Shed Geek Podcast

The Radio and Shed Connection: Daniel Mullins Talks Marketing

• Shed Geek Podcast • Season 5 • Episode 29

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While many businesses have abandoned terrestrial radio for social media promotion, they're missing a crucial audience. Mullins, a third-generation broadcaster whose grandfather was posthumously inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, explains how local radio creates something social platforms can't: genuine personal connections. "When they're listening to the radio, it's a one-on-one conversation," he explains, describing how live, ad-lib endorsements from trusted on-air personalities drive customer action.

Host Jared from Dayton Barns and All Steel Buildings shares firsthand experience with radio marketing success. Their partnership with Real Roots Radio has connected their shed and steel building business with an ideal demographic: landowners 35+ with disposable income. Daniel shares a remarkable story about listener loyalty—how one man drove across multiple counties to patronize three different businesses he heard advertised on their station.

The conversation also explores the rich "Industrial Strength Bluegrass" heritage of southwestern Ohio, where Appalachian migrants brought their musical traditions when seeking manufacturing jobs post-WWII. This cultural phenomenon has created fiercely loyal radio audiences who value authenticity and community connections.

Ready to expand your marketing beyond the digital realm? Download the Real Roots Radio app or tune in to their network of six signals across southwestern Ohio. And mark your calendars for the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Summerfest, July 17-19 at the Greene County Expo Center, where you can meet the team from Dayton Barns and All Steel Buildings while enjoying performances from Grammy-winners and Opry stars.


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This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: J Money LLC

Shed Geek Marketing

Jared:

Hey guys, what's up? This is Jared, with the Steel Kings podcast coming at you with another episode. I am going solo today, but I'm going to bring in a special guest here in a couple of minutes. Eric is out on a job site so he is out working this week, but I am here with you. We are going to be interviewing a special guest today, a really good friend of mine. We have known each other 10, 15 years at this point. We've done some business together. We've had some fun times together. We are going to get into it here. We are going to be talking to Daniel Mullins. He is a host and a special guest for us today. He is with WBZI Radio in Xenia, Ohio. They are Real Roots Radio. I'm not going to waste any more time. I'm going to go ahead and bring in Daniel to the Steel Kings podcast here today. Daniel, how are you doing today, my friend?

Daniel:

I'm doing great Thanks for having me on the Steel Kings podcast here today, Daniel. How are you doing today, my friend? I'm doing great Thanks for having me on the Steel Kings podcast Jared.

Jared:

Yeah, man, I've really been looking forward to this. As I said here just a couple seconds ago, we have been friends for a long time. We have had some good times, we've run around together, we've grown up together. Really, we've both watched each other go in directions you on the radio, me here with Steel Buildings and Wood Sheds and other avenues over the years, but certainly finding my groove here in the woodshed and steel building industry. Tell us a little bit about you, man. Tell us where you come from. Tell us a little bit about Real Roots. Tell us about Daniel.

Daniel:

How's that? Oh man, that's a big question. I'm Daniel Mullins. I work here at Real Roots Radio. I'm actually a third generation radio broadcaster. My grandpa, Paul Moon Mullins, was a beloved on-air personality for 45 years. He's also a great bluegrass fiddle player as well for 45 years. He's also a great bluegrass fiddle player as well and he's actually was posthumously inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame just a couple years ago for his work both on the fiddle but especially his legendary bluegrass broadcasting career. He didn't just play bluegrass music but made a huge impact in that genre.

Daniel:

My dad, joe Mullins, is a banjo player and a broadcaster as well on radio. So, I kind of followed in their footsteps, been on the radio Gosh, I think this makes 15 years, which is kind of hard to believe. So yeah, I am from a small town called Cedarville, Ohio. It's kind of between. It's not far from Dayton I know we have Dayton barns and all steel buildings. It's in the Dayton area. It's in the Miami Valley. It's in Southwestern Ohio, kind of between Cincinnati and Columbus. I guess you could say but yeah, my father started bought his first radio station in the mid 90s after he and my grandpa had a successful touring bluegrass band for many years. Around 95 he bought wbzi in xenia and the lord's blessed him over the last 30 years. Hard to believe it's the 30th anniversary of him taking over that endeavor, um, but uh. It is grown into a network of 3 AM signals, 3 FM signals and a popular app and online stream as well. Collectively, our radio network of WBZI, wkfi, wedi is known as Real Roots Radio, so you can check out realrootsradio. com and download the free Real Roots Radio app. You can take us on the go on your smartphone or tablet. You can even ask your smart speakers now to play Real Roots Radio, which is pretty wild.

