Steve Allen

Before devoting himself to the art and science of social media, Steve Allan programmed radio stations in DC, Detroit, Boston and Cincinnati and held corporate programming positions with AM/FM and Clear Channel. As a former radio guy, Allen despairs at the medium’s apparent lack of  understanding of social media.  Too many stations/personalities continue to use Facebook, Twitter, et. al, as just another place to plug upcoming guests or deliver news headlines.  While there’s no wrong way to use social media, those are probably the least effective ways to employ this powerful new medium.  In this exclusive piece, Allen suggests five ways that talk stations and hosts can  better harness the power of social media.

Seventy-one percent of US Internet users have a Facebook account and half of them visit it every single day. According to Nielsen, the average Internet user spends over seven hours per month on Facebook alone. To say that Social Media has become the water cooler of social interactions is a gross understatement.

How are you harnessing the power of social media to improve the content and reach of your show? More importantly, are you using social media as a tool in your creative arsenal?

Here are 5 things you can do – right now – to make your performance stand out.

Socialize – Stop sending listeners to your website and start inviting them to join you on Facebook. Your GM will hate this but he is swimming against the tide. Radio stations drive listeners to their websites for one reason only – to increase visitor count and page views so they can sell banner ads. This process has nothing to do with engaging your fans and making them more a part of your show. It does nothing to increase the emotional bond between host and fan. Website interaction is generally a one-way street while Facebook can create a conversation and generate real time feedback.

Think of it this way. Which is more powerful – 1,000 unique visitors or 1,000 Facebook fans? Calm your GM by telling him that you’ll drive your fans to his website.

Test topics – Assuming you have built a strong fan base (think of it as a good AQH) you can use that audience to test topic. Ask questions and gauge reaction. You’ll find that there are many fans out there who will converse with you in Social Media who will never call you on the phone.

Replace the bad phone call – How many local talk shows have a trained call screener whose sole function is to separate the wheat from the chaff? Today’s overworked show producer generally does not have the time to truly determine if that next caller is entertainment worthy. However, by using social media you will actually see good, repeatable comments and be able to attribute them to real people (or at least their handles).

Spread the word – Getting people to talk about you is the most powerful form of marketing. Getting them to spread the word about you to their social networks puts that marketing on steroids. As a talk show host you are (hopefully) a content creator. People love to share great content. This is the equivalent to the old politician’s trick of shaking hands and kissing babies.

SEARCH – Everyone Google searches.  That is what we all use to find information. But how does that help you know what your audience is talking about? It doesn’t.  But these tools can assist you in finding out what topics are being discussed in your market. After all, shouldn’t your content reflect your audience’s interests?

Google Real Time – This is a topic search to find out what is being said in, well, real time. You pick the topics and the engine reveals the conversations.

Samepoint.com – A multi-functional search engine that specializes in social networks. Like Google Real time – you pick the topics.

Twitter – Set up your search function on your Twitter account to list your local market. You can go deeper by using the advanced search. This helps you find what the biggest trending topics are in your area.

These serve as a great starting point to learn what people are talking about and can help you decide what topics are important to your show.

Social media can be a difference maker for you and your show. It brings you closer to your audience than ever before. In turn, they get a better feeling for who you are than they ever could. Social Media is not just an essential part of your show prep – it has become part of the show.

For more insight from Steve Allen check out his blog http://smthree.wordpress.com or visit his website www.smthree.com.

A Facebook fan page isn’t mandatory, but once you put it up, the page becomes part of your brand.  Its content needs to reflect the standards you want people to associate with your station or show. That’s why one of my clients has its marketing director approve and oversee all fan pages associated with the station.

But a fan page can do more than expose your brand.  It can be a powerful tool for building a connection with your most loyal listeners — but only if you are willing to provide real value, including a willingness to engage them in a good-faith two-way conversation.  Think of your fan page as a cross between a Loyal Listeners Club and “Ask The Manager” and you’ll start to see the real value.

Blogtalkradio.com

For Facebook, our hosts will be able to easily create events, update their status to let their friends know they are broadcasting live and finally, after the show is over, the archived show will be embedded directly into their status update.

For Twitter, tweets will be automatically be sent from your Twitter profile, when the show is live and then again when the archived show is available for consumption.”

Note that these updates are generated automatically.  Any way for a talk radio station or syndicated show to do the same thing – automatically?  That would be useful.  Send along your ideas, and we’ll share them with the group.

 Here’s a taste of Jerry’s post. Get the full report here. 

1. Do not try to make Facebook the digital version of direct mail. You’ll fail miserably. While it is easy and inexpensive to reach your base of friends, they will blow you off faster than you can click send. Some stations think Facebook is a promotion tool. It is not. Rather, it is a communication device to talk with your audience.

3. Real people should do real Facebook outreach. Some folks don’t agree with this, but your time is well spent whenever you get to know your audience. In bygone days, maybe that was done at a personal appearance or a “record hop”. In our digital age, an effective use of Facebook for stations is to have their talent keep their own personal Facebook pages and communicate as individuals associated with their station not as a station business venture…

Hand-to-Hand Combat

By now any smart local talk host has staked his claim on the digital frontier.  He has a blog on the station’s website, a Facebook page, perhaps a personal web page, and maybe even a Twitter feed.  He is in constant virtual contact with their audience.

But when is the last time that host looked a listener in the eye, shook his hand, and engaged in a face-to-face conversation with him?

Make no mistake, the digital conduits are extremely powerful. But the web is no substitute for personal contact in the battle to build and maintain audience and influence in the local community.  This is especially true for talk radio, with its audience of 40- and- 50-somethings, who are not “digital media natives” and still put a great deal of importance on personal interaction.

In the current environment, local hosts who want to keep their jobs must add value by differentiating themselves from satellite-delivered alternatives.  Best way to do that:  Build a true, intimate personal connection with the market.  Talk about the hot local issues, lead charitable efforts — and equally important, get out there and be seen!   Host town meetings; speak to community and professional groups; broadcast live from the market’s signature events, go on sales calls.  A clever salesperson will figure how to sell all of this stuff, thus adding to its already considerable promotional value.  (WSB-AM is currently running a “Take Neal Boortz to Work” contest.  Boortz will broadcast his mid-morning show from the winner’s workplace.  Comcast is the sponsor.)

True, this is all just blocking and tackling.  But solid fundamentals are crucial to winning.  Just ask some winners.  WSB-AM’s Clark Howard is nationally syndicated but understands that Atlanta is his briar patch. That’s why he walks in the annual July 4th parade (to constant spectator yells of “Hey Clark — I’m Clark Smart!”), and does innumerable charity-related remotes, including broadcasts from several Wal-Marts to collect Christmas toys for needy kids.  WTVR-FM morning man Bill Bevins is the King of Richmond, Virginia.  Why?  He does a great show, and, as his former PD once said, “If three people gather on a street corner in Richmond, Bill shows up to schmooze them.”

A final observation from beyond radio: On his website, Chicago crime writer Marcus Sakey offers to phone-in to any book group that is reading one of his novels.  If the group meets in the Chicago area, Sakey will show up in person to discuss his work.  It’s no surprise then that Sakey worked in advertising before his breakthrough novel.  The guy knows how to sell it…