Category: Radio

97.1 The Eagle Returns to Rock Your FM

If you're like me, you have trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. There's so much work to do, and balancing of job, family, fitness, and fun. So I've been relying on 97.1's 24/7 Christmas music to keep me focused on celebrating the season.

I'm flipping through my preset stations in the car today, and suddenly 97.1 FM doesn't sound so Christmassy anymore. In fact, it sounds a lot like a rock n' roll station. In fact, it sounds A LOT like The Eagle reborn. In fact, it is.

For those of you whining about the lack of rock on the radio in Dallas / Fort Worth, your prayers have been answered. Tune in to the all new 97.1FM The Eagle…. just don't ask me to listen with you.
Will.I.Am and the Black Eyed Peas Take On the World

Will.i.am, leader of the Black Eyed Peas, called in to the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning show today. He called from Korea, where the band is on an unbelievably comprehensive Pepsi concert tour. Tour locations include Korea, Kazakhstan, Moscow, Poland, China, India, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico City, and at least ten other countries worldwide.

During the phone interview, Will discussed the upcoming release of his new album, "Songs About Girls", scheduled for release September 25, 2007. The Peas' new single, "I Got it from my Mama" is now available online.

Will disclosed to Kidd Kraddick that his mentor is Michael Jackson. Will is helping Jackson out on his newest album. Will was the driving force behind Fergie's solo debut album, which they recorded on a bus during the Black Eyed Peas "Monkey Business" tour.

From a marketer's perspective, it was fascinating to hear Will.i.am's take on the current state of the music industry. Kidd Kraddick asked Will about his goals for the new album, which brought up the subject. While the last album sold some 15 million copies, Will admits that the same standards cannot be held in today's consumer economy. While he didn't outright mention iTunes, it can be assumed that online music stores such as iTunes and free file sharing website applications like BitTorrent and LimeWire have completely transformed the music biz landscape.

Will says he no longer measures success by the number of albums sold, (since millions of fans will go online and buy singles only or download illegally) but instead he is participating in a new concept gives the fan/user the power to make money off of the Black Eyed Peas new album as an affiliate marketer.

A new media player will be available for download that each person can place on their favorite social media sites (MySpace, Hi5, Facebook, Blogger, etc). This player will allow visitors to purchase and download the songs directly from the player widget, and the person who posted the player receives a percentage of the sales profits.

It sounds like a brilliant way to take thousands of fans who would normally download for free and turn them into entrepreneurs who will actively seek to help spread the gospel of Will. Of course, with the record will only appeal to a certain demographic, but this could mark a new business proposition for dozens of labels in the future. Imagine if the most popular MySpace profiles sell thousands of music downloads from hundreds of artists. Social media suddenly takes on a new face. The competition would be fierce, and social media marketing efforts would intensify as the average joe enters the fray and attempts to compete for music download dollars.

But Will is the face of the new thing. Put the power of affiliate sales (think Mary Kay) into the hands of the people, and see how far the people can take your business. It is very likely to work only in a limited number of business verticals. Of course, people are already making money from affiliate advertising/sales. But turn the widgets into mini emarkets and you have a million little stores everywhere, all competing for the same market. The oversaturation would eventually be the cause of its demise, but an intelligent marketing strategy could put the power of sales or increased eshop products into the hands of a select few (a thousand or so) successful sellers. Limit the number of people who can sell so that the widgets/players/stores don't become so common that people ignore them just like banner ads.

A lot of potential here. It will be interesting to see how this concept develops, and whether the music industry jumps on board to save itself.
3 Highly Effective Methods for Reaching Kidd Kraddick Fans Online

It's been a while since I offered Kidd Kraddick both online marketing and blogging advice. Now is a good time to back up those initial tips with a few extra methods of online promotion that the #1 morning radio show in America needs to execute in order to grow the brand online.

As a side note, I started using a Mac notebook computer since my last post about the KKITM show, and discovered to my dismay that the "Listen Live" option does not appear to function properly on the Mac. It opens the same window for a media player, but instead of listening to the remainder of the show as I still can on my Dell, the Mac plays a repeated loop of the show every five minutes. So I only get to hear 5 minutes of the show without closing the application and restarting. This is apparently only an issue with my laptop, however, since a coworker of mine said he's listened to the show on his Mac with no problems. So I'll put that complaint on hold while I investigate my laptop settings.

