All You Need Is Like

In yesterday’s post, we took a look at a Vitrue study that examined the days and times that Facebook users are most likely to comment and respond.

Today, the focus is on developing a better understanding of how and why Facebook users engage with brands – like radio stations.

Email marketing company ExactTarget studied 1,500 Facebook users.  Of them, nearly four in ten (38%) became a fan (using “like”) of a brand.  And the average user actually “likes” nine different brands.

So for radio stations, there are many chances to attain fandom from Facebook users.  But it helps to know the drivers that motivate someone clicking on that all-important “thumbs up” icon.

Since the recession began, our company hasn't been subtle about the need for radio to connect with its advertisers to set up discounts and deals.  We’ve seen it in our Tech Polls, and in every single L.A.B. and focus group we conduct.  Deals, discounts, and promotions are the modern-day Holy Grail that are win-win-wins for stations, advertisers, and listeners.

So it's no surprise that in the ExactTarget study, the #1 factor that leads to becoming a fan is receiving discounts and promotions (40%).

Close behind (39%) is simply wanting to show support for a company or brand – a sort of social media “bumpersticker” where people self-identify.  This speaks to the need for radio to put enough into its programming and marketing to attain that cool factor that will drive more "like."

Below are the top “engagement drivers.”  The great news is that each of these elements is a typical radio activity – or should be – that has the ability to drive Facebook fans:

So much for the false notion that consumers don’t like to be marketed to.  As you can see, Facebook users express “like” for brands for a wide variety of reasons.  Radio can actually fulfill many of them.  And note that most of these drivers are good for diarykeepers and PPM respondents, too.  Promotions, discounts, scheduled programming, entertainment activities, and the ability to go behind the scenes to get exclusive content are all part of what amps up the urge to become a fan.

A focus on these elements can translate into not only driving your email database higher, but also providing a handy guide for those at your station who are involved with social media content generation.

ExactTarget also had two other interesting findings:

Women are more about relationships in social media settings.  We also know from our Tech Surveys and other related data that they’re more active on sites like Facebook to begin with – again, driven by interaction with others.

Men, on the other hand, are more about acquiring information.  Knowing these key differences is important, depending on your station’s hyper-focused target audience.

Secondly, two-thirds of Facebook users only access the site when they’re not at work or school – which often translates into morning or evenings.  These are often the times when they have a quiet moment to engage.  So, of course, that suggests that your station’s posts should not be confined to just normal business hours.  

This suggests that the morning show and the night jock (assuming there is one) have special opportunities to engage.

Recently, 97Rock in Buffalo created a “man bites dog” story when they brought back Slick Tom Tiberi to nights.  Tom had been a victim of budget cuts, but station management pushed hard to bring him back into the studio at nights.  And in a recent quote from Tom about audience reaction to his resurrection, he commented in an email, “My face book page is off the hook with comments!”

It is notable that for radio, nights might be a way in to engage consumers with great entertainment, fun, and information.  Especially at a time when they are busily engaging with others in online communities.  The long-held beliefs that nights don't matter or that evening voicetracking is good enough may be debunked by social media usage patterns, opening up doors for radio to engage with listeners during these hours.

Based on these metrics, Wolfman Jack would have had a lot of Facebook fans.

To learn more about how social media and radio can work together, we are devoting considerable time at our Summit (partnered with the Arbitron Client Conference in Baltimore, December 7-9) to this important topic.  And we have great speakers who are walking the walk.

Talent coach pro Val Geller will share the secrets of making sure your personality content is worthy of being shared and followed. This is Val's turf and she knows it well.

Social mediologist Jessica Northey is one of the most innovative people in this space, having come out of radio.  Her "Are You Being Followed?" session will produce great takeaways. Jessica instinctively practices what she preaches in social media, and she is a leading expert who is loaded with great ideas.

And WXYZ-TV anchorman Stephen Clark will demonstrate live The Backchannel, his Twitter network of followers who contribute to his Detroit newscasts every night.  He has discovered the power and job of providing his audience with a voice - and his fellow Channel 7 teammates are enjoying this unique ride. 

For more info on the Summit and the Arbitron Client Conference, click here. 

Comments

[Roy Morejon]

Great piece Fred, thanks for the research. I like.

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