Better Radio Websites

• Banner Ads, Sponsorships, and More: Visit https://www.breezynews.com
• Direct Partnerships
• eCommerce

Objective 2: Content and Community

• Engaging Content
• Focus on Your Local Community
• User Interaction: Visit https://www.peakofohio.com

Your radio station's website should never be an afterthought. It's an essential platform that serves dual purposes—revenue generation and community building—that are critical for your station's long-term sustainability and growth. By recognizing the importance of each and devoting the necessary time and resources, you set yourself up for a win-win situation: a profitable business and a loyal listener base.

So, if you haven't already, now is the time to focus on making your website work for you, not just as an accessory to your airwaves but as an integral part of your radio station's success.

If you need help with and guidance for your radio station website, we’re here to help.  Reach out to us at skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/which-is-better-advertise-with-us-page-or-entire-website

The Single "Advertise with Us" Page

A single "Advertise with Us" page has the benefit of simplicity. Everything an advertiser needs to know is in one place, making it easier for them to decide. This approach is also easier to manage from a web development standpoint. Updates are straightforward, and the page will likely load quickly, enhancing user experience. Additionally, focusing your SEO efforts on a single page can be more straightforward.

Link: https://jacobsmedia.com/how-to-write-an-effective-advertise-with-us-webpage-for-your-radio-station/

Link: https://www.kevel.com/blog/advertise-with-us-examples.

The Separate Advertising Website

While a single "Advertise with Us" page may suffice for smaller stations or those with limited advertising options, a separate advertising website can be a game-changer for stations looking to scale their advertising revenue.

Check out our corporate/group website at https://www.markettheme.net. 

By leveraging the advantages of a separate advertising website, radio stations can offer a more tailored, informative, and professional experience for potential advertisers. This can be decisive in attracting more clients and securing more lucrative advertising contracts.

We believe that the “Advertise with Us” page or website is the salesperson that works 24-7, so put time into making it the best it can be.  A single "Advertise with Us" page and a separate advertising website have their merits and drawbacks. The best choice depends on your specific needs, the complexity of your advertising offerings, and your available resources. By carefully considering these factors and implementing best practices, you can create an effective platform that serves your radio station and potential advertisers well.

Need help with your radio station or corporate/advertiser website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/images-are-the-key-to-unlocking-higher-website-engagement.

Here are some reasons why images are crucial to everything you create online.

• Images Instantly Capture Attention
• Images Reinforce Your Message
• Images Improve Retention and Understanding
• Images Enhance User Engagement
• Emotional Impact

Where to Source Images for Your Website

Stock Photo Websites: Shutterstock, Unsplash, Envato Elements, and Pexels offer high-quality images. While some come with a licensing fee, plenty of free options exist. Just make sure to follow the usage guidelines. 

In-House Creation: Recommendations include police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, town buildings, schools, and other local landmarks.  If a story breaks, you’ll have the image in your database to pull from. 

AI-Generated Content: Tools like Midjourney, Dall-E, and Adobe Firefly  are some options to get you started. 

Creative Commons Search: Websites like Wikimedia Commons and Flickr offer many images under various Creative Commons licenses. Again, make sure you adhere to the licensing requirements.

Hire a Photographer: The next time the station has an event, look for photographers covering the event and ask if they’d be interested in a trade deal. 

Start exploring some of these avenues for sourcing images and take your content to the next level.  And remember to always give credit to where you procured the images.  This is vitally important.

The next time you’re about to publish an article, event, or whatever, please remember that a well-chosen image can make a world of difference.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/why-investing-in-a-radio-station-website-is-still-relevant

Today’s modern radio station can be anywhere from a streaming service, social media platform, voice-enabled device, and mobile app. Some might question the relevance of the radio station website. However, dismissing the need for a comprehensive and interactive website is a mistake radio stations can't afford to make.

The station website serves as the online hub, offering a central location where your audience can interact with your content, learn about contests and upcoming events, and even discover new content they may have missed on-air.

Here's why radio station websites are relevant more than ever.

• The Website is Your 24/7 Broadcasting Platform
• Centralized Content Hub
• Enhanced Interactivity
• Additional Revenue Streams
• SEO Benefits

Actions to Take for Long-term Relevance

1. Regularly Update Your Content
2. Promote Often On-Air
3. Utilize Social Media
4. Ensure Mobile Optimization
5. Engage with Analytics
6. Utilize Podcasts and Blogs

In summary, a radio station website is far from obsolete; it’s a crucial tool for modern radio. It’s your platform to facilitate more robust listener engagement, broaden your reach, and diversify your revenue streams. By taking the right actions, you can ensure your station website remains relevant and thrives.

Need help with your radio station website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com

For more detailed show notes visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/leveraging-ai-to-craft-engaging-evergreen-content.

Before we delve into the nuts and bolts of using AI for content creation, let's clarify what we mean by 'evergreen content.' Evergreen content is any relevant material that doesn't become outdated quickly. It's content that people will find helpful and interesting over an extended period. “How to” articles are the most popular evergreen content, but you can also compile content from topics like "Top 10 Must-See Attractions in [Your City]" or "Best Restaurants Near [Your Location]."

