I have written an exclusive article for Social Media Sun depicting the relationship between radio and social media. Click here to read it and find out which nursery rhyme I think reflects the merge of old and new media. I would love to hear your thoughts after you read it! Leave me a comment here or there, or send me a tweet @StephanieWinans.
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A Producer’s Dream: The Scoop on Scoop.It
Scoop.It is a free publishing-by-curation platform that allows you to curate content based on keywords and sources you provide. It will suggest stories, articles, videos, news for you to scoop. You can also use the bookmarklet to scoop anything you see on the web to your Scoop.It page.
You can curate on your page and on the web, saving interesting content for your show in one place. You choose the keywords and the sources you like. Instead of searching a million websites individually, you add them here. It’s a Producer’s dream.
In October 2011, I signed up for Scoop.It to test it out before recommending to The Randy Lane Company clients. I quickly realized that not only was it worth recommending, but it would also be helpful in curating show ideas for our weekly client newsletter.
Since October, I have been using Scoop.It daily. While some of the scooped ideas are used for the weekly Content Ideas, many aren’t because they are topical and may be outdated by the time the newsletter is delivered in client emails. Because I scoop the ideas daily anyway, I began sharing my page Radio On-Air Content on Twitter so the show prep doesn’t go to waste.
I now have thirty shows following my topic. Many have created their own Scoop.It pages for show prep where they can scoop their own topics from the web and rescoop mine to their page, as well. The trend has also spread to other radio consultants, who now run their own pages on Scoop.It.
The reason other shows and consultants have taken notice? It’s easy to use and it works.
Here’s how you can take advantage of this free tool for your show:
1. Sign up here.
2. Install the Scoop.It bookmarklet here. This will allow you to “scoop” anything on the web to the page you create for your show.
3. Add keywords for content that is relevant for your show. For example, relationships, sex, entertainment, parenting, family, music, weird. You can add keywords under the Manage tab under Manage Sources on your Scoop.It page (see image below).
4. Add sources. After adding your keywords, click the Advanced Options tab. Add the URL for any websites you normally use for show prep. You can also add social media accounts for any sources or shows you follow for content.
5. Scoop. When you’re prepping for the show, go to your Scoop.It page. Review Scoop.It’s suggestions and scoop the topics you like.
6. Follow other accounts on Scoop.It that produce content you can use on your show. You can follow mine here and check out the other shows and consultants I follow here. You can rescoop their topics so they appear on your page. You will also get a daily digest showing you recent scoops from topics you follow.
Happy scooping! Let me know if you enjoying using Scoop.It for show prep. Leave me a comment or send me a tweet @StephanieWinans
If this doesn’t work for you, at least check out my page Radio On-Air Content daily for topics you can use for your show. Why not? It’s free show prep.
Who Owns Your Morning Show’s Social Media Presence?
In early March I read an article about the social media battle many musicians are fighting with their record labels over who owns their social media accounts. I thought, “I hope radio never gets to this point”.
Weeks after I pondered that article, three high-profile morning show hosts contacted me– they are fighting the artist/record label battle with the companies they work for. After creating the accounts on their own, and after years of building their own relationships with listeners independent of station time and resources, stations have begun taking “ownership” of their talent’s accounts by requiring that they meet certain guidelines.
Air talent should always support the station online- by driving traffic to the website, and upholding the station’s brand essence in their own presence and interactions online. It is in their best interest that the station succeeds- both on-air and online.
However, the recent corporate requirements for morning shows are counter-productive. There is a disconnect in what Management really wants, and what they are going to get with these mandatory “guidelines”.
Social media is about personal relationships- between two people, between a person and a brand or business, between a Morning Show and a listener. These relationships, like any relationship in the “real” world, are based on trust. Listeners trust that the Morning Show is going to provide content relevant to the show and in line with the on-air brand. They trust that by liking the Facebook page or following the show’s Twitter account, they won’t get spammed.
One of the requirements recently placed on Morning Shows are rightfully upsetting this balance of trust. Stations are asking their Morning Shows to include a link to the station website in EVERY Facebook post or tweet. Posting irrelevant links that lead listeners on a goose chase for related content that doesn’t exist doesn’t build a good rapport with them. It can also be counter-productive in that they may not click through to the links that do matter after many times of clicking through for nothing.
For example, if a Morning Show uses social media to develop personal relationships with listeners, the host may share things that happen outside of the show or station. A picture of their child doing something funny, a picture with friends on the weekend, a video of their dog at the dog park. It doesn’t make sense to include a link to the station website in a mobile upload of a personal picture. Yet this is what stations are requiring.
Another unreasonable stipulation is that NO link may be posted or tweeted that isn’t a station website link. While Morning Shows should always strive to provide links to the content hosted on the station website, the content may not always be available there. Does that mean it’s not of interest to listeners? Should a Morning Show not post or tweet the news of Whitney Houston’s death because it’s over the weekend when webmasters are off work ( and the news is too new to be posted on the station website, anyway)?
