4-10-2013
Radio stations will always want to figure out how to be more effective in social media. However, you can?t be effective until you gain real access to the attention of the listeners in your market that you most want to attract, engage, and bring back to your brands. Here are four ways to drill down your content so that you focus on really gaining attention of the listeners you most want to engage with your content on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
1. Social media VISUAL content is king. Take some time to think about reinventing your social media content with a visual-first presence. This means I am referring to the old saying of ?A picture is worth a thousand words.? Listeners in social media are much more likely to click on and engage a fun picture, and radio does a lot of fun things. But you can tap other emotions too. These elements play well in engaging listeners to want to know more. Don?t be afraid to show those visuals pointed to the listener experience and find ways to bring them back to your products through copy or actionable engagement (where they are compelled to act).
2. Inform & educate listeners. Use headlines in your social media that inform and educate listeners on subjects they care about today. They have less time than ever, but they will stop and engage you if you are truly focused on something that is interesting to them. If you provide information and education in your engagement with them, they will share your content and become more focused on you. That is a win for you in social media and likely for use of your products (which is the only reason to spend time on social media).
3. Promote events with social media. As with all other elements in social media, make sure your event has true interest for your listeners and enough benefit to take up their time. Use visuals to express those benefits along with limited copy so they know who/what/when/where/how. And always make sure that promoting events (or anything) represents only a small percentage of your overall social media engagement.
4. People like funny. Listeners are people. If your social media team is not funny, work to source funny for them so it can be a part of your regular content (by percentage). Having an overall social media strategy that involves humor focused on the audience you most want to attract can be essential to gaining access to the attention you most covet.
You can engage the listeners you most want to attract to your brands and use specific social media content strategy to develop deeper loyalty and actual social media cheerleaders, but you must work smart to do so. As I always do, I recommend you develop a specific social media strategy for content and involve your entire team in understanding your individual station and personality roles in social media for the benefit of the radio station.
Focusing on listener wants and needs and giving them these things in social media will bring them closer to you and your on-air brands. You?ll learn more about your listeners doing it this way, too. Good luck!
Loyd Ford is the direct marketing, ratings and social media strategist for Americalist and 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. Get his radio ? social media blog FREE right on your cell phone or email here: www.rainmakerpathway.wordpress.com. Learn more about Loyd here: http://about.me/loydford. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE
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