How AI Can Help

Writing one article while researching information without copyright issues could take hours.  AI can scrape data from multiple sources to compile a detailed blog post that is written uniquely. You can customize the tone, style, and length to suit your target audience.

Don’t know what to write about?  Ask AI!  I gave ChatGPT this prompt, “I want to provide my website visitors with evergreen content about my local area. Give me several examples I could use including information on tourist spots, reviews, etc.”  Here’s what it gave me. 

Real-World Examples

1. "Best Local Restaurants You Must Try"
2. "Hidden Gems: Unexplored Spots in [Your City]"
3. "A Guide to [Your City]'s Historic Landmarks"
4. "Top 10 Family-Friendly Activities in [Your City]"
5. "Your Weekend Getaway Planner: Best Day Trips from [Your City]"
6. "Staycation Ideas: How to Make the Most of [Your City]"
7. "Outdoor Activities in [Your City]: Where to Go and What to Do"
8. "Best Coffee Shops to Work From in [Your City]"
9. "Art and Culture in [Your City]: Must-Visit Galleries and Theatres"
10. "Flea Markets and Antique Shops: Where to Find Treasures in [Your City]"
11. "Where to Listen to Live Music in [Your City]"
12. "Local Farmers' Markets: A Guide to Fresh Produce in [Your City]"
13. "Public Transport 101: Navigating [Your City] Like a Pro"
14. "Safe and Scenic Bike Routes in [Your City]"
15. "Celebrating [Local Festival]: History and Traditions"

By creating localized, evergreen content like this, your radio station can become a valuable resource for the community and visitors, enhancing engagement and driving consistent traffic to your website. 

AI offers an unprecedented opportunity for radio stations to create high-quality, evergreen content that can drive consistent traffic to their websites. For our station websites to succeed, staying relevant is crucial.  Leveraging AI for content creation can give your station the competitive edge it needs.  Evergreen doesn't mean set it and forget it. Attractions close, new restaurants open, and trends change, so periodically check your content to ensure it remains current and relevant. 

Need help with your radio station website? Reach out to us!

For more in-depth show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/the-importance-of-the-radio-personality-pages.

Why the Radio Personality Pages Matter

1. Building a Personal Connection
2. Enhancing Your Station’s Brand
3. Increasing Listener Engagement and Retention
4. Monetization Opportunities
5. Promoting Events and Appearances
6. Social Media Integration
7. Content Marketing Opportunities
8. Analytics and Insights
9. Competitive Differentiation

Content Ideas for the Air Personality Page

1. Bio and Backstory
2. Behind-the-Scenes Content
3. Personal Blog
4. Personal Photos
5. Listener Interaction
6. Event Calendar
7. Video
8. Podcasts
9. Exclusive Content

Conclusion

The air personality page should be more than just a bio and a photo.  It should be viewed as a vital part of a radio station’s digital strategy. It’s a space where personalities can express themselves and connect with listeners on a deeper level.

Even if your entire radio station is voice-tracked and/or runs syndicated programming, you can still create compelling content on these pages to keep visitors returning for more. 

Imagine that you’re the listener who connects with one of your personalities and cannot find information about them on your website.  How does that make you feel about the radio station?

Our listeners now have more options than ever to get the same music and information we broadcast, so we must do everything possible to keep them invested in our stations.  By devoting time and creativity to these pages, you can enhance listener engagement, loyalty, and overall enjoyment of your brand.

• Exclusive Web Content
• Video Content
• Blogs & Articles
• Photo Galleries
• Polls & Quizzes
• “Best Of” Content:
• Video Interviews
• Podcasts
• Local Sports
• Election Coverage

3. Unlocks New Revenue Opportunities

Here are some ways to unlock additional revenue opportunities through the website:

• Subscription Models
• Affiliate Marketing
• E-commerce Integration
• New Ad Placements
• Offer Sponsored Content
• Virtual Concerts & Events
• Crowdsourced Content
• Digital Advertorials
• Sponsored Content
• Featured Listings

Remember, while unlocking new revenue streams, it's crucial to prioritize the user experience and trust. Transparency about sponsored content and ensuring the website's user-friendly will foster a loyal listener base while maximizing profitability.

Conclusion

For radio station websites, innovation is not merely a choice—it’s a business imperative because “comfort” is an enemy. 

As you enhance the listener's experience and diversify your content, your website will open doors to unprecedented advertising potential, proving that change can be immensely profitable.

Need help with your radio station website? We're here to help you.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/the-digital-inventory-list-a-must-for-every-radio-station.

Selling these opportunities to advertisers can become complex without an organized approach. That’s why a Digital Inventory List is important. 

This list will cover every possible online sales opportunity on the station website, live streaming, podcasts, mobile apps, social media platforms, newsletters, and so much more. 

The Benefits by Department

1. Salespeople will not know the online selling opportunities without this list.

2. A Digital Inventory List provides the content production and programming team with an understanding of advertising commitments, timings, and formats, helping them plan their content schedules accordingly.

