Once you have programmes that make sense to your audience, then you will have a big listenership and this is what advertisers want. They will pay believing so many people will listen. My strong belief is that advertisers/sponsors want their products/services to be heard. I think they want everyone to hear about their products and services.
So when you have advertisers advertise in your farmer programme because it has high listenership, you have turned your listenership into money.
Thanks.
Once you have programmes that make sense to your audience, then you will have a big listenership and this is what advertisers want. They will pay believing so many people will listen. My strong belief is that advertisers/sponsors want their products/services to be heard. I think they want everyone to hear about their products and services.
So when you have advertisers advertise in your farmer programme because it has high listenership, you have turned your listenership into money.
Ano I think that is what People needed.
Thanks.
``The competition is stiff and we should not fear it but work towards good quality content which will bring advertisers knocking on our doors for partnerships_.
Thats the way to go since there are and many are Community Radio Station are on the way coming , so we really need to produce good quality programs for us and our Radio Stations to make more profits.
Thanks @Tzulu for reminding us to stand out in the crowd and stop lamenting all the time. Yes in Uganda the competition is high especially for the radios in central Uganda and more so the owners are government employees so you find out that those working in the radios donât understand why the radio was formed. If the radio has itâs loyal listeners and broadcasts good content then we satisfactorily say we are making a difference in peopleâs lives as the money comes in. I also agree with technology which I suggest should over ride our primary focus here I mean assuming that everybody is using social media without any data proving so.
Hello colleagues found this piece http://www.storyworkshopmw.org/mwanaalirenji.php shared by @Gladson here in the discussion interesting because of the success stories of the farm radio programs. One thing I have learnt is that a good program doesnât happen overnight, we have to deliberately intend on producing good content and this will ensure sustainability of the program over time. Please read it.
I have gone through your contribution@Laila. What you have said is very true especially the point of Bringing the listeners to the studio. Some days back, We had a specially program to our station which was designed as a forum for discussion.
We proposed to invite participants who will bring the impact to the Station. The topic was generally focusing on âThe effect of poverty on health, education and productionâ We brought two professors from the University of Dodoma and one Doctor from one of the biggest hospital in the country. Those two professors with their influence, they passed the message to all University of Dodoma community, to tune in for the radio so as they can listen and contribute to the program.
This program brought a great impact as we increased the level of listen ship. So bringing listeners to the studio can make the increment of people to listen your radio, which can be turned into money generation from advertisers & sponsors.
Hello everyone,
What a great week we had! I really enjoyed the discussion. This is a true example of a community of practice where members are sharing experiences and learning from each other.
This week we were focusing on knowing your audience and how you can turn your listenership into money. There were a lot of contributions with everyone agreeing on the importance of knowing your audience.
@DenisLindo started the discussion on an informative note and shared important things to remember. I will quote part of what he said:
ââŚ.money goes/is attracted to where there is value exchange or benefitâ. This adage applies to all situations where there is value exchange whether in traditional business or in Media business today as it were.
As part of Media business, Radio Stations can only get money from advertisers if they can ONLY deliver to the Advertisers the âvalueâ within their listenership. Interestingly, the money generation is no-longer limited to the traditional commercial radio stations but now also Ad-money is strongly desired by the community radio stations âthe new entrants in the scramble for the ever scarce advertising income! You cannot deliver an audience to an Advertiser when you do not know or have such an audience.
Acquisition of the audience is the 1st step and this means that you must devise means to Attract, Infect/Inspire and Affect⌠(AIA)âŚthe listeners in order to turn them into a âValuable Audienceâ. The valuable audience is what advertisers are ready and willing to cough a dime for!
