ASIA

Content from BPREach week I view websites of radio stations in Australasia, North America, South Africa, the UAE, the UK and other English-speaking countries as part of BPR’s monthly Website Check Up.The one thing I continually notice is the vast difference in websites……. overall quality of graphics & content, user friendliness, current v out of date content etc.Have a look at your station website and then those of your competitors and other stations in other markets.Are they doing things better, things that are innovative?Here are a few tips on how to audit your website:
Is the site visually appealing? Does the overall look and feel sit within your station’s brand image? Or is it stale and like many network sites, a bit “one size fits all”? Ensure all images, audio, videos and social media make your website more engaging and interesting.
Is it mobile-friendly? If not, make it so! Your website must be easily accessible and readable on mobile devices.
Is website speed optimized? Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix issues that are slowing down your website and making it more difficult to navigate.
On that point….is your site easy to navigate overall? Organize your website’s content in a logical and easy-to-use structure. So many sites do not!
Is the language clear & concise? Make sure that your website’s text is easy to read and understand. Check for typos and grammatical errors…. trust me, I see them all too regularly.
Keep content updated and relevant. Seems like a no-brainer but so many times I see contests that have finished but are still live on station websites. Is the current on-air line-up actually current?
Finally…. do some research. Use analytics to track user behaviour and make data-driven decisions for improving the website. Conduct user testing and gather feedback to improve user experience.
By David Kidd, BPR […]

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and WorldDAB are organising and hosting the forthcoming DAB+ Digital Radio -Technical Workshop ‘New developments in DAB+ systems’.This series of online workshops will begin on Tuesday July 18, running through until Thursday July 20.This technical workshop will provide broadcasters and other media professionals with an update on the latest DAB+ developments. It will be structured in three parts:Day 1 will focus on the business case and includes a review of the latest standards updates, a discussion on balancing broadcast, IP and 5G distribution and an update on the German project to integrate the DAB+ Emergency Warning feature into their national emergency warning system.Day 2 will focus on how to get started with DAB+ with presentations from industry leaders on the latest DAB+ system features and implementation options. A panel session featuring international professionals will discuss the ‘Initial steps’ to establish DAB+ digital broadcast radio.Day 3 will move on the DAB+ network design and implementation of best practice, discussions on the role of small-scale DAB+ and will conclude with a panel session were established network providers discuss the requirements and methods used for “DAB+ measurements and monitoring”.Register here. […]

