(SOCIAL) Radio's 5 Social Media Missteps

4-17-2013

Every once in a while I like to focus on what I call contemporary missteps in social media as it relates to radio stations and content ?misunderstandings. ? Maybe you never do any of these, but chances are you should read this anyway just to refocus your efforts. So, here are five specific missteps many radio stations make with their social media content:

1. Contesting, contesting, contesting. Radio station employees constantly pound listeners on Facebook and Twitter with only contesting information. This proves to listeners that you don?t care about them (you only want to selfishly use them) and anyone putting in real effort to engage and add value to the lives of those using social media will see you as ?without value.? Oops. But don?t worry; you?ll be so ineffective that no one will notice. Your efforts will be for nothing if you only send contest messages. Bottom line:  Don?t send only contest messages. Have a plan that starts with being interested in the lives, wants, and needs of your listeners.

2. Stations do a lot of ?I don?t care content. ? What does this mean?  Some radio stations post a lot of ho-hum information or meaningless advertisements in social media. If your content has no spark of creativity, no originality, and the personal posting is just going thru the motions, they truly don?t care. And their content shows. I always recommend that you have someone who checks up on the kind of regular content being provided in social media so you know you have a rich stream of content, real engagement, and your station offers regular reasons (that are important to the listener) for returning to your actual on-air brand. 

3. Laziness. Nothing else to call this. The person responsible for social media ?engagement? starts out with good ideas. ?Let?s have a blog? or ?Let?s do this kind of content regularly. ? Then, several weeks go by and listeners see that the regular posting of content has dropped, the content effort itself has dropped, and then all measurable content just fades to no updates at all or the station reverts to No. 1 above (contesting only content). If a radio station is trending like this, you can bet their true engagement is insincere, too. Fade to black. The show is over. Listeners won?t be engaged at all.

4. No effort ?easy button? content. You?ve seen this. The station is doing paint-by-numbers content. There is no thought being put into the creativity or sourcing of unique content (including pictures and sometimes video) to truly give the listeners, that the station wants to attract, reasons to love entertaining, creative, and exciting posts (or benefits) to the listeners. You might think social media is all about you, but it isn?t. It?s all about me (the listener). It?s the same with your radio station: Give me value or ?I?m gone.?

5. No value content. Do you post important information that your target listeners are interested in? A lot of stations don?t think about the target or listener at all. They think only about themselves. Their content reflects this and has a ?sugar effect. ? You might get people to click here or there, but there is no real value. So, it won?t add up to much. Think about this: People are more attracted to pictures and video than text. If you don?t spend time thinking about the value of the photos you use in social media, you?re not really being creative and not really adding immediate value that interests listeners in social media. People also share what makes them entertained (especially when it makes them laugh) and what makes them look smart to others. This should be assigned by you as ?value content? and should be the goal of every original post you make in social media. No value = no sharing. If your social media isn?t about adding real value directed at the listener and their interests, you are LIKELY to fail.

You know what you want as a consumer. You want real value. In social media, consumers (listeners) have to sift through a lot of ?stuff? to gain access to real and authentic value. If you develop a specific strategic plan for social media, including what kind of content (along with visuals) you will be using to attract and connect with the right listeners, you will avoid these missteps. You will also be on the path to higher engagement, higher listener retention, and loyalty; and also finding the path to generate social media dollars for your influence. That?s worth investing in today.

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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(SOCIAL) 7 Big Social Media Missteps

2-22-2013

What are the big missteps radio folks make when they use social media? You know it is happening out there. It?s not just a misstep here and a misstep there. We see tons of radio stations only promoting likes or their own contests. Where are the truly local radio stations involved in what their listeners are passionate about and providing great content for the listeners they most want to attract? Is someone on your team or inside your company making some of these seven big missteps? Let?s take a quick look:

1. They let someone on the staff just ?do it.? It?s okay to assign things to individuals on your staff, but it is not the first stop in creating a social media ?program? for your brand. But it is highly important. If you send it off to an intern or just let the afternoon guy ?handle it,? you may be making a huge mistake. See misstep number two below.

2. They don?t have a strategic plan with specific goals daily or weekly for individual types of content. If you are ?doing? Facebook and Twitter, but you don?t have a strategic plan, you are making a potentially huge misstep. You should have your team selected (based on their skills and on-air job function) and they should meet with you to review or design a plan that includes very specific individual goals for posting a variety of content that is interesting to local listeners of your brand (your targets) along with specific sets of visuals to draw attention.

3. They don?t target the actual listeners that most represent people who will engage, cheerlead, and grow ratings through high passion for their radio brand. These types of radio stations are simply ?on Twitter and Facebook.? They have it on-air. They want to be liked (who doesn?t like to be liked?). But they have not put thought into who they are targeting as a radio station and how to engage those types of individuals with the right high-quality content. That is a big misstep.

4. They are not consistent and don?t follow through. You know how this goes: Start strong, fall off. Radio stations who have a consistent social media strategy and execution with follow-up beyond engaging listeners publically (in some cases to follow them back to their Facebook page or Twitter account for a comment or thank you or to find a personal email) are winners. To do less is?.less. And a misstep.

5. They don?t really engage anyone. See number four above. Engagement is not the same as posting something on Facebook about a contest. See what is happening on your Facebook page. Engage these people by commenting on their thoughts and opinions. Send them an email note on Facebook or shoot them an actual email when you can find their email address. Things are always smaller than you think they are. You won?t have your time dominated by doing this. It takes a minute, but it leaves an impression that you are truly engaged. Listeners love that. It grows passion. Not doing it is a misstep.

6. They forget the mission. This is an easy misstep. You?ve been doing something for a while now. You get complacent. Your efforts and consistency fall off. The person ?in charge? leaves and someone new gets the project. Your mission is long forgotten. Then you are simply ?on Facebook? or ?on Twitter.?  That?s sad. See number two above. You must have a plan and must follow up and update your plan. Make sure your team knows it is an important priority and not just busy or even just fun work. It?s strategic and important work.

7. They forget that Facebook, Twitter, and any other product is only good for radio when you help radio brands grow ratings or revenue. We see clients all the time that think success on Facebook is how many likes you have. They say over and over that they are ?on Facebook? and ?on Twitter.?  But that is not good enough. In fact, radio should only be interested in these products (or any other entertainment-based products or social media sites) for how they can encourage listeners participating to come back to their radio products, love their radio products, and cheerlead for their local radio brands on the social media sites. If you don?t use social media to engage social media actives in your local brand, that is a misstep and a crime.

Staying focused is important for radio stations. It is critical for your on-air product, it is critical in your marketing, and it is critical if you want to be highly effective in using social media to boost your ratings and revenue by participation and passion.

Make sure you have a strategic plan, focus on what matters and who matters, truly engage them, use visuals to draw them to you, and high-quality content about their interests (not just the radio station). Follow up and make sure the right people are doing your social media so you have a passionate outreach program that focuses the right content on the right listeners or potential listeners and brings them or encourages them back to your brand. Now that?s winning.

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. 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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