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Stephanie Winans

Business & Marketing Strategy Consulting

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engagement

What’s To Love About Facebook Hashtags?

July 14, 2013 by Stephanie Winans Leave a Comment

You’ve seen (and used, I hope!) hashtags on other social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. The hashtag, a word or multiple words preceding the ‘#’ without spacing, is a method of categorizing online content and giving it context.

While using hashtags on Facebook used to be a faux pas, that is no longer true now that Facebook introduced hashtags in June. Facebook users have been able to make public status updates for some time, but what was missing was a way to find public posts on a specific topic. The hashtag is that missing piece for Facebook. Now you can click a hashtag to read all public posts (and posts from your friends).

Take “I love #KDWB,” for example. Clicking #KDWB within this post would return all posts with that hashtag, Bulldogs-Hashtag-Exampleconnecting fans of KDWB with one another. (Hint: it works just like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr.) See my bulldog image at right for a general example.

So what’s to love about Facebook hashtags?

  • Using them will extend the reach of your posts to non-fans. That’s right- people who haven’t liked your page can now find your posts and engage with them. Think of hashtags as a free alternative to page post ads. You can increase your reach on a post to non-fans without purchasing Facebook ads. (Hashtags likely won’t be as effective as ads on increasing page likes, but you should see an increase in reach as Facebook hashtags become more popular.)

 

  • You can now create a cross-platform hashtag promotion, accepting entries from fans on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

 

  • In addition to promotions and contests, radio can use Facebook hashtags as well as Twitter’s for on-air interaction, increasing the interaction and number of responses from listeners on show topics.

 

  • Hashtags will supercharge Facebook ad campaigns. In addition to demographic data and interests (based on pages they like), you can now target people who are talking about a certain topic using hashtags. So, you might select females 18-49 who have been talking about #music #radio or #Kesha for a Top 40 ad campaign.

 

  • When crafting social media posts, there is one less thing to change between your Facebook and Twitter copy.

 

  • They will make Facebook a player for event marketing. Twitter has owned social media promotion for events, but now Facebook is in the game. You can create a hashtag for a conference, promotion or concert and use it on both platforms.

What are your thoughts on Facebook hashtags? Have you started using them yet?

Filed Under: Artists, Business, Uncategorized Tagged With: contest, engagement, facebook, hashtag, reach, social media

Pinterest and Top 40 Radio: Embrace Her Lifestyle

June 18, 2012 by Stephanie Winans Leave a Comment

There’s a reason so many brands and businesses are creating a marketing strategy just for Pinterest. It’s a huge traffic driver. Recent statistics show it provides more referral traffic to other websites than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

Whether you’re a blogger, a retail boutique, or a radio station, traffic to your website is important. Web traffic makes advertisers happy, and your station may gain new listeners both within and outside your market from Pinterest referrals. If your website content is good, those visitors may become regulars. They might listen online, and again in the car when they head to work the next morning. They might even pin your content, increasing your reach yet again.

Almost 70% of Pinterest users are female. 50% have children. The age demographic is varied, with 27% 25-34, 29% 35-44, 24% 45-54. The site receives almost 1.5 million visitors every day, with users spending an average of almost 16 minutes per visit (which exceeds Facebook at 12.1 minutes). See the infographic below for a visual display of these Pinterest stats and more.

Both the demographics and the power of Pinterest as a referral source for websites make it perfect for Top 40 radio.

However, the nature of Pinterest is different than other platforms. Show up and do what you do on Facebook or Twitter and you’re destined to fail. Treat Pinterest as a “what’s in it for her” experience, and you’ll be rewarded with the virality of repins, an increase in web traffic, engaged listeners and happy clients.

Embrace The Top 40 Lifestyle: Get In Her Head

Define your station’s target listener. Go beyond the age and gender to determine what she does during a typical day. What are her interests? What are her problems? Defining these will help you create a content strategy for your station’s Pinterest account.

80% of pins are repins, meaning Pinterest users are browsing to curate content from pinners they follow (and not always to create organic pins from the web). This could be thrilling or damaging, depending on the strength of your station’s content. The pro: There is a strong chance your content will be repinned if it’s good, expanding your reach and website traffic. The con: Station-centric content can’t be your focus. You won’t gain any followers, as only the most devoted P1s will repin a promotional image or DJ blog.

Users are looking for content they can identify with to repin as a form of self-expression or content they can come back to later like household tips, recipes, or products to purchase.

The most popular categories on Pinterest are Home, Arts and Crafts, Fashion, and Food. Use your listener profile to expand your strategy beyond these.

If 50% of Pinterest users have kids, and many Top 40 listeners do too, create content for Moms. For example, pin family-friendly events from your website’s event calendar to a Pinterest board for your Mama listeners. Or create a fitness board to help new Moms lose weight. Follow the example of Star 94/Atlanta and pin cute kid pics.

Use Pinterest to engage listeners on topics they enjoy. Use it to drive traffic back to your website, too. Create boards that represent features on your website. For example, a Sleaze board where you can pin entertainment and pop culture news from the station website, and other sources, too.