My issues with listening live online drove me to these additional online marketing recommendations. These are predicated on the assumption that there is an audience to be had out there that cannot listen to part or all of the show each morning due to work restrictions or radio/internet availability. Here we go.

Number One: The New and Comprehensive Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show Blog
Cover all topics including funny quotes and pics in each day's post. The blog can be posted to hourly/twice an hour during the show for people who are not allowed to play music/radio out loud or listen to headphones but still have access to the Internet.

***RSS Feed Bonus***
Assuming the blog is built on a WordPress platform (non-negotiable, must-have for maximum usability), The show blog comes equipped with at least one automatic RSS Feed. For workers who cannot be seen logging in to Kiddlive.com or any other website that looks cool or fun, the RSS feed can be read in various formats and through various feed readers, which the user can select according to their work needs and preferences. This RSS feed puts the regularly updated show posts into their feed reader so that they can select the time frame they missed and catch up with only the info they haven't accessed yet.

Number Two: A Double Opt-In Daily Email Update
Some readers might not have a clue about RSS Feeds or might not be able to access non work related content online. A sign-in form on the KiddLive.com website would allow people to register for email updates that can be sent to either their personal or professional email addresses. The email would be formatted in rich text only and HTML in order to reach all audiences successfully. Daily email updates summarize the day's show (providing either brief summaries or exact copies of the blogs that are already written online) in a format that everyone with email access at work can enjoy at their own convenience.

Kidd Kraddick benefits from this process as well by cultivating an extremely targeted list of email addresses. The show can sell a couple tasteful ads to be posted on each email and thereby add another potentially lucrative stream of revenue. It goes without saying that an email marketing campaign such as this must follow email best practices guidelines including a one click unsubscribe option at the bottom of each email and providing legitimate subject line titles. An additional bi-monthly email list can be cultivated via sign-up which sends more advertisements/schedule updates/concert announcements/etc to those who opt in for it.

An additional monthly email would be sent to all subscribers containing a poll and requesting user feedback on how to improve the effectiveness and enjoyment of the KKITM email updates. This is an essential part of effective customer relationship management, allowing the users a voice to help tailor the product towards their needs.

Number Three (Optional): Full-Fledged Transcript of Each Show
While most people will not take the time to read a full transcript of 4 hrs of talk each day, A full-fledged transcript provides the added benefit of natural search engine optimization (SEO). This means that the more content you preserve from the show, the more phrases you can rank for in the search engines. This third option is labeled "optional" simply because it competes to some degree with the Show Blog recommended in #1. Some of the content would obviously be duplicate, which some search marketers will warn against.

The overall concept here is twofold: a complete transcript allows for natural optimization and will drive at least a trickle of search traffic to the website, thus creating the opportunity to gain new listeners and extend the fan base; the extensive content also provides hundreds of opportunities for text link ads. I know of an ad company or two who would go crazy buying text link ads on the Kiddlive site. It's not a lucrative ad revenue model, but it is a stream of revenue and traffic generation which could likely be implemented using a voice to text transcription application so that the majority of the process is automated.

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The beauty of interactive marketing (Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Blogging, Email Marketing, etc) is that it is customizable to the user. Nowhere else does the user have as much power to help create the ultimate entertainment experience. Organizations like the DFWIMA (DFW Interactive Marketing Association) exist to help corporations understand the interactive marketing industry and to excel in said market.

Radio, television, and print ads are the traditional form of marketing revenue. While they are still essential for branding (building brand awareness in the minds and social lives of the public), they are completely untrackable. This means that advertisers cannot measure the results of their campaigns. They can tailor a campaign towards a specific market at a specific time, but the results of the campaign are completely immeasurable. Email and web-related ads, however, are completely trackable. Track ad impressions, click through rates, and user feedback to hone your ad campaigns and generate more ROI.

