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What Your Audience Is Doing When They're Not Listening To You
November 25, 2014
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Your audience is likely listening to your station every day. They rely on you to keep them company while they work, and when they drive. They trust you'll curate the best music, and keep them informed on local and national news stories.
We also know they are getting distracted by other platforms and channels trying to earn their attention, too. And these sources aren't the typical stations up or down the dial.
They are apps - the activities that we participate with on our smartphones every day; the greatest diversions (and some awesome time sucks) of today's culture.
Time spent on smartphones continue to grow each year as Americans are now spending nearly 3 hours a day looking at them and playing around.
And what they are doing in and out of those three hours spent is what we need to learn and understand.
It can help strategically weave our brands into the time they spend without us.
We know that emailing, texting, and talking are how they spend some of their time. Those are givens.
But have you really looked at what they are doing each day socially?
(And 81% of them check Facebook on their mobile device.)
(80% of those messages are tweeted via mobile.)
(As you know, Instagram is an app -- so all 60 million are uploaded via mobile.)
(And 100 Million videos are also shared on WhatsApp each day.)
(Plus, 500 Million Snapchat "stories" are viewed every day.)
And those numbers keep growing.
So besides social, what else is your audience doing when they are spending time away from you?
Consider this research from Exact Target:
As you see, beyond social they are watching videos, playing games, and reading.
What we want to ask ourselves; where do our radio stations fit into the audience's daily lives?
People are toggling two or more social platforms and moving from device to device.
It's critical we understand what the fans are doing when they're not tuned into us; or when they are listening but dividing their attention between us and other activities.
We only have so much time in a day and we can't be everywhere. To begin the task of carving out the fundamentals it takes to stand out in all of these activities, it takes research.
Whether it's Jacobs Media's Techsurveys, or another company tracking fan behavior, find out where your audience is and serve them well.
We limit our own opportunities to be seen and give fans permission to form loyalties elsewhere when we're not present and connected to where they are.
We also create unwanted, awkward experiences for the fans when we try to force them to use a platform or participate in an activity they no longer wish to use or do.
Knowledge is power.
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