Add content to your website with the Pinterest mindset to ensure stories, promotions and events have an attractive image to pin. Use teases to ensure your followers will read the full story on your site.

While it’s essential to pin like a listener, don’t forget to include content expected from a radio station. Create boards for music you play, concerts in your market, personality blogs, and more.
Need help? An intern (ahem, ‘pintern’) in your demo might not be a bad idea.

 

 

 

Source for statistics and image: medianewsinpics.com
Image created by Modea

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: demographic, digital strategy, engagement, listeners, marketing, marketing strategy, online content, pinterest, radio, social media, target demo, Top 40, website, website traffic

Social Media Tips for Small Business [Audio]

June 6, 2012 by Stephanie Winans Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of being a guest on It’s Just Business, Wink 107.1/Ohio.

I gave the Business Crash Test Dummy, Kim Turner, feedback on a recent issue he had with Yelp. I answered several caller questions about small business and social media, including whether you should self-promote on LinkedIn, the Facebook cover photo no-no’s, and which platforms to choose if you’re just getting started.

To listen, click here.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: cover photo, engagement, facebook, followers, imagery, Instagram, LinkedIn, pictures, social media, social media service, twitter

8 Quick Tips for Better Air Talent Blogs and Morning Show Websites

May 28, 2012 by Stephanie Winans 2 Comments

Blog smog. You aren’t a blogger. Why should you worry about improving your writing skills?

As radio companies put more emphasis on digital growth, you are now responsible for website traffic and social media engagement in addition to on-air ratings.

Becoming a better blogger will give you organic content for your social networks, increasing web traffic as users are enticed to click through. Better blogs may also forge stronger relationships, turning casual listeners into P1s.

Convinced? Read on. (Unconvinced? Keep reading!)

Before we get into the tips, let’s define “blog”. According to Google, a blog is “a website on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis.” For radio, that includes your talent blogs, as well as the content you add to your website to reflect that day’s show topics.

So your entertainment buzz, stupid news, phone topics, and audio clips count as blogs, too.

Here are eight tips to improve your talent blogs and the content you post from the show each day:

1. Focus on Your Headline. When you plan your show, you write teases to keep people listening. With blogs, you write headlines to keep people reading. It’s really not that different.

2. Include your opinion. Often you blog about pop culture, music, or current events. Listeners can find these stories anywhere, but they found it on your website because they have an affinity for your brand. Along with Gotye’s new video or news about John Travolta’s massage misbehavior, include your opinion the way you would on-air. Don’t blog just to meet a corporate requirement or to provide listeners with strong content. Use the opportunity to showcase your character and create a connection with listeners that will keep them coming back- to your website and to your show.

3. Define your goal before you begin. Are you writing to inform, entertain or inspire? Read your blog when it’s done and make sure it cuts through in the way you planned. Will your readers learn something (about the subject, or about you)? Will they laugh? Will they be entertained? Will they be moved (to tears, or outrage)?

4. End with a call to action. Write to Done has a great blog on this that says “you need to make the reader take action”. Ask your reader to leave a comment, or to tune in to tomorrow’s show to listen to the topic on-air. For example, end your blog with:

  • “Are these masseurs telling the truth about John Travolta? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.”
  • “Listen tomorrow at 7:20 when we talk to Gotye and ask him about the ex that inspired this song.”

5. Respond to blog comments. Your blog is an opportunity to engage listeners. Call listeners by name. Continue the conversation with your reply. Be personable.

6. Craft Your Social Media Tease. An enticing on-air tease often makes a great tweet or Facebook post. Like on-air teases, your social media teases should pique the reader’s curiosity. Ask a question, develop a creative headline, and use images to increase traffic to your blog from your social profiles.

7. Be Enticing, Not Misleading. As this blog by Daniel Sharkov suggests, make sure you can back up the claims you make. Writing headlines that are enticing but misleading will only annoy your listeners and keep them from coming back. Follow Huffington Post on Twitter for a good example. Their tweets are creative and intriguing, but never misleading.

8. Measure. Don’t wait until your contract is up for renewal to find out how you’re doing online. Track your website traffic. Use Facebook Insights (or other third party measurement tools). Let the analytics guide your content. Listeners will tell you which blogs they find interesting. You just have to listen (or study the stats).

Have other tips to share? I’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below- I promise I’ll respond.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: analytics, blog, blogging, character, engagement, facebook, measurement, morning show, morning show website, online content, social media, talent, twitter, website, website traffic

Marrying Radio and Digital: Challenge #2

May 18, 2012 by Stephanie Winans 1 Comment

This is the second part of the four part series called “The Challenges of Marrying Radio and Digital.” Read part one here.

Challenge #2: Strategy

So a lot of us have accepted that as technology evolves, so is the radio industry. But acceptance is only the beginning; we must create a winning digital strategy to excel.

Do You Have One?

Digital ventures are no different than any other business pursuits. You need a strategy before you begin. While you might be shaking your head thinking “well that’s a no brainer”, consider social media. Many radio stations and morning shows created Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, jumping on the bandwagon with no strategy in mind, never dreaming of the marketing opportunity it would become.