Radio shows are missing out on millions of interactive advertising dollars due to the lack of comprehensive online presence. Each stream of online marketing is valuable because it reaches people the others can't, while simultaneously providing real-time analytics (measurable results) in most cases.
Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, and Good Charlotte In Concert Friday

That's right, for all you Kidd Kraddick in the Morning listeners, hurry up and get your tickets for this Friday's KISS Party concert. It's August 3rd at Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie (between Dallas and Fort Worth on I-30 and Beltline). The concert features Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, Good Charlotte, Baby Bash, and Paula Deanda!

In addition to the stellar lineup of artists, this year's concert hosted by 106.1 KISS FM will feature Kidd's top 4 contestants for the front of the line American Idol tryouts pass will be performing in front of the 6,000 person audience and one winner will be selected to go straight to the front of the line at Texas Stadium for this year's Dallas/Fort Worth tryouts.

The lines for American Idol tryouts will open two days early. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people will be waiting in line to try out. One of these four talented singers will be able to jump to the front of the line and avoid the wait. Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show will undoubtedly track the winners (and probably the runners up) as they try out. Who knows? One of Kidd's contestants could make it to the big stage!

Let us know if you plan on going to this year's KISS Party concert!
Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Needs an Online Blogger / Web Personality

This post was planned since Monday, so despite some interesting recent events, I chose to go ahead and post it today. After further reflection, it is apparent that Kidd Kraddick in the Morning is lacking a designated show blogger / web personality to boost the show’s online reputation. With four hours of live broadcast each day and hours of show prep afterwards, it’s rather obvious that none of the show’s cast has the time to be that full-time web voice. Between show, prep, special appearances, and living a real life, your team is already spent. Hence the reason why everyone doesn’t blog every day and it can take days for regular fans to get a KISSNATION or MySpace response.

Keep your social networking site profiles going. By all means, keep responding to fans as much as possible. Obviously, I don’t know everyone’s job description on staff, so I hope I don’t step on anyone’s toes with these recommendations. However, despite the fact that your show is syndicated on 55 radio stations across the country, there is still sizable room for growth, both on the air and online.

These names may not mean a lot to the less than web 2.0 savvy folks out there, but Matt Cutts and Vanessa Fox are perfect examples of what is needed for KKITM. Matt Cutts is the most popular face of Google. Vanessa Fox also performed this function on some level for Google. Robert Scoble did something similar for Microsoft back in the day. These two, especially Matt, have been the extremely successful faces of the two most important search engines of this decade. While all the SEO professionals out there debate on what Google is doing to rate the value of each website page, Matt and Vanessa keep their employers in good standing with the public. They attend conferences and schmooze with the thousands of search marketers out there. Their jobs are extremely important. They make huge corporations accessible to the little man.

KKITM needs an online personality, someone who blogs about the show each day, not just summarizing, but also adding their own opinions of the day’s show and other related topics. It provides a steady expression for the show without falling into the trap of seeming overly structured and stiff (i.e. micromanaged by the company). It’s that humanity which is so popular on the air, and carries over extremely well in many corporate ventures online. Heck, with all their success and acquisitions, Google must know what they’re doing, right? Granted, both Matt and Vanessa’s blogs are located outside of the company website. I think this lends a greater air of free expression and credibility to the individuality of their stated opinions. You don’t come away thinking that they’ve just parroted their boss’ boss’ boss.

Radio and web fans would have the opportunity to engage this online personality all day. Experience proves that blogs and websites with blogs retain more repeat visitors when they engage each customer comment and question. It’s that priceless human touch which makes a listener/reader feel like an active part of something bigger than themselves. Listeners/readers who enjoy engaging with a company become loyal visitors and brand evangelists. Positive reputation spreads by word of mouth and the listener’s own blog comments.
Those are my two cents for today.

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For those of you who missed Good Charlotte in concert this morning at Texas Bar & Grill in Las Colinas, check out the podcast on iTunes or the Kiddlive.com website. It was a fun time. I made my third visit to the show, and saw the whole morning crew plus Kinsey and Billy the Kidd hangin’ out.

