Buzzfeed News reported this week on Facebook’s war against fake news. Fake news sites like National Report create false stories with clickbait headlines, and depend on Facebook to drive traffic to them. Facebook is doing their best to curtail the traffic they’re driving to these sites unintentionally. [Read more…] about Hey, Radio DJ! You Have a Responsibility to Fact-Check Facebook Posts
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4 Tips for Marketing to Millennial Moms
Millennial moms are discerning. They expect authenticity and are drawn to brands that tell a compelling story with every touchpoint. Moms today demand more from your marketing than ever before.
As I shared on a recent panel at M2Moms, here are 3 things you should know when marketing to millennial moms:
- Think mobile first. Moms are meeting your brand on their phones, and they are a design-conscious audience that expects a cohesive user experience from in-store to TV to mobile. Given that 21% of Millennials don’t even use a desktop computer to go online anymore, being mobile responsive is no longer enough. Think about the mobile experience first, and then think about how that translates to desktop.
- Be transparent. They grew up with the Internet and know how to get information quickly and how to tell what’s legitimate. Many Millennials will dig into the source of information, particularly when they’re skeptical to begin with. So when it comes to creating content for your brand, make sure your t’s are crossed at all times. If not, be prepared to be embarrassed as your brand authority comes into question.
- Focus on the lifestyle. I know it’s painful to hear, but moms care about more than just your product. Your product is a tiny blip within the full (and often chaotic) life she is living. To build loyalty through marketing, think about the bigger picture. What is she doing when the need for your product arises? How is your product used in her daily life? Use content marketing and digital advertising to tell her you understand her—her needs as a whole and not just her need for your product.
- Segment your Millennial audience. A “one size fits all” approach is only good when it applies to a poncho in the pouring rain at an amusement park. Know which segment of the Millennial audience you’re talking to, and craft your message accordingly. Don’t believe me? Get a 22-year-old and a 34-year-old in a room together and tell me how much they have in common.
The Do’s And Don’ts of Social Media Teasing
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.
11 Digital Predictions for the Radio Industry
Based on the digital landscape in radio today, here are 11 predictions for radio’s future in digital:
1. The fusion of on-air content and online platforms will be seamless. 
As radio stations develop strong digital strategies for their on-air talent, the content and engagement of online platforms will be naturally integrated into the on-air show. As the request lines ring less and less, jocks will use texting, social media and website commenting platforms to add more listener interaction to their shows.
2. Air talent social media platforms will be owned by the radio companies who employ them.
Many of the major radio corporations are already enforcing company social media guidelines upon air talent for their individual and show accounts. While some may retain control based on a “grandfathered in” negotiation, many will lose control as they are required to follow specific rules and even give administrative access to corporate staff.
3. Air talent will be held accountable for their online results.
Website traffic and social media success will no longer be measured out of curiosity or used for bonuses only. Air talent will be required to meet quarterly goals set by management, for both the station website and their show’s digital platforms.
4. Stations will budget for social media third party apps.
To achieve results with social media, radio will invest in applications for scheduling, contesting, and analytics.
5. Podcasting will no longer be the redheaded stepchild of radio.
Radio will follow the model of television (think DVR, on-demand), super-serving the core listeners with on-demand listening. Instead of viewing podcasts as a threat to both radio’s ratings and budget, managers will innovate and restructure podcasts to create ROI, regardless of the minimal ratings return.
6. All stations will have mobile apps and websites.
As mobile website usage continues to rise, even the smallest companies will focus on the mobile optimization of their station websites, and will invest in reliable mobile listening apps.
7. Stations will own advanced video equipment.
As the pressure to incorporate video into digital strategies builds, stations will invest in video equipment for use in-studio, at promotional events, concerts, and client remotes.
8. Radio will invest in social gaming for branding and promotions.
As listeners become more savvy to standard online advertisements, digital strategists and sales managers will invest more money for better results, with creative branding campaigns and promotions using social gaming.
9. Radio sales executives will sell the entire brand, rather than just terrestrial radio.
As advertisers seek more creative, multi-platform ideas, radio’s sales superstars will view their station brand from a big picture perspective, creating unique solutions for clients that involve marketing from a variety of platforms.
10. The radio industry will become an early adopter to digital innovations.
We’ve watched the newspaper industry’s struggle to innovate, and we won’t be left behind. Radio companies will be exploring new innovations as they arise, mining them for revenue opportunities.
11. Social media strategists and content curators will be standard positions in the radio industry.
As radio’s digital efforts continue, companies will hire content producers and social media strategists to create online content, design individual station strategies, and measure results.
Get our your Magic 8 Ball and make a prediction of your own in the comments. I’d love to hear it!
Photo courtesy of Sassy-Stock at deviantart.com.
Social Media and Appointment Listening
Facebook and Twitter are different animals, and your frequency strategy should be different for each one.
For one, Facebook is not an of the moment, breaking news network like Twitter. (They want to be with the addition of subscriptions and the ticker, but they aren’t there yet.) Facebook users are less likely to take immediate action than Twitter users.
Secondly, while posting new Facebook status updates several times an hour will likely annoy your fans, tweeting several times an hour is not only excepted — some say it’s optimal.
- Use Facebook to post show-related content that remains relevant in news feeds once the show is over (think podcasts, phone topics, videos or stories you shared on-air). Save the appointment listening, what’s happening right now updates for Twitter. Since you are only posting on Facebook every 1.5 hours or twice per show, choose your posts carefully.
- Post the same A+ updates from Facebook on Twitter, along with more appointment listening and of the moment updates. Recent research by KISSmetrics shows that it is optimal to tweet 1-4 times an hour. Posting more often on Twitter means you don’t have to be as picky with the content you choose.
Here’s an example of how an appointment listening post differs on Facebook and Twitter:
You post “We’re giving away tickets to see Adele in 20 minutes” on both. What happens?
Twitter: The immediacy of Twitter may elicit a response, encouraging followers to listen to the show to win. By the time the tickets are given away, the tweet will be buried by other tweets.
Facebook: The post may be visible in your listeners’ news feeds long after you gave away the tickets. The way Facebook’s algorithm Edgerank works makes it impossible to gauge how long this post will be visible.
The results of a 2011 study from knowDigital based on interviews with 30 KROQ/Los Angeles Facebook fans matched my own observations on Facebook and appointment setting. This study shows that Facebook posts about show or station features increase awareness, but do not encourage fans to tune in at a specific time.
Use Facebook Insights or another analytics program to measure your Facebook engagement to see if this is true for your station or show.
-written for The Randy Lane Company Content Ideas