Public media is under more pressure than ever before. From the lack of federal funding, fractured trust in news sources to the accelerated consolidation of commercial media…the list goes on.
After years of working with public media stations on their digital and marketing strategies, I know that the crisis isn’t only financial but it’s also a messaging problem. Stations aren’t struggling because people stopped caring about honest, community-accountable journalism and unique music formats. They’re struggling because most people simply don’t know what public media stands for and that’s a messaging problem worth solving.
The Missing Piece in Reaching a Younger Audience Strategy
If I had a dollar for every time a station told me one of their top goals is reach a younger demo, I might be able to fund a few pledge drives!
Platform matters and there are features and channels that can get you in front of a younger audience. But what typically happens is that stations invest in a platform and skip strategizing about the message. They show up on Instagram or TikTok and post the same content they have always made, just reformatted and that doesn’t tend to convert.
The data tells us that Gen Z has been widely identified as the most purpose-driven generation in recent history. They are actively looking for causes to get behind. They care about social impact, ethical accountability and equity…and they make decisions about where to spend their time and money based on whether an organization’s values align with their own.
Public media is a perfect match for that. But stations have to say so – clearly, consistently and in language that speaks to a new audience, not just the one already tuned in.
Your Content Strategy is Already Written, Now Use It Correctly
Everyone who works within a station already knows what makes public media different. Listener-funded, no advertiser influence, community accountable, local-first approach, music discovery and mission that’s mandated, not marketing copy.
However, from my perspective, those differentiators are living almost entirely inside the public radio bubble. The unique characteristics and benefits of public radio are included in grant applications and pledge drives, but not in the everyday messaging and content that a new audience, and particularly new audiences, can understand.
Each of those unique characteristics and benefits can be their content pillars. A content pillar is a repeatable, ownable topic that can fuel edutainment content across every platform that informs a new audience while continuously reinforcing your mission to the audience you already have.
There is another pillar outside of those listed above, that most stations are leaving completely on the table: the people behind the mic! A largely untapped messaging resource are the hosts, producers, and staff who live in and are accountable to the communities they serve. Gen Z doesn’t trust institutions, they trust the humans who represent it. Transparency delivered by your hosts is one of the most powerful and underleveraged content opportunities in public media right now. For years I have been advising stations to use staff as their own “influencers” to make your audience feel more connected and in turn more loyal. With the state of public media (and media in general), this is no longer an option but a requirement.
3 Messaging Mistakes That Stunt Stations’ New Audience Growth
- Preaching to the choir – If messaging about your station’s role in the community only lives on-air, then only your current audience is receiving those messages. That content needs to be customized for and distributed on other platforms to reach people who have never tuned in.
- Confusing frequency with strategy – Consistency of posting is important but the message is the most powerful part of the equation. Consistency of disciplined messaging matters more than consistency of volume.
- Keeping the mission internal – Stations talk about their mission constantly, in staff meetings, in grant applications, in pledge drive planning. But that language rarely makes it into everyday content in a way that a new, younger audience would encounter and connect with. The mission must be baked into the content strategy, not only mentioned during fundraising.
A great example of this notion comes out of Milwaukee’s NPR News station WUWM that recently launched a campaign called “Yours. Truly.”. The campaign was developed around one central message: “Nobody owns us… but you.” The campaign doesn’t promote programming, it makes the station’s ownership structure and business model the entire story, running across billboards, social and on-air. It turned a topic most stations treat as internal context into a public-facing identity which is going to attract just the kind of people you are wanting to attract.
Cause Marketing
Cause marketing isn’t new and it’s something public media knows well. When people understand why an organization exists, not just what it does, then they self-select in and become advocates, not just consumers.
Public media has one of the most compelling “why” stories in all of media because it is independent, community-funded, accountable to listeners and not shareholders, and built to serve, not to profit.
Every piece of content is an opportunity to reinforce what makes public media different. That throughline is what builds an audience that stays, gives, and brings in others, which is the ultimate goal. Continued audience adoption = long-term sustainability.
Building a New Public Media Through Messaging
Building a new public media doesn’t mean getting on the latest platform or a new posting schedule that ensures you’re posting 5 times a day. It starts with a clear, consistent message plan about what public media is, why it exists, and why that matters right now more than ever.
The audience is out there! They are purpose-driven, value-aligned and looking for someone to trust.
Leave A Comment