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Eat Your Own Social 'Dog Food'
April 14, 2015
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You may have heard the phrase, "Eat Your Own Dog Food." It's an expression that describes a company using its own products or services for internal operations - to try and feel the consumer experience and grow from it.
In radio, we often do the same with the on-air product, blocking out a day here and there to really listen to the station and make notes for improvement. But how much of our own "dog food" are we eating in the digital and social spaces?
A few weeks ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about how he and his company eat their own dog food. Zuckerberg believes that in order to serve the Facebook community as best as possible, the company must use all aspects of the platform so they can better understand the consumer experience.
So naturally that led me to think about if radio brands ever really eat their own social dog food.
When was the last time you put yourself in the shoes of the audience and with an honest, critical eye, really assessed what it feels like to have your station's Facebook posts, Instagram photos, and tweets show up in your News Feeds?
Or what it feels like after pressing your thumb on your phone screen for 60 seconds to watch the Snap you created or joining your live stream on Periscope?
How often is there value for the fan, or really, just for our own needs?
Recently, a client asked why they weren't getting much interaction on Facebook. After all, they post content every 30 minutes. After a long pause - I asked them to simply turn that behavior back around on themselves: "What if your favorite brand was posting every 30 minutes, ultimately hijacking the News Feed and blocking you from seeing what you really care about - friends and family. How would you feel about them?"
They responded with, "I would probably 'un-like' them." Eat your own social dog food.
Radio's opportunity with social is to accommodate the audience's desire to connect with others, not just with our stations.
It's our chance to build trust beyond the mothership (the AM/FM stick). And after that trust is built, that's when all kinds of opportunities can happen to increase the power of your brand, including ratings and even revenue.
But we first need to respect the audience and pay attention to what they like and also what they ignore.
Eat your own dog food this week. Not as a talent or a manager, but as a fan.
How does your station really make people feel socially?
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