Most radio professionals think they know more about digital than they actually do.
It happens everywhere. A station launches an app and assumes it’s now “digital-ready.” A manager uploads shows to Spotify and declares victory. Sales teams celebrate having a website as if that equaled a digital strategy.
The problem is not bad intent. It’s a knowledge gap. Psychologists call it the Dunning-Kruger effect: when you know a little about a topic, you overestimate how much you know. And because you lack deeper knowledge, you can’t even see the blind spots.
For radio, this has a direct cost. Stations invest heavily in new tools, platforms, and distribution. But they underinvest in the one thing that makes digital transformation succeed: training their people.
Why digital training matters more than tools
Digital transformation in radio is not about technology; it’s mostly about people. Tools are only as powerful as the people who know how to use them.
That’s why radio digital training is no longer optional. It is the foundation that allows a station to innovate, measure, and monetize.
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A producer needs training to read listening data and adjust their content strategy.
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A presenter needs training to understand how social algorithms amplify or bury content.
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A sales team needs training to explain attribution models and audience targeting to advertisers.
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A marketing manager needs training to see how visibility optimization (website, app, or podcasts), recommendations, and platforms shape discovery.
Without this common literacy, teams speak different languages. Strategy meetings collapse into assumptions. And the gap with audiences – who live in a digital-first world – widens every year.
What effective training looks like
The stations that are moving fastest are the ones that train everyone, not just the so-called “digital team.”
This doesn’t mean turning every employee into a developer. It means creating a shared digital language across the organization. Training should cover the basics of data, platforms, formats, and monetization. The goal: everyone should be able to contribute intelligently to a strategy for an increasingly digital environment.
The lesson comes from outside radio too. When Satya Nadella took over Microsoft, he rolled out company-wide training in cloud computing. Not because everyone had to code, but because everyone needed to understand the new foundation of the business.
Radio should follow the same playbook. Digital training is not a “box-ticking exercise.” It is a leadership issue, a cultural shift, and a competitive advantage.
How to start training your station
Based on the framework I share in Radio’s Digital Transformation Playbook, there are four practical steps:
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Assess skills honestly – run a digital skills audit across all roles.
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Build a training plan – identify gaps and create role-specific training paths.
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Invest systematically – don’t rely on one-off sessions. Continuous training matters.
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Create a learning culture – leaders should admit their own blind spots and set the tone.
This isn’t theory. Stations that build training into their DNA are already reaping results: faster adoption of new formats, more effective monetization strategies, and stronger engagement with younger audiences.
Closing the gap with training
The uncomfortable truth is this: digital literacy is as fundamental today as reading and writing. Yet many radio stations still treat training as optional.
But pretending the knowledge gap doesn’t exist won’t make it disappear.
The real question is: What is your station’s plan for digital training?
Because the future of audio will not be shaped by those who just buy new tools. It will be shaped by those who train their people to thrive in a digital world.
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