on a happy game face and start making your April PPM and diary Spring 2011 happen big time. 51% of the respondents in the CRS P-1 study believe Country music is better than it use to be. 

If the programmers and air talent can urbanize the format by mainstreaming it with an imaged redneck appeal, it will gain more ground. In Fresno the combined Country share in the last trend 12+ was 6.1. That's what KSKS had alone when I first came into this market. Then you take a PPM market like Charlotte, both stations have a 14 share combined 6+. 

1. Morning shows need to make a mark with the audience and lose anything self-indulgent. They need to be talking to the audience and life group directly and STOP talking to each other. One of the hosts need to be the social media maven. Jessica had a great idea for morning shows, the third wheel can be the social media freak on the show and offer listeners follows and up-dates and celebritweets. 
2. Social Media needs to be a team effort. I remember when Kris Daniels and I were building MY SPACE followers at KHGE in 2008, we went looking for women 25-49 who fit our audience profile. You need to mine Facebook and Twitter likes and followers. (See yesterday's FTC for Twitter mining tips).
3. Community promotions and events, Feed The Hungry, Special Olympics, American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen and more. Local schools need support, states and counties are cutting school funding and I read a teacher took a part time job to fund her class room. These are special community promotions that will cause talk about how your station helped out. 

Twitter shhhh secrets

While building up followers on TWITTER for your Country Music Radio station, here's a few tips: (I have been building followers and following for Unique Orthodontics and believe me, this will save you time). Look at the info/data line on the follow list you are clicking follow on and see if they match your ecosystem of demographics and customers (listeners for radio). If they have a screen name like PYSCHOPUNK and they say "Out to paint the world black" they might not be a good choice to follow a Country music station.

I'm searching for regualr moms and dads of 7-14 year olds who might need orthodontic proccedures. Omit any business profiles that seem national, unless you are out to have every follower in the world, this makes no sense when marketing your product inside your area.

Blake Shelton is the NEW COUNTRY spokesperson

Blake was great as Chelsea Handler's guest on Chelsea Lately, She referred to him as a madman. Blake will be hosting The ACM Awards with Reba this weekend and he is never short of anything weird to say. That's why I think he is the new front man for Country Music. Stations should be seizing the opportunity to have him as the station voice or in creative television and video campaigns for their product. Check out the CMT link for more on the show and Blake starring in The Voice on NBC.

Social Media is all fun and games until someone puts an eye out!

Yesterday was my first day at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, just kidding, Homer says: "But it's my first day Mr. Burns" when he had been there seven years. I started as the internal marketing coordinator at Unique Orthodontics  I never knew how hard it is to match and mate all of the social media ecosystems together. I created the Twitter account, Linkedin, Foursquare and Hootsuite as the dashboard to run everything. Then the frustrating part, the difference between a Facebook (use to be called fan page) now business or "like" page and a personal or "friends" page.

I love the content and don't mind contributing on a creative, right-brain kind of platform. but the process of getting all these systems to hand shake is nuts. More to come from the trenches. Oh and I only called the maven of social media, Jessica Northey twice. Now I know why radio doesn't embrace digital media the way it should, this isn't the easiest platform to coordinate, but once you roll up your sleeves and get crackin' - It rocks!

Deja Vu

Jody Jo part of the KSKS Kiss Country 93.7 morning show has been appointed music director and interactive music director of http://ksks.com/ - Jody keeps getting the same job over and over, it's like Groundhog Day. I also work two days a week out of our Clovis office for (Unique Orthodontics) as the new marketing coordinator and a banner hangs across the Old Town Saloon across the street that simply reads LIVE KAROKE WEDS NIGHT WITH JODY JO.

Keith Kaufman Exits WSIX/Nashville

From AllAccess.com
Shocker!
PD KEITH KAUFMAN has exited CLEAR CHANNEL Country WSIX/NASHVILLE. VP/MARKET MANAGER TOM ENGLISH said: “We wish KEITH well in all of his future endeavors.”

Become a POTHOLE PATROL member!

The horrible Winter weather has left roads and highways in the country in a mess. Heavy snow in the East and rain in the West has left roads in bad shape. Now's the time to have your morning show encourage listeners on air and through social media to become a member of your POTHOLE PATROL. Calling in and posting on social media pages where the worst holes are and how to avoid them. 

The potholes can be grades from 1 through 5. 1 being a small indentation and 5 being The Grand Canyon. This will get your loyal listeners involved on air, web site and through Facebook and other social media sites. Most towns and cities have a system to report potholes and will address the problem in 12 working days. Have some fun on air and on-line until they do. 