3. For the finance and revenue management team, a Digital Inventory List can be a robust tool for forecasting revenue, tracking sales, and adjusting pricing strategies.

4. The digital team can leverage the Digital Inventory List to understand the demand for various advertising spaces better.

What a "Digital Inventory List" Should Include

Here are some potential items that can be included in such a list:

1. Digital Platform Details 2. Advertising Space Details
3. Advertising Format
4. Inventory Availability
5. Audience Reach
6. Pricing Information
7. Past Performance Metrics (if available)
8. Additional Opportunities

We have a simplified starting place spreadsheet available at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Digital-Inventory.xlsx.  Your Digital Inventory List should be maintained as a live document, regularly updated to reflect changes in inventory availability, new advertising opportunities, and evolving rates. Your station website is a great place to start.

Need help with your radio station website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/sure-signs-that-you-need-a-website-redesign

Nothing can be more terrifying (or exciting) than redesigning your website. There’s work involved in determining why you might want a redesign, but it’s an opportunity to refresh your brand’s look and provide visitors with something more visually appealing.

Some companies remodel their websites several times a year because they have the notion that they haven’t found the right look yet – or that the design should match their latest product in some way. There’s no need for those extreme measures.

Some radio stations go way too long without updating their websites – sometimes for decades. So, how often should you redesign your website, and why should you?

Why redesign your website?

Nowadays, every business must have a nice-looking, easy-to-use responsive website. It’s also critical to keep your website up-to-date and the content fresh. If you fail at this, your visitors will assume you do not value your web presence. If you want to make money with your station website (and your radio station), looking current with your online presence is the most significant factor. It will be a tough sell if you expect to generate revenue with an old-looking single-page informational website about your radio station.

It may be time for a redesign if any of the following statements are true.

1. Your site has no/little traffic.

2. Your traffic is good, but your visitors only stay for a short time.

3. Your design appears outdated.

4. Your site isn’t mobile-friendly.

5. You are embarrassed by your website.

6. You want more control over updating your website.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the convention states that your website should be remodeled every two to three years. An alternative is using a template that allows you to make small changes over time rather than doing complete remodels. If you use a template or a service that allows this, this is the way to go because huge website changes can leave your frequent visitors having to re-learn your website.

Hopefully, we’ve shown the importance of changing your website’s look so that you’re always giving an upbeat, modern impression of your radio station and company to visitors and potential clients. Remember that websites are your company’s online face, so they need to reflect the values you bring.

Ready for a website redesign that will get more visitors? Reach out to us to start the process at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

Get detailed show notes at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/blogging-for-radio.

The Importance of Blogging

• Drives New & Recurring Traffic
• Improves SEO
• Establishing Authority
• Enhancing Listener/Customer Relationships

How Blogging Specifically Helps Radio Stations

• Promotes On-Air Content
• Provides Extended Content
• An Archive for Valuable Content
• Encourages Listener Engagement
• Attract Advertisers

Blogging is a powerful tool that radio stations can leverage to drive traffic, improve SEO, establish authority, enhance listener relationships, promote and extend on-air content, archive valuable content, encourage listener engagement, and attract advertisers.  When you and your team can look at blogging through that lens, the time involved is a valuable investment. 

This kind of content marketing is cheap or free to do and can bring substantial rewards.  If your radio station hasn't started blogging, now is the perfect time to start.

For more detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/weighing-the-downsides-of-external-content-widgets.

"External content" in the context of web development refers to any content or feature on a website that is not hosted or directly controlled by the website itself but is hosted and controlled by a third-party source.  Here are a few examples:

• Embeds
• Widgets       
• Scripts or APIs       
• Advertisements

Downsides of External Content

1. Impact Website Performance
2. Steal Your Audience
3. Dependency on Third-party Providers
4. Security Risks
5. Inconsistent Branding
6. Privacy Concerns
7. Increased Complexity

While integrating external content/widgets can certainly enrich a website's functionality, it's crucial to understand their potential downsides. Prioritizing your website's performance, security, branding, user privacy, and simplicity should always be at the heart of your decision-making process. Instead of indiscriminately adding externally hosted features, consider each addition carefully and opt for trusted, reliable providers when necessary.

For more detailed show notes visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/preparing-your-radio-stations-website-for-high-traffic-events.

A high-traffic event is a situation where your website gets many visitors simultaneously. Here are some things you can do to prepare your website for a high-traffic event.

1. Analyze Your Website Speed: Here are some tools to analyze your site speed: Pingdom, Google PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest, GTMetrix.

2. Optimize Your Website Content

3. Activate a Statically Cached Page/Website

A high-traffic event that could be a game-changer for your radio station and website. But if you're not ready, instead of a “win,” you might face a crash, losing potential listeners and advertisers.  Plan for your big day now to ensure your visitors have a smooth experience.

Need help with your radio station website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/harnessing-user-generated-content.

