A new service that measures social media impact by media brands is an eye-opener. And it suggests that a smart social strategy trumps most other variables – including the generational appeal of a station’s audience.
Net News Check reported on a new study by Shareablee, ranking the top 10 media brands in the Detroit Metro, based on social media activity. Shareablee CMO Tracy David describes the company as “the leading authority on audience intelligence, competitive benchmarking, and actionable insights for social media.” They aggregate social activity on the biggest social platforms, and work for brands like ESPN, HBO, Bloomberg, and P&G to assist companies with their social content marketing.
And now we’re seeing data that can help us better understand how local media performs socially over a six month period. The results for Detroit, as you can see below, are both predictable and startling.
It’s not surprising to see TV stations and newspapers at the top of the heap. They have massive reach and they’re tweeting and posting news as it breaks throughout the day.
The interesting story is the radio stations that showed up in the Top 10. Hot 107.5 (Hip-Hop), 89X (Alternative), and Channel 955 (CHR) are talking to social media natives, so you’d expect them to be on the list. The Ticket is Detroit’s dominant Sports Radio station, and Jacobs Media clients know the connection between sports fans and Twitter, in particular.
Now to some extent, these are vanity metrics. You can think of them as the 6+ ratings you see in the trades. They don’t tell the whole story, but they do give you an indication of who’s having impact socially.
But WCSX’s presence on this list is fascinating. For a Classic Rock station whose average age is well north of 45 to crack the Top 10 says a lot about social media strategy and execution. It’s even more impressive when you consider they fall below 50,000 fans/followers, but still make this list.
So how do you explain how a radio station can be successful socially, whether they target Millennials or aging Baby Boomers. WCSX PD Jerry Tarrants notes that you don’t need to appeal to a Gen Y audience to ring up strong results:
“I think by taking into account that even though our listeners are people with ‘analog values,’ they certainly aren’t idiots when it comes to social media platforms. Sure, they’re not blazing around the Internet, ear buds plugged in with 12-15 windows open and a Snapchat convo with their bestie all simultaneously going on at once. But they’re certainly capable of seeking out and absorbing content that’s tailored to their interests. Like the music they listen to, they prefer familiarity over variety and that’s what we give them with our content.”
Shareablee’s Tracy David agrees that CSX’s social activity is congruent with what their audience cares about:
“Success on social really comes down to the quantity and quality of your content. Knowing what resonates with your audience is critical for generating the kind of quality activity and interactions that can drive your overall business objectives. WCSX taps into nostalgic and memorable moments that encourage its social audience to like, comment, and share its content with friends and family. The station posts content that lets audiences re-live experiences, touching upon deep emotions. This kind of content that gets consumers to re-live stories and create narratives is a fantastic driver of engagement.”
J.T. gives major kudos to the Greater Media Detroit digital team, especially when it comes to providing content they can use that triggers meaningful social activity. Most of their activity is on Facebook. CSX has been a stakeholder in all eleven of our Techsurveys, allowing them to create a strong “sociall footprint” that guides their activity. The station dabbles and experiments with Twitter, and will soon be playing in the Instagram pond.
Tracy David says that’s a smart move: “Instagram was the fastest growing platform in 2014 with a 131% growth, and engagement on the platform has no signs of slowing down. For local media, the growth of engagement on Instagram in 2014 was 343%, outpacing that of the average U.S. brand. For DMA 1-20, content published on the platform grew by 153% in 2014, with engagement outpacing content at a 329% growth. This means that audiences are eager to engage with content they find relevant on the platform, offering a lot of opportunity for local media brands to reach more of their audience.”
It’s important to know your audience, especially the evolving Classic Rock fan. As J.T. notes, “Classic Rock has become so multi-generational now that the music isn’t the only thing shared between parents and their children. Parents want to see what their kids are up to so they have no choice but to learn how social media works. The cool thing about this is now that the parents have somewhat mastered it, they’re also using it recreationally as well. Odds are they will seek out something familiar. That’s where you come in.”
One last point revolves around that ongoing issue of station pages versus personality pages. You’ll note the absence of stations like WRIF on this chart. And yet their morning show – Dave & Chuck the Freak – has an amazing track record of hitting it out of the park socially. On Facebook alone, they have nearly 160,000 fans.
Shareablee’s David explains it this way: “We approached this scorecard in the same way we do our TV rankings, where we measure the TV shows separately from the TV network. Radio stations are often looking to drive program discovery and drive traffic to their sites, so we’re looking at how well these station brands do this, separate from their various programming. Also, some stations might have more programs than others so this makes it a more apples-to-apples comparison. That said, we can always rank radio programs separately, similar to our TV show rankings.”
Perhaps moving forward, Shareablee will do just that. In the meantime, they will be releasing more DMA rankers soon, so more and more of you will have a lot to talk about.
As David reminds us, “There is still so much confusion about how to measure social, our primary goal is to work with our industry to shed light and facilitate clearer optics and transparency around social media.”
As both she and J.T. agree, the focus has to be on the quantity and quality of social content. In WCSX’s case, their performance is impressive, and hopefully serves as an incentive for other stations that may feel they’re behind the curve or that their audience isn’t “into” social media.
Socially speaking, there’s an art to succeeding with social media.
And now, more metrics in local markets to better understand the space.
But it always comes down to knowing and implementing smart social media fundamentals. And that translates to developing a strategy, knowing your audience, being consistent, and great storytelling. As time goes on, we learn more about the arts and craft that goes into being successful socially.
So where does your station stack up?
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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When it comes to measurement, the engagement is great, the core business is revenue driven. Business’s are in business to make money, so how does that social interactivity transfer to ROI…that’s the true question. The warm fuzzy feeling is great but how does that convert to listeners and customers???
That is the challenge. Using social to drive traffic back to websites and the air. And that’s the strategy piece that is so often missing. Thanks, Billy.
NetNewsCheck is trying this as a weekly feature, and posted its second market (Baltimore) a few days ago. This one may be even more surprising, as #2 overall here is CCM outlet “Shine FM” (WRBS).
https://www.netnewscheck.com/article/41561/wbff-tops-baltimore-media-in-social-activity
Christian radio is a force, Eric. Thanks for mentioning NetNewsCheck’s next market. More to come.