No one studies the social space from a broadcast radio point of view more than Lori Lewis. And one of the voids that she often sees is that managers don’t monitor their station’s social activity like they do their on-air product.
In today’s post, Lori walks you through why keeping tabs on your stations socially isn’t just smart – it’s essential in today’s real-time environment.
Enjoy her post, and feel free to comment. Of course, Lori will acknowledge everyone who takes the time to weigh in. – FJ
You may have heard the phrase, “Eat Your Own Dog Food.” It’s an expression that describes a company using its own products or services for internal operations – to try and feel the consumer experience and grow from it.
While in radio, we often do the same with the on-air product, blocking out a day here and there to really listen to the station and make notes for improvement – how much of our own “dog food” is being consumed in the digital and social space?
Fred has written numerous times about paying attention to the stream experience. Paul has spoken many times about the importance of your app experience.
And recently, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, talked about how he and his company eat their own dog food, too. Zuckerberg believes that in order to serve the Facebook community as effectively as possible, the company must use all aspects of Facebook so they understand the consumer experience better.
While we could write an entire blog on eating your own digital dog food, this piece solely focuses on your social diet.
Let’s start with Facebook.
The best way to eat your brand’s Facebook “dog food” is to truly experience what is getting shared.
If you can’t do that in real time by seeing the posts in your News Feed, the alternative is to go to the station (or your talent’s) “Like” page, and “turn on “Notifications.” This will alert you to what and when things get posted.
When you click “Liked,” a dropdown menu appears, and you check “Get Notifications.”
That should help you start feeling what the station’s Facebook fans experience.
It’s about putting you in your fans’ shoes. Remember: they are on Facebook to connect with family and friends – not to be sold.
You can also turn on “Notifications” for Twitter and that triggers tweets sent to your phone.
Go to the Twitter accounts you want to monitor. (Make sure you’re following the accounts.) Then click the sun symbol next to the word “Following,” and in the dropdown, select “Turn ON mobile notifications.”
You’ll type your mobile number in and get every tweet that your station and/or your DJs/hosts send.
Notifications for both Facebook and Twitter can be turned off at any time. So you don’t get worn out or OD on your station’s social dog food, keep the notifications turned on during the times you’ve carved out to sample your station’s social feeds.
With Instagram, “follow” your station and your talent. Since there are no notifications you can turn on (that I’m aware of), remind yourself to check what’s getting posted on a weekly basis. We’re seeing Instagram growing in popularity in many formats in the yet-to-be-released Techsurvey11, so keep that in mind.
What does it feel like? Are your pictures and videos selling or are they telling a great visual story?
And for fun, download Snapchat, if you haven’t done so already. Follow radio talent and stations that are using it. Just for your own professional benefit, observe what’s happening on this app. It really is the way social communication is moving – raw, real video moments – no filters – just what’s happening at that moment.
The important question to ask on Snapchat is if the camera is always pointed at your station’s “face” or is your team creating disappearing, yet unforgettable moments that keep fans connected to you?
This is all about the importance of really feeling what we’re sharing with the audience socially.
And be critical: How often is what we’re sharing of real value to the fans – or to us?
The social space allows us to accommodate the audience’s desire to connect with others, not just with our contests and promotions. It’s our chance to help fans feel keyed into what’s happening around them; things they may not already know about; things they don’t hear on the air.
If you conduct Listener Advisory Boards or focus groups, perhaps you’ve already seen the power of connecting socially and acknowledging fans. Radio stations need to respect the audience and pay attention to the content and posts that trigger positive reactions, as well as what they ignore.
Eat your own dog food this week. Not as a jock, host, or a manager, but as a fan.
How does your station really make people feel socially?
How does it taste?
Bon appetit!
If Lori can help your station, cluster, or company get in touch with your social strategy, contact her here.
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