Stephanie Winans

Business & Marketing Strategy Consulting

hashtag

What’s To Love About Facebook Hashtags?

by 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?

Think Like TV: Tips to Making a One-Way Medium Interactive

by Leave a Comment

The request lines don’t ring very often anymore. So, how can we make radio interactive without callers? Luckily, social media and texting became popular about the time calling in to a radio show became unpopular.

We have the opportunity to make our one-way medium a two-way interaction between us and the listeners. We also know that radio is a secondary medium. Listeners are doing something else while they listen. Why don’t we take advantage of this knowledge? Television does.


Here are some TV examples and how they apply to Radio:

1. Creating a Generic Hashtag for the Show

Every show on TV advertises its own Twitter hashtag where viewers can talk about the show. Create a hashtag for shows on your station so listeners can tweet their thoughts and opinions.

2. Showing Affinity for a Personality’s Polarizing Opinion

Last season, The X-Factor encouraged viewers to tweet #IAmSimon, #IAmLA, #IAmPaula or #IAmNicole to show their affinity for a certain judge’s comments during the show. The X-Factor generated an average of 94,000 social comments per episode, as recorded by Bluefin. How? By getting creative with hashtags, and promoting them constantly throughout the show.
Follow The X Factor model and also use hashtags for polarizing on-air topics. If you and your co-host have opposite opinions, encourage listeners to tweet who they agree with by creating unique hashtags. Plan this when you’re prepping for tomorrow’s show, so you can promote it before you begin the topic, as well as during the topic and afterward.

3. Creating Specific Hashtags for Real-Time Interaction

According to Carri Bugbee, the #TrumpRoast hashtag was used more than 27,000 times on Twitter during the March 2011 telecast of the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump.

Comedy Central gave #TrumpRoast its own hashtag because they knew this episode would generate a reaction. If you have a hot feature that incites a huge reaction from listeners, create a separate hashtag for that feature. Promote it each time the feature runs on-air, and use the hashtag in your own tweets from the station or show accounts.

Include listener comments on-air in real time to make the show itself more interactive.

4. Developing Promotions Around Their Experience

The Shark Week Photo Frenzy – a call for fans to submit photos of how they celebrate Shark Week, got 600,000 page views and over 1,000 submissions. The Facebook Page accrued 30,000 fans in one day, and 116,000 in one week. The ratings result? The highest number of viewers in Shark Week history.

Dateline did something similar with their “How do you Dateline” promotion. They encouraged listeners to share their experience with the show by sending in video to Dateline producers about their routine around the program or tweeting #howdoyoudateline. They saw a huge response: over a 10 month span, the show’s audience on Facebook has grown to 173,000 users from 47,000. Their followers on Twitter doubled.

Keep your highest-rated show top of mind by creating a long-term promotion around your listeners’ experience. How do they listen? Are they listening at work, at the gym, in carpool? Ask them to share with a video or via Twitter. Award a prize to your favorite each week, and give individual shout-outs on-air. For example, “This song is for Vickie, who says she works out during the show”.

5. Driving Traffic to Your Website

According to to lostremote.com, The Food Network generated 640,000 page views in May from Pinterest alone with a strategy that focuses on both show content and talent.

Create strong website content that’s worthy of sharing. Share it via social media with carefully crafted teases to incite a click through. Measure your results frequently to determine which types of posts cause a spike in web traffic.

6. Listening to Feedback

Rick Haskins, The CW’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Digital Programs, admits to lostremote.com that they not only listen, but respond to feedback. When viewers were watching CW shows illegally on pirate sites to avoid the three day delay on the CW app, the CW addressed the issue with the introduction of next day streaming on their own site.

Listen to the feedback. Respond with a solution when possible. If you don’t, your listeners might go somewhere else to find the content they’re looking for.

7. Providing Training for Staff

According to Rick Haskins, the CW provides social media training for their shows’ stars and productions staff.

If your Programming or Promotions staff isn’t capitalizing on the opportunities they have with social media, train them. Hold brainstorming meetings to encourage sharing among stations and shows, or hire someone (me!) who can teach them how to create a strategy that produces results.

 

Have you tried these TV tricks on your show? How did it work out?
Also published in Radio Ink Magazine

Trending on Twitter: Your On-Air Topic

by 1 Comment

Your cigarette lighter is out of fluid and you have an electric stove. Pam Anderson is doing a book signing at the mall and you’re bummed you have to work. You think “loaded dishwasher” means your wife is drunk. These are white trash people problems, and apparently they resonate with people all over the world.