Daniel:

So I've been on the air for about 15 years. My first program was on Sunday nights, 10 pm to midnight just that bustling time when everyone is tuned in 10 pm to midnight on Sunday. So I was on at that time for a reason, but it's been a great time. Now I'm on in the AM. Now I'm on 10 a to noon every weekday playing music and then host a fun call-in show as well after that. So yeah, it's been a wild ride.

Daniel:

And radio is a unique market medium. It's really personal, really intimate, um, but uh, as Eddie Stubbs would say, the legendary uh radio broadcaster on wsm out of Nashville for many years and operate announcer for many years before he retired. He told me when I was in college. He said, son, being a country music disc jockey, it's kind of like being a typewriter repairman there's a demand but not like there used to be. So, it's been exciting to kind of see how we have evolved over the last several years to break into new markets and new mediums and try new things and see them grow with what we do in radio.

Jared:

Well, I think that brings up a good topic here. So, if you're listening to this podcast, you're obviously in the shed business, the steel building industry. You are wondering why am I interviewing Daniel? And I think really, what I'm bringing to the table today is an example of what we do at Dayton Barns. So, for those of you listening for the first time, I'm one of the owners Eric's, the other owner and operator of Dayton Barns and all steel buildings. We do this podcast, and I want to give a quick shout out to our headline sponsor, the team over at J money. They will give you all the financing help that you can use in the home improvement space. They will help you out with your sheds, your metal buildings, whatever you need. Contact the team at J Money. They are happy to help you. Joel, Katy, the whole team, we really appreciate them.

Jared:

Being the studio sponsor for the Steel Kings podcast, I can tell you from my point of view, networking your business to the next level requires effort. Right, Daniel and I think that's where Daniel comes into play with Dayton Barns and All Steel Buildings comes into play with Steel Kings is that we utilize advertising services with WBZI, wkfi and WMedia, and we've done that now for I'd say a little over a year. I mean we. So one of the things, one of the things that we do locally here. So, we're in Urbana, we're probably about 35 minutes North of where Daniel is in Cedarville, and then another maybe 10, 15 minutes North of Xenia where the radio station is, and then another 25 minutes South. We go to Wilmington where we work together. Daniel puts on a great show. The team over there at Real Roots they do the industrial strength bluegrass festival in November every year and that is a big time. We like to go there, great show. The team over there at Real Roots they do the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival in November every year and that is a big time. We like to go there and have a good time.

Jared:

Last year we took I don't know five, six sheds. We had them parked all over the place. They gave us plenty of room, gave us plenty of opportunity to advertise our business and I can tell you, if you're sitting there and again, call to action, right, I give you guys a call to action every week. If you're sitting in a small market and you're wondering where your customers are, maybe a good time to check with your local radio station. There are still a lot of really good local, curated radio stations out there, real Roots Radio being probably our best local radio station to really target our.

Jared:

You know, Daniel brought me a nice media packet. You know, even the smallest of radio stations have a media packet. They can walk you through exactly who, what, where, why, all the how behind, who's listening to the product. And then those customers of theirs who listen to their content then become customers of yours and I can tell you firsthand as an advocate for small market radio and really I'm cutting them short they have an online platform that gets out to thousands of listeners across the United States. They have a following that is much bigger than I'm giving them credit for, and that's why I'm bringing them to the podcast today, because not only do I want to give them a platform to maybe talk to you guys, maybe give you an opportunity to advertise, but also just call to action to say contact your local radio station. They're still out there and there are a lot of people who still listen to terrestrial radio, am FM, and get all of their drive time listening to somebody like Daniel. What?

Daniel:

do. You see, and you're so right too, because radio it's such an intimate form of media consumption where the host or the on-air personality like myself, my dad or any of our great team here they're speaking directly to that listener. That's pretty unique. Radio is still. I know that, of course, smartphones are great's great. I mean, I love my apple music, don't get me wrong and I listen to tons of podcasts, uh, but the most likely medium that someone is going to listen to in their car is radio. Like period it's. It's still number one for what they're going to flip on when they're in their car is radio also, um, I have to get the exact stat the average person still spends thousands of hours of year listening to the radio specifically. Um, so that is still, uh, it's still a great endeavor to a great space to inhabit if you're looking to connect with customers and connect with clients.

