Category Archives: Digital/Social/Web

How to Add a Cover Video to Your Radio Station’s Facebook Page

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

This Spring, Facebook began experimenting with allowing users to add a cover video to their Facebook business pages. The feature is now available to all pages. To see an example, check out the Jacobs Media Facebook page.

Adding a video is simple: Navigate to your Facebook page, click the “Change Cover” link in the upper left corner of your cover photo and choose one of the video options. (You can find more detailed instructions here.)

The optimal dimensions for the video are 820 by 456 pixels and the video must be at least 820 by 312 pixels. If you are using a video editing program that doesn’t allow you to create a video with custom dimensions — my version of iMovie didn’t — don’t worry, you can drag an oversized video to the optimal position; it just takes some trial and error. (That’s actually the seventh incarnation of our cover video that you see on our page.)

The video must be between 20 and 90 seconds long. For our video, I looped a 9-second video to make it 27 seconds long, then uploaded it.

If you don’t have an experienced video producer on staff, you can always cheat the way I do: Create a Powerpoint slideshow with fancy transitions, export it as a movie file, import it into video editing program and add music and sound effects. You’d be surprised how far a couple of swooshes and a “Ken Burns Effect” can go!

As always, make sure you have the rights to any music or images you use in your cover video. You don’t want to run into any legal issues.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

Social Media Is for Traffic Spurts; Google Is the Gift That Keeps on Giving

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

When I talk to radio stations about ways to increase incoming traffic to their website content, they inevitably focus on social media. While social media is an important channel for driving people to your website, it’s only one of the channels available. Another equally (if not more) important channel is search engines — especially Google. Yet all too often radio stations overlook the importance of search engines.

There is a difference between the web traffic that comes from social media and the traffic that comes from search engines. In my experience, social media can result in erratic spikes when a blog post goes viral, but it’s difficult to predict or recreate. Search engine traffic, on the other hand, is steady and, over time, predictable.

On our website, Fred Jacobs writes a daily radio industry blog. From time to time, we invite guest authors to write a “Top 5” list for us. The feature, called “The Guest List,” has proven to be very popular. In fact, several of these guest posts have gone viral on social media immediately after being published.

But the Guest List post from morning DJ Sheri Lynch (WLNK/Charlotte) — one half the Bob & Sheri show — is different. In January, we published a column by Sheri titled, “The Top 5 Radio Topics That Get the Phones Ringing.” On the day it went live, it performed well. But then something unusual happened…

Several months later, Fred pointed out that the column was continuing to show up in our list of top posts. Every day, Sheri’s list would get several dozen pageviews. And to this day, while other posts come and go, Sheri’s shows remarkable consistency.

I dug a little deeper and discovered that the incoming web traffic for the post is coming from Google. People are searching for variations on “good phone topics for radio,” and Google is sending them to Sheri’s column.

While nobody knows exactly what Google’s search results algorithm is, we know it looks for signs that people like what they see when they click on a particular result (for example, a low bounce rate). Once Google determines that a particular piece of content does, in fact, do a good job of addressing people’s search queries, it continually sends people there. This is what is happening with Sheri’s post. Every day, Google sends more people to it.

Source: Google Analytics (Jan 1 – Aug 3, 2017)

Over time, that incoming traffic adds up. Sheri’s guest post is now our most popular blogpost for 2017 and our second most popular webpage behind our homepage. That trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

There’s a lesson in Sheri’s post: When you sit down to think about how you can drive more people to your radio station’s website, don’t focus solely on social media while forgetting about search engines. Social media can deliver a nice one-time boost, but for reliable traffic day in and day out, search engines are key.

You can find our Search Engine Optimization resources here.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

You’re Launching a New Radio Morning Show. Here’s Your Station’s Digital Plan.

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

From time to time, I get asked what a radio station’s digital strategy should be when launching a new morning show. There’s no limit to what a station can do, but to start, I would implement a plan to create content on a daily basis that can be shared over social media. Then use that content to grow a morning show email list. This will enable the show to continually engage with the audience and drive more listenership. (If this sounds like a version of Content Marketing, that’s because it is.)

Here’s how it works:

Before the Show Launches:

1) Set up your social media accounts.

