Radio Struggles to Build Web Business. WXTU

[shiznit]

Radio Struggles to Build Web Business.

Ever taken a really good look at a Radio station website? Aside from the questionable layout and content, (some call them a train-wreck) have you ever wondered how Radio can build a business, and drive Internet revenue from those efforts?

These are the issues that over worked Radio managers are trying to grapple with.

Here in Philly, WXTU certainly could use some help.

Read more here: www.MelTaylorMedia.com

 

[carnyfeet]

Mel, I agree with you. Nearly all of the Philly stations have been really dismissive of the importance of their website. They're ugly, they're covered with annoying ads, and they're unusable. If they are to have a prayer of transferring at least some of their popularity over from terrestrial radio to internet radio when that movement really gets underway, they'll have to invest some time and money into making their sites look like they weren't built in 1997.

97.7FM in Cincinnati, OH (or WOXY as it's known now) is probably one of the best living examples of this - it's a station that realized that if you have an accessible site and the drive to build the online community in tandem with the listening community, you can grow in popularity beyond the bounds of your terrestrial signal. I invite this board to check out WOXY's site as an example of a really well-designed radio site.

http://woxy.lala.com/

 

[Beejus]

Radio Struggles to Build Web Business.

Ever taken a really good look at a Radio station website? Aside from the questionable layout and content, (some call them a train-wreck) have you ever wondered how Radio can build a business, and drive Internet revenue from those efforts?

These are the issues that over worked Radio managers are trying to grapple with.

Here in Philly, WXTU certainly could use some help.

Read more here: www.MelTaylorMedia.com

I agree with both you and CarneyFeet... the station's website can be a great tool for revenue, but also needs to serve a reason for the listeners to view it. Slapping a playlist on it with a bunch of ads isn't exactly thrilling to the listener.

The problem is though... we in radio.. still don't know what to do with those websites. My station's site is a mess... mainly because of lack of time to work on it (small market radio.. too much to do, too small a budget to do it), but I'm trying to find ways to direct more traffic to it.

 

[foo1971psu]

WIOQ just launched a new website that's very nice, clean, and accessible at http://www.q102.com, and I happen to think B101's site is nice and easy to navigate. WMMR and WYSP have websites that look a bit outdated and cluttered.

 

[jimsocks]

here is the issue, radio stations cant convert their huge cume into sizable amounts of unique users... advertisers are not interested in branding on sites without tons of traffic unless there is a compelling "call to action". People need to have a reason to visit these sites and here is how it works.... design a radio campaign driving people to the station site for something that is not available elsewhere. if its podcasts, prizes, coupons whatever... people will never visit if they dont have a reason. radio stations have their eyes on those internet dollars without the views to generate big $$$

 

[carnyfeet]

WIOQ just launched a new website that's very nice, clean, and accessible at http://www.q102.com, and I happen to think B101's site is nice and easy to navigate. WMMR and WYSP have websites that look a bit outdated and cluttered.

Sure, the Q102 site looks nice, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a successful site. To me, it looks like a collection of links and viral content, with no way for users to participate and interact, which is the hallmark of the Internet and the whole point of Mel's call to action here. Q102's site suffers from some of the same problems that Mel described, with the exception this time being that it looks like they hired a designer to repackage the same old stuff.

Looking at this site, I can view videos, I can listen to music on demand, I can read a couple of articles if I click on some links, I can search, and I can vote in a couple of user polls. All of which is fine - but it's gets back to the idea that radio is this one-way communication medium. The only places in which a user gets to talk back to the station or to other listeners are:

1. the phone number hotline and the cell phone text SMS address. can you find them? They are very small and nearly illegible.
2. The "Help Pick the Music We Play" link. There are two of them on this page, and they are buried underneath a mountain of viral videos and celebrity gossip links. When you click through, you're introduced to a survey form that looks nothing like the site and demands you fill out all sorts of personal information. Guess how many of Q102's listeners are going to bother with this feature?

There is nothing available here for users to create a community around, and just the bare minimum available that allows them to bond with the DJs and staff besides a handful of morning show pictures. Again, it's a nice-looking site, but it fails to break out of the one-way pattern that stations fall into and it misses a great opportunity to engage listeners in a truly interactive manner.

 

[Irishfl]

There is nothing available here for users to create a community around, and just the bare minimum available that allows them to bond with the DJs and staff besides a handful of morning show pictures. Again, it's a nice-looking site, but it fails to break out of the one-way pattern that stations fall into and it misses a great opportunity to engage listeners in a truly interactive manner.

What about the "Q-tube" vblogs? I didn't look at them all, but Lisa Paige for example seems to posts v-blogs from her house and such. I think a blog is a good extra/bring them in feature. A BB like this or the one XPN has would be nice too.

 

[carnyfeet]

What about the "Q-tube" vblogs? I didn't look at them all, but Lisa Paige for example seems to posts v-blogs from her house and such. I think a blog is a good extra/bring them in feature. A BB like this or the one XPN has would be nice too.

Okay, I see those now. Those are good, but its still coming from the station to the listeners with no way for them to speak back to the station or to each other for that matter.

Three things that would immediately give this feature interactive life:

1. The ability to comment on the videos
2. The ability to rate the videos
3. The ability to copy + paste some code to embed it on your myspace or facebook page or something that allows you to easily share the video with others.

edit: I agree with you about the message board idea. It becomes even more effective of a tool if station staff and DJs visit, chat, and moderate it on a regular basis. Something like that and the commenting system I mentioned above need a little bit of steering to stay on course for a purpose like promoting the station and the listener community - otherwise, conversations drift off topic can even become hurtful to the site. It would be worth it to have an intern, for example, start the occasional topic or poll and to watch for posts that violate station rules (but not necessarily punish users that are critical of the station on such an outlet).

 

[WTUX]

While I have visited the web sites of music stations, I usually do not return on a regular basis. There is simply no reason to do so. The sites offer nothing new. N/T stations do offer something, however, As a news junkie, I hit the web sites of four stations at least once a day, often more than three times daily. Since the sites are updated on a regular basis throughout the day, checking back makes sense. Since these are AM stations that I cannot hear in the office, the web is my only way of keeping up with what's going on.

Music stations can offer the latest news on bands, message boards as mentioned above, let you sample new music they are thinking about adding, giving the station fans a reason to hit the web site.

For AM stations, with limited revenue to begin with, a good web site can mean the difference between life and death. For FM music stations, it is a potential source of revenue they can't afford to miss.