Daniel:

And one thing that we do that is different than your larger kind of clear channel radio networks like an iHeartRadio or something like that, where Ryan Seacrest is heard in 50 states, which is great, good for him. One thing that's unique that we do is, because you mentioned, check with that local radio network. They're going to be plugged in with the community. They're going to be able to speak to your customers directly in your area and in your backyard, and their backyard probably needs a shed or a steel building. So being able to have someone that can speak to them directly makes a huge difference. And steel buildings it's a niche market. Radio is a niche market as well, so finding where those can intersect can make a huge difference.

Jared:

I can tell you we've talked about this a lot on the podcast over the last few episodes about building relationships and maintaining those relationships. Daniel and I met, probably through your dad yeah Gosh, I would say it's at least 15 years ago. I think he had just started on the radio, something like that, and at the time I was really getting back into bluegrass. My family was really into bluegrass music growing up and I had left the back into bluegrass. My family was really into bluegrass music growing up. I had left the genre for a while but Daniel and I connected as kids. Really we were youth at that point, really just getting into our grooves Daly and Vincent, Doyle, Lawson and Quicksilver, a lot of the bands that I grew up on and still follow to this day.

Jared:

Daniel helped me make connections at a young age. They, you know, obviously had him at the festival and stuff like that. And we've built this relationship now where, in tandem, our business interests now intersect and have created this really good relationship. And I think that you know, for those of you that are listening, that are thinking, well, you know radio, you know it's kind of old school. I can tell you, Daniel came to our grand opening event at our Brookville lot last year and we brought in I don't know 25, 30 new customers, most of which, some of which were actually listening to the broadcast live and went out of their way to stop just to say hi.

Daniel:

And for folks that don't know where their Brookville location is, that's the destination, right, you know.

Jared:

That's right.

Daniel:

It's hardly in a bustling metropolis here where people you know it's not next to a Chipotle or anything. That's right. That's right. Yeah, they went out of their way to go there and it was a we got a gas station.

Jared:

We got a gas station across the street, so we sit at a major intersection.

Daniel:

It is a major intersection.

Jared:

Let me give you this shout out from a customer standpoint to Daniel what I love about small market radio is that when they plug us, yeah, there's some canned stuff in there. You know, hey, check out the guys at Dayton Barns and also Billings. But I can't tell you how many times I've been listening to the radio live and heard your dad go into man. You know, those guys are at Dayton Barns and also and they give you this like rallying cry that is straight from the heart, straight from the hip these guys are live in the studio broadcasting. And you know, for those of you who are in the Ohio area, for sure, if you listen to Bluegrass music, you've heard of Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers. You have heard of Daily Invencing, you've heard of WBZI Radio and that's who we're with today is Daniel from WBZI Radio. Daniel, give the audience a little bit more on our background. I think that people underestimate. They really underestimate how much a relationship can grow.

Daniel:

Yeah, you mentioned those relationships and before I dive into our relationship, that's one thing that radio brings to the table, particularly folks that do it the old school way, that have those live personalities in the studio. That it's not all. Just you know, canned programming is we as the on-air personalities serve as the conduit or the introduction for relationship between our clients like Dayton Barns and all steel buildings and our listeners, no matter where they're at, who they are. Our relationship with our listeners in turns kind of helps build a relationship between our potential customers for y'all. When we can tell folks, hey, if you call Jared at Dayton Barns and All Steel Buildings, he's one of us. He listens to Doyle, Lawson and Daly and Vincent and knows what you're talking about. That right there automatically is a huge touch point. That's one thing that made my papaw on radio so successful when he first came to the Miami Valley of Ohio.

