Social Scorecard: Radio’s top social posts this week, plus tips for community management

Last week I gave you the low down on community management – what it is and why it is so important to order to increase your overall engagement.

In part two this week, I’ll give you a few pointers on community management and some best practices that are handy to have in places

Define who your demographic is and what they want from you

Figure out who your audience really is and their tone.
– Are they laid back or a bit more reserved?
– Would you be able to get away with sarcasm and slang, or do your need to be more of a straight shooter with them?

Distinguishing who you need to connect with and it will go a long way in creating a thriving community.

How do you want to measure your success?

• Do you want to increase your audience?
• Want better engagement?
• A boost in audience retention or something else?

Deciding what you want to achieve will help you know how you need to engage with your community.

Ask questions to keep the conversation going

A sure fire way to get your online audience captivated is to ask questions or give them directions to provoke responses. Your online community are much more likely to engage if you’re actively asking for their opinion. Don’t just ask a single question here and there – remain engaged and follow up with as many folks as possible.

Reply to relevant conversations

Just because you may have not triggered a conversation, doesn’t mean you can’t drive engagement from another user’s convo. If your social media management tool picks up on a Twitter convo about your station, drop on into it and throw a few comments or questions. Exercise some tact of course!

Develop ongoing engagement drivers

Successful online communities often have recurring weekly live chats or activations. These drivers cultivate engaged audiences. If your listeners know they’ll be something structured happening on your socials every week, they will be popping in to check it out.

Eye off your competition

While you should be focusing on building your own community, you can’t afford to completely ignore your competition. Study your competitor platforms to check out what they are doing really well and where their weaknesses are and employ those insights to your own community management strategy.

Check your notifications frequently

You should be checking your content for notifications in real-time. Users will spot and engage photos and posts when they first go out.

Respond to commends

Kick off conversations, ask questions and engage with your listeners. You should be demonstrating that you are accessible, that you are listening and that your fans matter. It’s all about creating connections so that they remain loyal fans. Ensure you respond to each comment by tagging people’s usernames so that they get a notification.

Urge users to tag friends

Often you will find that your comments section is filled with people tagging others. It may come across as discouraging because you can’t engage but encourage it. More people that see your content may result in more fans and higher engagement.

Our top picks this week come from 104.1 2DAYFM, Nova’s Smallzy and Hit 92.9’s Heidi, Will & Woody.

1. 104.1 2DAY FM: Facebook –‘Trish’s unauthorised tour of The Block’ (SCA)

You had me at Christian Hull. He is the messiah of social media producers as far as I’m concerned. Getting a social media influencer on board for content is basically like a two for one deal; you are not only getting content but it is going to get visibility and exposure by featuring  and tagging someone with a strong online presence. Well played SCA!

https://www.facebook.com/2DayFM/videos/864514970372175/

2. Nova 96.9’s Smallzy: Facebook – ‘Love Mariah Carey’ (Nova Entertainment)

Her interview on ‘Good Morning Britain’ had people fuming because it was aired when the news of the Vegas massacre broke. However a lot of viewers noticed that Mariah was not only sprawled out on her couch but it was alongside a giant Christmas tree – two months before Chrissy. In no way taking away from the seriousness of the event and coverage but a light hearted poke at the ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ songstress. Language used was appropriate for their audience, even down to the slang and spelling. This whole tree thing went viral and I commend the team for waiting a little before they decided to post this.

3. Hit 92.9’s Heidi, Will & Woody: Facebook – ‘The moment Will and Woody get their nipples pierced’ (SCA)

Is this a new resurge of ‘90s trends that coming back…. nipple piercings? I’m definitely a weirdo, because it appears I’m back for another round where more radio announcers suffer for the art once AGAIN. A little long, but the team painted a little journey well – there was suspense, intrigue and so much weird gibberish. I’m just about done for nipple piercings for 2017 so, as much as I enjoyed this 2nd one, let’s leave it at that please!

https://www.facebook.com/heidiwillwoody/videos/987767721361759

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Social Scorecard is compiled exclusively for Radio Today by Jess Frangelli.