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Facebook Changes To Showcase Radio Stations "Social Reputation"
October 4, 2011
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In the past couple of weeks, each change Facebook has either announced or already set into motion confirms what this platform has always been about:
To foster relationships with your audience through conversations (i.e., listening and acknowledging) in order to benefit the long-term health of your radio station’s social reputation.
The opportunity lies within listening to what people are saying about your radio station and translating those conversations into brand ambassadors.
But some radio stations have yet to tap into that thinking and would rather go the route of automating status updates with “recorded promo” type talk, as well as ignoring people who post.
Those particular radio station Facebook pages may take it hard when Facebook rolls out a public rating for “Like” pages called “People Talking About.”
This is an open statistic that Facebook has announced will sit below the total number of “Likes” on your Facebook Page.
“People Talking About” (which may not be the name of the metric once it rolls out since Facebook hasn’t committed to the actual name) will analyze the activity that happens on your page and hold it up to the activity that actually could happen -- comments, likes, shares, questions from posters, and responses from you.
The idea behind a public rating for Pages is to give users and visitors a better understanding of how you behave on Facebook. Are you engaged? Or not so much?
Are you just there to rack up “likes” or do you maintain the integrity of the base that already “likes” you.
Facebook has been collecting the activity from your “Like” page since July, so you won’t be able to undo the past if you end up getting a low “People Talking About” type score. But you can change the way you behave today and play to the strengths of what Facebook offers your station brand.
First, the Facebook “Like” Page is an expression of your radio station -- it’s not an “extension.”
Second, just be more likable! Here’s how:
- Understand your demographics via Facebook’s free analytics tool “Insights” and post what is more appealing to that target group. It sounds simple, but we tend to forget who’s actually with us on Facebook.
- Study the frequency that works for your station. There isn’t a magical number (ex: three posts per day) because frequency is very fluid. Watch the interaction happening on your most current status update. When the comments and “likes” trail off - be prepared for another update -- but not too soon. Don’t clog up their live feed and ticker and chip away at your social reputation.
- Learn the commonalities in the posts that garner higher interaction. What causes interest and triggers emotion with your audience? Use this information Insights offers in your conversation strategy.
- Along the same lines, watch Insights in order to identify when people have “unliked” your page. Learn what types of posts turn people away.
- Validate the excitement people have for your brand. Whether it’s a genuine response to their comment or a simple nod in the form of a “like” -- acknowledgement goes a long way.
Change is a guarantee on Facebook - you can count on this platform always moving the pieces around. But if you’re focused on your social reputation and discovering the brand advocates that can spawn from Facebook relationships, Zuckerberg can change it up all he wants.
You’ll be positioned to benefit from the changes because you’re exhibiting great social media practices.
In the coming weeks and months, we’ll all get more acquainted with these changes and the ones to come, and together discover new trends that might emerge as a result.
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