You’ll notice a bias on this blog regarding the importance of marketing. It stems from a simple, yet firmly held belief.
Businesses that win in the future will be the best marketers. That’s what the game has become. And, there’s no turning back.
Getting higher ratings becomes increasingly difficult unless you know how to cultivate a relationship with viewers. Suppose you have a more dynamic anchor team and more advanced weather and news gathering technology.
Guess what? Both mean little unless your audience sees you with these advantages and buys into your story about them.
That’s where marketing comes into play.
Don’t take my word for it. Peter Drucker was considered the father of modern management and a famed business consultant. Here’s his take:
“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”
Back in the early days of cable, I was struck by the different mindset that cable and local TV executives had toward marketing dollars. Marketing expenditures were a line item in budgets for both camps.
The difference? Local TV guys always talked in terms of it being an expense. Cable guys talked in terms of it being an investment.
What’s your view?
Mine is clear. Marketing is an investment. An investment that pays off in higher news ratings.
Make sure your entire station sees it that way.
The recent Michael Jackson coverage proved one thing – people see what they want to see. Some saw the media coverage as overblown; others saw it as justified.
Everyone sees the world through their own unique lens. Call it their personal worldview. Yours is shaped by all the experiences you’ve had in life. No two people share the same life experiences. So, each of us has a different way of looking at things.
What’s that got to do with news reporting? Plenty.
You’ll never produce a story that all viewers see in the same light. Can’t happen.
Be prepared for critical comments regardless of how good you think your effort was. Your claims of balance and objectivity will always prove hollow to some people.
Just be certain that you’ve satisfied the only critic that really matters.
YOU.
You’ll know when you hit a home run. You’ll also know when you cut corners or took the easy way out. This internal evaluation will gain greater precision through experience. Here’s where being honest with yourself really pays off.
Better yet, be open to constructive criticism. Don’t feel threatened or take it personally. Analyze dissenting viewpoints. See if another perspective will change your worldview. Maybe broaden it or make it more inclusive.
Brings me to the final issue of bias. Critics always contend that the news media is biased. Guess what? It is.
So is the audience.
People see what they want to see. The charge of being biased will always be subject to the worldview of the person making the charge.
Here’s the dirty little secret. Your reporting is biased. The way you view the world injects your own bias into everything you do – your story selection, your shot selection, your choice of copy, your choice of people to interview, your framing of the story, etc.
Reporters like to think they’re objective, but they’re not. You’re human – you can’t produce work that is stripped of your bias.
Neither can your audience and critics view your work free from their own bias.
Until people recognize these conflicts for what they are, your efforts are always subject to criticism and charges of bias. Comes with the territory. The boos and applause are always there.
Just make sure you can look at yourself in the mirror at the end of each day. Hope you feel good about an honest day’s work.
News reporters consider themselves journalists. How would TV news change if they gave equal weight to the idea of being a storyteller?
TV news journalists focus on getting facts, appropriate soundbites, and good video. They’re schooled to do so with good reason. These elements are the building blocks of reporter packages.
Reporters then combine this material in a clinical and logical fashion that upholds their journalistic standards.
One problem. The work often fails to engage and connect with viewers.
Reporters are rarely challenged to practice their profession via the mantle of storyteller. Such a shift would make connecting with viewers more likely.
That’s because people are hard wired to communicate with stories. You’ve done it throughout your life.
Think back to your childhood. Your parents read bedtime stories to you. Some of you were captivated by works such as Aesop’s Fables or Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
You learned to read in school using various stories. You connect with new people by telling stories about your life, or work, or product. You nurture friendships by swapping stories of good times and bad.
Everybody’s circle of friends has at least one person who stands out because he or she is a “good storyteller”.
Recognize the importance of being a storyteller as well as a journalist. The two are not mutually exclusive.
An effective package is more than a simple recitation of facts supported by good video. Storytellers take those journalistic ingredients and create the narrative and color that engages viewers.
Your city council decides to raise property taxes. The journalist reports the vote was 5-4 and the hike was needed to close the budget deficit.
The storyteller describes the mood in council chambers when the vote was decided. The storyteller lets viewers know that Joe Smith fears he’ll have to sell his house because he doesn’t have the extra money. The storyteller profiles a council member as he seeks input from constituents in the days ahead of the meeting and his reaction that night.
Storytellers make news more accessible and relevant to viewers.That’s because stories often revolve around the challenges and/or triumphs of people.
