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Pay More Attention To Your Station Website …
November 29, 2022
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Frequently I look at radio websites for upcoming events or pictures of personality appearances for posting on All Access. What concerns me is the number of sites I come across without basic information or that make it hard to find anything. Some of my biggest complaints include no physical address for a station, posted pictures of personalities without names, station information not posted prominently, and no one from the Programming department being listed.
Connect The Dots ...
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 what was posted on social media on their station website. I'm not sure if it's a disconnect between departments or an oversight. Many of the large companies share national content with all their cluster formats. However too many local sites are disproportionate when it comes to national versus local content.Not Pointing Fingers ...
Who are the biggest offenders of not utilizing websites? Do your own research and see if you come to the same conclusion I have. This is an easy fix and I take into consideration the current state of our business with companies having fewer people to do more. The station website is a part of your marketing and rating battle.I Think Station Websites Need:
- Pictures with large, readable text and captions with the personalities' names and air shifts
- Pictures of local events with personalities and listeners
- Blogs with comments and regular postings once a week
- Be mobile-friendly
- Video's (Some estimates say 1/3 of content consumed is video based)
- Content that's up to date
- Banners that reflect your station's identity and market you’re located
- Cross-plugging on-air contests and promotions
- Its own sales staff
I Don’t think Station Websites Need:
- Pictures of events that are a year old (unless stored in an archive section of the website)
- Blogs that read like mandatory content
- Too much visual clutter
- The use of radio jargon the average listener does not understand
- "Contact Us" dropdowns without the name of anyone in Programming
- Too many misspelled words and poor use of the English language
- Out-of-focus pictures
- Sites without any localization other than community calendars
Hey, I Get It ...
I know there's 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. Sometimes sales and programming get into battles because a site becomes the new added-value dump. The station’s website should be treated like the airwaves, recycle the targeted audience, and meet expectation needs for ratings and profit.Do Yourself A Favor ...
Set aside time to look at other station sites, find things you like, and then have adjustments made to your site. Make sure you get with staffers who can be counted on to consistently get things done. What you've got on the air should match what you have on social media and your website.One last thing...
While preparing this column, I ran across something that fellow All Access columnist Lori Lewis wrote awhile back, “35 Things You Should Know Concerning Social Media.” Everything she listed can be re-applied to what you do with your station website. -
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