Daniel:

Miami Valley of Ohio, southwestern Ohio, had a lot of manufacturing jobs after World War II, and not just Dayton and Cincinnati but places like Middletown and Springboro and Fairborn and Hamilton and there was an Appalachian migration that's been studied by sociologists ever since then of people coming from the hills and hollers of Kentucky and Tennessee and West Virginia and moving to places like southwestern Ohio but also places like Detroit and Pennsylvania, to find good paying factory jobs. So, they didn't have to work in the mines or work in the fields and they thank goodness, they brought their music with them, created a bustling bluegrass scene in some of these pockets. Southwestern Ohio's bluegrass connection is referred to as industrial strength bluegrass because they came for the industry but they brought their bluegrass and it had that kind of edge to it. A lot of great historic recordings from great bluegrass stuff like Flat and Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Breakdown was recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the same studio that Hank Williams recorded I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry, and everybody knows that one. So it created these media markets as well.

Daniel:

And when people started figuring out trying to connect to these homesick hillbillies instead of just looking down their nose at them as they had been want to do with these strange people that talk different and had different customs coming to their communities, once people in media started figuring out how to connect their businesses to these folks, it really made a big, big difference. And so when Papaw started on the air at WPFB in Middletown, him being able to tell folks, hey, you know so-and-so at this car lot is from such-and-such holler in Kentucky and are different sorts of jargon to connect and continue to build those relationships I mean, people still talk about it, yeah, that's, that's where it goes. I mean being able to to have those relationships. You know, you and I.

Daniel:

You started attending our bluegrass festivals with your, your mom to see folks like Daly and Vincent and Doyle, Austin and Rhonda, Vincent and the Graskills and the Cherry way, um, and it even, uh, it even was really cool in um, I guess it was 2011, maybe 2011. Uh, you guys, uh, the international bluegrass music association's big annual award show, a business conference, was in Nashville and you guys had mentioned something about maybe being interested in going to the award show and dad just so happened to have an extra pair of tickets next to he and I, so we gave them to you and your mom.

Daniel:

And it was a really fun experience. The Ramblers were even nominated for an award that evening. They were kind of just starting out on expanding their music nationally. So yeah, ever since then, you know, it's always been great. We've had similar tastes in music and always got along, you know, not just brothers in bluegrass but brothers in Christ as well.

Daniel:

So always have a great, uh, faithful conversations and uh, so, be, able to when you had the opportunity to work with Dayton Barns and all still buildings. It was just at first, I think it. It worked out great for you to come bring the sheds, just so you had an excuse to come to the festival and get paid to do it. I think right yeah yeah, yeah, it was.

Jared:

You know we started off with and again, this is how things grow right. We started off as a single booth space and Daniel did a really good job of getting us plugged in, getting us a really next level spot, and then from there it was. We went back again. We kept seeing success, we sold a couple of buildings and then from there it was like, well, you know, why don't you guys try out actual get on the radio now. And I got into that. You know. I want to give a quick shout out and plug Industrial Strength Summerfest coming up. It's going to be July 17th, 18th, 19th at the Greene County Expo Center in Xenia Rhonda, Vincent, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, the Malpass Brothers, the Graskills, many more coming to you. If you are in the market for a couple-a-day trip, you might have went to the MAC. I think this is a really good replacement for the MAC. The Green County Expo Center is a beautiful place to be. It is a great place.

Daniel:

It's an easy drive right off of 35, not too far from basically 35 and 68 kind of intersection there, 35 and 68 across in Xenia. So yeah, if you're traveling Route 68, it's just a half mile, maybe I can tell you, I can tell you Great camping facilities there.

Jared:

Yeah, Dayton Barns and all still buildings will be there. The Steel Kings, myself and Eric will probably make an appearance at the Industrial Strength Summerfest July 17th 18th and 19th at the Green County Expo Center, industrialstrength. com for folks that are interested.

Jared:

Yeah, there you go man, yeah, and I want to touch back to what you said because if there is anybody listening that's interested in learning more, there is an industrial strength book that has an outline of Southwestern bluegrass history. There's also an album that your dad helped curate that won an IBMA award for musical event of the year. Is that it?

Daniel:

actually won a couple. So the album was released. Industrial strength bluegrass Southwestern Ohio's musical legacy was released actually by the Smithsonian back in 2021.

