Cell-it … Video hosting for media websites

In general, radio ended last year badly.  I’m not feeling good about the revised ‘08 budgets now reaching the local radio operating teams.  I get that corporate has to pay their debt obligations and show some form of positive profit margin leadership; but, we need CEO and CFO leadership.  Changing formats,  shuffling on-air personalities/management teams, and playing the monopoly radio-property game just  doesn’t address broadcast radio’s fundamental problem … an iPod, iPhone, MP3 Player does a better job of delivering entertainment then a radio station.  Listeners are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for equipment and more for tracks instead of listening for free.

If broadcast radio is just about the music then it’s game over.  Internet radio over a coming Google/Android smart phone on the new 700 MHz wireless data spectrum … wins.  Radio can rebound on fundamental strengths … local connections, local content, community awareness, and incredible 24/7 personal reach.   An iPod, xBox, PSP, iPhone, doesn’t do local.  Google doesn’t do local … yet.    Radio teams are local.  They connect with important advertising sponsors every day.  Radio teams know what’s going on in the community.  They know who has budget to spend.  Radio has local content … they know the buzz, the concerts, events, contests.  When radio forgets to be local then away goes the difference that can save the business.  

We think the radio website is the most underappreciated media asset in the USA.  Radio management all but ignores this valuable tool.  They don’t understand it.  They don’t want to spend any money on it.  They might even be embarrassed by it.   How can everybody make money on the internet but radio station owners?  There are website tools from PromoSuite, CELLit, HipCricket, and others  that can make the radio website a hero.

Visit our business site www.CELLit.com and see how you can get started.

Non Traditional Revenues (NTR) can be a source of 2008 success.  How can you build the NTR business without major investments, new programs, and expensive graphics programs?  We suggest you look to the younger staff and help them apply their creativity.   Generally, one-in-three of your staff under 35 years old has a MySpace or FaceBook page.  Some might have more traffic to their social pages than your radio website.

We suggest you lead with an objective that 30% of your listening audience visit your website once a month. This may not seem like a large objective but it is way above the 5% of listeners we see visiting the average radio website.   Now, help your staff include information that attracts the listening audience.  The regular posting of contest information, special event schedules, concert lists, and program details will dramatically increase your web traffic.

You can help the team stay focused by asking for a daily report of site visitors and page views.  A simple report, everyday, will demonstrate your priority and help the team focus on the objective. 

Building site traffic is the sound basis for stronger advertising performance and business results.

We begin 2008 as a new Inside Radio and Small Market Radio Newsletter sponsor.  You’ll see us in the morning Headlines and the Afternoon Updates.  We promise to keep our messages fresh and helpful.  Nothing gets passed over faster than yesterday’s news.

Working with our initial partners has helped us improve service.  The three most important improvements hold great promise.  The “trusted sender” program recognizes station members and can automatically approve cell phone video, emailed video/pictures, and pc postings for immediate web site display.  The “talent bar” is a new page footer that helps feature contest information, program director picks, and sponsor messages.

New “Channels” allows video and pictures to be displayed as a channel of information.  Visitors can locate contests, local events, morning shows, and any station defined group of videos.  All these features are directly controlled by the station administrator.

Check out the details on our business website:  http://www.CELLit.com

Happy 2008

We are in South Texas and it is easy to notice that mobile phones are very important to Hispanic people.

Until reading the M:Metrics survey about Hispanic Mobile Media usage, it was just a hunch. The research is pretty conclusive that English-speaking Hispanics are the most active, engaged mobile content consumers. Take a look at the chart below.

Working a Hispanic Radio Station and looking for an edge? Incorporate mobile phone video into your website and take advantage of this overlooked opportunity.

#1 in a series of 4

Rule #1 - Follow the consumer they will always lead you to the money.

Rule #2 - When in doubt follow the better clients because they are following the consumer.

Rule #3 - When in trouble follow a winning competitor they are ahead of you.

Rules #4 - If you are following last quarter or last year then you are in trouble. See Rule #1.

$150-billion in audited advertising and the new wisdom says “Local Media” is the next big thing.

So, why are local newspapers and local radio stations not doing so well? It’s not about traditional local geography like a city paper, or a town radio station. It is now about Personal and Local. You can be nationally delivered but if you are personal and local then it works. You only have to look at YouTube and MySpace to see national and personal work.

Local media can find success by getting personal. The tools are available to engage your audience. Supporting industries have invested Billion$ in broadband networks, wireless data services, and consumers have purchased Billion$ in personal computer equipment and powerful cell phones. You can build your cross-platform audience faster and better than the limited niche appeal of general websites. You can grow. You can restore you business vitality. You have the powerful broadcasting tools that no website can ever duplicate.

At Cell-it Hosted Media Services we can help. You can engage your audience in a powerful and personal way using their cell phone camera and your current media platform. Find out more here and at our live demonstration site or contact Randy Peterson or Steve Poley. We can get you started easily, quickly, and in time to be a new force in your digital market.

#2 in a series of 4

Rule #1 - Follow the consumer they will always lead you to the money.

Rule #2 - When in doubt follow the better clients because they are following the consumer.

Rule #3 - When in trouble follow a winning competitor they are ahead of you.

Rules #4 - If you are following last quarter or last year then you are in trouble. See Rule #1.

Nike now has an online build your own shoe program (http://nikeid.nike.com/nikeid_home.jsp). Budweiser just started Bud.TV. Coca-Cola has online music (http://www.weboptimiser.com/search_engine_marketing_news/1826739.html).

What are you doing online? You have the audience. You have the broadcast. You have their attention. What are you doing to build your non-spot, digital efforts?

