Relevant vs. Relatable: And Why You Need Both

Tracy Johnson, Tracy Johnson Media Group

Is your radio show relevant? I hope so.

Are you relatable? That would also be good.

In fact, it's better (spoiler alert). Listening to many CCM stations, it sounds as if many think that relevant and relatable are interchangeable. They're not. Or you may think it's splitting hairs. It's not.

There is a big difference between relevant and relatable. This isn't just a semantics rant or a lesson in proper use of English. It's actually really important for air personalities and programmers to understand the difference.

Relevance is defined as:Having direct bearing on the matter at hand; Pertinent.

Relatable is:To bring into or establish association, connection, or relation: To relate events to probable causes.

On radio shows, relevant is more about content, topic selection and finding topics. It's the things you decide to talk about on the air. I hear many Christian stations that throw a few relevant terms into promos or positioning statements and feel that they're really speaking directly to the audience. But just stringing together a few words referencing the listener's life isn't connecting.

Relatable has to do withperformance. It's how you turn content into communication your audience cares about. It's reaching listeners emotionally so they actually feel something.

Relevant and Relatable Work Together

Being relevant and relatable are both important, but one is more valuable than the other. I'll tease you with that for now, and reveal the answer below. In the meantime, your ultimate goal is to be both relevant and relatable. That creates radio magic.

Here is an example from Mike and Lauren on the AIR1 Network. This break is from the day after the shooting disaster in Las Vegas last October.

Here's a breakdown of the audio and how it demonstrates both:

Relevant

The topic is right on point. It's relevant because it's something the target audience cares about. In fact, it's pretty much all we were talking about on that day.

So it's topical. But the show doesn't settle for just making reference to the tragedy or send their thoughts and prayers to the victims. Nor do they try to cover it as a news story because that's now that the network is for.

Relatable

Relatable is when the content turns into entertainment. It's what you do with the topic.

Most of the content that day revolved around the shootings, but Mike and Lauren made it about how their audience felt that day. And they did it sharing Lauren's authentic and inspiring story from her own life.

What a great moment on the air. It's positive, and hopeful, which is consistent with the station's brand values (Positive Hits). It doesn't get preachy or tell listeners what they should do or how they should react.

And it stays in the show's character, even including a couple of witty comments (Lauren is naturally funny), even though the topic itself is as serious as it gets.

In the break, you feel you get to know Lauren a little bit more by revealing some things about her family relationship.

That's relatable.

Conclusion

Your radio showmight have new information about the latest trending topics. That's relevant to an audience that happens to care about those topics. Whether or not it's relatable depends on how the segment isperformed. Do they make the audience care?

Personalities need to be both relevant and relatable. Content selection is important, but relating it is the key to standing out as a unique, difference-making show.

Which is more important? That's not even a tough call. Both are important, but if I had to choose one, I'd go with relatable. How about you?