Daniel:

Okay, and it's celebrating the bluegrass history of Southwestern Ohio by bringing not just folks and hall of Fame legends connected to that legacy but also some of the top music makers of today who were influenced by the music that came out of this region. So the project is fantastic. It features Vince Gills on there, Leanne Womack, the Graskills, Dahlia Vincent, who we have mentioned a few times, Rhonda Vincent's on there, Mo Pitney Mo Pitney's, great country music maker, the Isaacs, the Oak Ridge Boys, joe Mons and the Radio Ramblers, Doyle, Austin and Quicksilver, Jim Lauderdale, high Fidelity I mean the list goes on and on. Great project. It won album of the year in 2021. And I had the opportunity, in addition to album of the year in 2021. And I had the opportunity to being an assistant producer on the project, to write the liner notes for the original album.

Daniel:

And then the album was so successful that the Smithsonian Folkways team wanted to do a expanded vinyl edition, which was really cool. It was released last year and what they did is it's a two LP set I should have. I'll have to snag it over here, maybe show it to. Is, um, it's a two LP set, um, I should have. I'll have to snag it over here, maybe show it to you. I see it, I'm looking at it on the shelf but it's got, it's a two.

Daniel:

LP set and features um some archival recordings of some of the original artists, of folks that were connected to the bluegrass scene in Southwestern Ohio. Features a recording from Larry Sparks and from Dave Evans, from Red Allen and the Allen brothers. There's a recording of the hot mud family on there and the boys from Indiana, the traditional grass. It's a really cool project and so, with the expanded track selection and with the kind of legacy that had transpired since the album was released, they wanted me to do some expanded liner notes for that project and those received liner notes of the year honors last year at the IBMA Awards as well. Ibma is International Bluegrass Music Association.

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Jared:

Yeah, man, I have been so impressed with what you've been able to do in really branding your family's history alongside of the history of Southwest Ohio bluegrass and then tying in so you guys have actually gotten kind of the stamp of approval from the state of Ohio. You know WBZI and these music festivals have become a focal point for the state.

Daniel:

Yeah, the success of the music festivals has really been noticed by Ohio tourism. Our Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festivals have won IBMA Bluegrass Event of the Year twice. The festivals themselves have been going on for over 20 years. They were originally known as the Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival. Once we kind of passed COVID and with the excitement of the Industrial Strength Bluegrass book that was released by University of Illinois Press and the Industrial Strength Bluegrass album from Smithsonian's Folkways, we decided to kind of capitalize. Covid was a little risky but it is paid off. So Thursday, Friday and Saturday that the state of Ohio tourism has been a great partner in presenting our festivals and on our network as well, letting folks know that Ohio really is the heart of it all so they can visit Ohio. org and learn about all sorts of great experiences available when folks visit the Buckeye State, sorts of great experiences available when folks visit the Buckeye State.

Daniel:

We've had visitors at our festivals from dozens of states, multiple foreign countries. I know just in the last few festivals we've had people attend from Alaska and Spain and Las Vegas and all over Texas. We have a huge contingency that comes from Canada. So yeah, we've had. We've had people from Asia. So yeah, it's a. It's a really unique time. It's a. It's a great, first class event. This will be our first outdoor festival this summer, so everybody needs to come out. So, it's a rousing success because we're really excited about it.

Jared:

Yeah, again, July 17th, 18th, 19th at the Green County Expo Center. I can't stress enough to you. So, Daniel, one thing about us that you don't know and I think I might've told you offline but we service a lot of the Plain community, a lot of those folks that you know Amish, Mennonite, things like that. This is music that's going to be right up your alley too. These are, you know, these are very welcoming family-friendly events. These are very welcoming family-friendly events. A lot of gospel music. Majority is going to be bluegrass, obviously, but we get into some country and stuff like that too. But I can tell you, if you're considering a trip this summer July 17th, 18th and 19th there's camping, there's plenty of lodging nearby, you're close by to Dayton, you're close by to plenty of attractions make it worthwhile. Stop by the Green County Expo Center for the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Summerfest brought to you by the guys over at Real Roots Radio. I can tell you, man, we have had Just this past festival.

Daniel:

We had a family of. I'm not sure if they were Amish or Mennonite so I can't say specifically, but yeah, we've had a lot of Amish and Mennonite visitors in the past that have enjoyed our event Because it is family friendly, because there is a great combination Of bluegrass and country and gospel. One thing that's great, too, on bringing the family Is kids 16 and under are free and young adults 17 to 25 Get in half price with a with a valid student ID. So, uh, we want we want people to come.