If your company doesn’t have a clear-cut digital (and social) strategy yet, develop one now. And if your company has already created a winning strategy, take a look at how your strategy is being executed- from the top of the company to the bottom.

While it begins with upper management, your digital strategy must be communicated on every level- down to air talent, promotions staff, and interns. Talk to the people who execute your digital efforts on a daily basis to eradicate any weaknesses. The strategy must be flexible to be successful. Evaluating and adapting it often will keep you cutting edge as technology constantly evolves.

Getting the input of your staff will ensure your strategy is realistic, so that it works in practice and not just in theory. They will also be more likely to support the strategy and strive for success if they helped create it.

Define both the big picture goals and the task-oriented goals. Share your philosophy on why you think each digital platform is important, and what you hope to achieve by using it. This is just as important as passing along the guidelines and requirements for your staff. Think like the military and show your “soldiers” how their jobs contribute to the mission to create both passion and accountability.

Are Your Goals Well Defined?

As our knowledge and research of new digital platforms increase, make sure your strategy stays on target by re-evaluating your goals often. For example, the social media focus for many radio stations is misguided. Often the only goal measured is quantity. While every brand (not just radio) strives to build a large online community, those who do social media well understand that the quality of engagement within the community is more important than the size.

Because radio has the opportunity to build big social media promotions with prizes that other brands could only dream of securing, many stations and shows boast large numbers of likes and followers. However, the focus should extend beyond the goal of racking up numbers. The end goal should be conversion- turning casual listeners into P1 listeners by engaging and building relationships around the brand- its music, its air talent, its promotions. After all, we want to use social media to increase ratings, not for bragging rights that go no further than water cooler talk.

Martin Raab has led the marketing and strategic development of over 100 popular brands including ESPN Radio and FOX Sports Radio. He is currently Senior Vice President of Reach Media Inc., where he directs Marketing/PR/Communications, Events and Social Media for the Tom Joyner Morning Show and others. I love his focus on providing an experience for the listener to achieve success:

“Convergence really is a word of motivation. There’s more opportunities to speak to your audience and consumer, but nothing’s changed. You still need to engage with them in a way that’s meaningful to them. It’s not about you. It’s all about them. Celebrate them and you’ll celebrate your own success.”

Is It a Piece to the Puzzle?

While social media, mobile apps, and each interactive digital component on your website can seem like it’s own entity, remember that any digital enterprise is just an extension of your radio brand. Use these new innovations to support your brand positioning. From on-air to online (via the web, phone, tablet or car), the message listeners receive should be the same.

As social media should fit as a piece to your Marketing puzzle, and mobile apps, streaming and podcasting complete your Programming strategy, all digital efforts should support the end goal- to increase ratings. A strategy that makes digital a complement, not a supplement, to the on-air brand is key.

Angela Perelli, Senior Vice President and beloved Talent Coach at The Randy Lane Company, describes the challenge many stations face with finding a balance in convergence:

“What we’re finding with our clients is that the priorities have shifted almost too far over to the digital side, at the expense of what’s coming out the speakers. The best digital content for radio, especially morning shows, continues to be content that either started first from the radio show (e.g. extended video of a street stunt executed that morning) or that precedes an on-air segment (posts that ask for comments and stories that can be used on-air).”

Create, re-evaluate and test your strategy until your station’s digital efforts support your company’s quarterly (annual, and overall) goals. While merging radio and digital is important, the integrity of the on-air broadcast will always remain priority #1.

Are You Maximizing Your Strengths?

While competing with our pure play competitors means we need to embrace digital as we offer more listening options, it doesn’t mean we should overlook radio’s strengths as a medium. New media competitors can’t compete when it comes to the emotional connection radio builds with its listeners. As MC Hammer so (in)famously sang, they “Can’t touch this”.

I agree with Fred Jacobs, President of Jacobs Media and one of the most respected digital minds in radio, who says getting back to the basics will help maximize our strengths:

“Broadcast radio is challenged by new media in multiple areas, but its best course of action is to get back to its basics – personality, local connections, and an emotional bond with the audience.

We see broadcasters getting caught up in doing “random acts of digital,” rather than going through the difficult exercise of hammering out a viable digital strategy. Our recently released Techsurvey8 (170 stations, 12 formats, 57,300+ respondents) is an effort to help broadcasters do just that – identify their digital footprints and go from there.

In this study, we also learned that the weaknesses of pure plays like Pandora – lack of a human touch and local roots – are radio’s strengths. The emotional triggers for radio – providing companionship, an escape, and helping listeners get in a better mood – are its unique media strengths. These elements work well in the social space, too.

All of this becomes amplified when you consider that the next battleground is the car. As more consumers have access to numerous options via in-dash entertainment systems, the pressure for broadcasters to offer unique, meaningful local programming will be intensified.

A mobile strategy is no longer ‘optional equipment,’ as smartphones and tablets are proliferating at a high rate of speed.”

The results of TechSurvey8  show what we already knew- that radio’s strengths are the weaknesses of our new media competitors. Just like any other business strategy, the goal with digital innovation is to maximize our strengths (not scratch them and start over).

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: challenges, engagement, management, marketing strategy, mobile, social media, social media strategy

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