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We Define Our Image Every Day By How We're Making People Feel
March 29, 2016
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As you may have read here on Merge last week, Instagram is working on an algorithm to make our News Feeds more robust.
And while there's a lot of talk about algorithms, hacking at this type of code that dictates what we see in our News Feeds should be nothing new. The social space will always be ever changing.
One reason is the growth. Facebook alone has increased from 1 million social networkers in 2008 to 1.04 billion daily active users today.
The other reason is content overload.
Both Facebook and Snapchat report 8 billion average video views daily.
Instagram sites 80 Million+ photos uploaded every day.
And about 500 Million+ tweets are sent out on an average day through Twitter.
With billions of daily active users and pieces of content swimming in and out of these social apps - how does radio even differentiate itself from the pack?
One word: Acknowledgment.
Brands have gotten slightly better with this over the years in responding to fans socially - but there are still too many going unacknowledged. And with that - could stations be inadvertently creating missed listening occasions?
A few years ago, my former boss, Fred Jacobs, President Jacobs Media, began to ask radio listeners in their highly anticipated Techsurveys if they find themselves listening more to stations that acknowledge them socially.
And each year we would see a percentage of those agree with that statement.
It makes sense.
People naturally feel closer to what makes them feel like they matter.
So knowing Fred is about to reveal fresh data from his annual Techsurvey at Worldwide Radio Summit in Los Angeles on April 14th (you can register here), I asked if he could give us just a peek into the acknowledgment piece.
Did he find this year that acknowledgement still correlates to more listening?
Here is what Fred shared.
"It steadily grows. Those who agree/strongly agree that people listen more to stations that interact with them socially is up 3% year to year."
Below is an exclusive slide from Techsurvey 12.
Overall 32% admit to the correlation. But keep scrolling. Look what Fred uncovers when he drills down to those that agree/strongly agree.
"When you look at who's driving this, it's Millennials, Gen Xer's, and those who live in larger markets (Top 50) - all pretty important groups," Fred added.
Four in ten Millennials say acknowledgment matters.
And as we become more and more connected, the greater the role acknowledgment will play in choosing the brands we engage with, on and off social media.
Just look at how people feel when they get that social 'tip of the hat.'
Come at social from the audience point of view.
If we're so busy talking at people, we're not listening. And if we're not listening, we're not offering the personalized type of responses that resonate.
Many have noted customer service is the new battleground. It's true.
We are defining our image by how we behave in this space every day.
There's a profound payoff to the intangible exchanges through social. Yet we reap what we sow. And we won't reap loyalty if we don't (socially) invest in the fans.
Thanks to Fred Jacobs for this exclusive look at acknowledgment in Techsurvey 12.
Every year, Jacobs Media conducts the radio broadcasting industry's largest survey to identify trends in the way audiences use new technologies. It's your best chance to learn where your audience is when they're not listening to you.
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