Sunday Driving with Dr Andy Baldwin

Imagine how excited I was when Dr. Andy Baldwin agreed to let me eView him.  I am sure that most women remember the ABC hit show, "The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman" and most men would want to not like the man who had women in America glued to the TV every Monday (present company included) until they learned that underneath all those good looks is an amazing, caring, genuine guy anyone would, want to go grab a beer with. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Andrew Baldwin, M.D. is a physician, humanitarian, U.S. Navy diver and media personality currently serving as a family medicine resident at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in Southern California. Prior to his current position, he served at the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, D.C. as a spokesman and advocate for Navy medicine. While in D.C. he assisted the U.S. Surgeon General with a program called Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future and currently serves as an advocate for the Let's Move Campaign headed by First Lady Michelle Obama. Both of these programs target childhood overweight and obesity. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dr. Baldwin was Valedictorian of his high school class, an All-American swimmer, and was the ESPN national scholar/athlete. After receiving a full Navy ROTC scholarship to Duke University, he chose to attend the prestigious school and pursue a pre-med curriculum. He swam as a varsity athlete throughout his undergraduate career and graduated with honors as a student-athlete with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and was commissioned into the United States Navy.  Andy pursued his dream of becoming a physician, by enrolling and completing medical school at the University of California - San Francisco School of Medicine. After graduating in 2003, Baldwin completed a year internship in General Surgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego, and went on to serve his operational duty in the Navy as an Undersea Medical Officer.

FTC asks for your help and support for Harry Nelson

Friends: It has come to our attention that Harry has no medical insurance. Besides prayers and well wishes, he needs our financial help. To make sure that Harry continues to get the best medical care, we have set up the Harry Nelson Medical Fund. The fund is now open at Wells Fargo Bank, account number 3294108687. Deposits can be made at any branch of Wells Fargo or Wachovia throughout the country. If a branch is not convenient or available, wire transfer deposits can be made via routing number 121042882, then reference the account number. Or you can simply drop a check in the mail to: Harry Nelson Medical Fund, 24 Smith Lane, Saco, Maine 04072. Donations to this fund are not tax deductible. All funds will be used to help defray Harry's medical expenses. Please give what you can. Thanks and God Bless. 

Saturday Catch-Up with our man from McVay Media

Why Consumers Leave Brands on Social Networks

Losing a fan on Facebook, subscriber in your database, or follower on Twitter is one of the most costly breakups for your brand. This week in connected, we’ll take a look at the actions and motivations behind your audience’s “social divorces” from your brand online, based on an interesting new study from ExactTarget, an interactive marketing company.

E-mail Marketing

While e-mail marketing has become perhaps the most common marketing tool of major brands, ExactTarget reports, “77% of online consumers say they’ve become more cautious about giving companies their e-mail address over the last year.” 

While caution should be used in sending unsolicited e-mails or messages that lack value for your recipients, it’s undeniable that e-mail is a “universal” way to reach consumers. 

The biggest reasons that people tag unwanted e-mail as spam or leave the database:
-    The recipient does not recall giving the company permission to send them an e-mail.
-    After trying to unsubscribe, they continue to get e-mail.
                                                                                         -    They deemed the content of the e-mail as poor and want to “punish the sender” by unsubscribing.

Nearly one out of five subscribers of e-mail continually hit delete or ignore e-mail from companies they dislike—rather than h itting the unsubscribe or spam button. That’s why it’s important to watch the open-rate of e-mails. When your open rate declines, you should be concerned that you are missing the mark on delivering value to your subscribers.

Facebook Marketing

“Liking” your brand on Facebook is a bold statement for your audience to make. Less than 60% of Facebook users have “liked” at least one company on Facebook. If they like you enough to tell their friends by publicly complimenting you with a like button, that’s HUGE! Handle the relationship with care. Here are the biggest turnoffs to users who have liked a brand on Facebook in the past. 




There is still is a dim silver lining around a user’s move to “unlike” a company on Facebook. That is that ExactTarget’s study points out that 63% of consumers say they are as likely or more likely to purchase something from a company after ending their Facebook relationship. Another 18% said they only “unlike” a company if they never bought anything in the first place.

Twitter

Similar to e-mail marketing and Facebook marketing, if the user does not get value from following your brand on Twitter they will stop following you.  Twitter is more about making every tweet interesting rather than limiting the frequency of your posts. A high quantity of tweets is okay, as long as they are interesting.

Most Importantly

Some key takeaways from this database marketing study include:

• Engage with your audience in a fun and interesting way, regardless of the platform.
• Be cautious about appearing to be too self-promoting or self-focused.
• Know your audience. Know what matters to them.