Facebook is far and away the most important platform for reaching your audience, so set up a Facebook page (not a profile) for your morning show. I strongly recommend setting up Twitter and Instagram accounts as well. Even if your morning show is not going to use Snapchat or YouTube right away, it’s a good idea to claim your morning show’s handle on these networks so nobody else gets them.

I strongly recommend using a social media management tool such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to cover all these different social media accounts. It will take a little time to learn them, but once you do, they will greatly speed up your social media engagement.

2) Brainstorm a list of “influencers” in the market.

Influencers are people or institutions in your market important and famous enough to have their own followings, but small enough they are still impressed the local radio morning show talks about them on air or online. Gather the team together and brainstorm a list of influencers in your market, including:

  • Local bands and music venues
  • Local sports teams and athletes
  • Local television personalities
  • Writers for the city papers
  • Bloggers
  • Colleges and universities
  • Popular restaurants, chefs, and breweries
  • Events, such as festivals or fairs

Once you’ve compiled a list of influencers in your market, follow them on social media. You can start engaging with them online before the show launches. If your hosts are new to the market, have them introduce themselves online. While Facebook is generally good for reaching a large number of listeners, Twitter can be even more effective when reaching out to other influencers. So say hello!

3) Create a free customized show prep service.

Many of the influencers on your list will have websites where they are publishing their own content, whether it’s news, blogs, or videos. You can subscribe to the RSS feeds for these sites and pull all of that content into one place where it’s easy for you to find each morning; you’re essentially creating a free, customized show prep service.

This video will also show you how:


Here are detailed instructions
.

4) Set up an automatic RSS-to-Email campaign to send show recaps to fans every morning.

Once the show launches, you’ll want to create daily website posts with shownotes (explained below). You can set up an email campaign to automatically send these posts to fans over your morning show each day. You’ll do this using a feature called “RSS-to-Email Campaigns.” The big advantage is that once the campaign is set up, you will send out emails every day without ever having to lift a finger. In fact, we use this type of campaign to send out the Jacobs Media blog post every weekday morning.

Here are more details on how you can create an RSS-to-Email campaign.

5) Set up the radio station website to capture email addresses for the morning show mailing list.

The digital goal here is simple: Grow the morning show’s email list so you can use it to encourage people to listen to and engage with the show. It will also come in handy when your morning show wants to sell tickets to a station concert, raise money for a charity, or drive attendance to a station event.

There are a number of places on your website where you might want to encourage people to sign up for the mailing list, but one of my favorite techniques is pop-up windows. I have seen pop-up windows, when used strategically, increase email registration by over 500% — including on our own website. You can set your pop-up windows to appear on morning show posts and to simply ask, “Would you like us to email you a daily recap of the show?”

6) Create production elements that drive people to the radio station website.

Create simple sweepers that say let people know about the shownotes page and the email list. For example, “Want links to the things we talked about on this mornings show? Go to wkrp.com/morningshow.” Or, “Want us to email you a recap of the show every day? Sign up for our email list at wkrp.com/morningshow.”

After the Show Launches:

1) Every day, create a “Shownotes” post for with links to everything mentioned in that morning’s show.

The Shownotes Page is a concept borrowed from the world of podcasting. It’s just a blogpost with a list of links to everything discussed during that day’s show so listeners can get more information if they want. If you talked about the upcoming arts and wine festival, a news story about a local robbery gone haywire, or last night’s football game, include the corresponding links. It’s easiest to pop open a Word doc or WordPress window during the show and keep a running list going, then take a few minutes to add the links in once the show is over.

2) After each show, pro-actively share that day’s Shownotes post on social media.

After every show, go through a fifteen-minute post-show routine: Publish your shownotes post, then pro-actively share this post on social media. You’re not just going to share it on the station and morning show’s social media accounts; you’re also going to tag the people and organizations that we’ve linked to in the show. The hope is that these influencers will then re-share the shownotes post with their following. That’s how the post goes viral, growing your audience.

Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to share your shownotes posts.

3) Plug the Shownotes posts and the email list on the air.

In additon to the production elements that you’re running on the air, don’t forget to use live on-air mentions to drive listeners to your shownotes page. You can also encourage them to sign up for the email list.

4) Review your digital metrics every week.