Daniel:

We want people to bring young people and I'll tell you one more thing about the youth too, that we have excited to present over the recent years, if we, if we have increased some programming for youth, we have had partnerships with dollar partners, Dolly Parton's imagination Library, where some of the different entertainers or friends of the festival will read storybooks to kids and make memories that have lasted a lifetime. You know Rhonda Vincent's in her big shiny pink dress, grand Ole Opry star sitting down on the floor with the kids reading them. A storybook ago where he had Annabelle Smith, who was about six or seven, kind of host, a Q&A, where only the kids could ask Ricky any question that they wanted, which was really generous of him to have that time with the youth. But yeah, we want people to bring their kids and grandkids and a great facility like Green County Fairgrounds and Expo Center. They have great camping. It'll be a lot of fun.

Jared:

That's the best part about working with you guys and getting to know you guys better over the years. You know from a personal level to a business relationship If you guys are considering working with someone. I never knew to which the extent that Daniel had his tentacles out into the world. I never knew how widespread you know, at the time it was classic country radio, wbzi, it became Real Roots Radio and now it's this generational movement with industrial strength and they're tying in all these avenues of things that you know for me. If you look at me, you are not thinking he listens to bluegrass music.

Jared:

But that's the thing about me and Daniel is we don't just listen to bluegrass, we listen to country, I listen to rock, I listen to rap, I listen to all of it. I don't find much music that I don't find to be fulfilling to me. I like it to be wholesome, I like it to be a little bit, you know, clean. You know in nature. I'm not into anything that's derogatory or anything like that, but I can tell you the guys over there at Real Roots it's going to be a big time. I can tell you we're going to have a blast. We'll be out there. Daniel, tell me a little bit about what you do for your customer, meaning somebody like me. When you bring somebody in, how do you explain radio advertising? Because I want to tie that into as we finish up. This time I want you to give me a pitch and I want you to give the listeners a pitch on what radio can do for them and for their business.

Daniel:

Well, to harken back to something I said earlier, we can help build that personal connection with the listener right off the bat. When they're listening to the radio and they're listening to us speak, it's a one-on-one conversation and we our most effective form of ads, are live ad lib on air endorsements. There were it's kind of a lost start. There's not a lot of radio stations that do those anymore. They are out there though and they are the most effective, like when you're listening to and a great example though. And they are the most effective, like when you're listening to and a great example is. And they don't do them to the degree that we do. But so people kind of have a little bit of an idea. You know, when you're listening to a ball game on the radio and the announcer will take the time to, in the flow of the game, mention a sponsor. That's one level. We take it to another level where it's not just a quick mention sponsor. That's one level. We take it to another level where it's not just a quick mention, it's a personal endorsement or pitch, introducing folks to the people that run the business or telling them about their products or services. My papaw was the master at those. He had so much personality in the commercials that there were people that would tune in to his program just to hear the commercials because he made them that memorable. And that's something that we can do, you know. We can make them memorable to where they stand out and you're thinking about them later.

Daniel:

But one thing that's great is, in addition to being able to communicate your message to our audience, in a niche market like Bluegrass and Classic Country, which that's what our network specializes in, we do have a lot of clientele that either aren't on social media or, if they are, they're not on social media nearly to the degree of other folks, and that's for us, as far as for advertising, that's our biggest competitor, honestly, is social media? People say well, I can just spend money with Meta and XYZ. Well, it's not the same. It's not the same, it's not that personal connection, and there's a whole world of clients out there that you are not reaching if you're only focusing on one media stream. It needs to be part of a plan, like a part of a comprehensive plan. I'm not saying nothing against running social media ads, but if that's all you're doing, you're really missing out on a lot of customers out there that aren't using that medium, that aren't on that platform, aren't using that medium, that aren't on that platform.

Daniel:

The other thing I can tell you, though, is the average amount of times you need to see or hear a, or connect with a message before you make an action, before you go to their website, before you give them a call, before you click on something. The average number of touch points before something happens is seven, okay, seven. You're going to need to hear a message, or see a brand or whatever, seven times. So two things. One, in addition to reaching people that you wouldn't be able to reach on social media by being on radio, we can help you run your social media ads more effectively, because we are helping people get to that seven touch points quicker. Someone hears it on the radio and then sees it on their social media stream. What do you think? Are they going to be more or less likely to keep on scrolling or click your ad?

