Community Service Announcements (CSAs)

What is a CSA?

Community Service Announcements (CSAs) are those announcements which promote a charitable cause or activity, or which constitute a service to the community.

On-air broadcast

CSAs are broadcast by us at various times throughout our regular programming.

All CSAs are given equal priority & played randomly throughout the day.

CSAs are generally broadcast on-air in the form on an audio spoken message.

‘What’s On?’ Event Calendar on our website

If the CSA covers an event or series of recurring events (such as monthly), they will likely be added to our Community event ‘What’s On Calendar‘.

The Event Calendar is regularly used by our listeners, as well as our Presenters.

A single event that runs over many days (such as a week) will not be added, as they visually clog the calendar with multiple occurances.

How do I arrange a CSA?

South Coast FM Organisation Members can request a CSA to promote their not-for-profit Community Group & its activities by completing our online form (See below).

Please. don’t just email a Shop Window Poster or image that you’ve created.

We need written text from the online form & will use that information to promote your event via our on-air broadcast and, where suitable, also our website Event Calendar.

Visit our Membership page (by clicking here) for details on joining as a Community Organisation member.

Why not script & record it yourself? Checkout our do-it-yourself guide below.

Promotional timing?

You’ve already worked hard to plan & get ready for your event & you want it to be successful, as do we.

So, don’t leave it to the last minute to advise us. You risk it not getting the promotion you wanted.

Please allow up to 2 to 3 weeks ahead for effective public promotion of your event.

Looking for more information?

Didn’t quite get all the details from a CSA that you heard us broadcast? Our What’s On calendar may help.

Interested in requesting a CSA that will be broadcast on radio, but need some help?

Complete our online form here.

To request a CSA – Click here

Do it yourself guide for South Coast FM Organisation Members

Please first complete our online form as requested above.

With guidance from us, some Community group organisation members script & record their own CSAs, which they then provide to us as an audio file.

While that may seem a little daunting at first, it can also be very rewarding, provide flexibility for you & greater accuracy of your intended message.

A regularly heard voice representing a specific group can help to reinforce connections to that group. Similarly, it can help to give your name, as it makes the message more personal & helps with brand recognition.

Clearly spoken & evenly paced CSAs are generally around 25 seconds in duration, with a maximum of 30 seconds.

Writing the Script

By writing a draft script & reading it out loud to yourself, you will be able to gauge the total time & modify your text to focus on the key information you wish to get across & prioritise what’s important. Don’t try to say too much & jam it into 30s by speaking quickly; it will just overload those listening to your message,

As a guide, aim for script text around 60 words, with 80 words max.

Think about what you want people to remember and say that in the first 10 seconds.

As a general rule, cover the following in this order: Who, What, When, Where & method of contact for enquiries.

Feel free to add your name, such as “This is Sally from Wombat Helpers…”.

If you want to allow for people to be able to contact you, please provide only one contact method. Something that’s easy to remember. Note: The preceding ‘http://’ or ‘www’ is not needed for a website & ’03’ is not required for a local phone number. It wastes time & confuses people who are trying to mentally remember your contact info. No one is going to recall a long & complex website URL or email address. If you know for sure that it works in your specific case, you can say something like ‘Google Wombat Helpers for more information’ or simply ‘For more information, contact Wombat Helpers’. Phone numbers & email addresses are generally not going to be remembered, so preferably avoid them.

Voice Recording

A mobilephone with a record function & a quiet carpeted room or walk-in-robe with clothing can yield excellent audio quality results.

Speak clearly & not too loudly. Soft furnishings & carpet help to prevent echo. Avoid wind, glass windows, noises such as traffic & people talking in the background.

Record while standing & smiling. You’ll be amazed at how much difference it makes to the final result.

Listen critically to your recording. Can it be clearly understood? Re-record if needed.

Do NOT add you own background music.

Send us your final script & audio

Please email the final version of your script & the audio recording to us at CSA@SouthCoastFM.au

Help always available

Be assured, that the our team is always on-hand to give assistance & feedback on your script & recordings.

With a little persistence, it won’t be long before you are sounding like a professional & your groups message is being effectively broadcast across South Gippsland & Bass Coast!

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