Connect with viewers. Be a journalist. Be a storyteller, too.
by Terry Segal on July 8, 2009
in Research
You can increase news ratings two ways – get your current viewers to watch more (increase their time spent viewing) or get more people to watch you (increase cume). You’re better off doing the first option. It’s easier to build on an existing relationship rather than start a new one.
All businesses face this quandary. Is future growth a function of its existing customer base or does it lie in expanding that base? Most businesses are convinced that the latter takes precedence.
Marketing expert Seth Godin examines this phenomenon in his book Meatball Sundae. He values the idea that companies should create products for their customers instead of searching for customers for their products.
Existing customers are already fans. They value the company and are receptive to doing more business with it. Understand their desires and listen to their feedback. Respond appropriately and you’ll sell them more product.
How Television Treats Current Customers
You can see the parallels in your business. Current viewers are users of your product. How well do you know what attracted them to your newscasts? What mechanisms are in place to gather feedback and suggestions that will spur more viewership?
You need to spend more time understanding your audience and interacting with it. Not only because viewers expect it, but also because the exercise creates a blueprint for higher ratings.
Sadly, most stations take the approach that ratings growth only happens when you steal audience from the competition. They chase after customers instead of mining the possibilities that exist with their current viewers. They lack the systems that would provide such information.
There’s also a mistaken belief that current viewers have “maxed out” their product usage. Erroneous assumptions are made regarding how much these viewers actually watch. Acting on this fallacy emphasizes the perceived need to find new customers while taking the existing ones for granted.
How To Understand Viewer Behavior
How much do you really know about your station’s viewer behavior? Ratings and share are just one indicator. You need more information to determine your upside with exisiting viewers. Just a small portion of your audience watches every newscast, so there’s ample opportunity to increase viewership. The potential varies for each station.
You can discover your possibilities by examining Nielsen viewing data for each news program. Have your sales or research department run a week long advertising schedule that places a spot in each program’s quarter hours. The data will unearth two key measurements:
1. The average number of quarter hours viewed. This figure is called frequency and indicates how committed your viewers are. The lower the number, the less committed.
There are ten quarter hours per week for weekday late evening newscasts. Hour long early evening news features twenty quarter hours per week. Compare your frequency against the maximum. You’ll see plenty of room for growth.
2. A frequency distribution of viewers. This analysis indicates what percentage of viewers watched a specific number of quarter hours. You will learn how many watched one quarter hour, how many watched two, and so forth.
Most stations find viewers congregated at the lower end of the scale, meaning opportunities exist for increasing viewership. Your goal is to move viewers up the the quarter hour ladder.
Your Customer-Focused Solution to Higher Ratings
Focus attention on your current customers. They’re the key to boosting ratings. Discover their hot buttons. Foster interaction with website input and viewer advisory panels. Add the elements to your news that these people find attractive.
They’ll watch more and your ratings will grow.
You’ve got your top story for this evening. Now, go own it. Treating the top news story with a single reporter package adds nothing to your news “cred.” The other guys are taking the same approach.
Be different. You need to provide more insight and value. Give viewers additional items. You need to own the story. Here are five ways to make it happen:
Personalize the story
How does the story affect people? Report the event through a personal story.
Find a parent affected by the cutback in school lunches. Find a commuter affected by the road closure. Find a business owner affected by the utility rate hike.
News becomes more relevant when people put a face on developments. People relate to people, not disconnected ideas.
Put the news into context
What does it mean? Make sure viewers understand the impact of events on their lives. Experts can help with tricky subjects.
Talk to a financial planner on what employees can do with retirement accounts after a local plant announces its closure. Speak to a defense attorney to explain legal options for a person just indicted for a crime. Let a consumer affairs expert outline warranty options for car owners after the local dealership has shuttered.
Make the package more than a “talking head.” Personalize the story. Interaction between the affected party and the expert can add a human touch.
Add perspective
How did we get to this place? Giving the history and/or background of events leading up to the news can prove illuminating. A history lesson is warranted for events that have taken months or years to unfold.
Background stories showcase your grasp of issues. They provide viewers with a timeline that highlights your news depth and commitment.
Look forward
Where do we go from here? A news event is often the first step in a long journey. Give viewers a look into that future. Twists and turns may await them – make sure that you point them out.
Suppose your city council just increased property taxes. Will the property tax hike force more foreclosures? Will businesses find the city too expensive for relocation? What city services are likely to avoid cutbacks? Will revenue from this hike protect the city’s bond rating?
Viewers don’t expect that you have a magic crystal ball. You can’t predict the future, but you can alert them to its possibilities.