We should like to know the following about our Audience;
- Listening habits and behavior
- Program preferences from the listenership
- Demographic aspects about the listener
- Spending power , patterns and buyer behavior of the listeners
- The infotainment/edutainment needs of the listeners"
It was unanimously agreed that knowing your audience is all about the number of listeners, what they listen to, what they want to hear and what products they use. These are the factors that impact on attracting funders and advertisers. Without the audience, there will be no adverts. Here are a few quotes from contributors:
âradio programmes must make sense to the audience for the audience to listen. Once you have programmes that make sense to your audience, then you will have a big listenership and this is what advertisers wantâ @MartinMwape
"Knowing your audience is having knowledge about the makeup of your listeners but knowing how many regular or dedicated listeners you have is putting numbers to your listeners. In the latter, you are able to confidently come up with an estimation as to the number of listeners of your program at a particular time. The number of listeners at a particular time. The demographics (age, gender, location, etc) of the listeners @obolo
"Community radio stations are where we keep our listeners attracted, inspired and there is a change in their lives/activities BUT the numbers are few and when partners or advertisers are approached the first question is how big are your listeners? @MamaFm
âKnow the reach within which the radio station broadcasts and the type of audience/s that listen to it Then the programmes or farmer prgramme has to be suited in the best way it can be liked to attract business for instanceâ @smawerere
âmedia programmers need to know that, advertisers are like politicians, They move with the big followings and yet they can make you loose your listeners if you gave more time to advertisers compromising your content. We need to pay attention to the in house policy if at all it exist that protects the station content and adhere to that. Also we need to know that, the moment you have appealing programs, you will have the moneyâ. @eko
âIn the business world, knowing as much as possible about your customer is accepted as one of the foundations of success. One case study I saw recently showed the customer value of a financial firm increasing by as much as 70% after the company made a concerted effort to understand its âaudienceâ betterâ. @Tzulu
Advertisers patronize stations that meet their need. In Nigeria, community radio stations are not allowed to raise money through advertisements. So in such situation, the need the community stations are serving determine who puts money into them. We have community stations serving Universities, Police Force etc. They are funded mainly through budget of such Organizations. Farmers Radio can raise money by writing the agro-allied goods and services into their Programmes" @krizo
A lot of other people contributed too. It is quite clear that there is a relationship between knowing your audience and generating revenue. Some advertisers want to reach a larger number of listeners while others are about a specific target audience.
For those that have not seen it yet, I have shared a resource talking about quality and not quantity also in relation to attracting funding. You can access the resource here
I like the Nigeria community radio setup that programs are funded by the relevant ministry, a farmer program could be funded by the ministry of agriculture. Even though I like it, it is also a bit limiting because they might not meet the need.
Selling a program slot should be beneficial to the advertiser as well as the target audience⌠The audience receives quality programs and the advertiser reaches the targeted audience. This goes back to knowing your audience and what they want. When you do, it s easier to attract advertisers.
Looking forward to the coming week.
Enjoy your weekend.
.
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My Name is Denis Lindo and,
In Week 2: Knowing your audience - how can you turn your listenership into money?
I made several outline points as an introduction to this topic and subsequently, the members below namely;
Archibold , Calvin Duttu Jilala , Christian Maduka , Denis , â He Touched My Lifeâ⌠., Immaculate , Jaspher Wit Laurie ,Jovine , Leila-Ndagire, Mwape Martin , Obolo- In Ghana , Odongo Wendo Boniface , Onomah , Petronilla Simwenyi , P-kichiwa , and S-Mawerere .
âŚâŚ.made several contributions in regard to the subject which submissions I found to be passionate, deliberate and well meaning for our learning process on this eDiscussion project.
In their discussions, I found out that several topics came at play and itâs against this background that I love to add my voice in shedding some light to the topics they discussed as in below;
⢠Audience-Reach,
⢠Competition for Radio & Program Attention,
⢠Content Developing,
⢠Funds Sources,
⢠Niche Programming
⢠Radio Station Planning From the Start,
⢠Radio Ownership,
⢠Sovereignty of the Listeners,
⢠Staff Motivation
⢠Strategies to beat the competition and,
⢠The Challenge of Community Radio Listenership Numbers
Last week I stated that, âŚâŚâAs part of Media business, Radio Stations can only get money from advertisers if they can ONLY deliver to the Advertisers the âvalueâ within their listenershipâ
I also stated that âyou canât deliver any value from a listenership that you do not haveâ. Itâs from this listenership that funds are received both from sponsors and advertisers.
The journey for listenership acquisition starts at the âRadio Station Planningâ stage. At this stage we determine âwhatâ⌠we want to do with this Radio Station and âfor whomâ? That stage greatly determines the radio stationâs future and actions that follow suit. Unfortunately, many Stations later find out that this question was not adequately thought about at inception.
As we plan for the station, what should have come clearly into mind is the âRadio Ownershipâ. This âownershipâ could be broken down as follows and namely;
a) Statutory Ownership â this refers to the Official/legal registration at the Registrar of corporations / companies detailing who are the investors/vision bearers of this project. These are core owners.
b) Customers /Listener Ownership- this is not official/legal but nonetheless the reason why the enterprise was formed. This ownership is what keeps the entity into business and supports the business to stay afloat amidst the prevailing competition. Once this kind of ownership is generated to get to the level of brand loyalty,âŚthen one can walk to the bank laughing.
c) Other Stakeholder Ownership- This is in relationship to other stakeholders who may not directly benefit from the entity for example on the day to day basis but nonetheless benefit indirectly from the existence of the Radio Station.