User-generated content can take many forms including comments, reviews, photos, videos, blog posts, social media posts, and more. Here are a few ways radio stations can use UGC on their websites:

Leveraging User-Generated Content on Your Website

1. Comments

2. Event Calendars

3. Listener Testimonials

4. Photo and Video Submissions

5. Listener Polls and Surveys

The Power of User-Generated Content

Here are some ways radio stations can benefit from User-Generated Content on their website:

1. Increased Website Traffic

2. Cost-Effective Content

3. Authenticity

4. Encourages Participation

5. Boosts SEO

6. Increases Listener Loyalty

7. Provides Valuable Insights

8. Promotes Viral Marketing

9. Enhances Community Building

User-generated content is a powerful tool for radio stations. Incorporating UGC into your website can create a more engaging, interactive, and authentic online experience for your listeners.

Need help with your station website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/amplifying-your-radio-stations-brand-identity-online.

A strong brand identity can provide numerous benefits for a radio station:

- Audience Recognition

- Audience Loyalty

- Competitive Advantage

In the online world, your brand identity is often the first interaction potential listeners have with your station.  If your radio station has an established brand identity, you can always amplify its impact to reach and engage your online audience more effectively. Here's how:

1. Optimize Your Website

2. Leverage Social Media

3. Utilize Email Marketing

4. Create a Mobile App

5. SEO and Online Advertising

By strategically amplifying your brand identity online, you can make a bigger impact on your audience, attract more listeners, and foster stronger connections with your community. Remember, consistency is key – ensure your brand identity is consistently reflected across all your online platforms and touchpoints.

If your website is lacking in this department and not the professional face of your radio station, we can help with that.  We consider all these key points to help you develop an online plan.  Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/repurposing-on-air-content-for-digital-engagement. 

If you visit the websites and social media channels of major market radio stations and the bigger talent working there, you’ll notice a pattern of re-purposing what they do on-air.  The most successful radio stations and talent do not limit their content to on-air only.  Repurposing your on-air content for digital platforms is the best strategy to reach new audiences, engage with listeners on a deeper level, and extend the life of something that might only be heard once. So, how can you optimize your on-air content for online platforms, including your radio station website?

Understanding Your Online Platforms

The first step in repurposing your online on-air content is understanding each digital platform's unique features. Social media channels, podcast platforms, and station websites offer different benefits.  Knowing where your target audience spends most of their time and how they prefer to consume content is crucial for social media.  One or more social channels may work better for your station.  If you have multiple stations, one social media channel may work better for one and not another.  Regardless, we advocate that your station website be the hub that binds everything because your website is the only place you can monetize the traffic you receive through banner advertising and sponsorships. 

1. Social Media

2. Video Content

3. Podcasts and On-Demand Audio

4. Blogs and Show Notes

5. Local News and Information

6. Listener Engagement

Whether you're turning segments into podcasts, creating social media snippets, or sparking discussions online, you're not just repurposing content - you're extending its value and reach, ultimately boosting the overall listener experience and engagement. Even if you focus more on getting more listeners than website visitors, creating online content that points back to the radio station is always a great promotional tool. 

Need help with your radio station website?  Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/improve-your-website-user-experience-to-increase-visitors. 

Today, we’ll dive into the importance of website user experience for radio stations and provide actionable steps to ensure visitors become loyal visitors as well as listeners.

Why User Experience Matters

• First Impressions Count
• Retaining Attention
• Building Brand Loyalty

Steps to Enhance Website User Experience

1. Streamline Navigation
2. Optimize Loading Speed
3. Engaging Content Presentation
4. Image Standardization
5. Seamless Audio Streaming
6. Social Integration
7. Regular Content Updates
8. Focus on Value
9. Gather and Act on Feedback

Radio stations must prioritize website user experience to attract and retain visitors. Compare your station’s website to major market radio and television stations and even national news networks that have a team of user experience experts on hand.  Notice how their websites check all the boxes we’ve mentioned here. 

By adopting user-friendly design principles, and optimizing website performance, radio stations can foster a loyal audience. Remember, a well-crafted website not only engages visitors but also strengthens your overall brand image and cements the station's position in the highly competitive digital space.

Have an awesome week online making your radio website better. If we can help with your station website, please reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/4-ways-to-harness-ai-for-amazing-website-content.

AI-driven tools offer a plethora of functionalities that can streamline daily tasks, enhance creativity, and revolutionize how radio station websites connect with their visitors. Today, we will explore how radio station website content creators can leverage AI tools to create compelling text, captivating images, and exceptional audio content.

Today’s episode is FULLY AI-driven.  I’ve used AI tools to help produce today’s episode – from the text to the images and most importantly, the audio.  I have not spoken one word of what you’re hearing today.  This voice you hear IS my own, but it was generated by pasting in the text from this blog post. 

#1 Automated Text Generation and Editing

#2 Image Enhancement and Generation

#3 Voice Recognition and Transcription

#4 Audio Enhancement and Text-to-Voice

Integrating AI tools into your daily workflow can revolutionize how your content is created, optimized, and delivered. These tools can empower content creators from automated text generation and editing to image enhancement to audio transcription and text-to-voice.  By leveraging AI-powered tools, radio station website content creators can stay ahead of the curve and provide an exceptional user experience that keeps visitors coming back for more.