About the Writer

Future-minded and passionate, Daniel Anstandig’s experience includes developing digital business strategies for media companies, designing content strategies for broadcast and interactive, and coaching executives. He is President of McVay New Media, and editor of Radio-Info.com's new media newsletter, "Connected."

EMAIL DANIEL FOLLOW DANIEL

H-Bud Nelson Eggs Benedict up-date

Harry had another good day, although we must remind ourselves that he is in extremely critical condition. The doctors are leaning toward a more treatable diagnosis than was originally feared, but all the tests haven't come back yet. Oxygen levels are holding. We have been praying for a miracle and the hope is we are witnessing one. More information when it is available. Thanks and God Bless. 

Up-dated job postings!

KNTY Sacramento Middays 

WOKK Meridian Afternoons

Top 50 Afternoons - Joel Raab

WCMS Kill Devil Hills, NC - PD/Mornings

WSM-FM Nashville Afternoons

Will you play this? - Country version of Born This Way and Firework? (I would)

Press the P1

by Jessica Northey
I was working in radio for a few weeks the first time I heard the term “P1” I didn’t want to ask stupid questions so I pretended like I knew…”fake it til ya make it” I always said. Fast forward many years later and I forget that we have our own language in the Broadcasting world (half of it made up just so we look cool) A friend of mine was fascinated by this concept and the comparison to Social Media participation...got me thinking that this well worth explaining.

Markets that could use a 2nd Country Music Radio station

Columbia, Detroit, Tucson, Bakersfield, San Jose, Austin, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Little Rock, New Orleans, Memphis, Providence, Columbus, Cleveland, Raleigh to name a few. Some PPM markets and some not. With the format growth we are experiencing, this could work. Our format is contemporary and 51% say it's gotten better in the CRS P-1 study. 

Why should all of the new flips be Top-40 or News/Talk? - A fun and entertainment based CMR in single station markets could split the cume and share. Additional growth can come from other formats and media. Style and position other than 10,000 songs in a row and a cute moniker can work.

April Fools Day ideas

April Fools Day falls on a Friday this year and there are so many cool, thought out ideas you can do. Remember, never put the stunt into the news or report it as news. TRI from Radio-Info has the do's and don'ts.

• Don't fake the news. 
• Don't scare the listeners. (Paige says "You can play jokes on them, make them mad about their pets being taxed, send them on a wild goose chase to find an underground theme park - just don’t scare them. That crosses the Hoax Line.")
• Don't name clients. (Don’t say "our client is sponsoring a live remote at the nudist resort with prizes, games and free pizza.")
• Don't use semantics. (Being too cute about wording a prize can get you in big trouble.)
• Try to avoid drawing a crowd. ("If you say you’re going to have Britney Spears in your parking lot at 9am, don’t be surprised when 20,000 people show up, trample each other, and set fire to the station when they learn that it’s Britney Spears, a 93 year-old resident of a local rest home. It's best never to ask people to gather at one specific location.”)
• Don't say "April 1st." ("If you're doing a fake spot, say 'beginning in April'...that takes the spotlight off it being April Fools Day.") More advice to consider from other consultants as Friday, April 1 looms...here in the daily TRI Newsletter from Radio-Info.com.

We did the DOG TAX at WCTO Allentown and it was huge. All dogs over 30 pounds would be taxed per pound starting in July. We had planted calls from lawmakers in the state Capitol's, local bill followers and of course tons of calls from dog owners. 

With gas at nearly 4 bucks a gallon, APRIL FUELS DAY is a great promotion to do. Sell gas for your frequency and make up the difference in trade for the service station. 

Make the event fun and memorable. Don't giveaway $100,000 and it's the candy bar, that just pisses listeners off. 

As we grow with social media some don'ts:

I heard a TV anchor here refer to their Facebook page as their Facebook account. We need to work on our language and develop some do's and don'ts: I recommend calling it: The New Country 107 Facebook Community. And Twitter is just that: Twitter with tweets. It's not your Facebook site, account, social media, network or any digital buzzwords. Facebook page and post is applicable. I wouldn't call the post's status up-dates. 

12 Buzzwords Redefined (not for air or use on SM network)

1. Viral – When you get the same email with the same link (either featuring cats doing funny things or an Oatmeal cartoon) from at least 5 of your friends, it’s gone viral. You will also see this link from 94% of your Twitter followers and shared on Facebook. You’ll know something’s gone viral when your computer-illiterate grandmother has forwarded it to you and her closest buddies from that cruise she took last year or the bingo hall.