Get viewers involved
Ask for immediate feedback from viewers. Internet polling, email solicitation, Twitter reaction, etc. provide a hi-tech “man on the street” equivalent. Give your audience a feel for how fellow viewers are reacting.
Today’s viewers want to participate in news. They’re aware that you can make this involvement happen. Seize the opportunity.
Savvy businesses recognize that customer interaction is now a two-way channel. Consumer loyalty and satisfaction is highly influenced by the quality of that dialogue.
Provide opportunities for viewers to interact with you. Stations providing that connection will ultimately prosper.
Every station has a top story. It’s often the same item across all stations on a
given night. Your job is to convince viewers that your presentation offers more value and insight. Otherwise, why watch?
Make a difference. Own your top story.
Why does some on-air news promotion fall flat? Even with the best of intentions, the end results fail to move viewers. Blame the poor results on the following seven sins.
Poor understanding and knowledge of the product
You cannot sell what you don’t know. Effective salespeople know their product backward and forward. Promotion/creative services people need the same insight regarding news.
What differentiates your news from the competition? What elements are considered its strengths? These aspects are the ones you highlight.
The same approach works for individual story promotion. What’s the hook? Find out from the reporter and/or producer. It’s their responsibility to know that information. They do you and the news effort a disservice if they don’t.
Promotion and creative services people often cringe when identified as “sales people”. That’s unfortunate. Promotion is sales. Consider another line of work if that makes you feel uncomfortable. You’ll fail to reach your potential thinking otherwise.
Target audience not taken into account
Your promotion should appeal to the likely program viewer. This targeting especially holds true for individual stories aimed at specific audience segments. Make sure you know what type of viewer your newscast is chasing after.
Newscasts sometimes have a different feel depending upon the daypart. A lighter, more easygoing morning newscast needs promotion that captures that feel.
Visuals get in the way of the message
Don’t let the visuals overwhelm your message. Visuals are used as cover when the messaging is weak or nonexistent. Overpowering visuals can’t compensate if the viewer is left ignorant regarding the purpose of the promotion.
Super Bowl commercials are a prime example of this problem. Viewers talk about the spots from a production standpoint, but can’t recall the product or service.
The result? A waste of time and money.
Uninspired Copy
The writing lacks the color, urgency, and specifics to make the product stand out. Every promo producer should burn the following rule into their mind when it comes to creating copy for TV:
Write for radio.
People aren’t necessarily glued to the TV watching. It’s often a background companion.
Write descriptive copy that is crisp and clear for those only listening. Do so and you’ll also heighten its effectiveness for those watching at the same time.
Doesn’t include a “call for action”
Make sure viewers know when they can watch. Tell and remind them. Reinforce the info both visually and audibly (remember the “write for radio” suggestion).
It’s sales time again. Effective salespeople ask for the order – it’s the only way you get it.
Opens weak / ends weak
First and last impressions are the strongest. You only have a limited amount of time to entice viewers. Grab them immediately with strong visuals and/or compelling copy. Leave them with a powerful ending.
Which is more effective? I always favor the strong open. You grab them at the beginning because there’s no guarantee they’ll be around at the end. Consider it insurance.
However, a great open increases the chances of them sticking around and you get a second chance to impress them.
Try not to make this decision an “either or” proposition. Make sure that you do at least one – preferably both.
Tries to do too much
Limit each spot to one message only. This approach conveys the message more clearly to viewers. Multiple ideas compete against each other and weaken their impact with viewers.
Know in advance the one takeaway for viewers and produce material to that end.
A lot is expected of you. You’re asked to make it happen in 15 or 30 seconds.
Meet those expectations. Avoid these seven sins for more effective on-air news promotion.
by Terry Segal on July 3, 2009
in Insight
The shrinking audiences and revenue that buffet local news mirror the wrenching changes being felt in other businesses. The underlying reason is important to note for it has fundamentally changed the way consumers interact with your product.
You are no longer in control. Your customers, your viewers, are.
Before the internet, many businesses operated in and benefited from an era of economic scarcity. This arrangement meant that consumers had limited options for satisfying their needs. They were often restricted to local merchants and product inventories that carried only the most popular choices.
Someone with distinct or unusual demands had a difficult time finding products, if they could be found at all. Business innovation and risk taking was stunted because the prevailing conditions generated satisfactory profits.
Business – especially television – used to control the playing field. Not anymore.
People have now gained control over their viewing behavior. Look at how your business has changed. It’s morphed from viewers having a choice of three to four channels to hundreds. The act of watching video has moved from one device (TV) to many (desktop, notebook, smartphone, iPod, slingbox, etc.)
