Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Tough Truth

Both Republicans and Demoncrats are aggressively using social media trying to convince swing voters. 

It isn't working

Social media is a wonderful tool to connect you to your biggest fans, but it's not working very well - especially banner ads - to change anyone's mind. 

The lesson for radio:  sure, try hard to maximize the size of your Facebook and Twitter communities, to make use of those people who know about and want to interact/engage with you to reach their friends who may be a lot like them (and, thus, YOU).

Truth:  don't expect asking folks to 'like' you or 'follow' you will grow your cume very much. 

It's content that draws new listeners and social media fans. 

Focus on creating interesting, entertaining, engaging content.

2 comments:

Inside Radio said...

Retailers and their ad buyers say the message they’re delivering on radio has changed in recent years, adjusting to cost-conscious thinking by consumers. But what isn’t changing is their belief that radio helps drive sales.

The Richards Group’s Gary Gibson told the Radio Show in Dallas last week that its client Home Depot has used radio for more than 20 years. “Radio does the heavy lifting often times — it can do the regionalized lifting when we need that,” he said.

Five years ago Home Depot shifted from :60s to :30s, and that required the agency to rethink how it took its message to consumers. But leaving radio wasn’t ever an option.

“We have something that’s working,” Gibson said. Dallas-based Levines Department Store uses everything from :05s to :60s, depending on the frequency it needs. But VP Lance Protho said it’s unlikely those dollars will shift to digital.

“Banner ads haven’t worked and the texting that we’ve done through radio stations hasn’t been as successful as the on-air commercials,” Protho explained. “There’s more bang for the buck in radio than for any other medium.”

Ad Results owner Marshall Williams no doubt agrees, since he uses personality live-read endorsements for several of his agency’s clients.

While they typically run a minute, he said they don’t
mind if an air personality talks even longer. “We rely on the connection between the listener and the personality and we want that connection to take place – we want it to be a conversation between neighbors,” he said.

But Marshall also thinks that the radio industry should do more, especially by offering on-demand content such as the best bits from a morning show.

“Broadcasters need to embrace that because you have great content and because the universe is moving toward a device that people carry in their pocket or purse and they get all of their content on that,” he said.

Gibson agreed there are some challenges facing radio, especially in the digital space. But he said the basic premise for using the medium remains. “You
can do something magical with a sheet of paper and well-written copy and maybe a little music. You don’t have to rely on production values with big crews.”

Holland Cooke said...

For decades, radio reps have touted that “NO other medium comes closer to the cash register,” a benefit now under attack by mobile media. In December, when I was helping Santa, I myself stood in the aisle at Sam’s Club, and used iPhone to compare Sam’s price with Apple’s…then ordered an iPad from Apple right-then-and-there…a trend called “showrooming.”

Another new term this research echoed is “recency,” and this document sure makes the case that, as Rose said, “radio gets the last word” before shoppers buy. The closer to the 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm “shopping peak,” the better radio compares with other media.