3-12-2012
Exploring successful social media ideas can bring more power to your own efforts. After all, you are unlikely to have the best ideas 100% of the time. Looking around as a ?listener? and not as a broadcast pro can offer you a new view of how to become more tuned in to listeners? worlds. As always, you will hear me say that your goals for social media in all forms is to be a relevant part of listeners? social media space, engage listeners in their own passions, drive audience toward your on-air brand.
Don?t fall prey to thinking social media is all about how many people click ?like? on Facebook. You should have a social media strategic plan that involves great content by percentage, great visuals, teases that lead to your website and broadcast signal and video along with causes and listener passions that influence high participation loyalty with your brand. How do you begin this process by looking around in social media space within your market, among competitors and more?
Glad you asked. Let?s get started:
1. Take a look at your competition in social media space as a listener would view it (not just another radio station). Do you really know what they are doing over there? Check out their social channels on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more. Do their personalities have a blog? You should also look at the market leaders in a variety of formats other than your own to see what they are doing on social media. You have opportunity to learn more about your competitors and see how your own efforts stack up. While your brand is unique and you don?t want to copy competitors, you can even cherry pick the best elements they are using for your own opportunities. As always, focus on actionable ways you can engage with great content and bring people to your broadcast signal.
2. Do you know where your website traffic is coming from on the web over the past year? This can be like taking a look under the hood to see where fans are built for your brand. You can find this in Google Analytics. Knowing where your traffic comes from will help you identify potential opportunities you may not have thought of before so you can explore ways to expanding traffic and send this ?traffic? to your on air signal.
3. Become a social media private investigator. Seek out information on the most active cause and passion-based bloggers and/or Facebook pages or websites in your market that work for the lifestyle of your listeners. Engaging these people in the real world and building partnerships (even if it is a link only) can be powerful for you now and in the future.
4. Look outside the radio industry. There are cool things happening on Facebook pages, YouTube channels and even in new social media opportunities like Pinterest. Check out brands you know are hip and on the leading edge of attracting the audience your radio brand serves and see what cool innovations they are using in the social media space. And. Take. Them.
Don?t have a YouTube channel? What are you waiting on? Listener engagement can be your playground with great videos of events, concerts (backstage, ?with the fans? and station related prep for concerts) and more. I always encourage ?landing the passions about your format in the listeners? laps.? Passion drives intense participation if your focus is the passion listeners want and respond to about your format.
Don?t have a ?content by percentage? plan for what is happening on your Facebook page? Get one. Having a specific social media plan is serious business if you want to be relevant as listeners pend more and more time in social media space. Smart PDs, marketing directors, social content managers and general or market managers are working off of a plan. They are not just on Facebook. They are not simply putting up ?tid bits? from the web and telling listeners all the time to tune in to win a prize. They have a plan.
It is so easy today not to think of your radio station as a strong brand in your market. We are clustered up, diced and often sliced up as part of an overall corporate environments dominated by accountants. But we are still radio. Radio can be extremely passionate. You can allow your social media to be something you do or something you do well so that your brand continues to be one of the strongest brands in your market. Looking around at what others are doing is a part of your investment in becoming an expert in the new areas that will be important to broadcasters for decades to come. More than this, it may help you to establish higher brand loyalty and a truly engaged listener base that becomes a wave of cheerleaders for your product.
That?s worthwhile today.
Loyd Ford programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes for years, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte and WBEE in Rochester, NY. Learn more about Loyd here: http://about.me/loydford.
Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE
Visit his Facebook radio social media page www.facebook.com/socialnetworking4radio
(3/14/2012 7:14:14 AM)
Thank you for your kind words.
Not sure why the link is not working.
You can always check out the Facebook radio (social media) group by simply going to www.Facebook.com/Socialnetworking4radio.
Thank you again.
Hi Loyd,
Great article. As always.
Just to let you know you have a typo in the hyperlink for your facebook page so its a bad link
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