Your Station Website ... Take A Look

Frequently I look at radio websites for upcoming events or pictures of personality appearances for All Access Snaps. What concerns me is how many sites I come across without basic information -- no street address, names not attached to pictures, lack of documentation of local interaction with listeners, station information not prominent, or no positions or names listed for the program department.

Everything Should Connect ...

I know stations are out at events because I see them post to Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. Yet, too many times there's not even a link back to the station website for more detailed information. To make matters worse, many don't place on the station website what was posted on social media. I am not sure if it's a disconnect between departments or an oversight. Many of the large companies share national content with all their formats and clusters and that's great, but too many local properties are not adding the local happenings for the world to see. Connecting with the audience at every level is a must.

Television & Syndicated Radio ...

For example, all the national TV morning shows provide cutaways to allow local affiliates a chance to provide local news and information. In fact, there are many radio stations that take the opportunity to localize with a personality during the allotted local commercial breaks on nationally syndicated radio shows.

Not a Blame Game ...

Who are the biggest offenders of not utilizing websites? I am not going to point out any one station or cluster, but do your own research and see if you come to the same conclusion I have. This is an easy fix and I do take into consideration the current state of our business with companies using fewer people to do more. The station website is a part of your rating battle.

What Station Websites Need

• Pictures with large, readable text and captions with the personalities' names and shifts
• Pictures of local events with personalities and listeners
• Blogs with comments; regular postings once a day or once a week
• Sites that are mobile-friendly
• Simple to operate and workable podcasts
• Content that makes sense and is up to date
• Banners that reflect your station's and city's identity
• Cross-plugging on-air contests and promotions

What Station Websites Don't Need

• Pictures of events that are a year old (unless they are stored in an archive section of the website)
• Blogs that read like mandatory diaries
• Sites with visual clutter
• The use of radio jargon the average listener does not understand
• Contact Us dropdowns without the name of the PD or MD
• The poor use of the English language or too many misspelled words
• Out-of- focus pictures
• Sites without any localization other than community calendars

Reboot ...

There is a saying, "You are talking to a new listener every time you turn on the mic." The same holds true regardless of the platform exposing your station to the listener. I know there is a time crunch to get things done, but it should be a priority to find a way to add some local flavor to what you are doing with your site.

It All Works Together ....

Sometimes sales and programming get into heated battles because a site becomes the new added-value dump; reach a compromise and keep clutter to a minimum. The website should be treated like the airwaves. The goal is to recycle the listener base and keep them happy. Programming should always be a part of the decision making when it comes to content for a site. Everything leads back to the goal of satisfying audience entertainment needs for ratings and profit.

Where to Start ...

I suggest you look at various station sites and find ones suitable to your liking and then draw up your plan. Make sure you get with those who can be counted on to consistently get things done. Lastly, and this is important, always think in multiples when reviewing anything for the airwaves; you are dealing with both social media and your website. It's also important for stations and clusters to have some consistency when it comes to the person with the responsibility to update content.

Suggested Reading ...

While doing my homework on this week's topic, I ran across a column that fellow All Access columnist Lori Lewis wrote awhile back dealing with 35 things you should know concerning social media; much of it can also be re-applied to dealing with a radio station website.