We content and marketing folk, we strut our stuff with borrowed lexicons. Human echo chambers of recycled expertise. With borrowed anointings, we peddle hard facts, theories, and artificial intelligence.
The right to release the next big revelation on our peers and colleagues is ours. I’m particularly good at this when it’s required of me.
We pore over our digital trackers. We marvel at how we’ve optimised spend on Meta and Google (or how much Meta and Google have gotten us to spend). But deep down, there’s a hankering for something more, something that can’t be quantified or calculated. (It’s also why the humans aren’t clicking on your ads as much you’d like, they might be bots)
We search to cure it, watching live feeds of dancing wannabes on TikTok, flooding them with emojis and veiled comments. Grabbing a cuppa joe and scanning an article on the latest RPG, global crisis, or Premier League transfer rumour, ignoring the display adverts (sometimes our own) as we scramble for content that means something.
Perhaps, here at the crossroads of the information superhighway where the detritus of the digital deep forest meets the search for the human soul of storytelling you’ll find something. It’s here, in this unlikely convergence, as you read this online, that I will remind you of a beacon of humanity – radio.
Will the real humans please stand up
Picture this: you’re driving, the digital display of your car’s dashboard or phone display jumps from tune to tune (like your CDs used to), podcast to playlist, algorithm to algorithm (and, yes, those algorithms sure have found me some beauties for my private patio Pioneer sets).
Yet, you reach for the dial, tuning into the radio. Why? Because there’s an intrinsic allure to the airwaves. An unspoken pact of authenticity between the broadcaster and you. It’s visceral. It’s real. And, heck, it’s refreshingly human in a world digitised to the nth degree.
Radio: The antidote to the digital echo chamber
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not here to bash ‘the digital’. Golly, I love digital because I’ve spent a lot of my life doing remarkable stuff with it. But let’s call a spade a spade: the digital world is a cacophony of botic echoes. A hall of mirrors reflecting what we want to see, pretend to be, and not necessarily what we need to hear. Radio doesn’t play that game. It doesn’t echo; it speaks.
It doesn’t reflect; it reveals. It’s the antidote to the synthetic tangle we’ve composed in our online lives. It also makes people more likely to click on your digital stuff by the way, but that’s for chaps with stats. This isn’t one of those articles.
The unassuming maestro of authenticity
Right now I can hear the digital pundits shouting from their virtual rooftops about metrics, engagement, and glorious ROI. “Give us the hard facts,” they’re saying. There’s a bunch of hard facts to prove the efficacy of radio, especially when combined with digital.
My own experience in being one of those digital pundits, speaks to this too. Radio makes humans click. It’s the ultimate Recaptcha. But the heart of the matter, the “soft” that glues it all together, is more than numbers on a screen or impressions in a report. It’s the laughter of a radio host spilling over the morning airwaves.
The solemn silence as a community mourns together on the drive home. The shared excitement as a song premiere unites thousands in simultaneous anticipation. A platform that builds brands better than most others do. That, my friend, is the soft whisper of humanity that radio murmurs.
The storyteller’s medium
You know, there was a time when I was a master of the airwaves, spinning yarns for any and all who’d lend an ear. Why? Not for fame or fortune, not for likes or follows, but for the sheer, unadulterated joy of storytelling. Radio’s the same—it doesn’t boast; it doesn’t need to. Its currency isn’t virality; it’s connection. In the digital age, where content is king, radio remains the humble storyteller. Weaving narratives that resonate with the core of our human experience.
The future isn’t broadcast, it’s felt
So here’s the rub: community managers and digital strategists craft content for an audience they rarely see or feel. Yet, those who understand the soft power of radio know that the true measure of content isn’t quantified in likes or shares. It’s in the quiet moments of reflection, in the knowing nods, in the stories that linger long after the broadcast ends.
The authentic resonance
In a digital era that idolises the artificial, radio stands as the last bastion of the authentic. It’s the raw, unfiltered human voice amid a sea of automated responses and programmed playlists. It’s not about the hard sell; it’s about the soft touch—the shared humanity that resonates through every static crackle and melody.
The human connection endures
Radio, in its timeless simplicity, is the underdog of the media world, thriving in a space where others merely exist. It proves, time and again, that the heart of communication isn’t a metric to be measured, but a connection to be cherished.
While the digital domain expands, radio endures, steadfast in its role as the guardian of human connection. And in this ever-accelerating world of technology, perhaps radio isn’t just human; it’s the essence of humanity itself.
When I was dreaming up this article I revisited a piece I wrote in 2013 called, ‘The Future Isn’t Digital – It’s People’. Written in a time of prodigious Bizcommunity articles (I was in the top 10 most read that year), it struck me how I still believe so fervently in the humanity of media and how under threat it is in this strange and exciting time.
Travis Bussiahn is the programming and content manager at East Coast Radio. With a career spanning over two decades, he has led by example, fostering growth with sleeves rolled up alongside his teams to achieve often record-breaking results. Having worked across a multitude of industries and mediums as a marketer and content expert, he brings to the table a rich tapestry of skills honed across the spectrum of traditional and digital media. Bussiahn is a mentor, strategist, and cheerleader, armed with humour and a mantra that encapsulates his ethos: “Be kind, do good work.”