We hope that you’re loving this podcast.  If you are, please share it with a fellow radio colleague.  And if you need help with your radio station’s website, reach out to us at skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/7-ways-to-optimize-your-newsletter-signup-for-maximum-subscribers.

Today, we will explore seven proven strategies to help you perfect your radio station's website newsletter signup process and increase your subscribers.

1) Craft a Compelling Value Proposition

2) Simplify the Signup Form

3) Optimize Form Placement and Visibility

4) Enhance the Call-to-Action (CTA)

5) Leverage Social Proof and Testimonials

6) Incorporate Incentives and Contests

7) Implement A/B Testing and Analytics

With an irresistible value proposition, simplified signup forms, strategic placement, enhanced CTAs, social proof, incentives, and ongoing optimization, your radio station's newsletter can become a powerful tool for audience engagement and growth.

Need help with your radio station website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more in-depth show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/banner-ad-design-best-practices-pitfalls-to-avoid.

When you have a popular website that brings in visitors consistently, banner ads can be a great marketing tool for your clients and a revenue generator for your station.  The key is overcoming banner fatigue and creating something for your client that stands out and gets people to take action. 

On the radio, a decent commercial can still maintain top-of-mind awareness for a business.  However, if a banner ad is just a business logo it fails to serve the same purpose because there’s no message or call to action associated with it.  Those banner ads are too quickly looked over. 

Here are some key steps to take to ensure your banner ads are effective.

1) Define Your Goal

2) Keep The Ad Simple and Focused

3) Design for Visibility and Branding

4) Use Eye-Catching Imagery

5) Utilize Compelling Copy

6) Create a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1) Overcrowding information

2) Using Low-Quality Images

3) Ignoring the Call to Action

4) Using Too Many Colors

5) Not Paying Attention to File Size

6) Not Tracking and Analyzing Performance

Crafting an effective banner ad requires a thoughtful approach that combines creativity, strategy, and optimization. We hope these steps will help you create compelling and impactful banner ads that attract attention, communicate the client’s message effectively, and drive desired results.  Remember to continuously test and monitor the performance of your ads to achieve the best possible results.

For more detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/website-health-check.

I have an annual physical coming up in the next week or so, and that got me thinking about how often we should be performing website health checks.  A website health check is a routine checkup to ensure it functions optimally. This should be done regularly because it helps identify any issues affecting your website’s performance.

Just as a physician has his clipboard of items to check in a physical, here are some things to check regularly to ensure your website is healthy. 

1. Page Speed
2. On-Site SEO: https://website.grader.com, https://www.semrush.com, https://www.ahrefs.com
3. Analytics Tracking
4. Mobile Responsiveness
5. Website Security

A “healthy website” is fast loading, easily found online, and provides insight into what visitors are doing.  It’s also mobile-responsive and secure.  Regular website health checks can help you flag concerns and improve issues before they become severe problems.  We recommend monitoring your website health at least once a quarter using free or cheap online tools, following best practices, and having some common sense. 

Need help with your radio station website? We're here to help at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/should-you-import-rss-content.

Several radio station affiliates have asked if importing RSS content would benefit their websites.  I always answer, “What content are you providing now?”  Because it’s essential to know how much you will be relying on the RSS content you’ll be importing.

RSS feeds were created to generate more traffic for the website providing them.  You’ve likely seen these feeds on other websites that display the latest posts from CMT.com, MTV.com, Rolling Stone, Fox News, CNN, local tv stations, etc. There are very few upsides to displaying RSS feeds like this.  We view these as reasons to leave your website and the advertisers paying you to be there.

Importing RSS content is the best option because it keeps visitors on your website longer.  These RSS feeds are more than simple excerpts and links to the originating website.  They contain full articles along with images and other content.

If you’re going to import RSS content, the best route to take is to use a service provider.  Here are some options that are available for barter.

1) ABC News Digital Content

National News, World News, Politics, Health, National Sports, Entertainment, and news from all major music formats.

Contact Mary McCarthy at 212-456-5200 or email mary.e.mccarthy at abc.com

2) United Stations Pulse Digital Content

Entertainment news as well as news from all major music formats.

Contact Ralph Riley at 972-562-3381 or e-mail ralphriley at unitedstations.com

The best content is relevant content.  This is going to be different for every market and radio station.  Music news might be interesting, but the most relevant content will likely impact what your listener does today or this weekend.  Local news and events will have a bigger impact on your visitors because they’re more relevant. Besides, you’re less likely to find that content anywhere else.  The radio station websites generating substantial online revenue do it with lots of local content.

We recommend putting a bigger emphasis on finding more local/relevant content that your listeners will find appealing and trying to do more of that consistently, promoting posts heavily on-air, in newsletters, and on social media.

If you’re looking at imported RSS content, use it sparingly to increase the value of the local content you are creating. RSS content should not be the only content on your radio station website because that information can be found anywhere.  Since the content has been generated from other websites, it can hurt your search engine optimization.