At Cell-it Hosted Media Services we can help. You can engage your audience in a powerful and personal way using their cell phone camera and your current media platform. Find out more here and at our live demonstration site or contact Randy Peterson or Steve Poley. We can get you started easily, quickly, and in time to be a new force in your digital market.

#3 in a series of 4

Rule #1 - Follow the consumer they will always lead you to the money.

Rule #2 - When in doubt follow the better clients because they are following the consumer.

Rule #3 - When in trouble follow a winning competitor they are ahead of you.

Rules #4 - If you are following last quarter or last year then you are in trouble. See Rule #1.

We all have revenue targets and budget projections to manage. Just delivering last year is hard and to get better seems impossible. There are organizations delivering growth. So, learn and compete.

Newspapers with business vitality have surging digital platforms. Interestingly, the more digital programs the better the general market performance. Imagine that cross platform effect really works!

Local Cable Franchises are building out their cross platform products. Even the local Comcast and Time Warner sales forces are stepping up their cross platform digital efforts. http://gesterling.wordpress.com/2007/01/03/what-will-comcast-do/

Other radio broadcasting organizations have major digital programs underway. CBS Radio works to bring content to all websites. (WSJ-Online paid subscription … Can CBS put Net in the Network? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117910437825901533.html?mod=djemTMB . Clear Channel launched a 12-city new “MySpace” like social program. (See “Can Clear Channel Clone MySpace?” http://www.antimusic.com/dayinrock/07/may/01/13.shtml )

At Cell-it Hosted Media Services we can help. You can engage your audience in a powerful and personal way using their cell phone camera and your current media platform. Find out more here and at our live demonstration site or contact Randy Peterson or Steve Poley. We can get you started easily, quickly, and in time to be a new force in your digital market.

#4 in a series of 4

Rule #1 - Follow the consumer they will always lead you to the money.

Rule #2 - When in doubt follow the better clients because they are following the consumer.

Rule #3 - When in trouble follow a winning competitor they are ahead of you.

Rules #4 - If you are following last quarter or last year then you are in trouble. See Rule #1.

Last year 2006, the entire radio industry just managed to hold advertising revenue even. A strong 4^th quarter with election spending and a big holiday season made the year. No election spending this year unless early Primary spending come in the 4th quarter. Competition from satellite, new HD program lines, iPods, and the constant IM streams on data cell phones and Blackberries are all taking the audience’s attention. Then there is the growing out-of-home Wi-Fi access cutting into listener time.

Non-spot revenue gains are showing real promise. They are still small. Every leadership team has to make a strong show here because general revenues are so weak.

A perfect answer would be a new non-spot program with added revenue that helps rebuild the listener base. It should build on the listener’s interest and take advantage of new computer connections and mobile devices now in their hands.

At Cell-it Hosted Media Services we can help. You can engage your audience in a powerful and personal way using their cell phone camera and your current media platform. Find out more here and at our live demonstration site or contact Randy Peterson or Steve Poley. We can get you started easily, quickly, and in time to be a new force in your digital market.

Want to know where the business is going? Follow the money. What to know where the money is going? Follow the consumer.

If the entertainment or information is personalized, socialized, rated, shared, tagged, freely commented, fast, and on a 24/7 schedule the consumer is headed your way followed by all the biggest ad budgets you can imagine. 

Management is looking at last year’s revenue and needs more. Energy costs more, taxes are higher, competition is tougher, and the consumer changes. Are you changing with consumers? Use to be you could count on drive time to be there or steady daily subscribers. Now there is satellite from above, HD from beside, iPods from everwhere and a 24/7 world that cycles every minute.

Sponsors and ad managers direct their spending to the consumer. To compete, you need to build, improve, socialize, and make your online media component interactive and immediate. One-way broadcasting is less than last year and still lower in the future. If you don’t improve then Google will make sure this is a one-way road out of business.

Want to make your one-way broadcasting relevant? Then make it two-way. Interact with your reader or listener. Let them add their perspective. Let them join your community. Respect their opinions. Let them share with a friend. Let them rate and categorize. They will let you join their lives again and give you a bigger share of their time if you let them engage a two-way, personalized way.

At Cell-it we host user-generated media for radio and newspaper media web sites. We provide the listener and reader a path to join your community, to contribute, to share, to be included, and to interact. We provide the social tools so a simple cell phone camera beats an iPod every time. We bring local video content to your media package. We make you relevant again. We can do it in one afternoon. Check out our live demo site: http://whfm.cellit.us or check out the business presentation on this blog.

You can be more relevant, more important in your audience’s life. You can engage more consumers and earn more of that media planner’s budget. Or, let Google show you the other way.

Google 1^st quarter revenue surged ahead 63% from last year to $3.7 billion.  That is hard for any media organization to not feel threatened.  Google took in $1.5 billion NEW media spending that went somewhere else last year.  Was it your media company?

Lots of Non-Spot activity already this week. 

Clear Channel Rolls Out a Social Network  See a good review at PaidContent.org.  Social nets will be managed by local stations as will Non-Spot ad sales.  Initial stations also listed.   User-gen content could deliver a lot of page views and new ad inventory for local CC sales teams.  Not to be outdone, Yahoo teams up with Comcast to sell national ad on the cable company’s site.  More importantly, Comcast’s 3,000-person sales force will bundle internet ads with cable TV spots for local ad buys.  

Aggressive media companies are not standing by for Google to take the next $Billion in media spending.  Clear Channel and Comcast are leveraging local sales forces and new technology.  What is your organization doing? 

At Cell-it we provide a complete hosted user-generated video package.  You can be on-the-air in one afternoon.  Leverage your own audience before someone else does.