2. Meme – That picture of cats that got passed around like the village… um… bicycle? Well, now you notice everyone on Twitter says thinks like, “I can haz [insert something they want - cheezeburger, nap, maid service]?” or generally spelling thingz lyke thiz tu seam funnie. A meme is pretty much just taking bits from something that’s gone viral and using it in everyday interactions. Know Your Meme is actually a pretty good database of what all the tweens are making fun of today.

3. ROI – Stands for Return On Investment and is used by social media doubters who hem and haw before making decisions because they want CONCRETE NUMBERS and proof that spending 5 hours a day tweeting out self-promotional links will “pay off.”

4. Engage – Holy crap, how tired are you of hearing the word “engage?” Lesson for those of you who live in a box and haven’t picked it up already: Engage = making conversation. For Twitter this means @replies. For Facebook it means posing questions and joining in on the conversation. For bloggers it means responding to comments. Any questions? Didn’t think so.

5. Influencers – People with butt loads of followers. Mostly an incestuous clique of bloggers who blog about a) social media, b) making money online, c) personal development or d) the gluten-free lifestyle.

6. Platform – Soapbox.

7. Organic Conversation – The idea is to get people talking about the things you want them to talk about… Organically. Oxymoron much? I understand the concept and have used the methods myself but calling it “organic” is what gets my blood boiling. It’s not organic, people. It’s called “leveraging.”

8. Leverage – lev-er-age, noun, meaning, “to take advantage of.”

9. Authentic Brand – While it’s supposed to mean being your “true self” – whether you’re a potty-mouth, a conservative feminist or shy bird-watcher – having an authentic brand actually means pretending you’re Gary Vaynerchuk.

10. Crowdsourcing – The act of being stingy and relying on a group of people to do your (bitch)work for free. Think user-generated websites. My all-time favorite definition of crowdsourcing is on Urban Dictionary.

11. Best Practice – What everyone else is doing.

12. Buzz – Emailing and DMing enough “friends” to retweet or like or share or whatever your idea/post/service so other people think it’s important enough to listen to/read/purchase. Buzz can also consist of that incestuous group of bloggers agreeing to share your stuff.

The buzz is Facebook over web site and the answer is no!

Jessica and I have been talking about this for quite some time and it will be the buzz at her social media round table at The World Radio Summit next month in Los Angeles. DO NOT give up on your station web site. It should be commerce driven with information and representation about your brand and product. I would stop doing jock blogs on the web site and do them as notes on Facebook. No one reads them and even tie backs with contests don't help except for contest players. The P-1 study from CRS  reveals  how  the  content Country radio stations and Country music artists post on Facebook and share on their websites is somewhat out of sync with the needs and desires of Country P1 consumers.  This suggests the industry is missing an opportunity and not fully capitalizing on the potential of these tools.

Facebook and Twitter are about community and building your brand socially and communal. Keep the spam and advertising off of social media for your CMR. You should be driving prospects to your web site from your social media and reverse on the web site, driving participants to social media. Remember to talk about social media. There is still too much URL gab about web sites and not enough cool raps and imaging for social media. 

Spring Fling

Time to have some fun with your COUNTRY MUSIC RADIO imaging. Spring is here and most of the country is getting warm and toasty after a cold, brutal Winter. Some imaging ideas for Spring 2011:

1. New Country is popping up like Spring flowers everywhere, Easton Corbin, Thompson Square, Band Perry and more...Sprouting from God's green earth to your radio.
2. Spring cleaning, let us know on Facebook and Twitter so we can let the faithful know, garage sales, flea markets and signs in the front yard.
3. It's staying light later and that means more great Spring weather - Take Country 107 with you for an extra hour today.
4. When do you start your Spring plating - (locals all have indicators) find them and put them on your social network.
5. Grillin' and Chillin' all weekend, the rites of Spring have returned. Make note of any and all Spring festivals in your community on air and social media.

Facebook post of the day! (This is how you do it)

Z947 - Today's Hit Music

 4:07pm   0 comments • 0 likes

It has been reported that Katy Perry’s mother, Mary has penned a ‘tell-all’ book about her famous daughter. Katy's parents who run Keith Hudson Ministries in California, are reportedly ready to shed new light on Katy’s rise to stardom and the effect it had on them personally and their Christian beliefs. --- Would you be interested in reading this book? Ricky V

Z947 EXCLUSIVE: Mystery Deepens Around Katy Perry Tell-All Book -- Written By Conservative Family Me

www.radaronline.com

It has been reported that Katy Perry’s mother, Mary has penned a ‘tell-all’ book about her famous daughter – but if she has, Perry’s parents are not spilling a word about it – for the moment. In fact, Katy’s ultra-religious father, Keith Hudson is