How do I know that? Not because I’m “white trash”, but because Tuesday The Dave Ryan Show at KDWB/Minneapolis had the #1 U.S. trend and the #2 worldwide trend on Twitter with #WhiteTrashPeopleProblems.

Dave says it all started when they were talking on-air about how Crisco saw a woman at the gas station leave her 4-year-old in the car while she purchased Mountain Dew and Lottery tickets. They brought up white trash people problems and tweeted a few, asking listeners to tweet their thoughts with the hashtag #WhiteTrashPeopleProblems. 90 minutes later the topic was the #2 trend in the world.

Starting a worldwide trend is every social media maven’s dream, and the goal of many social-media-savvy morning shows. Dave calls it the “Holy Grail of Twitter Success”. But what does it mean for radio? And how can your show create the next big Twitter trend?

What It Means

One Helluva On-Air Topic
A topic becomes a Twitter trend because the masses find it entertaining and relevant. If resonates with your audience, then your show that day was a hit even without the Twitter trend.

National or International Exposure
Starting a Twitter trend is free marketing, extending the market reach for your show (and the station, too). People who have never heard of your show or station are engaging with your on-air topic.

Increase In Cume
Thanks to streaming, the added exposure means you could acquire some new listeners.

More Followers
With a Twitter trend, many people will tweet the hashtag without ever knowing how it began. However, if you do a good job marketing with retweets that attribute your part in it, tweeps outside your market will gather that you started the trend. This should, as it did with The Dave Ryan Show, lead to a spike in Twitter followers for the show players and station. (Dave says his account received 500+ new followers in 24 hours.)

Street Cred with Listeners
It’s true. Telling listeners “thanks for helping us create the #2 worldwide trend on Twitter” makes you sound cool. And who doesn’t want to sound cool?

Part of the brand essence of radio stations and morning shows, especially in CHR, is to be on the forefront of trends. Having success on Twitter with a trend will support (or build) your morning show and station brands as “cutting edge.”

Happy Management
An on-air topic that goes viral. Free marketing for the show and station. Social media success. This translates to some credibility with management, too.

If that sounds good to you, keep reading.

Tips To Get Your Topic Trending on Twitter

1. Be Funny
Who doesn’t love to laugh, or to make someone laugh? A topic that’s funny has a good shot at being shared.

2. Be Relatable
The Dave Ryan Show knew that everyone could relate to white trash people problems. Admit it: you know someone (or are someone!) who has had these issues.

3. Be Universal
A topic that is only relevant to your market will only be shared in your market. Choose a universal topic and you’re more likely to create a national or international trend.

4. Keep It Simple
Get too creative and others won’t be able to devise their own tweets to help your hashtag rise to the trending topics list.

5. Promote It
Promote it on the air, and on Twitter using the hashtag. Let your Facebook fans know what’s happening on Twitter, too with a post that says something like “Tweet us with your suggestions for our topic using the hashtag #WhateverItIs. Not on Twitter? Leave us a comment here.”

When you start to achieve some success on Twitter in the way of retweets or tweets using the hashtag, share them on-air. Make it sound big and more listeners will participate. Share the best ones on-air and credit the user’s Twitter name when you do.

Learn more about Twitter trends here.

Twitter Tip from The X Factor

by 2 Comments

The X Factor got creative with Twitter this week. Not only did they launch Twitter as a voting platform, but they used #hashtags to make the show itself more interactive. The show encouraged viewers to tweet #IAmSimon, #IAmLA, #IAmPaula or #IAmNicole to show their affinity for a certain judge’s comments during the show.

We often encourage you to create and use a #hashtag when talking about your show on Twitter. Follow The X Factor model and also use hashtags to get listener opinion on polarizing on-air topics. If you and your co-host have opposite opinions, encourage listeners to tweet who they agree with using #AgreewithInsertName or #InsertNameIsRight. If the topic is controversial but your opinions are the same, use the topic itself to create the #hashtag.

To make it more clear, tweet what the hashtags are from your station and show Twitter accounts in addition to announcing them on-air. For example, tweet “ We’re talking about men over 25 who still live at home. Tweet #AgreewithAdam or #AgreewithJane to tell us who you agree with.”

 

-written for The Randy Lane Company