Daniel:

So, um, in a nutshell, that's some of the perks that radio particularly done the live way, full of personality that's one reason you've probably heard me use the term on air personality more so than disc jockey. Disc jockey implies that all you're doing there is is playing records, and that's not what we're doing. We're an on air personality. The emphasis on that personality, which is that unique text, that's what separates us from listening to just like Spotify, is that there is a personality there that is connecting with the audience, that you have a relationship with and that can tell you about the song you're listening, provide some context, talk about why they like it and also talk about how terrible the Reds played or whatever. So being able to have that personal connection is really important and that's one thing that, just like our relationship, would foster into a business relationship. It's the same thing. Our relationship with our audience helps, fosters business connections all over the Miami Valley and beyond.

Jared:

I can tell you. I want to add one thing to what you said and one thing that I've learned with advertising on the radio, specifically with WBZI. I can tell you what my core customer is a landowner who is probably 35 years old plus that has a little bit of money or a little bit of a monthly income that they can burn on a wood shed or steel building. Most of the people who are listening to this know steel buildings are very often a desire more than a need. They're a want more than a need. Same thing with a shed. Sheds are a little bit more commonly a need than a steel building. But certainly we are very infrequently going to be working with someone who absolutely has to have what we sell. We need to be in a disposable income type of situation and I can tell you the curated content and do your research. You're going to know who your top radio stations are in your area. If you're working with somebody, like Daniel said, on Clear Channel or iHeart, more power to them. They're a big national conglomerate. They do millions and millions of dollars in advertising and sales and all that not taking anything away from that.

Jared:

But these are on-air personalities who are giving live testimonials. They're talking about what's going on outside. Hey, it's raining here in the Dayton market today. Make sure you grab an umbrella while you're at it. Check out the guys over at Dayton Barns and All Steel Buildings. They'll help you out with your sheds. They can ad-lib on the fly and I've heard them do it and I can tell you we have reaped the benefits from curating a relationship with our what I would say is the best small market regional radio station in our area.

Jared:

Going away in an industry that is changing every day, the more plug and play you get with Spotify and Sirius XM and Apple Music and whatever else is out there, this is something that think about your core customer, that 35-plus-year-old that drives a late model Chevrolet Malibu and has an AM FM radio and no Bluetooth with connections, and that's what we are targeting when we work with the guys over at bzi um. I want to give one more shout out. I want to, first of all, Daniel, thank you so much, man. I'll add something to you real quick if you don't mind. Give me something, give me, give me something you mentioned.

Daniel:

you know the difference between working on someone like a, like a niche radio format or small market local network yeah, like real rich radio compared to something like clear channel or something like that. And I think when we talked about this, when you mentioned having me on, if you're trying to hit a target, you know we are the difference between trying to hit your target with a fire hose and hitting it with a squirt gun like it. If you can find somebody that can hit that target specifically, um then it's, it's a lot better for you in the long run. Sometimes it might be great that. Let's put it this way.

Daniel:

My dad, when he first started Real Roots Radio, he went to the biggest car lot in town it's Key Chrysler. They're still on the air and he went and talked to the owner at the time. The late Terry Tobey gave him his pitch and the first question Mr Tobey asked was how many listeners do you have? And dad said you're asking the wrong question. He said if I only have five, but I can convince three of them to buy their next car from key Chrysler, would that answer your question? And he signed, signed, signed on the spot, right there, cause that's what it is. It's that connection and the loyalty factor is something else that is unique about our radio network, our genre and our niche.

Jared:

I can tell you that's a true statement.

Jared:

There's nobody that's loyal like Bluegrass.

Jared:

Gospel listeners Bluegrass country.

Daniel:

They ride alongside of you. I talked to a listener just the other week who lived in Springfield. I think he's relatively newer listener. It's somebody that I hadn't heard from before. Let's put it that way, yeah, and but we have heard countless stories like this where they said we appreciate what you do on the radio, we appreciate having an outlet to hear this sort of music. That he drove two having an outlet to hear this sort of music. That he drove two counties away to go get a cup of coffee at a place that we talked about, the Lumberton general store. He continued his trek even farther from home to go to a place called Alma's attic in Wilmington. That is a is an antique store that we promote. Talked about the blanket that he bought there and how it's kept him warm over those last couple months. How cold it is.