Program Directors love on-air talent who ask questions about the ratings. When DJs show interest in how they’re performing, it speaks volumes. By the same token, find out how your digital strategy is doing. On a regular basis, get together with your PD and your digital team to review key metrics from Google Analytics and other sources. Ask questions, like:

  • Are you driving traffic back to your station’s webpage?
  • Which social media channels are most effective?
  • Which influencers are most likely to engage with the show?
  • Are you growing the email list?

Over time, you will start to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Adjust your digital strategy accordingly.

Webinar: Digital Tricks for DJs
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the digital space. There’s a lot more you can do, including playing with video, contests, and podcasts. But if you’re looking for a place to start, I recommend the steps above. For those who want some more details on these steps, check out the webinar I hosted called, “Digital Tricks Every Radio DJ Should Know.”

Watch the webinar here.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

7 Digital Mistakes Radio Stations Make That Can Hurt Event Ticket Sales

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

Summer concert season is now in full swing and many radio stations around the country have been hard at work booking their own festivals. These events can be a significant source of non-traditional revenue for radio stations. Yet many radio stations will make digital mistakes that prevent them from selling more tickets and making more money. Here are some of those common mistakes and tips on how your radio station can avoid them:

1. Radio stations don’t pay enough attention to the event’s landing page on the website.
If you are selling tickets to your radio station’s big event, the webpage that tells listeners about that event is incredibly important. Think of it as a two-step process:

  1. Drive people to the station’s event page.
  2. When they get there, get those people to buy tickets.

Too many radio stations focus on the first step and ignore the second. If the station event’s webpage doesn’t make people want to buy tickets, it doesn’t matter how many people see it. Review this page on your site and ask yourself these questions:

  • Does this page have all the necessary details about the concert: Performers? Date? Time? Location including address? Price? Age restrictions? Parking instructions?
  • Does the page have a big, bright button that says “Buy Tickets” which makes the call to action really obvious?
  • Does the page feature an embedded audio promo for those baby bands that listeners don’t know by name? (“Oh, they do that song!”)
  • Have you removed all other links except the “Buy Tickets” button, including the sidebar and main menu? (This is called a “squeeze page” because it drives people towards a single action.)

When designing your station’s event page, here’s a checklist to guide you. You can also test the effectiveness of your radio station’s event page with a website usability test.

2. Radio stations don’t make it easy to get to the event page.
Radio stations often promote their big concert by including it as the first slide in the slideshow on their homepage, but nowhere else. My official position is that the homepage slideshow is an abhorrent feature that should be abolished from every music radio station website in America. But even if you’re not willing to go that far, it’s important to recognize that just including the concert in the slideshow isn’t enough. For starters, after a few seconds, the slide switches and now there’s nothing on your homepage to direct people to the event page.

To fix this, make sure there’s a link to the event page in your site’s main menu. Also, make sure that the concert listings page has a big, obvious link to the station event page. I strongly recommend including a link to the station event page at the top of the website sidebar. I would also use some of the website ad inventory to advertise the station event. Finally, consider using pop-up windows to promote the station concert. (Be cautious — we don’t want this to turn into a slippery slope that leads to the sales department selling pop-up ads for discount mattress stores.)

You can find out if listeners are having a hard time getting to the station concert page by running a website usability test.

3. Radio stations send listeners directly to the ticketing agency’s webpage.
Some radio stations direct listeners to the event webpage of the ticketing service instead of sending people to a page on their own website. For example, a station might tweet out a link to the “WKRP Big Picnic Concert” page on Ticketmaster’s site. The problem is that the station has very little control over Ticketmaster’s site. It can’t change the designs to make the page more enticing to potential concert goers. And it can’t see any analytics to measure how much traffic it is driving to the tickets page. Whenever possible, you want to drive traffic to your radio station’s website, not somebody else’s. That’s especially true when you have revenue riding on the page.

4. Radio stations flood social media with salesy posts instead of creating compelling content.
People don’t like ads. We go to great lengths to skip them. So when posts pop up in our Facebook newsfeeds and Twitter streams telling us to “Buy tickets now!,” we get annoyed. Typically, these types of blatantly promotional posts don’t perform well on social media.

