When you send in your demo to a radio station, one of the MOST IMPORTANT things you should do is make sure you KNOW. YOUR. AUDIENCE.
Let’s paint a picture.
You’ve landed a gig on a radio station that’s aimed at the target demographic of 40 and upwards. You’re on-air and you’re going to be talking out of ABBA into an ad break. The topic you’re covering is what happened during the latest episode of Love Island. How long do you think it will be before people start to turn to a different station, the numbers drop and the boss gives you your P45?
Right, I understand it wouldn’t be as brutal as that – but crazier things have happened!
If you’re serious about wanting to be a radio presenter, one of the most important things you need to do is listen to the radio station you want to present on.
What do you think you could bring to the station? How creative can you be? How well do you think you would fit into their schedule? Could you hold the listeners attention between the songs?
Like the graphic points out, would your granny want to know about Love Island? Of course she doesn’t. More often than not your granny/mum/dad/uncle/
That topic would be more suited to a radio station with a target demographic of 16-30 & plays the latest Ariana Grande and Post Malone tracks.
This is where Radio and Podcasting are two totally different mediums.
If you’re starting a podcast, GREAT. You can sit and speak about any topic you like because you will more than likely be aiming for a particular audience, but if you’re wanting to get that job in radio, you NEED to understand what the listeners want, what they respond to best and why this appeals to them.
Main points to remember are;
– Listen to the station you want to be on
– Take their target demographic into account when you’re preparing your demo
– If you get a slot, research the content you want to use carefully & make sure it’s appropriate for the listener
– Use your common sense