I had the pleasure of speaking with Fred LeFebvre on 1370 WSPD/Toledo regarding the role social media played in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Listen to the podcast here.
Business & Marketing Strategy Consulting
I had the pleasure of speaking with Fred LeFebvre on 1370 WSPD/Toledo regarding the role social media played in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Listen to the podcast here.
You spend time each day crafting on-air teases for your show. And why? You create strong teases to give listeners that “I have to hear this” feeling, to keep them listening through commercials or music breaks.
Social media teases are very similar to on-air teases. We want to give listeners that same feeling, except that with digital media it’s “I’ve got to see this” instead of “I’ve got to hear this.”
And instead of enticing a listener to stay tuned, you’re goal is to entice her to click the link you’ve shared or to listen to the station. Here are some do’s and don’ts for successful teasing:
– Do create fresh content on your website. Strong teases start with strong website content. Is each category of your site frequently updated with fresh content? If you don’t have a content strategy for your website, it’s time to create one.
Without a robust content strategy, it is difficult for Social Media Managers (or Promotions Directors, or whoever runs your social media presence) to find quality content that supports both the station brand and the social media strategy in place.
For example, having frequently updated jock blogs, show podcasts, music news, concert calendars and videos gives you a stable cornerstone in which to build your social media strategy. If your website is static, you are forced to curate relevant content from other websites 100% of the time. This is a missed opportunity as you are generating traffic (and revenue!) for other companies and not your own.
– Do use the 80/20 rule. Randy Lane and Angela Perelli, my colleagues at The Randy Lane Company, encourage talent to use this guide for on-air teases. It works online, too. Give the listener 80% of the information and withhold 20%. Leave just enough to create a mystery.
– Do consider your on-air tease on the topic. Often the same tease you use on-air works, if the post is related to a show topic, event, promotion or blog you’ve talked about on-air.
– Don’t be misleading. While your teases should be compelling, they shouldn’t be misleading. Think Huffington Post, not National Enquirer. The payoff must be worth it or that fan won’t click the link the next time.
– Craft appointment listening teases differently for each platform. Keep in mind that each social media platform is different, and post your information regarding the ‘appointment’ accordingly.
For example, if you post “listen at 7:35am” on Twitter, the immediacy of the ‘real time’ platform may elicit a response, encouraging followers to listen to the show. By the time 7:35 has passed, the tweet will be buried by other tweets.
On Facebook, though, the post may be visible in your listeners’ news feeds long after 7:35. The way Facebook’s algorithm EdgeRank works makes it impossible to gauge how long this post will be visible. It would be smarter to say, “Listen at 7:35am each day this week” so the post is relevant in newsfeeds after that time passes.
– Do keep it short. You’ll lose their attention with wordy posts.
– Don’t include irrelevant links to the station website in every post. The social media relationship between you and a listener is based on trust. When you attach a link that is irrelevant to the post content, you send your listeners on a wild goose chase to look for content that doesn’t exist. That goose chase might get a listener to click through once, but it probably won’t happen twice. You’ve broken their trust and next time they will know the link leads to nowhere.
– include a call to action (CTA). What do you want to listener to do? Tune in? Click the link to read more? Make sure you direct the action you want.
Happy teasing!
This is an excerpt from an article written for The Mouth magazine.
We talk a lot about the science of social media — the strategy and the measurement of our efforts.
What we don’t talk about enough is the art — the philosophy of social media that drives our presence.
Strategy is important. The functions of social media within your company or show… how often and when to post on each platform…which types of content receive the highest reach and engagement… those are all key pieces to an effective strategy.
But without a philosophy of social media, none of that matters.
So what’s a philosophy? Find out in my blog for The Randy Lane Company here.
Whether you’re developing a strategy for social media, planning to update the station website, creating a business model for streaming, or wondering why you aren’t getting advertisers’ digital dollars, conducting an analysis of the competition is key.
Why? An online analysis of the competitive landscape yields information you may not hear by monitoring the on-air product. You can capitalize on their weaknesses, or reveal your own by finding out what they’re doing better. You can also determine whether competitors are generating revenue from advertisers.
Program Directors spend time listening to the competition. It’s time to start listening online, too.
What To Review
What Next?
Photo credit: Harald Hoyer/Flickr via Creative Commons
What metrics or entities do you include when analyzing competitors? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
1. You should know where you’re headed.
Like a road trip, you should know where you’d like to end up. Without measurable goals in mind, social media is a hobby, not a business initiative. A clearly defined strategy is key to success with social media.
2. It takes a map to get to where you want to go.
Once you’ve defined your destination or desired goals, you need to define how you will get from where you are now to where you want to be. What types of posts and content categories will your audience respond to? What time of day is your audience active online? Who within your company will execute the strategy?
3. You must be prepared for a detour.
When you encounter a detour or roadblock, don’t panic. Use your map to develop a new route to help you reach your destination. You will revise your plan many times to reflect what you learn from executing it.
4. Sometimes you have to ask for help.
With new social platforms popping up every day, we’re constantly learning. Don’t be too insecure to brainstorm with another marketer.
5. It can be a blast, or it can be boring. The experience depends on your creativity.
Creating quality content for your social channels requires commitment to both creativity and planning.
6. Entertainment is key for both.
Road trips can be pretty boring without entertainment. So can social media! Don’t be afraid to entertain your listeners by letting your personality shine through in a way that still maintains your brand image. And embrace multimedia- it never hurts to have images, audio and video!
7. Other people on the “road” may annoy you.
As they speed trying to beat you, the quick way isn’t always the easy way. For example, posting “empty engagement” updates on Facebook may drive more likes, but it won’t lead to brand loyalty or ROI.
8. Recklessness gets you nowhere.
Stay in control, or the results could be dangerous to your brand. Just ask KitchenAid.
9. You ask “are we there yet?”
Success in social media doesn’t happen overnight. Much like a cross-country road trip, it takes time and focus to get there.
And how is social media not like a road trip? High traffic is only a hope for one of the two!
Photo credit: -Patxi Izkue- on Flickr via Creative Commons