So what do you do? Create compelling content. If a band is performing at your concert, send the record label a list of written questions for its members. Then publish the answers as a Q&A on your website. In this interview, embed a YouTube video of the band’s latest single. In both the introduction and the conclusion of the interview, mention that the band will be performing at your concert and include a big, bright “Buy Tickets” button.

Now, share this interview on your social media accounts. It’s likely to attract more incoming website traffic than a salesy post and the people it attracts are more likely to be interested enough in the band to go see them perform live.

5. Radio stations focus on social media and ignore other marketing channels.
When radio stations seek my advice for selling more tickets to their concerts, they usually ask about social media to the exclusion of other digital marketing avenues. Social media can be powerful, but it’s only one part of the equation. Make sure that you are also using these channels:

  • Your Airwaves: Create an easy-to-remember vanity URL that redirects to your station concert page, such as wkrp.com/bigpicnic. Use this URL in recorded promos, sweepers and live on-air mentions.
  • Search Engines: People often turn to search engines like Google when looking for information about big radio station concerts. Make sure that you’ve properly optimized your station’s website — especially the station event page — for search engines.
  • Email Blasts: You know that email database you’ve been collecting names for all year? This is why you did it. Email marketing is a crucial component in your concert promotion strategy.
  • Text Messaging: Texting can be an effective way to reach your listeners, but be sure to check with your station’s legal team first. Some broadcasting companies have been fined for violating text message spam laws, so you’ll want to make sure that you don’t run into any issues.

6. Radio stations don’t track their ticket sales efforts with Google Analytics.
Having a website and not looking at its Google Analytics reports is like having a radio station and ignoring the ratings. I noted above that selling tickets is a two-step process: first, you drive people to your event page, then you convert them into ticket buyers. Google Analytics can show you how you’re doing at each stage. Are you attracting people back to your website but not convincing them to buy? Then you need to revise the page (see #1). Are you failing to get people to the website at all? Maybe your social media posts are too salesy (see #3). Use Google Analytics to make informed decisions about your marketing strategy. If you’re new to Google Analytics, here’s a guide for radio programmers.

7. Radio stations don’t put a link for sponsorship inquiries on the station event page.
Tickets sales aren’t the only way to generate revenue from station events; sponsorship dollars are often just as important. Make it easy for potential advertisers who are interested in your event to request sponsorship information. Include a link on the station event page for people to request more information.

If ticket sales for your radio station’s big event are underwhelming, see if you’re making any of these mistakes. A correction could have a significant impact on the bottom line.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

How to Back Up Your Radio Station’s Soundcloud Files

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

Last week, Soundcloud.com laid off 40% of its workforce — 173 of its 420 employees. Despite having over 175 million users in 2014 (the last year the company released numbers for), the audio hosting website has struggled to find a profitable business model. In 2015, it lost over $50 million. Spotify and Twitter flirted with the idea of acquiring Soundcloud, but neither deal materialized; instead, SiriusXM invested in the company.

I am not in the business of speculating about the future of tech companies. However, so many radio stations use Soundcloud as a means of sharing audio clips — from morning show bits to artist interviews — that I think it’s worth issuing a warning: If your station has important audio files hosted on Soundcloud, make sure that you have them backed up on a local hard drive.

Some tracks can be downloaded by logging into Soundcloud and clicking the small ‘Download’ button beneath the track itself. However, not all tracks are downloadable directly from Soundcloud; it depends on the settings of the user who uploaded the track.

If you don’t see a ‘Download’ button beneath the track, you can use a third party website to download it. This usually involves copying the URL of the track you want to download, pasting it into the other website, and clicking a button to grab the clip. I have found mixed results with these third party sites, but here are a few that worked for me:

  1. Anything2MP3.com
  2. SCDownloader.net
  3. 9SoundcloudDownloader.com

Another option is to install an extension in your web browser that allows you to download Soundcloud tracks. For example, the Soundcloud Downloader Free extension for Google Chrome adds a ‘Download’ button beneath Soundcloud tracks to make it easy to back up your files.

I can’t predict what will happen to Soundcloud, but you can protect your radio station from any unpleasant surprises by taking some time to back up all of your Soundcloud tracks today.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

5 Tips for Writing Better Headlines on Your Radio Station Website

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

When you write news articles or blogposts for your radio station’s website, the most important line is the headline. That’s because the headline will appear all over the internet: when people share the post on social media, find it in their search results, pull it into their RSS reader, open to it in an automated email campaign, etc.