Get more detailed show notes at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/single-website-or-multiple-websites.

Here are the big items to consider when making this decision.

• Cost Factor
• Time Commitment
• Brand Awareness
• SEO Challenges
• Sellable Real Estate

There is no definitive answer to whether you should combine or separate your radio station websites. The best option for you is going to depend on various factors such as:

• Your goals
• Your audience
• Your branding (SEO)
• Your budget
• Your sellers

Here are some examples of stations that share one website.

https://www.adastraradio.com
https://www.enidlive.com
https://www.everettpost.com
https://www.deltaplexnews.com
https://www.myhometowntoday.com
https://www.sierradailynews.com

We’re here to support and help you through any decision you make.  You can take your first steps at https://www.skyrocketradio.com. 

Melissa Boswell Townsend is the General Manager and co-owner of Boswell Media in Kosciusko, Mississippi, and a third-generation broadcaster in the same location.  We had her father, Johnny Boswell, on the podcast a few times.  They have a station there in Kosciusko and two in Philadelphia, Mississippi.  Their websites are https://www.breezynews.com and https://www.kicks96news.com. For more extensive show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/selling-your-radio-station-website. The first step to generating revenue with your station website is to adjust your mindset into prioritizing it more than you have. Then, create great content that keeps your visitors coming back every day. Have a digital inventory list in place, so your entire team knows what sellable opportunities exist on your station website and other online platforms. Ensure your team knows the website's goals and contributes to its success. Need help with your radio station website? Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/how-author-bios-can-help-engagement-seo.  

Check out her website at https://getabsolutemarketing.com.

I met Elizabeth at a recent WordPress Conference or WordCamp in Birmingham, Alabama. In her “Website Usability” session, she ripped apart skyrocketradio.com in front of an audience of about 60 people. The valuable insight we received from that audit, has led us to make valuable changes to our website and how we perceive the new customer journey.  

For detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/why-all-radio-stations-need-a-privacy-policy-page.

Do you take online contest information or regular contact form entries on your station or company website? The information you accept is likely protected under certain digital privacy laws.

Website privacy rights protect the personal information you collect from visitors when they visit your website. This can include names, email addresses, and location data. A typical intake form might be the information you collect from listeners when they sign up for contests. Sometimes you may ask about things other than their name and e-mail address, like their date of birth and address. The data they are giving you should be considered protected information.

Sharing someone’s information without their knowledge could be a privacy rights nightmare. Privacy laws can impose very high penalties for violations as penalties are calculated per violation (meaning per website visitor whose privacy rights were infringed upon). That means sharing 300 names and e-mail addresses with your contest sponsor could be 300 violations.

Know Your Privacy Laws

The United States and Europe have the most comprehensive data security and privacy laws; the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018, while the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect in 2020.  At the time of writing, no federal laws require a business to have a Privacy Policy. But there are several laws, including federal and state laws, that have provisions on data privacy. Some are new this year, and you can expect more states to have new laws as well.

Have a Website Privacy Policy

You’ll likely have general contest rules and even rules per contest. It’s also good to include privacy disclosures and have an overall privacy policy for your site that covers other form submissions.

There are three main reasons why you need a Privacy Policy page:

1. Privacy Policy agreements are required by law worldwide if you're collecting data that can be used to identify an individual.

2. Many third-party services designed to enhance your website or app, such as Google Analytics, actively require you to have a Privacy Policy that contains certain information about your use of their services.

3. Show you care. People care a lot about their privacy, especially when using their private information, such as their home address. Your Privacy Policy is a great way to show them that you can be trusted to care for that information.

It is important to note that your Privacy Policy will depend on the privacy laws that apply to you, so you must first determine those. With increasing online activity, website privacy rights have become more important than ever. It's important for radio stations to be aware of these rights and to take steps to protect their listener’s personal information online.

A Privacy Policy is one of the most important legal agreements for your radio station website, regardless of where you operate. Today’s post provides a good starting point for compliance with the new and coming privacy laws. However, do not take it as a substitute for the advice of your station attorney. Many other ancillary requirements need to be considered, like having an appeals system and other required duties that may be required. These are much deeper than we can speak to.

We can help you with your radio station website though. Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com,

For more detailed show notes visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/7-reasons-to-start-an-e-mail-newsletter-right-now.

An e-mail newsletter is a simple and effective way for radio stations to stay connected with their audience, build community, and promote their events and promotions. If you’re not collecting e-mail addresses and reaching out to these subscribers regularly, lean in. Today we’ll cover seven reasons why you should.

81% of small businesses rely on e-mail as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% rely on e-mail for retaining customers. Why? According to the Content Marketing Institute, every dollar spent on e-mail marketing typically returns an average of forty-two dollars. So, don’t think e-mail is dead or all spammy. Here are seven reasons why your radio station should start an e-mail newsletter:

1. Newsletters are direct communication.
2. Newsletters build relationships.
3. Newsletters increase listeners and brand loyalty.
4. Newsletter services are cost-effective.
5. Newsletters provide measurable results.
6. Newsletters can be targeted.
7. Newsletters can increase your revenue.

