Social media has become an indispensable tool for radio stations to connect with their audience, promote their content, and build a loyal community. Crafting a well–defined social media strategy is crucial to make the most of social media platforms.
Here are three key questions to ask when creating a radio station’s social media strategy:
1. What is your end goal with social media?
This is a vital question because without an understanding of your purpose and priorities, your efforts in social media are more likely to be flat. It’s imperative to focus on specific objectives. Here are a few for your radio station to consider:
- Keep people aware of the station.
- Build an online following.
- Make station more visible to partners and/or funders.
- Promote shows/showcase staff.
- Make connections with specific groups within the community.
2. Who is your social media audience?
Your social media audience should not only include your listeners but also, people, organizations and businesses your radio station works with, is connected to and/or wants to engage with in hopes to partner with at some point.
You need to consider your social media audience because in doing so, you’ll do better at thinking about the messages you want to convey.
In other words, consider your intended audience as you consider your content.
Post content that’s going to resonate with who you’re looking to connect with on your social pages.
3. Which social media platforms are most likely to help you achieve what you want?
As radio stations have their own demographics, so do social media platforms. Posting on Facebook positions your content to reach an older audience while Instagram skews to a younger audience. True, Facebook is still king when it comes to number of users though Instagram is the second-largest platform. The bottom line is to steward your efforts on social media and instead of trying to be everywhere, prioritize and choose the social media platforms which have the greatest potential of reaching your intended audience.
Social media can help extend your radio station’s footprint in a cost-effective and engaging way. These are just three of the many questions to ask as you develop your station’s social media strategy. Just remember, a successful social media strategy requires consistency and experimentation to land on the best approach for your radio station.