Brad Paisley - "Old Alabama (featuring Alabama)" HQ

ACM Awards Imaging

Here's a way to snap shot The ACM Awards in the week leading up to the show April 3. Take the nominees and past winners and write and prepare some imaging components to run several times per hour next week (The 28th). This will bring some audio credibility to you and separate you from the moronic on air banter of your competitor about who will wear what and who wore what. On Monday, April 4th, playback winners with the same style of imaging into the winning artists and songs.  Ideas for lines include:

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. Now Accepting CRS 2012 Agenda Committee Applications

(Nashville, Tenn. – March 21, 2011)  Following its recent success with CRS 2011, which saw a 22 percent increase in attendance, CRB, Inc.® is now accepting applications through April 1, 2011, for its 2011-2012 CRS Agenda Committee.

Does your position have a detailed, written job description?

I recently received a detailed job description for an operations manager position. I was amazed at how detailed the outline was, at least three pages. Every expectation and goal was outlined and dissected. I have never seen anything like this except the slight detail that goes into job postings in the trades.

Is Facebook Killing Off The Company Website?

Written by jeffbullas - 4 Comments and 0 Reactions

Categories: Facebook, Social Media

Share20

The popularity of Facebook is reverberating through the entire web ecosystem and changing interaction and the way we communicate online.

There are many consumer brands andmusical superstars that measure their fan numbers on Facebook in the tens of millions. This rapid increase has only happened in the last 2 years and for some Facebook pages that phenomenal growth can be measured in months.  Here are some headline numbers.

Sunday Driving on Full Throttle County with Fletch Brown

Name you want use?

Fletch Brown

Official title for work?
Program Director WXFL FM

Favorite thing about your job?

The music!

Where are you answering these questions from right now?

In Birmingham filming a short film I am in called Time Calls.  We are between scenes.

What are you wearing right now?

Black crew neck T and jeans.

How did you get started in Broadcasting?

Had a good friend in college theatre who was working sales at my company.  PD needed a part-timer and she suggested me.

What are 3 items you CAN NOT live without?

My phone, my mp3 player, and my gps.  Which oddly enough are all in one!

 Favorite item of clothing/jewelry/accessory? Why?

My workout clothes. They are just comfortable!  I'd wear them everywhere if I could.

Have you ever been in a fight?

Not lately. I fought a lot in junior high.  Got my teeth kicked in once.  Got braces a year early after that!

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

Got to get the kids up for school...
What did Johnny (my morning jock) just say?!!

Is there anything that you regret?

I try never to do things I will regret, so I never regret the things I do.

What are your fondest childhood memories? 

Snow. And my best friend was a little girl around the corner. First love.  We are still friends. :-)

What current event has your eyes and ears? And what are you doing about it?

Egypt, Lybia, Charlie Sheen.  Watching in horror!

How do you use Social Media in your industry for productivity?

I am building our station's social media network as an extension of our promotions department,  but mostly as a tool to bring our audience into a closer, more intimate place with out live voices.  Making new P1's

What is your favorite website?

Onion.com

If you had a Super Power what would it be?

Flight

Which famous people do you admire? Why?

Morgan Freeman, Louis Gosset Jr., Gary Oldman. Great great actors! I want to be like them.

What is your favorite movie? Why

Ghostbusters. Its has everything!

Favorite snack? Why?
Potato chips, but I shouldn't.  They are awesome!

 How do you balance your work with other obligations - mate, children, hobbies?

I don't like I should. I limit mt focus to two things: kids and career.  If I'm not doing one it's the other.

Do you get nervous about anything?

How my kids see me in 20 years.

If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be, and what would say to them?

Patty Griffin, and thank you.  I actually did meet her once but went all awkward teenage boy on her.

What is your hobby or do you collect anything? Why?

Comic books!  Uh...I mean...crap! I have collected comic books since I was a kid, and I try to get my son to as well.

What chore to you hate? Why? 

Scrubbing the bathtub! Because yuck!!

Do you have an animal/s? What kind/s? Names?

1 cat Mr. Jinx
1 son age 9 Xavier
2 daughters Age 10 - Tatum, Kaitlin age 15.

Mac or PC?
PC

Ginger or Mary Ann? Which are you more like or which one would you date/marry?

Mary Ann I love the dark hair and a smart alec attitude

Craziest thing you have ever done?

In college I gave naked hugs at gatherings.

. 
Kix96country.com

And my actor profile
http://ria800.800casting.com/Profile/Pictures.aspx?TARID=0&TalentID=62881