I was in Milwaukee during the WBA Summer Conference for one-on-one digital strategy sessions with a number of Wisconsin broadcasters. I met with general managers, sales managers, program directors, and digital directors. Over and over again, I heard from people who faced the same challenge: How to get their colleagues to buy in to the importance of digital media as part of their station’s overall strategy.
Sometimes, people were trying to sell the importance of digital upward: getting their bosses on board. Other times, they were trying to sell it vertically: teaching long-time airstaff to embrace new digital tools or convincing salespeople to include digital components in the packages pitched to clients. Yet just about everybody was trying to get somebody in their building to embrace digital.
Here are some things I do when trying to bring other people – especially those who are not particularly digitally inclined – on board:
- Use language they are familiar with.
At one point in my career, I worked for a company in Silicon Valley that seemed to have its own language. The employees would constantly throw around acronyms in their daily conversations. As somebody who was new to the industry at the time, I had a very hard time keeping up. I spent half my day trying to figure out what everybody else was saying.
The digital world is filled with big words and phrases that can be intimidating. People who don’t stop to consider whether or not their audience is familiar with the terminology they are using are, frankly, rude. When I work with clients, I try to use words that everybody understands. If I have to use a daunting term like “Search Engine Optimization,” I make sure that I stop to explain what it means, and I pay careful attention to the faces of the people I am talking to. I don’t hesitate to repeat the definition a few times in conversation. When you’re asking for buy-in from your colleagues, make sure you’re not alienating people with the language that you use.
- Find goals everybody can agree on.
I’ve worked in half a dozen radio stations and at every one, the relationship between the sales department and the programming department has had friction. That’s because these two departments are judged by two different goals: Programming is evaluated based on its ratings, while sales is judged based on its revenue. Sure, 80 percent of the time, these two goals go hand-in-hand (higher ratings means more advertisers), but 20 percent of the time, they do not. The programming department would love to go commercial-free, while sales department would like to run 60 commercials an hour! So, they’re left to hash out the difference and sparks fly.
Don’t recreate this issue when it comes to your station’s digital strategy. The danger here is we can measure far more data points than we could two decades ago, from “likes” and comments to clicks and retweets. But don’t assume that just because you can measure something, it’s important. Instead, collectively identify and agree upon the digital metrics that are most important to your station. The most obvious goal? Revenue.
I encourage stations to create a list of digital data points that matter and post it in a place where everybody can see it. By explicitly spelling out the station’s digital goals, you’ll have a much easier time getting buy-in.
- Take things off of people’s plates.
Every station that I’ve ever talked to is understaffed and overworked. So instead of just focusing on the additional tasks that I’m asking people to take on, I also make a point of helping people prioritize. My assumption is they won’t have the bandwidth to do everything, so I want to help them focus on the things that will have the most impact, and let them know which things they can leave on the back burner for now. If your station doesn’t have the resources to get to Snapchat immediately, it’s not the end of the world. Most broadcasters are relieved when I tell them this.
- Set the bar low and raise it slowly.
I view the act of implementing digital change in much the same way I view the act of dieting: If you demand results overnight, you’re not likely to see them, and people are just going to get discouraged. Instead, break everything down into small tasks and repeat those tasks until they become habits. Don’t move on to the next task until the previous habit has been firmly established. Slow but steady progress is better than shooting for the moon and missing.
- Identify your champions.
Some people are going to embrace digital change faster than others. If you expect everybody to come on board at the same time, you’re bound to be disappointed. Instead, identify the early adopters and encourage them. Give them the resources they need, even if they’re not the highest ranking members of your staff. Once other people in the building start to see somebody having digital success, they’ll become more motivated to make similar changes.
Make no mistake, getting digital buy-in from other members of your team can be difficult and, at times, frustrating. It will take a lot of patience. But with the right attitude, you can bring people around.
Seth Resler, Jacobs Media
The WBA Digital Hotline is a free service of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. You can get your questions answered by Jacobs Media at 248-353-9030 or contact Paul Jacobs at Paul@jacobsmedia.com.
