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March 2022: Getting into the Mind of Your Listener…and why it matters!

If you get to know your listener, and you gear your program, station or podcast more toward your listener, you’ll have more listeners. 

Said a different way, those of us who think about our program, station or podcast all day are not good at judging what our listeners want, unless we better understand who’s listening, where they’re listening, and what’s on their mind and heart when they’re listening. This means we must take our personal opinion out and listen to them. 

How do we know this? We’ve asked. In research. And we’ve observed what results in more listeners. After programming stations, programs and podcasts for over 40 years, and observing what the highest performing entities do, I’m more convinced than ever that listening to your listeners and acting on that information really is the secret sauce. 

The following “Four A’s” are how we recommend you think about this: 

  1. Attitude. Listening to your listener is an attitude . . . of putting your personal opinion aside and pursuing what your listener thinks, what preferences she has, how and where she listens, and what will cause her to stay or come back more often.  
  2. Ask. The Right Questions of The Right People. True story. I once was the Program Director of an NFL team’s radio flagship station. There was a change in the team’s front office leadership and along with new people, they brought in a new song to play at home games to celebrate the team scoring. Problem – fans loved the old song they had played for years when the team scored! And were very vocal about it. When the team scored in their first home game after the announcement and played the new song, fans booed! The team decided quickly to go back to the original celebration song. When we asked team leadership how this could have happened, they said they’d done research and the new song was more popular. We then asked where they had done the research. They said they’d researched people in a town . . . 500 miles away, where likely no one knew the song or cared about the team. In fact, there’s a rival NFL team in that city! That’s a story of researching the wrong people.  
  3. Acknowledge. That you will be surprised. Often, what we discover from listeners is different from what we expected. We’ve been surprised by Christian radio listeners’ appetite for worship music (it’s huge) and their interest in humor (it’s big) as part of a Christian station or program. And surprised by that same audience’s rejection of chatter about pop culture being a part of a Christian station’s programming recipe. Chances are when you listen to your listeners, you too will be surprised!
  4. Act. On the information. It doesn’t count if it’s not coming out of the earbuds. Listen to your listeners, then focus on how you’re going to make the sound they want happen. 

I presented these ideas at the NRB Convention in Nashville. Visit our CONFERENCE RESOURCE page for a copy of the PowerPoint from that presentation.  Contact us for further conversation on this key area. 

Year-round, Finney Media tests CCM music across the United States so we get a view on how listener tastes change over time. We thought it would be fun and helpful to give you a look at the Top Female Artists, Male Artists (in May), Top Groups (in June) and then the overall Top Artists (in July) based on the latest research of library songs from across the country. We used a weighted scoring system – higher scoring songs mean higher weighting – over the past few months of testing.

Here are the Top Five Female CCM Artists: 

5. Kari Jobe
3. (tied) Anne Wilson
3. (tied) Francesca Battistelli 
2. Tasha Layton
1. Lauren Daigle

We’ve seen a resurgence of great testing on songs by women in the past couple of years, led by Lauren Daigle’s amazing string of hits. And we have a couple of newcomers to the list – Tasha Layton and Anne Wilson. Anne Wilson’s My Jesus is right now our top testing library song!  

Next month: The Top Five Male CCM Artists. You’ll likely be surprised by who makes the list. Who rises to the top in our latest nationwide research? 

One of the hottest topics among Christian radio friends right now is podcasting. Fascinating findings in the The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey, with almost 11,000 respondents from three different formats: Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, All-Teaching stations/programs, and Music (CCM) stations on this topic. 

Here’s the headline: There are dramatic differences in the use of Christian podcasts among the three formats.  

Here’s how we asked the question: In the last week or so, how many times have you listened online to podcasts (online programming available for you to listen anytime) from any Christian radio ministry? 

We took the percentage of respondents who answered from “10+ times” to “1” and added them up. And then we compared to the percentage who indicated they did not listen to online podcasts from any Christian radio ministry. And here are the results by format of those who indicated hearing podcasts from Christian radio ministries in the past week: 

CCM Listeners: 35% 

Hybrid (Music and Teaching) Listeners: 51% 

Teaching/Spoken Word Stations & Programs: 63%

What does this mean?