The brothers from Good Charlotte had a good set and answered some questions from the 100+ early birds in the audience. All in all, it was an early morning well spent.
7 Things Kidd Kraddick Needs to Do Online
Kidd, now that I’ve got your attention, we need to talk about what you need to do to maximize your online presence. There are 7 things you can do to RAWK (6 of them are quick and easy):
1. MyBlogLog – Joining this blog community has multiple benefits. Each member can upload a photo or icon to represent him or her which will be posted on thousands of blogs nationwide every time you visit. Some blogs even have functionality which posts the photo/icon when you leave a comment. This is obviously valuable as it lends credibility to your comments (proof that you’re leaving the comment and not some random Sanjaya impersonator – sorry, Taylor!) It is also an excellent way to network, generate interest among bloggers (tip: bloggers are some of the most dedicated commentors), and add cool guest photo functionality to your own site.
2. Gravatar – A gravatar is an icon/image of yourself similar to what I mentioned on MyBlogLog. Since you have a Google Alert set for your name, Kidd, you should connect your gravatar to your email account so that every time you post a comment on a blog equipped with gravatar recognition, your photo will appear beside your comment. This will make the blogger feel special and promote your brand at the same time.
3. Twitter – This is the future of celebrity promotion, Kidd. Guys like Jason Calcanis (founder of Weblogs, Inc. and now head of Netscape) and Robert Scoble have been using Twitter since its inception. You can use your AIM, cellphone, or Twitter website to post comments about what you’re doing. The KKITM crew should use this when they go out to clubs, parties, weddings, vacations, etc. to keep the KISS fans connected. Just post something once or twice a day to keep the fans happy. Twitter is especially effective for celebrities, because they will automatically have fans who want to know what they’re up to. An added benefit of Twitter is that you can post a box on your blog or website which checks for your latest Twitter updates every time the page is refreshed. This means that users who visit your blog can not only read your latest thoughts but check in to see what you’re doing throughout the day. Quite a few people are also using Twitter to promote products, websites, etc.
4. del.icio.us – Bookmark cool articles, blog posts, and websites, so that your fans can read what you like. This is also a great way to promote your advertisers, local bands, local bloggers, fans, etc. There are a dozen other places you can do this, but del.icio.us is the most popular.
5. FeedBurner – I’m going to talk about the current level of suck that your team’s blogs epitomize in a second, but once we’ve covered that, you desperately need to add RSS feeds to your blogs. This gives your fans the option of subscribing to your blog feeds and checking in more often to see what you’re blogging about. Trust me, you’ll see an increase of readership with an RSS feed from FeedBurner.
6. WordPress – Now, back to your blogs. I know you’re a radio show, but you DO have blogs. Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. Your blog structure is pathetic. Comments are not attached to each post. Posts have no titles except dates. Do you use any kind of blog software? It looks like you guys just type something up and have some computer guy throw it up on the site. It’s unattractive, boring, lacking in any special abilities (like WordPress plugins and widgets), and it screams “we have no idea how to use the Web!” That might sound like a harsh statement, Kidd, but I promote best practices regardless of how they will be received. You absolutely need WordPress for your blogs and RSS feeds attached. Taylor at least has a cheesy Blogger (blogspot) site, but even that is subpar compared to what you can easily get for free elsewhere (i.e. the most wonderful awesome WordPress).
7. KiddLive – Kidd, this website is not appealing to the eye, Again, I say this because I want you to know (in case your webmaster/designers aren’t telling you) the true quality of this site. What’s wrong with it? 1) It’s not usable (find out more about usability and usability testing); 2) It’s unattractive – you desperately need a better site design – you want to look like the cutting edge morning show that you are; 3) your homepage is ridiculously long – throwing up your newest info at the top and pushing everything else down works okay for a blog; 4) usability says most everything in one word – navigation is too small and the drop down navigation is awkward – i could go on.
8. This is a bonus – if you don’t use web analytics, add them to all of your sites ASAP! Google Analytics is free and with the new interface is quite helpful (plus with their acquisition of FeedBurner, you will likely soon be able to view RSS subscription stats on Google Analytics as well). If you want “professional grade” analytics, get Index Tools. You need web analytics to tell you where traffic is coming from, where they are going, and how successful each part of your website is. You’ll learn all kinds of geographic and demographic information as well.
As a search engine optimization and online marketing specialist, I know of which I speak. I tell you these things because someone needs to tell you that your brand suffers because of your online presentation. Your website could be radically transformed by a good SEO-friendly web design team and a content management system that allows a non-web savvy person to easily add content and new pages to the site.

