Radio veterans acknowledge that content tends to have a short life span. In fact, the vast majority of what is created by programmers and talent on the radio is never heard a second time. It typically plays once and goes off into the ether.
So how do most members of the audience find your content to begin with? The majority serendipitously bump into a bit, a news feature, or a comedian in the studio because of the habitual or random nature of radio tune-in. Thus, most content enjoys a one-time-only airing – or it is likely lost forever if listeners don’t catch it during the first go-round.
In many cases, the audience is often unaware of what stations program (except for the most repetitiously branded benchmarks or the most loyal fans). This is especially true in public radio where even in the age of the web, where even members complain they simply don’t know what’s on and when it airs.
When you think of ROI models evaluating what it takes to create content versus what stations and personalities derive from it, this really doesn’t make much sense. Like a Broadway show that runs for one night, a lot of work can go into a bit, a program, a stunt, or an interview that rarely has a repeat performance.
Some time ago on this blog, I mentioned a conversation I had several years ago with Tim Sabean, long-time radio PD who made the jump to Sirius and Howard Stern’s network of channels. I asked Tim about the one thing he’d do differently if he went back to work for a broadcast station.
Tim’s advice: “Repeat your successes.”
In limited ways, stations do just that. KFOG’s “10 @ 10” has always aired originally at 10 a.m. with a rebroadcast at 10 p.m. Other stations and shows have turned to podcasts in order to stretch listenership, usage, and exposure to content that is worthy of repeating.
But in the main, most programmers don’t have a mindset that focuses on the value of repeating, replaying, and repurposing great content. They are so focused on real-time radio (or voicetracking to fill voids), that deriving added value from repetition is an afterthought at best.
That’s why a slew of new data about blogging by IZEA should be of interest to radio programmers. It reveals that the web provides an even a longer tail that most marketers and content creators thought existed.
In a blog post – “IZEA Study Uncovers A Blog Post’s Lifetime Value” – IZEA and the Halverson Group note that while many web experts believe that 30 days is the average lifespan of most posts, their study suggests the real answer is considerably greater.
By analyzing more than 62,000 blog posts over an 18 month period, they concluded that 700 days is the more accurate span of time. That’s nearly two years – the time in which it takes blog posts to amass 99% of their page views.
And that suggests that “Content Marketing” – a topic that has taken flight here at Jacobs Media since Seth Resler joined the company a few months ago – is the engine that can truly provide greater reach and value for the content that stations and their personalities work so hard to create. (See Seth’s video on “Content Marketing” here.)
With this new study, we see the lasting value of a blog post for the average blogger. The analysis suggests there are three live phases to blog content:
Shout – The first 7-10 days a post goes live during which time half its page views are generated.
Echo – The next phase that lasts approximately one month, during which time three-fourths of the post’s impressions occur.
Reverberate – The last cycle, and one the study’s authors say is the surprise here. That’s because more than one-fourth of a post’s lifetime views go all the way out to around Day 700 – close to two years since it was originally posted. This phase confirms a much longer term impact of blog posts, and perhaps a lot of web content in general.
Now there are a lot of variables that go into this calculus, from the content itself (are there photos, videos, etc.?) to its source.
And that’s where radio’s ability to extend the “long tail effect” of posts (and other material) is a critical factor. Because radio has the megaphone that most bloggers (and podcasters) lack, the potential to generate even more views – both for programming and sales – has to be even greater, suggesting even more potential impact. Promoting a blog, a post, a video, or other web content on the radio – a medium that reaches most people across a typical week – provides the ability to generate many more page views for a station website.
How can anyone calculate the mortality of a blog entry? IZEA/Halverson Group says they’ve found the way to determine a post’s lifespan. Taking its monthly page views and multiplying them by 1.4 determines how many impressions it will garner across its lifetime.
For broadcasters, that blog post potential could be exponentially greater because of the medium’s reach. So if programmers and digital marketers post great content, do it with regularity, and promote it across its web life, we are very likely looking at a much higher multiple than 1.4x.
In radio, there is so much focus on ROI. But most of the spreadsheets that attempt to quantify and measure it are limited by the imaginations of the analysts, CFOs, and comptrollers that study it. When you consider what it takes to create a blog post or podcast, and its very long life on the web, perhaps it justifies an even greater investment in content creation and the truly talented people capable of making it.
It’s not enough to create great radio. Broadcasters have to conceptualize how it can continue reverberating across the worldwide web. This is where radio can finally realize benefit, a greater reach, and the ability to squeeze more from its content.
There’s your ROI.
Thanks to Michigan Radio’s Steve Schram for the tip on this study.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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