For a Radio Station, the Listeners and other stakeholders (e.g. advertisers) âCo-Ownâ the non- legal stake in the radio station business. In this case, the Radio Station is a vehicle through which their needs are met. Noteworthy though, the Statutory Owners must endeavor to keep the âowner sâ in (b) & Š above happy for the business to survive.
Before the Radio Station begins, a proposed âPre-Startâ audience âResearch should be done through the Market Viability confirmation process. This should determine if both the radio station and the planned programming are viable or, that there is a need for them. If there is a go-ahead to launch the radio station based on the findings of such a research, then most likely 50% of the road leading to get to the audience shall have been covered.
From the âproposed pre-start audience researchâ appropriate programs should be designed to meet the Audience/Listenership needs. Here we look at content per program and any other program specifics that should at play.
We then hire and train the appropriate staff to run the program content at the designate time and format. We hire and at times fire but most importantly should be, to keep each of our staff motivated for the job.
Being a community Radio Station, you need a highly motivated set of program and other staff in order to survive. These guys greatly determine your success. So the question is; how motivated are the presenters and other staff? âŚâŚHow suitable and practical is your manpower planning process?
When the programs begin running, your staff and audience will undergo a number of dynamics up to the point where it should be possible for the radio station to âownâ the listenership and audience. The danger lies in the reverse when the presenters own the listenership. When such a presenter moves stations, a sizeable part of the listenership/audience may follow such a presenter. Many stations struggle with this scenario and the better approach should be that, the station remains aware and takes care of this eventuality in the event that it happens.
The listeners are sovereign. They have the power to switch you On/Off. Bad and poor programming will cause a station listenership exit and a possible total listenership migration. Itâs therefore in the interest of the station to handle these powerful listeners with a great deal of care and respect. This will earn a station loyalty. Listeners want respect, relevance, station predictability and orderliness, resourcefulness and appropriate program content enabled by excellent delivery by drivers called presenters. Taken care ofâŚthe listenership should grow and grow! This is potential for money!
In order not to take the listener for granted, a Continuous-Audience Research MUST be done appropriate times of in the stationâs life cycle. This enables the station and programming function to remain relevant to both the audience and the listener. Here you are checking for shifts and adaptations or changes in wants and needs; as well as preferences. You will probably also, tap into knowing where they find challenges with your station or program content. This should help you plan for the better.
However, getting to the Audience shouldnât be for selfish station needs only but also, for reaching out to the listener and attempting to give back a little to them as recognition of their continuous and un- wavering support. In this case, give-aways, promotions, Barzas, etc , etc, should make them feel appreciated by the station management.
The right programming and âcontinuous-audience researchâ should help in creating and attaining a superb station niche as well as a program niche. The two niches should upset any threatening competition because a niche often translates into a loyalty to a product or service. This may later translate into a brand loyalty⌠So letâs curve out our niche the earliest way we can.
Whereas itâs true that a community at a local/county regional level may be much smaller than a community at a national level, this shouldnât worry the community stations whatsoever. True that many listeners are desirable for any station, but also, itâs much more important to have listeners on whom there can be a value attached no matter the size. What matters most is their spending pattern, consistency, frequency of consumption, value of consumption, spending power and their capacity to generate revenue for their spending needs. This information should be at the fingertips of every station. This is the information that we should package and vend to the sponsor/advertiser. Our Audience relations surveys should bring it out for future analysis and use.
Competition only knocks out the least prepared, the procrastinators, the one with fear to try out the less ordinary. Competition will even find you in areas where you offer the ordinary or a new creation. Other players will join after knowing that business is lucrative in that line of business. However, to be competitive is to provide the best of the service at fairly affordable terms ( value) at a precision, pace, price, quality and customer care that is un-offered like before. Good competitive practice shall inevitably give you the much attention you deserve. From such attention, you will indelibly Attract, Inspire and Affect whomever you come across âŚmay it be listeners, stakeholders or advertisers/sponsors that you need.
To Attract, Inspire and Affect whomever you come across and for this to happen successfully, the entire station workforce needs to work as a team, with criss-crossing support from the bottom-up, up-to the bottom and horizontal to the diagonal angles of the business. It is at that point that the funds shall come to station verily!
Thank You!