Content from BPRIn one of our recent BPR perceptual studies, we tested listener understanding of the term “objective news”. As it turned out, respondents defined objective news in a variety of different ways some of which were consistent with news industry expectations and others which were not consistent with normal definitions of the term.When it comes to news, listeners tend to define “objective” in a variety of different ways. In the study, we were surprised to learn that almost 90% of listeners consider commentary and personal opinion as objective, especially if it reinforces their own views and beliefs. Almost 2/3 of respondents said that humour and satire also qualify as objective news. Of course, “just the facts” ranked highest but the fact that a large percentage of listeners defined objective news in startlingly different ways suggests that the term really has little value in our modern day media environment.These results raise the question as to the way we define and promote our news and information programs.So how do we promote our news and information programs? Here are some possibilities.
Promote local news – Localism has always been one of radio’s assets. Local news, weather and traffic reports define local information.
Promote news as it happens – One advantage that radio has over television and newspapers is the ability to report a breaking news event as it happens. Some programmers are afraid to interrupt a program to insert a news bulletin but the act of doing so makes a powerful statement.
Explain the story behind the headline – Sometimes it is necessary to explain a news story in terms that the listener can easily understand. Subjects such as the economy or government legislation are often difficult for the average listener to digest.
Promote local sport and public events – Nothing says local better than a story about a home town sport team. Forget about objectivity. When it comes to sport, root for the home team!
Offer commentary – Yes, listeners are interested in opinion but only when they feel that they can trust the “expert” expressing that opinion. Promote the expert’s qualifications but also give the listener an opportunity to express their own agreement or disagreement.
News and information have always been a part of broadcast radio. To abandon news and information is the first step toward becoming irrelevant.By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonTime flies when you are having fun! And we in radio, have fun. Because we are half-way through this year, we only have 6 months left to hit our revenue goals for 2023. Are you on target? Are you ahead of projection? Perhaps it is time to review some “best practices” for meeting and exceeding our goals.How we spend our “billable hours” daily will determine whether or not we reach our goals. Reaching goals, or not, determines our paychecks. Unlike attorneys or accountants or doctors, we don’t bill clients for our time. I’ve often thought we should, but nevertheless, we have only so many hours in the day. They must be spent productively if we are to succeed. It’s not enough to be “busy”. We must be productive.What activities should we be doing daily?Every day: X number of new calls. How many calls the number X represents depends on where you are in your tenure as a salesperson. Are you tenured, carrying a large list of clients? Then perhaps making 4 or 5 new calls each day will be enough to cover any attrition and grow your list. If you are just starting out and have very few existing accounts, 15-20 new calls a day will not be too many. It takes a lot of “suspects” to end up with enough good prospects that result in orders.Every day: Appointments should be scheduled to do Customer Needs Analysis meetings. Ideally, that would be four meetings a day, but I’d settle for two. Two needs analysis meetings daily would probably result in one presentation.Every day: Ask for money! Be in the position to present to one or two clients. These presentations are NOT for small dollar, short- term sales. They are for larger, long-term sales. Long-term sales are the only way to build a base of business that prevents you from starting over each month. Plus, consistent advertising is better for our clients. They can’t reach their goals by short- term ad bursts either!Every day: Take care of your existing clients by providing extraordinary service. Define what “extraordinary service” means to each one. Then, make sure you do it! Find ways to go above and beyond. Surprise them. This will cut down on attrition and provide you ways to upsell them along the way.Every day: Spend some time “sharpening your saw.” Whether you read, listen to audio books or podcasts, grow yourself. Learn new things. Keep up with business trends. Invest time in increasing your skill level.Every day: Make sure those paperwork tasks we all love to hate get done. Keep your forms flowing correctly. Keep your workspace organized. Your internal staff will thank you. They might even bring you cookies!Every day: Plan your day. Work your plan. Don’t wing it. Think strategically. Prospect strategically. Work strategically.How we spend our billable hours determines our success. Ultimately, no matter what type of daily planners or CRM you use to please your boss, YOU are responsible for your success. You must use self-management. No one is looking over your shoulder 8 hours a day.Say it together, “If it is to be, it’s up to me.”There’s time for a course correction if you need one. Doing so will put the next six months on track for a successful conclusion to 2023.Happy selling and happy planning! […]

Asia-Pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development (AIBD) and TVRI hosted the 18th Asia Media Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on May 23 and 24.The summit is an annual event for all media broadcasting agencies in Asia Pacific to share their thoughts on broadcasting and information.This year, the forum was themed “Media Enhancing Economic Sustainability,” wherein Indonesia encourages the role of media, especially in the Asia Pacific, to contribute to a sustainable economy.The event was inaugurated by Indonesia’s Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and more than 500 representatives including decision makers, media professionals, intellectuals, and news and program stakeholders from Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America attended the conference.Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn delivered a special address on “Epicentrum of Growth” at the inaugural ceremony of the summit.In his remarks, Dr Kao highlighted that ASEAN is increasingly being seen as the epicenter of global growth. He also underscored the immense potential of ASEAN and the valuable opportunities for media to expand its viewership by amplifying awareness and driving discussions on sustainable economic development among the people.The participants also released a declaration paper titled ‘Bali Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)‘, in which leaders of the AIBD member countries pledged to undertake various steps to face challenges triggered by spreading of wrong, misleading and false information through the social media. […]

Early bird registrations to this year’s Radiodays Asia conference, September 5 & 6 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, end on July 1.More speakers have joined the line-up for Radiodays Asia and the inaugural Podcast Day Asia including:Mae Mariyam Thomas – Presenter, podcast producer, journalist, entrepreneur and voice over artist from India, with over a decade of experience in the radio industry and 5 years in the podcasting space.  In 2019, she was chosen by GQ magazine for their 50 Most Influential Young Indians.Gregory Warner – Host and creator of Rough Translation, named a top 10 podcast by the New York Times in 2021.Khairy Jamaluddin “KJ” – Radio and podcasting announcer.  Together with Johan, Fara Fauzana and AG, he hosts Hot FM’s breakfast show, Bekpes Hot on Malaysia’s number 1 radio station.Guy Perryman MBE – Award-winning British radio broadcaster, voice actor, DJ, event producer and writer, on the air across Japan on InterFM. Guy was appointed MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for services to British music in Japan.Register here for tickets. […]