People now have a choice of when to watch, thanks to TiVo, VOD, Hulu, TV.com, etc. Your website grants them access to news 24/7.
Heavens…news now gets distributed without you as the middleman. The role that Twitter played in the Iranian election protests is a harbinger of things to come. The issue isn’t how big a role that Twitter actually played as it was its unquestioned ability to spread information. That has significant implications for you regarding live, breaking coverage.
The age of economic scarcity has ended. Viewers now have the upper hand in determining how they feed their information appetite.
Access to news has exploded beyond its availability on your channel at 5p, 6p, 10p, or 11p. Mobile alerts, email notification, and web updates keep viewers continuously informed. Your station represents only one ship in a sea of options.
How is your news effort adapting to this new situation? Does your station…
- have multiple options to alert viewers to breaking news?
- provide more than warmed over video on its website?
- recognize that a viewer’s relationship with news has become more participatory?
- understand that viewers expect more and are less forgiving when you fall short?
- recognize that your on-air newscast is just one platform in a world where multiple options have become the norm?
- understand how powerful the concepts of immediacy and convenience have become to news consumers?
Your world has changed. And it’s not going back to the way it was.
Adapt your news strategy and tactics to this change. Ignore it at your own peril.
Imagine you’re a comedian giving a thirty minute show. Would you use all of your best jokes in the first ten minutes only to limp through the remainder of your program?
Of course not. You’d gain a reputation as being light on material. Your approach means a promising career never gets off the ground. No headliner status for you.
Stations unwittingly do the same when they use “11@11″, or some variant of it, when formatting and marketing their late news (if you’re unfamiliar with “11 @11″, the format promises to deliver the key news and weather, commercial free, within a specified number of minutes at the top of the newscast). The implied viewer benefit is convenience because the station respects the audience’s time. Especially at this late hour.
Stations never use the format for an extended period of time. No surprise – it doesn’t pay off. It’s a flawed strategy. A lot of time and money go to waste.
You can’t build a business when you devalue the very product you’re selling. In this case, it’s your news reputation.
Viewers get the wrong message despite the good intentions. Stations think the audience will appreciate the opportunity to watch for a limited time and still feel fully informed.
The real viewer takeaway?
Your newscast is bloated with fill. It lacks substance and value. If a viewer only has to watch for eleven minutes, what does that say about the news value of the other two-thirds?
Not much.
The concept inflicts more damage than competitors ever did to your late news image.
Find better ways to differentiate your news.
Successful reporters possess traits and skills that make them special. Persistence, great writing, and gut instinct come to mind. All important, but there’s one trait that I’ll take over all the others.
Curiosity.
Curious people make great reporters. It’s a trait that you need to discover when evaluating potential employees and reviewing your current staff.
Curious people approach life in ways that make great reporting possible:
They ask questions. “Why?” is a favorite. Who’s more curious than children? No one. Notice how often they use “Why?” Asking questions gathers information and breaks down barriers. Curious people do it as a second nature.
They possess a healthy dose of skepticism. First answers to questions aren’t gospel or the final say. They’ll approach issues from different angles until they feel satisfied. Skepticism leads to probing, a vital tool for effective reporters.
They see issues as continually evolving, never resolved. The world never stands still to a curious person since another question or explanation always surfaces. That leads to ongoing exploration and an ability to ferret out information that normally stays undercover.
They view the world with a richer perspective. Their ongoing exploration widens their worldly outlook and provides perspective lost to a more closed person. It gives them an advantage in asking key questions and making sense of hidden meanings.
They’re less fearful. Their worldly views are less rigid than others so they’re willing “to go places” that could upset their current perspective. This freedom allows questions and discoveries unleased from the need to maintain the staus quo. Non-curious people shy away from situations and information that shatter their current world view.
They go where others won’t and don’t. Discoveries and insight happen on less beaten paths, far from where the masses gather. Curious people live in that world. We need their courage and ease in dealing with it to make it safe and understood by those who avoid it.
Someone once suggested that people with these characteristics are difficult to manage. They’re not big on rules or following orders.
What’s the downside?
Passive, “do it by the book” employees don’t ruffle feathers. Neither do they take the prudent risks that any growing business needs.
Make your choice. Do you want to thrive or merely survive?
I’ll take the challenge of “reigning in” highly motivated people over the option of trying to further push and energize competent people any day.
How many of your reporters are curious? Your producers? Your newsroom? The more you have, the more you stand to succeed.