Starting a newsletter is a cost-effective and efficient way for radio stations to reach their listeners, build relationships, increase listenership, and stand out in a crowded market. It's also a way to create new revenue opportunities.

We love helping our radio station clients move the needle with their online presence. Let us help you. Reach out to us at skyrocketradio.com, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you can get updates each time we add new content to our website. We have a giant year planned.

Have an awesome week online making your radio website better. See you next time!

For more detailed show notes, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/protecting-your-station-website-from-image-copyright-claims

This week we received a phone call from a client saying they received an image copyright claim notice claiming they owed thousands of dollars for an image that appeared on their station website. That got me to thinking about what kinds of people are still posting copyrighted imagesonline.  There can be a few reasons why someone may want to try getting away with using a copyrighted image on their website without obtaining proper permission. Some of the reasons may include:

Lack of knowledge
Cost and convenience
Lack of alternatives

How Do Copyright Holders Find Their Images

1. Reverse image search
2. Watermark search
3. Social media monitoring
4. Copyright infringement search services

It's important to note that even with these tools, it can be difficult for copyright owners to find every instance of their photos online, as some websites and individuals may use methods to conceal the origin of a photo. However, by combining these methods, copyright owners can increase their chances of finding and acting against unauthorized work use.

Beware of Copyright Claim Imposters

Copyright imposters are individuals or companies that falsely claim to own the copyright to an image and demand payment or removal of the image from your website or social media account. These imposters may use automated tools to scan the internet for images or target content creators randomly.

If you suspect you have received a false copyright claim, report the imposter to the proper authorities. In the United States, you can report the imposter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or the Federal Trade Commission(FTC).

What to Do If You Receive a Copyright Claim

If you receive a copyright claim on your website regarding an image, you should first determine whether the claim is valid. If the image in question is indeed copyrighted, you should remove it from your website as soon as possible to avoid more potential legal issues.

Website Image Best Practices

1. Use your images
2. Obtain permission
3. Use Creative Commons licensed images
4. Use stock images
5. Always give credit
6. Be careful with screenshots
7. Altering does not save you

Knowing why some people use copyrighted images, understanding how the images are found by copyright holders, and following the best practices for using images should help you make better decisions for your station website.  By taking these steps, you can protect yourself and your radio station from copyright issues.

This doesn’t mean everyone should learn powerful tools like Photoshop or Illustrator. Those are overkill if you need to crop and downsize an image. There are more simple tools – even online image editors like https://pixlr.com/editorthat can be used.  Editors like this can be helpful without being overwhelming.

2. Basic Graphic Design

The key here is to have everything on your station website look professional because your website's first impression could be your radio station's first impression.

3. Editing and Proofreading

Good content ensures maximum impact, while poor content with errors can give a wrong impression of your radio station. Consider investing in the Grammarly service. It’s a plugin that reads your copy as you write and makes suggestions in spelling and grammar.

4. SEO and Accessibility Best Practices

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for your radio station website, but I bet you rarely think about it. Proper SEO techniques can be a deep-dive subject, but you can do some small things to ensure everything you post can be found easily in search engines.

Accessibility means ensuring everyone can effectively access your content.  Remember that people with disabilities need to access the website through special software. When image tags are missing or if they contain cryptic filenames, these visitors will not know what images contain. This can result in getting fewer clicks than you would like.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website has some excellent guidance to review at https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance.

5. Simple Security Measures

Everyone with access to your station website should only use a strong password dedicated to that website. I recommend using a password manager which allows you to set complicated/unique passwords for every account. The password manager securely houses them, so you only need to remember a single master password.

Also, ensure that each of your website admins has only the proper amount of access they need to perform their tasks. If someone only writes the occasional blog post, they do not need access to edit banner ads, view contest submissions, or add new users. Limiting their access will limit the effects of an intrusion if their account is ever compromised.

Wrapping Up

Having your team know these fundamental skills starts with management. Look at your station website often and call out images that do not make sense or do not stand up as looking professional. Call out spelling and grammar mistakes – before your listeners do.

There are many free resources in blog posts and online training videos across Youtube to increase one’s skillset.

Need help with your radio station website? Please reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/contact.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/nine-resolutions-to-boost-your-radio-station-website-in-2023.  

1) Devote More Resources to Your Station Website

2) Add New/Different Content

3) Try a Different Color/Layout

4) Examine Your Analytics and Adjust Accordingly

5) Start a Podcast

6) Be More Social

7) Build a Local Photo Library

8) Write a Blog That Targets Advertisers

9) Take Inventory of Your Online Assets

Be open and actively searching for everything your station can do online to grow your online audience, discover things that can separate your station from any competition you have, make a more significant difference in your community, and generate more income.  Unlike your radio signal, with only 24 hours of possible content per day, your station website has unlimited content and sponsorship potential that can last many years.

We hope you have a wonderful and prosperous new year online.  If you’re looking for a new website experience for your station in the new year or know of someone who is, we would love to help.

For more in-depth show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/adjusting-the-mindset-about-your-station-website.  

