Mistakes radio stations do on social media platforms … Part 1: Not being native!

Not creating native content for different social media platforms means you are just wasting your time and money.

Instead of creating content that fits, we tend to re-purpose content already made for on air. Or we create one piece of content and we share it on all networks. Both things really don’t work.

What is native content?

Native content is content that fits that platform. It feels just like all the other content on that platform. It blends into other content on that platform.

Each platform is different. Some work because of pictures, some have 140 character limit. Some are strong in hashtags.

It is about context also — on Facebook, post you do should be just like the post friends of your listeners shared. If all you do are links to your web page, or something that is about you — they will not engage.

Think about it this way — when advertiser comes to you and says that they want 10 minute talk with DJ on air about their product. Plus competition to win prize that has 3 questions about their service.

These are advertisers not wanting native content on our platform — radio. And you know that kind of thing will not really reach listeners. Well, when you don’t do native content for any social media platform, you are doing the same mistake.

For me there are 3 big reasons why not being native is really really bad!

Audience expectations are not met
If it doesn’t fit, it will not engage the audience.

Each platform fulfills different needs. On Facebook you come to see what is happening in your immediate world. On LinkedIn to see what is new in your professional network. On Instagram to just enjoy visual part of the social media networks. On Snapchat to get “real” view into your friends lives. And to chat.

One network is more “artsy”, one is more “service based”. One is there for messaging before everything else.

So, when your content doesn’t fit — it will not be recognized as something of value for your audience. It will stand out in wrong way and will be ignored by them.

And then you have this cascading event — because your content is not engaged with — the algorithms that rule what audience will see bury it deep down. On Facebook it will be available on your Page, but when is the last time you went on someones page without purpose of checking out how they do social media?

Content format is wrong.
Wrong type of content can bury it so that almost no one will see it.

Facebook doesn’t like when you link YouTube videos on Facebook because they want you to stay on Facebook. So, instead of putting link to YouTube you should put your content on Facebook video.

Instagram is obviously pictures, more on “artsy” side. Pinterest is more about high quality pictures. But getting the right kind of combo of text, pictures, video is crucial.

If you understand what works and what doesn’t work for different platforms you are in better position to get your content in front of eyeballs and ears of your wanted audience.

Your brand voice is off point
This one is tricky. You are not behaving in same manner on kids birthday party and happy hour after work. The language you use is not the same.

You need to know what people want from different platforms, and play that game.

Your brand is the same brand, just bit different. Again, it has to do what audience is doing on different platforms.