Content Tips for Social Media Success

Content is king. It’s what gets you new likes and followers on Facebook and Twitter, and it’s what keeps existing fans coming back for more. To engage listeners and increase your station’s online following, create a social media content strategy and share your focus with your staff.

To plan your strategy, make listeners your first priority. What do listeners want or expect from your station’s social media efforts? To answer this question, measure your current efforts and ask them directly.

Measure your current posts on Facebook using Facebook Insights or another third-party analytics application. Which posts receive the most exposure, the highest level of engagement, and the highest “talking about this” rating? On Twitter, which posts get @replies or retweets? You can also ask your listeners’ opinion using Facebook questions or a poll on your website.

Here are a few content tips to help you craft your own content strategy:

• When promoting your social networks on-air, use words that focus on the listener, and not the station. (Think “what’s in it for them”, not “what’s in it for us”.) Promote what the station’s social media accounts have to offer the listeners instead of just requesting likes, which can sound desperate on the air.

• Respond to listener questions. Listeners are more likely to ask a question on Facebook or Twitter than to call or email the station. If you don’t know the answer, find it.

• Share concert announcements and music news. You are your listeners’ source for music information.

• Post information about station promotions and events. Include the basic details and a link to your website for more information.

• Post pictures and videos of in-studio celebrity interviews or performances, and at concerts. Create excitement about the interview or show by posting mobile uploads during the event.

• Promote an upcoming guest by soliciting for listener input on what you should ask during the interview. When you use their questions, tell the guest the question is from a listener on Facebook or Twitter.

• Share what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s no secret that listeners love seeing what goes on off the air. Share stories, pictures or videos to give them a peek “backstage”. This will make them feel like they’re part of the show.

• Integrate social media into your on-air topics. Get listeners who post entertaining comments on-air, or read their responses along with their name and the source.

• Listen to what your listeners are talking about online. 50% of conversation is listening, so make sure you pay attention to what is being said about your brand. Twitter search is an easy way to keep tabs on conversation about your station or show.

• Plan a social media-intensive promotion. Use a third-party application to run the contest legally within the Facebook framework, or host the contest on your station website and promote it on your social networks.

• Use Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube to share exclusive hints to a big on-air or text promotion.

• Plan a picture of the day campaign for Facebook and Twitter. Post a different picture of your staff as your profile picture each day. Tease the picture on-air.

• Conduct a fan of the day or fan of the week promotion by highlighting an active online follower. Create a graphic that includes the fan’s picture and interesting information about him or her. Mention the fan briefly on-air to draw attention to the promotion and encourage others to join the online conversation.

• Conduct a scavenger hunt in your market for prizes. Use social media to post hints on your location. Post mobile uploads to Facebook and Twitter for a visual hint.

• Create an entertaining on-air segment or promotion around social media. Read a funny status update or tweet of the day. Include Twitter trends in your entertainment report. Plan topics like “Facebook Court” to help listeners decide if they should unfriend someone.

-written for Radio Ink and The Randy Lane Company