While watching HBO's The Sopranos last night - I heard a piece of familiar music (Floyd's "Comfortably Numb") and wanted to find out who recorded it.With my laptop in arm's reach, I typed "Sopranos" into Yahoo search and found something cool: a live real-time discussion board where fans of the show were discussing the developing storyline as the show aired:
That inspired some thinking about how radio chats with its listeners on a near real-time basis through the telephone and email. Do we make it easy for them to get through to the station and ask questions about a song or a station promotion? Do we do what friends do?
A few thoughts: 1) Answer the studio phone. Don't allow anyone to "busy out" the lines or let them ring forever with no answer;
2) Have a studio PC dedicated to email thats always on. Consider a common studio email address to make it simple such as "rock@wqnx.com". Make it the same address for whoever might be on the air.
Respond to emails in a timely fashion. Invite your listeners by promoting the phone number and email address on the air and on your website. Break down the wall. Talk to them. Its what friends do. Its about relationships. You learn what they're thinking. And they might turn you onto something you should be talking about on the air.
btw: The version of "Comfortably Numb" heard on last night's episode of "The Sopranos" was from the "The Departed" soundtrack - link - performed by Roger Waters featuring Van Morrison & The Band.
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