CAPTURING YOUR WEB USERS Dana Hall – Radio and Records Radio station Web sites have come a long way, baby, in the past two years. In fact, it’s not unusual for PDs to be “programming” their site’s content as much as they do their station’s on-air sound. For many listeners, their favorite radio station Web site is like home—literally, their home page. The Web site becomes a supplement to what they get on the air: daily news, weather, horoscopes, information on songs and artists, as well as station and community events and more.
“One of the first things I was taught about radio is that it’s a personal medium,” says Rocco Macri, president and founder of Promosuite, a software and interactive services provider for radio. “I was also told that the best way to get your message out is the old-fashioned way: to shake hands and kiss babies. That’s still true today, but I also believe that because of technology, radio has an opportunity to shake more hands than ever.”
Building Relationships
The station Web site has become one of the best tools for programmers, promotion managers and sales executives to really learn who their listeners are. You can do that by driving listeners to your station Web site, then capturing their stats to create a database that becomes an ongoing tool of communication with listeners.
Macri says, “Your Web site is an opportunity to build a relationship with listeners. The first thing you need to do is to give them an incentive to give you personal information. The best way to accomplish this is to offer many different entry points. And your best opportunity to get listeners to give you information is the first time they sign up.”
These entry points include loyal listener clubs, Web site contesting, text messaging alerts, Web site surveys and music testing. Loyal listener clubs have become quite popular and encourage listeners to sign up for weekly e-mail newsletters and events. Web site contests are another way to win prizes, often client-related, off-air. With text messaging—one of the newest and most popular ways to gather data—listeners agree to let you send information to their mobile phones. In surveys and through research, “you gather data that helps you in your job, as well as making them feel good because their opinion counts,” Macri says.
Some listeners are going to want to be involved with all of the things you make available, “so you make it easy for them to sign up and enter contests without having to [enter] all of their information each time,” Macri adds. “Once they are in the system, they can log back in with just an e-mail address and password. Other listeners may have zero interest in things like contests, but want to give their opinion on new music.”
What listener information should a station ask for? Macri says the required basic fields include first and last names, e-mail address and birth date.
“The birth date is essential since it’s illegal to send e-mail to someone under the age of 13 without their parents' approval. We always suggest asking for home address, and home and business phone as well. If a station plans on sending out text messages, a mobile phone number is necessary. If the station plans on doing research, gender is a must.”
Beyond that, it is really up to the station. But Macri says, “We advise stations to be careful about asking too many questions. You do not want to turn off a listener by asking too much too soon.”
One of the most common uses of a database is e-mail marketing. Stations also use databases to do online music testing and perceptual studies. Previously, direct marketing was conducted through the mail and was a costly option. With an e-mail database, the cost is much more efficient, if there is cost at all. And you can reach listeners more consistently.
The Big Payoff
According to veteran radio promotion executive Jennifer McKillop, president of promotion consultancy PromoMa.com, there’s more to the online marketing strategy than simply blowing out mass e-mails every week.
“You have to make sure there is a benefit to the end recipient. It’s the same as if you’re asking listeners to be a member of a club. There has to be some kind of benefit for them to join or to want to get an e-mail from you. Ask yourself, ‘What is the payoff?’ ”
Macri agrees. “Don’t turn your e-mail newsletter into a Sunday paper insert. It should include exclusive information when available, core information about your jocks, events and artists, plus incentives for them to click through to the Web site.”
While the inclination might be to “bling up” messages to fit the lifestyle of your listener, McKillop suggests that information always be presented in the most “simple, no-nonsense manner. Make it quick: Use bullet points, in a plain font.”
She also suggests that one of the easiest ways to continually touch the listener is to send out birthday greetings. “I call it ‘lovin’ up’ the database.”
Revving Up Revenue
More recently, with Web sites becoming a greater generator of revenue for companies, the database can also help sales teams sell Web site advertising. The database shows exactly who is using the site, how old they are and what part of town they live in. You can even ask users questions about salary and product choices, but be careful.
McKillop cautions, “If you have a great database, keep it clean—meaning, don’t sell it to a third party. By becoming a ‘member’ of your site, listeners are putting their trust in your radio station. Don’t burn that trust by selling their information to annoying marketers.”
Macri also suggests that by avoiding third parties, you protect listener information from potential security issues. And if you do sell or give information to a third party, include a privacy policy.
“Stations are encouraged to have a privacy policy available on their Web site to be reviewed by listeners. The essence of a privacy policy is disclosure. For example, let’s say a radio station is asking listeners to sign up to win concert tickets. If they want to be able to share the names of the registrants with the artist’s management or label, they need to disclose this to the listener while they are signing up, giving them an opportunity to decline.” |