Nearly two-thirds of listeners who came from Teaching & Spoken Word stations have listened to at least one podcast from a Christian radio ministry within the past week. But only about one-third of listeners who came from CCM stations have done the same. The prevalence of listening to online, on-demand programming among Teaching Station listeners is massive. 

And it makes sense. These are listeners who have specifically chosen long-form Teaching. If they hear it on the radio, they are likely to either merge in the middle of the program . . . or they are likely to have to leave before the program ends. Either way, it would seem to be the kind of programming that is tailor-made for on-demand consumption. And two-thirds of our respondents have already made that choice. 

Among the folks in the survey, almost everyone indicated Christian radio – FM or AM – listening. For each of the three formats, 96% or more of the respondents indicated recent listening to the station that sent them the survey. So, it would appear these online choices are in addition to, not instead of, their radio listening.  

A second headline: It appears there’s a lot of “backing and forthing” – friends who listen to the radio and to podcasts. 

Strategizing podcasting success is #1 on our list as a topic of discussion as we head into NRB in a few weeks. We’re setting meetings now and would love to get together if you’ll be there in Nashville. Just REACH OUT to us and we’ll set a time either there or via Zoom, when you’re ready! 

Finney Media does music research every year on hundreds of songs in multiple markets across North America . . . and every year, the numbers on which songs from the past are the most popular with Christian Music Radio listeners changes. From our research, here are the Top Five Testing Songs released during the past 10 years:

2021

1. Anne Wilson/My Jesus
2. Zach Williams/Less Like Me
3. Cain/Yes He Can
4. Phil Wickham/House Of The Lord
5. Evan Craft/Be Alright
 2020

1. Jordan St. Cyr/Fires
2. Andrew Ripp/Jericho
3. Josh Baldwin/Evidence
4. Jeremy Camp/Keep Me In The Moment
5. Cain/Rise Up
2019

1. Zach Williams/There Was Jesus
2. Michael W. Smith/Waymaker (ft. Vanessa Campagna)
3. Vertical Worship/Yes I Will
4. Zach Williams/Rescue Story
5. Helser, Johnathan & Melissa/Raise A Hallelujah
 2018

1. Lauren Daigle/You Say
2. Josh Baldwin/Stand In Your Love
3. Elevation Worship/Do It Again
4. Cory Asbury/Reckless Love
5. Hillsong Worship/Who You Say I Am
2017

1. Tenth Avenue North/Control
2. Lauren Daigle/O’Lord
3. Sidewalk Prophets/Come To The Table
4. Passion/Glorious Day
5. We Are Messengers/Point To You
 2016

1. Mercy Me/Even If
2. Zach Williams/Chain Breaker
3. Zach Williams/Old Church Choir
4. Elevation Worship/O Come To The Altar
5. Ryan Stevenson f/Gabe Real/Eye Of The Storm
2015

1. Bethel Music/No Longer Slaves
2. Jordan Feliz/The River
3. One Sonic Society/Great Are You Lord
4. Jeremy Camp/Same Power
5. Big Daddy Weave/My Story
 2014

1. Mercy Me/Greater
2. Third Day/Soul On Fire
3. Lincoln Brewster/There Is Power
4. Francesca Battistelli/Holy Spirit
5. Passion/Even So Come
2013

1. Newsboys/We Believe
2. Phil Wickham/This Is Amazing Grace
3. Big Daddy Weave/Only Name (Yours Will Be)
4. Matt Maher/Lord, I Need You
5. Hillsong United/Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
 2012

1. Chris Tomlin/Whom Shall I Fear
2. Matt Redman/10,000 Reasons
3. Big Daddy Weave/Redeemed
4. Newsboys/God’s Not Dead (Like A Lion)
5. Toby Mac/Steal My Show

What’s Next?

Check out which titles are on this list that you may have taken out over the years . . . and consider if they should be a part of your station now. 

Coming in April: The latest on the most popular artists with CCM listeners across the USA. 

…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points  from three different formats, including  Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, and All-Teaching stations/programs, and Music stations.

