Radio Station street teams have been a crucial component of radio stations’ marketing strategies for decades. On the programming side, we frequently deploy them to engage with listeners at concerts and festivals. On the sales side, promotional appearances are often an important part of closing deals companies like car dealerships and beer distributors.
When the street team rolls out to these events, they invite listeners to play games, from spinning the age-old prize wheel to more modern fare like Dropmix. In that moment before our promo staffer allows a listener to partake, we have an opportunity to ask them to do something: “You wanna win a t-shirt? To play, you first have to ________.”
Years ago, we might ask people to fill out a slip of paper with a golf pencil and stuff it into a cardboard ballot box. But then some poor intern has to decipher the handwriting on those slips of paper and enter them into a database. In the digital age, there are more effective uses of your promo staffers’ time. So what should you be asking listeners to do at on-site promotions? Here are some possibilities:
Dial **(starstar) and your station-id to promote your radio station.
Although they’ve been around for a while, StarStar Mobile phone numbers haven’t yet penetrated the mainstream radio. They work in a manner that’s similar to a text message keyword, except they’re easier because they use your phone as a phone. For example, somebody might dial **WKRP. This will connect them to a customized voicemail greeting where they can use voice commands, and will also send them an SMS message with links to various destinations that you set. At the moment, only a handful of radio stations are beginning to experiment with this technology, but it offers a lot of potential for broadcasters.
By employing clear, concise calls to action at on-site promotions, your street team can offer a big boost to the station’s digital strategy. Gather your team and figure out which of these calls to action make the most sense under different circumstances.