Good headlines are a crucial component of your overall digital strategy because this is how you use your content to draw people from social media and search engines back to your website. Compelling headlines can have a significant impact on your overall website traffic. With that in mind, here are five tips for writing better website content headlines:

1. Don’t Be Too Vague…
Don’t assume that people will only see your headline in the context of your website. Headlines should make sense by themselves because people may encounter them off your site with no other clues about their meaning. For example, your headline may appear in a retweet, in which case the reader wouldn’t even know that this headline was written by a radio station! Headlines should give people all of the information they need to decide if they want to read an article.

Example: Instead of “Concerts,” try “Boston Concerts.” Instead of “Interview with Brad Paisley,” try “WKRP’s Johnny Fever Interviews Brad Paisley.”

2. …But Leave Some Mystery
Have you ever watched a movie trailer and thought, “I don’t need to see that movie now; I already know everything that happens!” A bad headline can have the same effect. If you put too much information in the headline, people may feel like they don’t need to click through to your website to read the post. A great headline strikes a balance between telling people what a post is about and also intriguing people enough to make them click.

Example: Instead of “Katy Perry and Taylor Swift Are Fighting Over Backup Dancers,” try, “Here’s the Real Cause of the Rift Between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.”

3. Include Proper Nouns
Search engines like Google use headlines to determine what a post is about and whether it should be included in their search results. By including the proper nouns that people are most likely to type into Google when doing a search, you can increase your website’s traffic. If you get too cute with blog post titles, it could hurt your website in its search engine rankings.

Example: Instead of “The Fab 5 Remaster a Classic Album,” try “The Beatles Release Remastered ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ Album.”

4. Include Your Radio Station’s Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases that people type into a search engine when looking for content. Your radio station should know the most important keywords for its website and include these in headlines as much as is appropriate. Your keywords might include your city, your format, your disc jockey’s names, etc. Don’t miss opportunities to include these.

Example: Instead of “5 Things to Do This Weekend,” try “5 Fun Things to Do in Detroit This Weekend.”

5. Match the Style of Your Co-Authors
If your radio station’s website has multiple authors contributing content, make sure that they all match stylistically. I often come across radio station websites where it’s obvious that different staffers wrote different headlines: some use title case while others use sentence case; some abbreviate while others do not; some include emojis while others don’t. It’s helpful to create a style guide for your radio station’s website content that covers headline writing to ensure that everything has a consistent look to it.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

5 Website Stats Every Radio Program Director Should Track

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

Once a week, radio programmers and the appropriate staff members should take some time to review their website statistics. Just as stations that play new music sit down to review charts, sales and call-out research before adding records and changing rotations, stations should get together and review online data before scheduling the creation of new blogposts, videos, or podcasts. (Here’s a webinar that will show you how to run a weekly web meeting.)

Perhaps the most important data source you can look at in that weekly web meeting is Google Analytics. Google Analytics will give a free strip of code that you insert into your radio station’s website header. This code allows you to track all sorts of anonymous data about your website visitors. Here’s what you should be looking for when you review your Google Analytics data:

1. Total Unique Visitors
How many people are coming to your website? I am often asked by people what a “good number” is for radio stations. There is no chart that compiles this data for all radio station websites, so it’s difficult to provide a solid benchmark. So when people ask, “What’s a good number of web visitors for a radio station?,” the answer is “More than the week before.”

2. Traffic Sources
Once you figure out how much traffic you have, you will want to know where it’s coming from. There are several main channels:

  • Direct Traffic: People who are typing your website’s URL directly into their browser. For radio stations without a content marketing strategy, this will probably be the number one source of website traffic.
  • Organic Search: If people type something into a search engine like Google and your website comes back as a result, it is called “Organic Search.”
  • Paid Search: On the other hand, if you are paying to advertise your website in search engines, you may get traffic when people click on one of these paid advertisements.
  • Social Media: People who come to your website through a link on a social network like Facebook or Twitter.
  • Referral: People who come to your website through a link on another website, such as a blog or news site.

Google Analytics will let you dig down into your website even further. For example, once you see how much traffic you are getting from social media, you will probably want to know how much is being delivered by each social network. Or if you see a spike in referral traffic, you will want to know what website it is coming from.

