How To Increase Listenership For Your Internet Radio Station
One of the most exciting things about running your own internet radio station is watching your audience grow. Many of you are probably wondering what your listenership will look like once the world goes back to normal, and how you will retain and continue to increase your audience. Continue reading for some helpful tips to do just that:
Understand Your Listenership Trends
If you have an existing internet radio station, a good starting point is to analyse your current listenership statistics to understand your station’s most popular listening times and content. This information should help you tailor your content for the right segments at the right time to both engage and grow your audience. For example, if you see listener peaks for your 80’s segments but drops for your jazz sessions, consider dropping the jazz and expanding your 80’s segments.
Leverage Your Social Media Audience
If you already have a social media presence, this is a free and simple option to attract and gain new listeners. For Facebook, we suggest that you start by creating a Page for your radio station, and invite your Facebook friends to like your Page on Facebook as a starting point. To keep your audience engaged, share your radio stream on Facebook as well. For Twitter, thoughtfully using hashtags, especially those that include artists’ names or trending topics can score you followers, which can translate into listeners.
Our SAM Broadcaster Cloud solution has social media integration enables you to share directly to your Twitter feed, helping to engage your followers in real-time. Click here to learn how your radio station can leverage the power of social media.
Promote Your Station
Consider using paid adverts for your station. The options include using paid search advertising on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google Adwords. Paid search enables you to launch targeted ads by demographics, gender, interests and more, meaning your radio station will be put in front of audiences that are likely to be interested in your station.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For Your Station
If you have a website for your radio station, we suggest that you optimize your site to rank as high as possible for highest visibility and discoverability. To enable your audience to listen to your station on your website, integrate your website or have a website widget added to your site. If you don’t have a website of your own, SAM Broadcaster Pro comes with customizable website templates whilst SAM Broadcaster Cloud comes with web and player widgets which can be customized and easily added to your website. Click here to learn how you can make your website SEO friendly.
List Your Station on Radio Directories
Radio directories are high traffic locations for listeners as they offer different genres of music. By listing your station on popular radio directories, you put your station in front of an already existing audience. Ensure you list your station under the right genre or category. Some of the popular radio directories are AudioRealm, Streema, Itunes, RadioGuide.FM and many more. The more directories you list your station, the more discoverable your station will be to listeners. To list your station on different directories, you will require your stream URL for your radio station.
Invite Guests To Your Shows
One way to spice up your schedule is to bring in guests regularly. Guest appearances not only give you new and fresh content, but they can also draw in new listeners who may be fans or friends of them, helping to increase your listenership.
Enable In-Car Listening
A great way to keep and grow your audience is to provide them with options to listen in-car as radio is popular during commute times. Mobile streaming platforms like Streema are a good place to start. Streema has a free mobile app called Simple Radio; that collects digital stations from around the world, based on genre or location. Educating your listeners on how to listen in their cars is essential. Make your content easily accessible and make simple step-by-step guides available on your website for your listeners’ reference or through weekly pre-commute reminders to your listeners. Click here to learn more.
Get a Mobile Application for Your Radio Station
Mobile Applications allows your listeners to listen to your station on their mobile devices and whilst on the go. Nobex Partners offers a feature-rich mobile app that provides the most powerful dashboard to help you engage and grow your listenership. As a radio broadcaster, you can control the content, the dialog and your brand on your mobile application.
Let Your Programming Do The Work
The content you broadcast on your radio station, as well as your Radio DJ personalities, play a huge role in retaining listeners and growing your audience. \ Unique, interesting and relevant content drives audience engagement increasing the chance of word of mouth and good recommendations, which can play an integral role in growing your listenership. You can also promote your scheduled shows through jingles as a way of generating interest to upcoming shows. Competitions also engage audiences, so consider adding competitions and draws to your programming. Please note national regulations which relate to competitions and prize draws in your country.
Convert Your Radio Programs Into Podcasts
Podcasts are on demand content that allows your audience to consume your shows on their own time. The Podcast format is sharable enabling your listeners to share your content in many ways such as social media. Please, however, note that sharing podcasts which contain copyright protected music is illegal. If you want to start podcasting, Omny Studio provides the leading Podcasting technology with tools to enable you to create your on-demand content such as stock music and more.
Continue your station’s momentum during and after the global quarantine, and implement some of these tactics to retain and grow your listeners. If you have not started your radio station, we offer internet radio cutting edge solutions which provide unlimited listener options. Sign up for SAM Broadcaster Cloud or SAM Broadcaster Pro today.
