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Think Of Social As Serving, Not As Interruption
September 22, 2015
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Your audience is listening to your station(s) every day. They rely on you to keep them company while they work, and when they drive. They trust you'll curate the best music, and keep them informed on local and national news stories.
We also know they are getting distracted by other sources trying to earn their attention, too. And these sources aren't the typical stations up or down the dial or digital pure plays.
They are the social platforms we discuss each week. And it was impressive to see Facebook's recent "TSL" report. Year to year - it's clear there's no lack of interest for the 968 million daily active Facebook users:
Look how involved folks are with Facebook -- especially its app. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's Founder and CEO, said that in fact 81% of their daily active users access the platform via mobile.
Makes sense.
Recent data from Flurry revealed U.S. consumers are now spending more time in apps (198 minutes per day) than watching TV (168 minutes).
And while Facebook continues to rule the social space - look what else your audience is doing when they're not listening to you:
- 500 Million Tweets are being sent each day.
- 70 Million photos are shared on Instagram daily.
- 2 Billion video views every day on Snapchat.
As you see, there's a portion of today's audience (who are also likely to be meter holders/diary keepers) that are serious, active participants in this space.
They are publishers, too.
They are creating content, making their own friends laugh.
So for brands today, predictability in the social space is a slow death.
It's time to start "breaking systems" and shake it up.
That means rather than incessantly teasing what you're giving away on-air, what can you do each day to truly serve the audience in order to stand out?
Rick Gillette, Program Director/WPLJ, recently pulled off one of those 'holy crap' moments with his morning show, "Todd and Jayde."
Gillette said, "When Starbucks released the '#PSL' a couple of weeks ago, (the Pumpkin Spice Latte -- you know, the ultimate seasonal rite of passage for adult women in the U.S.), Todd & Jayde put $195 on a Starbucks gift card and then posted the barcode on Twitter and Instagram for everyone enjoy."
"New York's kind of a big town, so it was used up after 25 minutes. We put another $100 on the card and let it play a little longer," Rick said. "It's totally personal and plugged into the audience lifestyle."
And the comments WPLJ received back were full of gratitude:
These are those fun moments that make brands memorable.
'Holy Crap' moments don't always have to come in the form of perks that cost money. Oftentimes, the way you show you care with your time or attention can have a more far-reaching effect.
Remember the data. It puts social in perspective. People are living on their preferred social platforms. So it would do brands well to modify our thinking and focus on serving others.
When we come at social from the consumers' point of view first - we'll find ourselves offering emotional benefits fans simply cannot get from radio's digital competitors.
Exciting things happen when we're willing to take risks.
Ask yourself every day, how can you use social to truly stand out?
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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