Denis Lindo
Resource Person
Farm Radio
Generating Revenue
E-Discussion-2018
2 Likes
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I think for me to know my audience is to have them involved in the topic of the given program and this has always worked out for me in the programs that i have hosted.Upon introducing the topic I always ask them of what would be their views and provide the platform on which to reach me either through direct studio line, sms, whatsapp, facebook etc; and there am able to know the audience that I have.
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It is of course uncertain to know the whole size of my audience because not all who listen to me are able to give me the necessary feed back, there are those regular listeners who only enjoy the program without having to be known but as I visit the field they confess to me. But also yes, am able to know some of those regular listeners who call in during and even after the program to either appreciate, make an input or even seek clarification, though it is hard to tell how many are regular or are dedicated listeners.So the relation between the two is thin.
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The information that I think from my audience that can attract potential advertisers and possibly sponsorship is when there is an emergency say a certain disease has occurred for the case of the farmers, this raises a lot of concern and desperate need for help. I recall when we had the fall army worm attack many companies came out to advertise for their chemicals on the market. The ministry of agriculture started running sponsored programs across many radio stations and spots to alert and educate the farmers. Also the changing weather patterns, lack of poor seed varieties and farm implements can emerge from the audience who regularly demand for answers from the relevant organs.
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Thank you very much Denis and Busi for shedding light and strengthening the points that we raised during last weekâs Topic of the eDiscuaaion.
Very captivating!
Sarah.
Okay. But who said sponsors should do scripting?
I love that part which says there is a danger when the presenters own the listenership.
In Ghana, we have christened the period of movement of presenters from one station to another as the Media transfer market. During this time, station owners are in a state of shock and sit on tenterhooks whereas listeners are left confused.
I remember during one of those moments a regular listener called in with threats of staging a demonstration against the station owners.
Hello Dennis thank you for this elaborate discussion about knowing and turning your audience into money. however, you mentioned some of the elements an audience expects from a station including respect and relevance. There was âStation predictabilityâ as one of the elements, some thing i have failed to grasp. What do you mean by âstation predictabilityâ ??
Whatt are your top suggestions for getting to know your audience?
- Taking Radio to the people. This can be done by doing farmer visits, interacting with them about issues affecting them.
- Conducting audience research to find out what the audience wants and how best to balance it with what the radio needs.
Is there a relationship between knowing your audience and how many regular or dedicated listeners you have? Please explain.
- yes, there is a relationship. when one knows their audience, they package their presentation to suit the interests and needs
of the intended audience hence appealing to the dedicated listeners because they are getting what they want from the program.
What information about your audience helps you attract potential advertisers or program sponsors?
- The approximates on number of listeners.
- What kind of farming they are practicing.
- Challenges they experience
Do you have any success stories of getting funding for your farmer programs? Please share the details of your experience.
- No
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For sure i did not have any I dear on how can i turn my Listenership into money but through learnning on that Discussion i start getting the I dear
Thank you for all your inputs above
Thank you Lindo and Busi for enlightening us on how we can turn our audience into money and for elaborating on the main issues raise by some colleagues.
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From the recent audience servery we discovered that we did not know much about our audience. so we decided to go out and consult them on the topical issues that affect them on farming , Health and environment and we learn a lot from the community. they even suggested the best time they would like to listen to the programs. When we asked them if they were willing to participate in some of the programs many were much willing to take part. In our community almost all farmers have access to the radio. Women too have access to the radio as equally to the men. However, not everyone within the reach of the transmitter do listen to our radio for some reasons. since very almost everyone has access to the Radio many farmers listen to their radios independently. However, in small trading centers you would fine at least less than a half listening to one radio.
thank you
Hi, Busi
I am sorry I got other engagements and I failed to move with the group; however, I am now ready to proceed. My name is Ntakirutimana Jenipher, I present Urufumbira programs on UBC West radio.
I want to tackle two questions on how to know your audience and how to turn your audience into money.
Here are my top suggestions to know my audience
i) Audience research is paramount because knowing your audienceâs needs and wants will help to attract a number of people.
ii) It helps you to know the location of your audience making it easier for you to plan on how to reach them that is if they are not in your coverage area.
iii) Integrating with your listeners will help you to know the audience that you have.
What information about your audience helps you attract potential advertisers or program sponsors?
In most cases, the information that helps to attract advertiser or program sponsors depends on the location of the radio station as well as the targeted audience even though the coverage of the station is very important.
@machesha Thank you very much for that post, Having a big audience is good but it is important to have good presenter as well.
I have found one script that was transcribed. It featured successes of the program itself. This was script number 475. But I can not upload here. so will give you though Google Drive or through Busi.
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