Before we wrote this blog about Virtual Assistance units, we immersed ourselves in radio history. Nostalgia warms the heart, right? Because, quite frankly, the thought of a small, stark white device controlling everything in a home leaves me a little cold.
We found old photos of families gathered around the radio, odd smiles on their faces, ears inclined forward to catch every word. This was cutting edge technology. Not so different from Alexa after all.
Did radio bring families and friends together? You bet. Radios were expensive and hard to come by. If you wanted to stay on trend, you had to interact with other people. Conversations shifted. Access to relevant information doubled. Family discussions changed. Radio listenership boomed, and the Golden Age of Radio was born.
Radio listenership increase is all about accessibility. With the installation of radios in automobiles and the introduction of FM, radio stations began targeting specific audiences.
When the private sector embraced streaming, we became a house divided. People became isolated listeners on phones, iPods and other devices. Meanwhile, streaming stations celebrated a few “golden years”.
Listenership statistics now include all forms of broadcasting and listening devices. Each listener in their own world … headphones on, enjoying podcasts, webcasts, music mixes and station streaming. You CAN always get what you want, but research shows you’re listening alone.
GETTING YOUR STATION BACK IN THE HOME
Until now. With the introduction of Echo’s Alexa, Google Home, Microsoft Cortana and other smart speaker systems, radio is returning home to its rightful throne. Front and center. In less than two seconds following a simple verbal command, you can be jamming to your favorite tunes. According to Edison Research, 7% of American households have purchased a smart speaker system … just in the past year or so. Gartner Inc. Technology Research firm predicts a saturation of 75% within three years.
That’s great news for your radio station, provided that you get onboard. One of the most important steps you need to take is to establish your branding and a “skill” with the likes of
Alexa. The market’s already glutted, so listen up. It doesn’t matter what your brand is over the airwaves, another station can snag it for themselves on this new platform. So it is recommended that you create an “invocation” name that is recognizable by a system. So when a listener says, “Alexa, play fifty-two-five The Point”, Alexa will know what to do. Even if your station is readily available on iHeart or TuneIn, nothing takes the place of a personalized experience.
Carol Ellingson, from our consulting team had this to say. “People are making new habits now in the digital world, the question is are you going to be part of them or left behind? Now’s the time to own the names associated with your brand not just as a url or social media page name, but also in the new digital frontier known as skills.”
We agree. Our own digital consultant, Keith Thode had this to say about smart speakers:
”Smart speakers, and the digital assistant technology that powers them are going to change the way we interact with nearly everything in our environment. Being front and center with this technology is critical to retaining your current audience and paves the way to reach a “new” in-home audience.”
Yes, it’s time to put the radio back where it started. The home. Let’s get started. To learn more, visit our Digital Services page.
Sources: http://www.insideradio.com, http://www.aliveradionetwork.com, https://www.newsgeneration.com, https://www.statista.com
