Radio Ink - Radio's Premier Management & Marketing Magazine

• News Tips
• Advertise
• Conferences
  • Convergence
  • Forecast
  • Hispanic Radio Conference
• Lists
• Blogs

How to Take Control

10-10-2012

You always see advice about how you can do more with social media. How about some advice on control? Can control help you have more effective social media that makes you seem more human? Can you get more from your efforts simply by maintaining control? Let’s check out four ways to have more control and why they are effective for radio personalities and radio stations.

1. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You’ve heard it. The golden rule. It’s so true in social media. Think of social media as a “friendly” environment where “friendly” works wonders. So, focus on helping others and see how well it works in making your social media much more productive.

2. Don’t over share. Remember that being cool on social media is more about listening and validating others. If you’re always focused on your message, your promotion, your contests, you may miss your biggest opportunities to score real loyalty points. People are loyal to the people that validate them. Get busy – but make sure you are listening a lot and focused on listeners (not the station).

3. Think before you post. That’s right. This works just like the home game (for those of you who are married). You have to think before you put yourself out there on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. After all, your image is created every day by the way you present yourself in social media today. Remember: No matter what happens, you will reveal more about yourself than you think you will. Be sure it’s how you want to be remembered.

4. Do have a strategy; don’t overthink your strategy. Don't overthink it to the point where you don’t seem authentic. Being real is exceedingly critical in social media. Yes, you should have a plan. Think about what you want to accomplish, but remember that authenticity, creativity and being “for real” all count for a lot with listeners.

There is so much you can do in social media, but your biggest opportunities could involve just these four basic elements of control that allow you to engage listeners and use creativity, great content, control, and helpfulness to explode your effectiveness.

 Loyd Ford is the direct marketing, ratings and social media strategist for Americalist and programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes for years, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte and WBEE in Rochester, NY. Learn more about Loyd here:  http://about.me/loydford. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE  Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE

Send This Story To A Friend