3. Top Pages and Top Landing Pages
You’ve figured out how much traffic is coming to your website and where it’s coming from; now we want to know why. What website content is attracting clicks? It’s important to draw a distinction between your most-viewed page (whichever page gets the most traffic overall) and the most-viewed landing page (the first page of your website that a visitor comes to).

For example, people may come to your site because you wrote an awesome blogpost about Taylor Swift’s feud with Katy Perry, but once they’re there, they may click through to your contest page to win concert tickets. Often, the list of top pages and top landing pages will be very similar. If your station does not have a content marketing strategy in place, your homepage will probably be your station’s top page. But if you do have a content marketing strategy in place, you may be surprised by how much of your website traffic doesn’t come through the front door.

4. Bounce Rate
Of course, once people get to your website, are they sticking around? When a visitor comes to your website and then leaves without going to any other pages, it is called a “bounce.” The bounce rate tells you what percentage of your visitors are leaving your site without exploring it further. The lower the bounce rate, the better.

Your website’s design can have a big impact on its bounce rate. You can perform a website usability test to try and decrease the bounce rate.

Also, pay attention to the bounce rate across particular platforms. If your bounce rate is low among people on desktop computers but high among people on mobile devices, the design of your mobile site (you do have a mobile site, right?) may be a problem.

5. Goal Conversions
Once people come to your website, are they doing what you want them to do? These are your goals. (If you don’t know what the goals of your website are, put down your coffee and read this immediately.)

You can set up Google Analytics to track specific goals, such as email list signups, concert ticket purchases, ad clicks, etc. You want to not only measure how many conversions you have for each goal, but where these conversions are coming from. (Are people from Facebook more likely to sign up for your email list? Are your paid search visitors more likely to fill out a form requesting information about advertising?) Ultimately, you are trying to figure out what actions you can take to increase the number and percentage of conversions on your station’s website.

Guide to Google Analytics
If you don’t already have Google Analytics installed on your website, install it now (it will take your website developer only a few minutes). If you do have Google Analytics installed, make sure that you are reviewing the data on a regular basis.

For a deeper dive into how to use Google Analytics, check out our Guide to Google Analytics for Radio Programmers.

Get the Guide

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

Google Alerts: A Handy Tool Every Radio Broadcaster Should Know About

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

We all know that we can go to Google.com and search the web for information on a particular topic. But did you know that you can tell Google to constantly do a background search of the web and let you know whenever it finds a new webpage about that topic? You can — using a feature called Google Alerts. Here’s how it works:

1. Go to Google.com/Alerts and enter a keyword or phrase in the search bar.

Enter yhttp://Google.com/Alertsour word or phrase just as you would if you were doing a regular Google search. For example, if you want an exact phrase match, enter the term in quotation marks (e.g., “Howard Stern”).

2. Before you click the ‘Create Alert’ button, click ‘Show Options.’

Google lets you specify how you want this alert to work. For example, you can specify whether you want “All Results” or “Only the Best Results.” The most important option is the “Deliver To” dropdown menu. You can have the results sent to you as an email, but I prefer to have the results delivered in an RSS feed.

RSS Feeds

Think of an RSS feed as a cable channel that can be plugged into an RSS Reader, which is like a television set. You can choose the feeds you want to plug in to your reader and customize your own “cable package.”

For example, you can set up alerts for “WKRP,” “Howard Stern,” and “Pandora” and have those delivered to a Feedly RSS Reader account so that you can gather everything you want to read into one place. News sites and blogs usually have their own RSS feeds as well, so you could also pull feeds for TMZ, Entertainment Weekly and your local newspaper’s sports section in the reader.

(You can even use RSS feeds to create a free, customized show prep service. Here’s a tutorial.)

More Google Alerts

Once you’ve set up your first Google Alert, repeat the process for as many keywords or phrases as you want. Here are some ideas:

    • Your station’s call letters.
    • The station’s on-air talent.
    • The morning show.
    • Signature station events, such as concerts.
    • Benchmark features and specialty shows.
    • Your competition’s call letters, DJs, events and key features.
    • Areas of interest to you: smart speakers, autonomous cars, podcasts, etc.

