Lesson 06
How to boost your radio audience and notoriety?
Now that you have read our courses, your radio is working perfectly, you know how to broadcast live, but you’re still missing a key ingredient: listeners. What’s the best way to communicate in order to boost your radio audience and attract new listeners? Keep reading to find out.
By the end of this course, you’ll know everything there is to know about:
Boost your radio audience by being visible online
Effectively referencing your radio
In the merciless world of the Internet, SEO (search engine optimization) occupies a central place for all those who want to make themselves known. SEO consists in using methods to place your online radio or website in the first pages of search engines such as Google. This way your listeners will be able to find you easily. The more accessible you are, the more likely it is that your radio station will be listened to!
The easiest way to be well referenced is to create a website (or blog) on which your audience can listen to your online radio station. From your website, you will be able to carry out a few small tricks in order to optimize its referencing.
First, you must choose a few keywords on which you want to position yourself. Be careful not to choose too many key words, and try and make them as specific as possible. For example, if you are a rap radio station, it might be tempting to use the word RAP, but this won’t be very useful. Instead, favour terms such as Urban, US Rap, etc.
Top tip: The more original the concept of your Internet radio station, the easier it will be to be well referenced.
Then, add content to your website. In addition to posting podcasts of your shows, write articles related to the style of your radio station and current events. Always remember to place keywords in your content (the name of your radio, etc).
You can also share your radio on partner websites. Contact websites that are close to your radio’s identity (blog, music site, etc) and ask them to integrate your radio’s player. This will help increase your visibility and attract a bigger radio audience.
Register with online directories
Another way to reference your online radio station is to register it on online radio directories. There are many of them, but if you can get your radio on the most popular ones it will open the door to many other platforms. For example, being referenced on Deezer will allow your radio to be available on Waze, the GPS application. Some directories, accessible from Android TV, will allow your listeners to listen to you from their TV, or their connected speakers. To be referenced, you usually need to fill in a form with your listening link and some additional information, then….. patience! You will need a lot of it as some directories can take up to 6 months to include your radio in their catalog.
Here is a list of the directories on which you must appear:
- Deezer
If your radio station is hosted by RadioKing, we automatically add it to Deezer for free! This good news means better visibility for your radio and an opening to thousands of new listeners. To appear on Deezer, your radio must meet the following conditions:
- Have a logo
- Have at least one genre
- Be switched on and broadcasting
- Appear on the RadioKing Platform
- Radio Garden
This online directory proposes to discover radios worldwide by choosing the region of the world you want directly on the globe. Just for that reason, it’s worth sharing your radio.
- RadioLine
Known all over the world, RadioLine will allow you to reach a very wide audience.
- vTuner
vTuner will allow you to be referenced on digital radios. Again, you’ll need to be patient to see your online radio appear on Samsung or Pioneer radio sets.
- Streema
Available on iOS and Android, this directory will allow your listeners to listen to you from their smartphones.
There are many more directories available that can help boost your radio audience for free.
Promote your online radio station
In order to extend your visibility, don’t hesitate to communicate about the launch of your radio. Write a press release and send it to your contacts. This will allow those around you to get to know your radio station and give it a professional dimension.
You can also leave messages and comments on forums and blogs that have the same theme as your radio. Remember to leave your radio’s website address, but be careful not to leave too many messages at the risk of being considered spam.
Finally, the last tip to help increase the visibility of your Internet radio station: integrate it into your email signature. This will allow you to advertise your radio every time you communicate with a person without even realising it.
Use your network to expand your radio audience
That’s it, you’re visible on the Internet, bravo! Now it’s all about interacting with your listeners to create a community.
Promote your online radio station in your area
Even if you’re not a local radio station, we suggest that you talk about it around you. Feel free to hand out flyers and make posters. Go to group concerts that are musically similar to the style of your radio, you may find future listeners.
You can also talk about your radio station with local merchants or bars, perhaps they would be interested in broadcasting your radio in their establishment. In short, don’t forget real life, you may also find a radio audience there.
Create social media profiles for your Internet radio station
Nothing better than social networks to bring your listeners together, but on which networks should you position yourself? How can you use them to your advantage? You can’t improvise the job of a Community Manager, so here are some tips to manage your social networks like a pro.