Take my advice, Kidd. If you follow these seven steps, you will begin to see a difference online very quickly. Once you’ve taken these steps, There are deeper levels of tips I can give you to hone your blogging and online message.
My First Impression of Kidd Kraddick In the Morning Studio

In a random chain of events, Mystery SEO and I happened upon the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Studio. Our office is located in the same building as the Studios of Las Colinas. I took Mystery SEO to Texas Bar and Grill for lunch by the canal yesterday. After eating too much, we walked around to see what else was going on in the area. I’m walking by these office windows when I see Shout Out! written on a piece of paper taped to a window.

With KKITM on the brain these days, I instantly thought of JC and Kidd Kraddick’s morning show. Peering into the dark windows, I saw nothing. Ten feet further on was a door with Kidd Kraddick in the Morning printed on the glass. Seriously? How did I not know that Kidd and the gang were this close? I always pictured them out in the middle of nowhere like Denton or Gainesville.

I woke up this morning at 5:30 (radically early for me), and wrote a blog about the Wall Street Journal’s article on reputation management. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I showered and dressed and headed for Las Colinas. I showed up in my infamous yellow long-sleeved shirt. It’s the same shirt I’m wearing in my DanielthePoet photo online.
I was a little surprised to actually see the morning show crew live and right there in the window. Big Al was chillin’ in his plaid shorts and flip flops, lookin’ like he’s ready to hit the beach. Kidd was hopping around the studio because he got his foot butchered at the doctor’s office yesterday. JC looked a little younger than I expected, but he’s got this easy going playful attitude like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He also was the one who looked outside the most, as if to see if we (the people outside) were laughing at the same things. Kelly was a surprise. I expected her mannerisms to be a little bit more stern and motherly. She actually has an endearing cuteness about her that caught me by surprise. Taylor had her back to the window the whole time, and only turned around to wave at two girls in the audience. She seemed down to earth, and less frilly than I expected. Shannon was the biggest surprise of the group. She wasn’t nearly as strange looking as everyone’s comments suggested. She’s a cute girl who could use a little more morning cheerfulness.

Honestly, looking at everyone, they look a little less thrilled than I expected, as though their Starbucks subscription just expired. They looked like they need a caffeine injection, but you couldn’t hear it in their voice. Maybe it’s just what happens when you do a radio show for years. They turn it on when they need to, but they don’t force it.

Good first impression. Maybe I’ll check them out again soon.
Kidd Kraddick in the Morning For Best Morning Radio Show

Kidd Kraddick In the Morning is one of the most popular morning radio shows nationwide. It’s syndicated all over the place. I find myself flipping between Kidd and the ESPN morning show with Mike & Mike. The sports guys aren’t as entertaining as Randy Galloway, but they’re also not as annoying as Dale Hansen, so I give them a listen from time to time.

But I usually spend more time on 106.1 KISS FM and the Kidd Kraddick In the Morning show. They have a broad range of personalities, from Kelly and Big Al to JC, Taylor, Psycho Shannon, and, of course, the fake Kinsey.

The show is always entertaining. I’m amazed at the quality of the show, considering how many hours per morning they have to fill. I expected them to get to a point where there’s just nothing new to say. Granted, they’re not often covering deep and meaningful topics. It’s more like a Seinfeld episode of haphazard topics and jokes. Each person on staff has to make their life an open book, which is how they have enough material to keep the show rolling.

I’m just grateful that Kidd and the gang are around in the morning so that the pathetic Lex & Terry (102.1 The Edge) show isn’t the only national ticket in town. Talk about dirty old men with raspy smokers voices and nothing but sex on the brain! The few times I’ve actually tried listening to their show, I felt like I need to bathe afterwards.

Kidd Kraddick in the Morning has my vote for best morning radio show, period. Now if only Kidd would listen to me when I tell him which artists are going to be huge!