Your audience wants to participate with you.  They do!  They want their opinions to be counted, and to know that you are listening to them.  Most of the time, we do a pretty good job asking for feedback.  Where we stumble is validating their participation, completing the feedback loop.  

What's a feedback loop?  In simple terms, it's reporting back to the respondent the result of their input.  If they care enough to complete an opinion poll, don't you think they care enough to get the results?  

Essentially, the feedback loop is nothing but effective promotion:

1. Tell them what you're going to do, and invite them to participate
2. Do it.
3. Tell them what you've done, and demonstrate how their involvement mattered

Last night's Grammy Awards demonstrated a perfect example of completing the feedback loop.  Throughout the broadcast, promotional announcements invited viewers to vote which song Bon Jovi would perform live on the show.  Voting took place on the CBS TV website.  The loop was completed when the band performed the chosen song.

In many cases, we fail to involve the audience after the input is received.  We ask them to fill out opinion polls, take a music survey, text an opinion, email a response or join our community, and they never hear how their participation mattered.  We do a great job inviting.   We just need to find ways to complete the loop.  

There are many ways to involve them.  Here are a couple:

1. In your email newsletters, include results of this week's surveys.  You don't have to go into details, just an overview to show how the results turned out.
2. On the main page of your website, show your audience how your music testing is trending.  A short paragraph from the program director or music director with a few songs highlighted rewards participants (my vote mattered) and encourages more to make their opinion known.  If you don't play music, show the results of other surveys and opinion polls.
3. Respond to every contact (every text, every Tweet, every message) with a relevant reply message, not a generic response.  If you invite them to participate with your brand, respect them enough to have a relationship with them.

Completing the feedback loop is not difficult, but does take time and commitment.  As you plan campaigns, factor in this very important step.

Now The Piano Man is featured on YOUR site!  Billy Joel has been a pop music icon since the mid 70s!   A new contest featuring Billy has been activated for AC and Adult Hits affiliates participating in Triton Loyalty Prize Closets.

Members can not only win the 30th Anniversary CD of his biggest album The Stranger, they can also win an autographed copy of New York State of Mind sheet

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