- Facebook
First of all, create a Facebook Page for your radio station, not a profile. Make a clear distinction between your profile and your radio page. Add your logo, your slogan and the links where you can be heard. Once your page has been created, invite your friends to “like” it.How should you post? Always try to post relevant content, information about an event, new features on your radio, etc… Beware of spam! Do not post more than 2 statuses per day unless you really have something important to say.
- Twitter
You may be less familiar with Twitter, but that’s no reason to neglect the blue bird, which will allow you to be responsive and post more often. You can even automatically post the tracks that are broadcast on your radio station!Creating hashtags can also be a valuable asset, as you can create the hashtag for your radio to be more easily spotted. #radioemo
Using popular hashtags can also give you great visibility.
- Instragram
This social network dedicated to photography can be a valuable ally when it comes to posting photos of your studio and behind the scenes. For example, you can make small videos before your live broadcast and post them as a story, these videos disappear after a few hours and give your followers the impression of being privileged as they will have access to exclusive content.Also, don’t forget to interact with your listeners, answer their questions, in short, don’t just share content.
It is important to be present on multiple social networks because they do not attract the same type of people, so you can increase your target, but be careful: you don’t always communicate on Facebook as you do on Twitter. So don’t just copy/paste your content from one network to another, try and adapt it.
Note: On most of these social networks, you will also have the possibility to create sponsored content, i.e. to advertise. This is not free, but it can bring you reach a wider radio audience!
Retain your listeners and increase your radio audience
Now that your listeners are there, another part of the work begins: retention. An auditor is never fully acquired and if, as new listeners arrive, the old ones leave your radio audience will not grow. So here are some ways to keep your listeners hooked to your Internet radio station.
Renewing your radio station
So that your listeners don’t get bored listening to the same song for the 500th time, you must regularly renew your programming. Add new features and consider removing tracks that have been broadcasting for too long.
Feel free to involve your listeners in your programming via social networks! This will make them want to stay tuned to your radio to find out if their title has been chosen. On the same principle if you have a website, regularly publish articles to show that you are there (there’s nothing less encouraging than arriving on a website and seeing that the last article was published 6 months ago). Offer your listeners regular news: podcasts, live videos, etc… These are elements that will make your listeners want to keep following you.
Create goodies
Who has ever said no to a gift? Goodies are small gifts in the name of your radio that you can distribute to your listeners. They have two main characteristics: to please your listeners and future listeners and to advertise your radio station. In the section of essential goodies, there are of course stickers. Cost-effective, because they are inexpensive to manufacture, they can be distributed and stuck everywhere for maximum visibility. In addition, you can easily send them by letter to your listeners on the other side of the globe at a low cost.
Creating stickers is easy thanks to specialized websites that allow you to choose your sticker style (squares, rounded, etc.) and the image you want to print. You can decide to print your logo with the name of your radio. Simple and effective.
Where can you create your stickers? VistaPrint or Camaloon.
You can also choose to invest in other more original goodies. You can then offer them as prizes when you organize contests on your radio station. Ask yourself what object will please your radio audience. It’s a plus if it refers to the style of your Internet radio station, for example you could create guitar picks if you broadcast rock music, mugs if you’re used to broadcasting live in the morning, etc… Think of a useful object that can boost your visibility (a t-shirt with the name of your radio or a tote-bag will help to spread your image for example).
Organize meetings with your listeners
Finally, what better way to build a relationship with your radio audience than a meeting organized by you? You can choose to sponsor an event such as a small concert, or simply privatize a bar for the occasion (some bars can book a room for you for free on request). This will be an opportunity to meet your listeners and talk with them.
You can organize activities related to your radio: blind test, karaoke and distribute goodies to the winners!
Top Tip: Thanks to Facebook’s “Create an event” feature, you can invite all your listeners with a few clicks.
You now have all the cards in hand to develop your radio audience and attract new listeners. All you have to do is get started!
To sum up
Referencing
Position yourself on keywords to improve your SEO.
Social networks
Be present on social networks to create a community around your radio.
Be patient
Increasing the number of your listeners takes time! Don’t be discouraged!
We’ve reached the end of this lesson, thanks for reading!
We hope you enjoyed this course and that it provided you with answers to your questions before starting your Internet radio station. You can now move on to the next lesson!
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