Source: TechCrunch

Source: CNET

Is your station ready to join the social? Social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace are huge. Out of all of the millions of sites in the world, Facebook is ranked #5 and MySpace is ranked #7 according to Alexa.com. So is it time to test the social waters? Let’s find out.

What’s so great about having your own social network? Primarily it’s a great way to interact with your listeners and earn their loyalty. It’s empowering for your listeners to be able to post on their favorite station’s social site. They feel like they have a say in the station and to a small degree they do. If you have a bunch of people say that they would love to hear the new Coldplay single and you put it in rotation, they feel like you listen to them and care about them. Also, as members of your social site your listeners will be able to tell you where they listen to your station and when, what they would like to hear on the air, tell you who their favorite artists are, where they like to hang out, what they like to do for fun, etc. In addition to all of that, your DJs can interact with the listeners, and have their own blogs.

Wow that sounds great, how could that possibly go wrong? Well, your DJs and listeners are free to post what they feel like on the site. Not only that, but they can also post questionable photos and videos. This can definitely be a problem. You will need someone or several people you feel are responsible to moderate the site and remove any questionable material. Removals have to be done tactfully and fairly or you will become Big Brother stealing your listeners’ freedom. A line will have to be drawn and all of your moderators will have to be on the same page. More than one person should look at any post teetering on the edge of that line before action is taken. A certain degree of freedom is necessary for your listeners to feel at home. Another thing to consider is your competitors’ ability to sign-up and bash your station. Banning members from your social site should only be done in extreme cases. Social sites can be a bit damaging to your image if they are not properly moderated.

Also, you should consider your station’s demographics. While social networks appeal to many different demos, a younger demo will most likely have a better chance of success. Having a social site without members can be very embarrassing and can make your station look weak. Finally, people who have a Facebook profile and a MySpace profile may not want to join yet another social site. Some people have trouble keeping up with all of the sites they are already members of.

So you’re willing to have moderators that will taken action and keep your social site going in the right direction. How do you get people to join and stay active? All of your DJs will need to get involved and promote the social site on the air. It is also important that your DJs are willing to interact with listeners through the social site. Listing where your DJs will be and have them promote it on the social site can drive more traffic to your events. Asking local musicians and bands to add profiles and maybe even highlight some of them on the social site’s homepage. Local musicians and bands are normally passionate about what they are doing and will sometimes invite their fans to join your network to support them. Contesting through your social site, maybe even including local artists, can drive traffic. Allow your listeners to interact with major label acts that drop by your studio through the social site. Create groups in your social site based on your on-air programs that listeners can join and add their comments. Let your listeners know that this is a site for them. You listeners will be a part of your station’s extended family.

Okay, I want to do this and I have an idea how to drive my listeners to join. Can I make money with this? Well, Facebook and MySpace are still having trouble with that, so it’s certainly not easy. You can try the traditional methods you probably already use on your Web site, such as banner ads. You can also try to get the social site sponsored by a client or have each group you set-up sponsored by a different client. The problem is that potential content your listeners may add can scare away some clients. You could charge a fee to join the social site but I wouldn’t suggest it. Charging to join may cause a very anemic social site. It would be much better to have an open-minded client to power the social site. Although this will put much more pressure on your moderators to be fair. Any negative action from your moderators will also reflect on the sponsor.

Should your station be social or anti-social? It can be a great new technology, which can give you a good idea where your listeners’ interests are at. It can also be an embarrassing disappointment. You will have to decide if your listeners are right for this sort of technology and if you have people in-house that will be able to moderate it properly. In your next email blast, ask your listeners if this is something they would want. If you don’t get much of a response you may have your answer.

–Tom Stark, Partner, RadioGlue. tom@radioglue.com – 732.416.0900
If you are seriously considering a social site you can contact RadioGlue. We will answer your questions and can set-up a social site for you.

Source: TechCrunch