Blog Post

Lessons Learnt: Running Your Own Radio Station

With trepidation, and ten seconds to go before the computer clock turned 1100, we pressed “Play” and Shout! Digital Radio was broadcasting. And actually, for the one day we were on-air, it went really well.

All our content for the six hours we broadcast last Friday (12th April, 2019) was pre-recorded and I think that was the right decision. It meant that we could edit down and air the very best content from the amazing line-up of speakers who joined us. I have a background as a radio and television journalist, which involved umpteen (sometimes heart-stopping) live broadcasts; but, for Shout! Digital Radio, there was reassurance in knowing all the interviewees were there – no one was going to be lost because of technology or on account of them going to our old studio address!

Shout! Digital Radio was a way of reaching out to our clients and potentially new clients – a marketing tool. We were never going to get the attention of RAJAR (the organisation that measures radio listening figures on behalf of the BBC and commercial sector) in terms of our audience reach. It was more about how we used the content, before and after our broadcast.

I felt, particularly on LinkedIn and Twitter, there was quite a buzz about what we were doing – as far as we know it was the UK’s first ever radio station focusing purely on PR, so it was a bit different. Several thousand people read our posts and saw the programme schedule ahead of time and the Listen Again stats so far have been encouraging.

In terms of lessons learnt, we should have prepared the content earlier – so it was available to be used on social and on our own website. But, the last minute motors we are, that didn’t happen. We are however in the process of turning the interviews and panel discussions into all sorts of things: podcasts (which will sit alongside other podcast series we’ve produced about broadcast PR – go to iTunes and search for Shout! Communications); blogs for our website and we will offer to other PR related sites too; clips for Twitter; also content for our bi-annual newspaper Shout! Out.

So, is this something you might think about commissioning for your company or clients?

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