An online presence is essential in this digital era. Having a website, social media pages and an app will benefit your radio station unlike nothing other. Your listeners expect you to be online; having a poor online presence can only result in you losing listeners and potential listeners.

The average adult internet user spends 20 hours a week online (Ofcom). On average, a listener tunes into 21 hours and 30 minutes of live radio a week. This means that your listeners are spending nearly equal time online than they are listening to radio. It is therefore essential that you have an online presence so that you can engage your listeners online as well as on-air.

An online presence enables you to easily show what your radio station has to offer. Including pages such as a programme of what is being broadcast that week will give potential listeners a taster of what you are about. Comments left by listeners on your social media sites and the amount of likes and followers you have are testimonials from other listeners; your online presence is a virtual portfolio of what you have to offer.

97 percent of consumers search for local businesses online (Google). Today, the first point of accessing information is via the internet. Thus, it is vital that your online presence is easily discoverable.

Your radio station’s online presence makes it so much easier for potential listeners to become regular listeners. To find information about your station, potential listeners are most likely to research you online. A good online presence will make you stand out from competition. Therefore, it should be easy to find you online; your potential listeners should not have to put in too much time or effort to try to find you.

A simple ad commercial would not be as effective as an online presence. A commercial is consumed passively; you would be lucky if the consumer would even remember your radio station\’s name. On the other hand, an online presence offers a one-on-one interactive experience that will give users a memorable experience.

Finally, social media allows your radio station to build a trusting relationship with your listeners. It humanises your radio station and allows for higher interactions and listener engagement. Social media can allow you to get to know your audience by seeing their likes/dislikes, age, gender, background; making you of better value to advertisers. Interacting with your audience will establish their trust in your radio station, leading to higher conversion rates. Social media is a simple, but effective, way to interest potential listeners and to build a real relationship with your audience.

The need of having a rich online presence is huge. Radio stations without a good online presence will be left behind and it will be nearly impossible for them to grow as a business.

For help with your online presence, contact us.