If you like digital techniques like this one, you may want to check out our webinar recording: “Digital Tricks Every Radio DJ Should Know.”

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

4 Things You Can Remove From Your Radio Station’s Homepage

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

The website homepage is more important for radio stations than it is for many other businesses that use a Content Marketing strategy to attract web traffic. For most businesses, the strategy works like this: create online content (blogposts) and share that content through social media and search engines to pull people back to your website. This means that in a successful content marketing strategy, most visitors come to the website through a side door (a blogpost), not the front door (the homepage).

But radio stations have a third channel to drive traffic to their websites: their airwaves. Listeners hear the website mentioned on the radio, go to a browser and type in the station’s url directly. As a result, radio stations see a much higher percentage of their traffic come through the homepage than other businesses. In Google Analytics terms, website visitors who type the url into their browser are called ‘direct traffic.’

Because radio stations typically see so much direct traffic, the design of the homepage is critical. Unfortunately, too many radio stations cram too much stuff onto their homepages. As I’ve seen in the course of running many usability tests on radio station websites, the result is an overwhelming and frustrating mess.

Most radio stations would benefit by removing unnecessary elements from their homepage. The key to doing this is to understand what role different webpages play in your online strategy. After all, not all webpages serve the same purpose. Some pages, such as blogposts, are there to attract people to the website in the first place. Others, such as contest pages, are there to capture data from your listeners. To accomplish the goals of your digital strategy, you need to not only know what the purpose of each webpage is, but also when to present that page to your website visitors.

With that in mind, let’s look at some elements which you can remove from your radio station’s homepage:

1. The Slideshow
If there’s one element that is single-handedly bringing down the quality of every radio station website in America, it’s the slideshow. The slideshow was designed to showcase multiple different stories on a website. It makes sense for bloggers, news stations and sports stations. It has no business on a music station’s website.

Yet almost every single music radio station has one. Why? Because the slideshow prevents fights inside the station. When the morning show is demanding some homepage real estate to promote their signature bit, and the MD wants to showcase a hot new band, and the promotions director wants to plug this weekend’s street team stop, and the sales manager needs a little something to close the deal with Dunkin’ Donuts, it’s really useful to dole out homepage slides like you’re Oprah Winfrey giving away cars. (“You get a slide! And you get a slide!”)

But this does nothing for the listeners.

Think of your homepage as a billboard for your radio station — it’s a chance to make a first impression. What’s the first and most important thing you want your listeners to know about your station? That you’re giving away coffee coolattas and tickets to The Fast and the Furious 26?

No.

You want people to know what type of music you play and the other important features of your station. The homepage is the place for core artists, positioning statements and perhaps photos of the morning show cast. For the sake of your listeners, axe the slideshow, even if it means that your staff argues more.

2. Blogposts
Blogposts and news stories are great pieces of content to drive people to your radio station’s website from social media and search engines. Once people are already on your station’s site, however, these pieces of content have served their purpose. There is no reason to send them there now; instead, you want visitors to accomplish one of the goals of your website: stream the station, sign up for the email list, enter a contest, etc. So don’t use valuable homepage real estate to send people to your station’s blog; use it to steer them towards one of these goals.

This doesn’t mean that you’re preventing people from reading the blog once they’re on the homepage; you should still link to it in your site’s main menu. It just means that you aren’t going to go out of your way to send them to a blogpost when you could be sending them towards one of the site’s goals.

3. Social Media Widgets
By the same token, the point of having social media accounts is to attract people to your station’s website so you can get them to accomplish one of your goals. Once they’ve come to the site, the last thing you want to do is send them back to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Instead, keep them on your website. Remove any widgets that display your station’s latest tweets and status updates (but keep a link to your social media accounts).

4. The Weather
The weather appears on radio station websites as a holdover from a bygone era. People don’t go to radio station websites to find out the weather — there’s an app for that! (Though I prefer to ask Alexa while getting dressed.) Weather may still have a place on your radio station’s airwaves — even if it’s more likely to be motivated by sponsorship dollars than listener demand — but it has no place on your radio station’s homepage unless you are running a news station.

When it comes to radio station homepages, less is more. Use this prime real estate to make a first impression and drive your listeners towards the site’s goals. Remove anything that doesn’t advance this strategy.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.

