6-18-2014
What can you do to really crank up authentic impact for your radio station, morning show, afternoon show, or sales department (yes, sales department) using social media?
1. Think about the people you most want to attract. If you are a personality, think about the time of day you are on the air and what is happening in your market. Research the flow of consumers, when they drive to work, when they come home. Review what they are talking about via Twitter and Facebook. If you are in the sales department, think about becoming the known person in the market with solutions for small- and medium-size business owners. Couple your social media content with your on-the-ground networking and validate those people you are having interaction with in your social media.
2. Create content that focuses on helping these people in your market you most want to attract. Don?t just think about posting generic things; you can create content that puts you squarely on their radar because you are talking about what they are seeking.
3. Use local visuals, pictures, and photos of the people you most want to attract in your social media. That?s right. Try to shift your content and visuals almost totally away from you and toward the people you want to attract and the people most like those people. You?ll hear me say this over and over. Visuals are the key to successfully growing your social media opportunity for impact.
4. Vary your content so you are interesting. Don?t assume that you are interesting. Expand the depth (not length) of your social media content posts. When you develop your social media content strategy (before you really begin posting, hopefully), develop it with specific content touchstones in mind and work out what percentage of each type of content should be posted and how often for each type. This will hopefully keep your posts interesting and engage more people in the ?conversation.?
5. Get active in validating those you most want to attract. This means ?liking? posts, but it also means ?giving some love? for things you really like and getting in their conversation (not just the ones you create).
6. Video and photos can make more fun and engaging opportunities. I can never seem to say this enough: Visuals are a major key to establishing your growth in social media. Attract local listeners and advertisers by using great photos and video. We are in a fun business. Showcase the fun while you turn the attention (camera) on them! Turning away from you and toward them will pay higher dividends. Try it for 30 days! You?ll see what I mean.
Oh, and remember this bonus: Most people want to be awesome in social media. They start out strong and then fall away. In some cases, you see blogs abandoned in 36 days. Facebook pages revert to being reposts of only national gossip stuff or they fade out to limited posts and fewer and fewer as the summer rolls on. You?ll be different, right? You?ll make the most of this free opportunity to really invest and grow your listeners, advertisers, and career.
The really cool thing is that you are already ahead of the game if you are looking to create your own social media strategy. After all, it?s easy to re-post TMZ and People. Setting yourself apart by investing in the local listeners and advertisers you most want to attract by caring about them will literally set you free to achieve new things in your career and it will help you stand out in a competitive field.
Go get ?em! I look forward to hearing your stories of how you set your social media free to truly focus on ?them? and it paid off again and again! Follow these six points and that is just what will happen. Good luck.
Loyd Ford is the digital revenue, direct marketing, ratings, and social media strategist for Rainmaker Pathway and Americalist Direct Marketing. Loyd has programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, and WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte, and WBEE in Rochester, NY. Learn more about Loyd here: http://about.me/loydford. Get his radio-social media content sent directly to your smart phone or email for free here: www.rainmakerpathway.wordpress.com. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE. Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE.
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