There’s much discussion about focusing our radio stations and programs on people beyond the nuclear family. In 2022, there are way more folks listening with different marital statuses than those who have married for the first time. Here are the Top Five Marital Statuses ranked in the recent nationwide survey:

Top Marital Statuses among Teaching and Hybrid Listeners

Hybrid Teaching
1. Married First Time 46% 1. Married First Time 44%
2. Re-married 17% 2. Re-married 21%
3. Divorced 15% 3. Divorced 12%
4. Single/Never Married 12% 4. Single/Never Married 11%
5. Widowed 9% 5. Widowed 10%

What do I do with this data?

Here’s a way to think about this: If you’re talking to your listener as if he or she is married for the first time, you’re talking to only half of your listeners. And if you assume they are married – for the first time or  re-married – you’re still talking to only about two-thirds of the listeners. Over 30% of the Hybrid and Teaching listeners in the Why Listen® survey are not currently married.

We’re coming up on Valentine’s Day. It’s a happy day for many people. Not so much for others. And if you’re going to be empathetic with all of your listeners, it’s crucial that you’re sensitive to this. Some of your listeners are happily married, some are single and wish they were married, some are divorced, some are unhappily married, and some are happily single.

It’s complicated. A good time to carefully choose our words.

…in the 2021 Why Listen Survey

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points  from three different formats: Music stations, Music/Teaching stations and All-Teaching stations/programs.

There’s much discussion about focusing our radio stations and programs on people beyond the nuclear family. In 2022, there are way more folks with different marital statuses listening than moms who married for the first time. Here are the Top Five Marital Statuses ranked in the recent nationwide survey:

Top Five Marital Statuses among CCM Listeners

1. Married First Time 52%
2. Re-married 18%
3. Divorced 13%
4. Single/Never Married 11%
5. Widowed 5%

What does this data mean?

Here’s a way to think about this: If you’re talking to your listener as if she is married for the first time, you’re talking to only half of your listeners. And if you assume she is married – for the first time or re-married – you’re still talking to only 7 in 10. Thirty percent of the CCM listeners in the Why Listen® survey are not currently married.

We’re coming up on Valentine’s Day. It’s a happy day for many people. Not so much for others. And if you’re going to be empathetic with all of your listeners, it’s crucial that you’re sensitive to this. Some of your listeners are happily married, some are single and wish they were married, some are divorced, some are unhappily married, and some are happily single.

It’s complicated. Let’s acknowledge that truth in what we say.

Missed last month’s article? READ IT NOW >>

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey heard from almost 11,000 respondents with over one million data points from three  different formats, including: All-Teaching stations & programs, Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, and CCM stations. 

One of the challenges we face and opportunities we have, unlike a church which is focused on one particular denomination, is that our radio stations and programs are multi-denominational. They are heard by people from many denominations. In our nationwide survey, we asked about denomination affiliation. Among respondents from Teaching and Hybrid stations, here are the Top Five Denominations:  

How can this data help you?

Many denominations. With different ways of worship and different words they use in their worship and ways they communicate with each other. 

For us to reach them, and perhaps many who haven’t even given us a pre-set yet, we’ll need to focus on using words and concepts that many or most understand. 

A story to help illustrate. Heard this on the radio: A prominent national Christian broadcaster on his program – “we need to exhort fellow believers.” I asked friends from a Christian radio station to tell me the meaning of the word exhort. One thought it meant to exercise. A friend pointed out that refers to exert. Another thought that exhort is what you do when you know something damaging about someone and you expect payment to keep it quiet – to extort. These were smart broadcasters focused on a Biblical mission, but they didn’t know that exhort means to “strongly encourage or urge”. And if the national broadcaster had said “urge” instead of “exhort”, the message would have been clearer. 

If we’re going to be clear in our communication, we’ll need to consider what our multi-denominational listener – people of all nations . . . and denominations – understand. Clarity and understanding of the Truth is at stake. 

Coming in February: The Top Five Marital Statuses represented among Teaching and Hybrid respondents to the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. You already know not all are married for the first time – we’ll break down how different the respondents are in relation to marriage/life situations. 

 

 

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey heard from almost 11,000 respondents with over one million data points, from three different formats: CCM stations, Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, All-Teaching stations and programs.   

One of the challenges we face and opportunities we have, unlike a church which is focused on one particular denomination, is that our radio stations and programs are multi-denominational. They are heard by people from many denominations. In our nationwide survey, we asked about denomination affiliation. Among respondents from CCM stations, here are the Top Five Denominations:   

How can this data help you?