Management is smart to take advantage of the relationship between a successful Morning Show and its listeners. So hold them accountable for a certain number of posts/tweets per week that contain links to the station website. Hold them accountable for a reasonable standard of website traffic. Ask them to include the streaming link when they use social media to ask for opinions on phone topics.
Just don’t create guidelines that violate the nature of social media. That doesn’t increase web traffic or ratings- it turns a P1 into a casual listener by damaging he trust relationship between air talent and listeners.
-written for Radio Ink Magazine
I am passionate about this topic! I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think air talent (and I) have a right to be upset about these requirements? Or do you think they are realistic? Leave me a comment.
It’s Time for Timeline: Tips for Designing Your Cover Photo
Facebook will make the new Timeline design mandatory for Pages March 30. This means you need to get busy this week setting up your Timeline before it goes public.
If you haven’t done your homework yet on the changes Timeline will bring to your Facebook Page, Scott Sands has a comprehensive list of the changes and what they mean for radio here.
The main focus of apprehension is the Cover Photo, which is the huge banner visible at the top of each Timeline. The rest of the Timeline changes involve Facebook taking the (hopefully brilliant) information you already have on your Page and displaying it in, you guessed it, a timeline.
COVER PHOTO EXAMPLES
While many stations and shows haven’t made the switch yet, there are some who have jumped the gun and made Timeline public.
The radio cover photos I’ve seen have a visual focus on one of the following themes:
- The station’s core artists
- The Morning Show air talent
- The station or show logo
- Promotional copy for either a station promotion or a current on-air contest
- The city skyline
Before you design your cover photo, here are some examples you should check out to get your creative juices flowing. Click the links in each category to view live examples of what other stations and shows are doing with their Timeline design:
It’s All About the Morning Show
Both stations and Morning Shows themselves are using the cover photo to promote morning air talent.
- The Dave Ryan Show
- The” That Guy” Kramer Show
- BJ Shea
- Kidd Kraddick
- Virgin/Calgary
- Bill and Lynda in the Morning
We’re Focused on the Music
Stations are using the cover photo to promote the music, similar to station website mastheads. If you have the file used to create your station’s masthead, you can use some of the same images to design your cover photo.
Love for the Logo
Integrating your logo in the design is a great idea, but get creative instead of stretching the logo to fit the dimensions.
We’re Promoting Something
Use your cover photo to promote an on-air contest or to support the station’s branding efforts.
Unique Designs
Get creative! The sky is the limit. Spend some time brainstorming before you get started. Ask yourself, “what are we known for? what do we want to promote?” and let the answers guide your design.
- Click 101.5 Dayton
- Biggs and Barr
- WTOP Washington, DC
- Big 105.9/Miami
- The Big 98/Nashville
- KROQ/Los Angeles
- Kevin and Bean
- 92.1 WROU/Dayton
- 92.3 Now/New York
- 107.5 The River/Nashville
Show Me the Money
These stations are using their cover photos to advertise a sponsor or sponsored promotions. Before you follow suit, read these guidelines to ensure you’re in compliance with Facebook’s rules! If you decide to go this route and include a sponsor in your cover photo, integrate the logo into your design so the cover photo still looks like one for YOUR station.
HOW TO DESIGN YOUR COVER PHOTO
Ideally, you should custom design your cover photo using a program like Adobe Photoshop. If someone on your team has graphic design skills, use these dimensions to ensure your cover photo looks great on your Timeline:
- Cover Photo: 851 pixels wide x 315 pixels tall
- Profile Picture: 180 pixels wide x 180 pixels tall (Make sure your logo fits within the square for a more professional look. Remember that this profile picture is the thumbnail that appears on each post you make, so it should be easy to identify.)
If graphic design isn’t in your skill set, don’t panic. Email me for a custom design quote or try one of these apps to create a sharp design for free:
Leave a comment below with a link to your Timeline so I can check it out. Learn anything when designing yours? Share your tips, too.
While you’re on Facebook, check out my cover photo and The Randy Lane Company’s, too.
Arbitron’s Social Media Policy
Did you know you can’t discuss ratings on your social networks? If you don’t think it’s a big deal, ask Oprah, who was under fire from Nielsen for tweeting “Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Nielsen box” last month.
Arbitron’s updated policy Social Media Do’s & Dont’s lists ways you can preserve respondent anonymity, avoid rating distortion (any station activity that may affect the way diary keepers record listening) and rating bias (any activity that may prompt a station’s listeners to participate in Arbitron’s survey).
This would include thanking listeners for a successful ratings book. Arbitron thinks this may encourage listeners to reveal that they were part of the survey, compromising anonymity.
Arbitron monitors both station and air talent social media accounts, so check out the policy here to ensure you’re in compliance.
-written for The Randy Lane Company Content Ideas