9 Ways to Promote Your Radio Station’s Mobile App

Seth Resler

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB’s official editorial policy.

By: Seth Resler
Jacobs Media Strategies

Smartphones are everywhere. In our latest Techsurvey, 87% of radio listeners report having a smartphone. 41% admit to being addicted to them. So, it’s imperative that your radio station have an app to make itself available to listeners on their mobile phones.

But, it’s not just enough to have an app — you also need to promote it. One of the biggest mistakes we see radio stations make with their mobile apps is that they fail to promote them enough. Here are some ways your radio station can get word out about your station’s app:

1. Use the Proper Keywords
Think of the Apple and Android app stores as big search engines. When people go there, the first thing they usually do is search for an app. To make it easy for your listeners to find yours, you’ll want to do a few things.

For starters, give people exactly what they are looking for: Name the app after your radio station as you most commonly say it on the air, and use the station’s logo for the icon image. Apple allows you to include several keywords when you submit your app. You may want to include your station’s call letters (if they are not part of the station name), the station’s city, the name of any high-profile shows or on-air talent, or the music format. Android does not allow you to submit keywords, so make sure that you work all of these terms into the description of the app. Apple offers tips on submitting apps, and Google gives advice as well.

2. Ask Listeners to Review Your App
People often check the reviews for an app before downloading it to their phone, so encourage your listeners to leave positive reviews. You can do this by sending a Push Notification to people who have download the app asking to leave a review.

3. Live On-Air Mentions
You’ve got airwaves, so use ’em. Your DJs should encourage people to download the app. While generic mentions of the app will work, calls to action that involve specific content can be more effective. For example, your afternoon jock might say, “If you missed Sam and Diane’s interview with Miley Cyrus this morning, you can listen to it in the WKRP app.”

4. On-Air Production Elements
Sweepers and bumpers are a great place to promote your station’s mobile app. Another option is to create a series of recorded promos with each one focusing on a different feature of the app. If you have particular features on the air that have corresponding sections in the app, you may want to mention this in the production elements for that on-air feature. For example: “This is the WKRP Concert Calendar. For a complete list of upcoming shows, download our app.” Or, “This is the Local Music Show on WKRP. For a list of songs from tonight’s show, download our app.”

5. Email Blasts
Send a link to the app to your email list. If you have an automated drip campaign set up, use the very first email, sent as soon as people register for your email list, to encourage people to download the app.

6. Social Media
Social media posts with a link to the app, especially on Facebook and Twitter, can be an effective way to drive app downloads. While you can simply post a link to the app store, you may want to consider using a “deep link.” A deep link directs people to a specific piece of content within the app, such as the Miley Cyrus interview. If the person clicking on the link already has the app installed, the app will open and they will be taken directly to that content. If they don’t have the app installed yet, they will be directed to the app store and be asked to install the app.

7. At Events
When your street team is out at events, they should actively encourage people to download the station’s app: “Want to spin the prize wheel for a beer koozie? Download the WKRP and will give you a shot.”

If your on-air talent is on stage introducing a band at a concert, they should encourage people to download the app: “I’m DJ No Name, and if you want to hear the interview I did with this band earlier today, download the WKRP app.”

8. Signage
The phrase “Download our app” should appear on your station van, your banner-on-a-roll, and the backs of your bumper stickers. You can also print it on ticket stubs and wristbands.

9. Podcasts
If your radio station produces podcasts, this offers a nice opportunity to get some extra bang out of your promotional buck. While iOS devices come with a Podcasts app pre-installed, Android devices do not. This makes it more difficult for Android users to listen to a podcast and, as a result, the overwhelming majority of podcast listening happens on Apple devices. When you promote your station’s podcasts on the air, chances are most Android users won’t know how to listen to them. But if you’ve included the podcasts in your app, you can make it easy. Just say, “Want to listen to our podcast? Download our app!” Ta-da! With a single line, you’ve promoted both your app and your podcast.

Mobile App Strategy Webinar
jacappsWant to learn more? We’re partnering with our sister company, jācapps, to host a special webinar, “Mobile 101: What Every Radio Station Should Know About Mobile App Strategy.”
Register here.

For more assistance on digital or social media, contact MAB Member Services at mab@michmab.com or 1-800-968-7622.
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