The first four denominations comprise almost 80%. Of the remaining 20%, 9% are Catholic. The remaining 11% come from other assorted Christian denominations with different ways of worship and different words they use in their worship and ways they communicate with each other.  

For us to reach them and perhaps many who haven’t even given us a pre-set yet, we’ll need to focus on using words and concepts that many or most understand. 

A story to help illustrate. Heard this on the radio: A prominent national Christian broadcaster on his program – “we need to exhort fellow believers.” I asked friends from a Christian radio station to tell me the meaning of the word exhort. One thought it meant to exercise. A friend pointed out that  refers to exert. Another thought that exhort is what you do when you know something damaging about someone and you expect payment to keep it quiet – to extort. These were smart broadcasters focused on a Biblical mission, but they didn’t know that exhort means to “strongly encourage or urge”. And if the national broadcaster had said “urge” instead of “exhort”, the message would have been clearer. 

If we’re going to be clear in our communication, we’ll need to consider what our multi-denominational listener – people of all nations and denominations – understand. Clarity and understanding of the Truth is at stake. 

Coming in February: The Top Five Marital Statuses represented among CCM respondents in the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. You already know not all are married for the first time. We’ll break down how different the respondents are in relation to marriage/life situations. 

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?®  Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats including: Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, All-Teaching stations and programs, and CCM stations.

We asked listeners about whether or not they gave to the ministry that sent them the survey. And to those who gave, we asked about what moved them to make a call, go online or write a check to make a gift. The top five responses from Hybrid station and Teaching station/program listeners are below. These are the percentage who said that reason is “very important” to their decision . . . a “trigger” for their move from listening to giving:

HYBRID

1. Feeling called by God to give 84%
2. I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry 83%
3. Knowing God tells us to support those who minister to us 67%
4. An emergency need at the ministry 37%
5. A story about someone’s life that was changed through the ministry 31%

TEACHING

1. I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry 88%
2. Feeling called by God to give 88%
3. Knowing God tells us to support those who minister to us 74%
4. An emergency need at the ministry 37%
5. A story about someone’s life that was changed through the ministry 26%

The no. 1 and no. 2 responses – “Feeling called by God to give” and “I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry”– are crucial. We recommend that you communicate clearly and often, your mission and vision. Both on-air and off-air. Your listener/donor is passionate about listening and passionate about helping. Help your team understand your why—your mission and vision–and be able to articulate it quickly.

Coming in January:  The Top Five Denominations represented among Hybrid and Teaching respondents in the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. If you believe making your message multi-denominationally and accessible is crucial, get ready to tackle how to talk to all five in ways all of those listeners can understand.

The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?®  Survey talked to almost 11,000 respondents with over a million data points from three different formats including: Music stations, Music/Teaching stations, All-Teaching stations and programs.

We asked listeners about whether or not they give to the ministry that sent them the survey. And to those who give, we asked about what moved them to make a call, go online or write a check to make a gift. The top five responses from CCM listeners are below. These are the percentage who said that reason is “very important” to their decision . . . a “trigger” for their move from listening to giving:

1. Feeling called by God to give 85%
2. I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry 82%
3. Knowing God tells us to support those who minister to us 60%
4. An emergency need at the ministry 36%
5. A story about someone’s life that was changed through the ministry 32%

What does this mean?

The no. 1 and no. 2 responses – “Feeling called by God to give” and “I believe in the mission and vision of the ministry”– are so crucial. We recommend that you communicate clearly and often your mission and vision. Both on-air and off-air. Your listener/donor is passionate about listening and passionate about helping. Making sure that theme is at the center of your giving communication is crucial.

Help your team understand your why—your mission and vision –– and be able to articulate it quickly.

Coming in January:  The Top Five Denominations represented among CCM respondents in the 2021 Why Listen? Survey. If you believe making your message multi-denominationally and accessible is crucial, get ready to tackle how to talk to all five in ways all  listeners can understand.

Want to see more research from the 2021 Finney Media Why Listen® Survey? Visit our RESOURCES PAGE.

Missed last month’s webinar? Watch the REPLAY today.

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