Daniel:

He also talked about how he went to a business that's a couple blocks from our radio studio that's still a county away from where this guy lives called Xenia Shoe and Leather, because we talked about how they, in addition to selling boots and leather goods, that they will do repairs on a lot of different things. He said he brought in a pool cue stick case that needed repaired. He'd had it repaired someplace else. They did a crappy job. It broke in two or three weeks and he said man, I brought it there, they fixed it for me and he goes. I don't think I could tear it up if I tried. He goes and they gave me a fair price for how great the work and the craftsmanship was.

Daniel:

That one guy went to three different sponsors that weren't even in his county because he heard about them on the Real Reads Radio Network, because he appreciates what we do and wanted to support us by supporting our sponsors. And that's something that I'll tell you right now. There is not a knock on wood, or I would be shocked if there's a listener of Spotify or clear channel on the planet that has that sort of loyalty Now, maybe on specific shows or specific podcasts, you know, even some of the bigger ones maybe.

Daniel:

but like and that's not how you go to their website, that is driving out of their way.

Daniel:

Out of their way? Yeah, drive, that's the thing you know. If we can convince someone to drive past eight other car on the way to the one that we promote, that's that's, that's power in advertising, and that's something that small market radio can bring if it's the right customer base with the right format.

Jared:

Y'all are listening to us on a podcast, some of y'all are listening to us on a call service, but think about how you process what we say. So you know you guys. Obviously I want to give a quick shout out to you at the end as we wrap up our partners over at the shed geek podcast network, our partners over at shed geek marketing but think about how long you've listened to Shannon talk about the products and services that have helped him and helped our industry move forward. Think about how serious you take our partners the guys over at Shed Hub, the guys over at Idea Room, the guys over at Shed Pro I mean, you name them. We've worked with them and we wouldn't give you any bad advice, because if we give you bad advice, you're going to come knock on our doors.

Jared:

Um, you know, Daniel, I can tell you this has been an absolute blast. We got to do it again. We got to talk more about music. We got to maybe do a podcast from one of the festivals. We got to get this out to the people, because I can tell you, if you're not checking out the guys over at WBZI, they've got a national platform, they've got an app. If you guys are sitting somewhere not within their earshot of their terrestrial signal on the three FM bands, the three AM bands. Check them out. Real Roots Radio app, probably available in the iTunes store or the Google Play store. I'm not really sure I don't keep up on that stuff.

Jared:

I'm not really sure I don't keep up on that stuff. I'm not techie, but I can tell you I'm going to give.

Jared:

Yeah, I'm going to give one more plug. I'm going to pull this up, so I want to. I want to give this a fair shake because I can tell you, July 17th, 18th and 19th we are going to be at the green County expo with Daniel, with the guys over at Real Roots Radio for the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Summerfest, headlined by Rhonda Vincent, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, the Milepats Brothers, the Graskills, junior, sists, Cody Norris, Larry Stevenson, Kenny and Amanda Smith, many more for that, three days Camping's on site. Let me know I'm Jared at Dayton Barns. He's Daniel at Real Roots Radio. I can tell you, Daniel, I really appreciate the time today.

Daniel:

My friend, I really do. I appreciate you having us and yeah, the lineup for our festival is great. Rhonda Vincent, Grammy Award winner, she's a member of the Grand Ole Opry. The Malpas Brothers have their own television show on RFD TV, the Graskills man. They've toured with everybody from Dolly Parton to Hank Williams Jr and more, and just a great variety of bluegrass and country gospel entertainment Something for the whole family. A lot of great tastes in music, a lot of great tones and songs and sounds. It's going to be a wonderful family-friendly time in Xenia and I'm so glad to have Dayton Barns and All Steel Building support what we do with our Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festivals but what we do year round on the Real Reads Radio Network. It's such a great partnership and it's really worked out great for both of us. I appreciate you having me on the Steel Kings podcast, man.

Jared:

Absolutely, man. As always, guys, I'm going to say goodbye for Eric. He'll be back on the next one. I'm Jared. This is the Steel Kings podcast. Check us out next Monday. We're going to have another hot topic. We might get into something steel building related. You never know. I might have another special guest. One more time for the guys out at WBZI we appreciate you and we will see you guys next week.