Today we want to talk about your mindset regarding your radio station website.  Why do you have a website for your radio station?  Is it simply to have a place to direct people to listen online?  Is it because you know every business should have one, and so you do as well?  Or is it to make more money?  Hopefully, your priority is “making more money.”  

- Have a Digital-First Mindset
We advocate thinking of your station website as another radio station that simulcasts, in text and images, everything you do on-air.    

- Program Your Website Like a Radio Station
We recommend programming your website just as you would your radio station.  What can we do to keep visitors returning tomorrow and the next day?  

- Choose Content that Works for Your Audience
Start with something that resonates with your station audience, measure engagement by seeing if it generates clicks, shares, and repeat visitors, and then add more content that might resonate with them.  You’ll find that adding new features will bring more visitors over time.  

- RSS Feeds are not a Content Strategy
Outside news should only spice the main reason people visit your website – your content.  Never fill a page with RSS links offsite.  We view these as reasons to leave your website; only paying advertisers should have that ability.  

We want to help with your station website.  Please reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

Seth Resler is a 25-year broadcasting and podcasting veteran who has worked on the mic and programmed radio stations in major markets like New York City, Boston & Seattle before crossing into online marketing. As the digital strategist at Jacobs Media, Seth works with radio stations across the U.S., helping them design and implement action plans that combine websites, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, lead generation, and other online tools.  Follow Seth's blog at https://jacobsmedia.com/category/connecting-the-dots.

For more detailed show notes, please visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/cluttered-homepages-e-mails-and-goals-with-seth-resler.

Need help with your station website?  We'd love to help you.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/five-reasons-your-station-should-be-podcasting

The podcasting audience continues to grow, and its reinvigorating audio listening and advertising.  An Edison Research study shows that over half of all Americans have listened to a podcast, and one-third have listened in the last week. 41% of Americans say they listen to more podcasts than a year ago. The average podcast listener tunes into seven shows a week, consuming up to 6 hours of total listening time.  Whether you like it or not, podcasting is officially mainstream media.

Check out more exciting podcasting stats at https://www.demandsage.com/podcast-statistics.

This week we want to offer five reasons your radio station should be podcasting, and we’ve enlisted the help of Mike Wilkerson, owner of the 2GuysTalking Podcast Network in St. Louis.  Mike has been hosting, producing, concepting, and enhancing podcasts since 2005. He produces content for his growing client across the nation, remotely, from his Podcast Capture Studios and via “The Podcast Bug” - a 1974 custom Super Beetle with a recording studio built inside. Mike’s bottom line is, “Podcasting is Captured Perspective.”

#1. Consider Podcasts as On-Demand Radio

#2. Podcasting Builds Intimate Relationships

#3. Podcasts Are an Extra Marketing Channel

#4. Podcasts are Easy for Radio Stations to Promote

#5. Podcasting Generates Revenue

To stay ahead, radio needs to focus on what it does best and apply it to podcasting. Create podcasts based on the content you’re already creating or that ties in with your communities. Also, look into creating for underserved audiences.  Is there a particular audience in your market that nobody is serving with a radio station?  That’s a podcast opportunity. You'll miss this additional revenue if you consider podcasts a competitor.

See what your team is passionate about and try to build an audio community around those in-house experts. Studies show that more listeners would listen more often if a well-known personality hosted a show, but podcasters do not have to be morning show hosts.  That passionate salesperson who’s always wanted to be on the radio might have a winning podcast show.

Just about everyone is starting a podcast, but do not let that fact be a stumbling block.  Radio groups have seen the potential podcasts offer to extend their reach.

Need help with your station website?  We're here to help at https://ww.skyrocketradio.com.

Having good information about your market can help you make decisions now, tomorrow, and into the future. Today, we’ll talk with one of the leading experts in small to medium size business data and get his insight into how it can transform how you do business in the future. Today, we have Corey Elliott from Borrell Associates.

If you haven’t seen or heard Corey online, then you’ve likely seen his work in the various charts they publish. He leads Borrell Associates’ ongoing surveys of local marketers — the largest survey of small to medium businesses in the U.S. — and the company’s expansive database of local advertising and marketing expenditures. He’s the co-host of the Local Marketing Trends podcast and hosts a biweekly video program, Corey’s Local Market Minute, on YouTube.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/how-data-helps-your-radio-station-and-website-with-corey-elliott.  

Get more detailed show notes at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/quick-tips-pro-images-security-and-knowing-your-website.  

1. Instill a professional design mindset in your team.

2. Have a professional logo designed for each brand your company represents.

3. Ensure your team is using strong passwords.

4. Check your security logs periodically.

5. Test the limits of your website.

Wrap up

Those are our five quick tips for today. I hope they help you. Be sure to check out the podcast next for our first video podcast. It will be available on Anchor and Spotify as well as Youtube. I’m unsure about the other platforms, but the audio version will also be available. Our guest next week will be Corey Elliott with Borrell Associates, and we’ll try to get some insight from him into what’s to come for radio stations and what they are doing online.

Need help with your station website.  Check us out at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/website-cache-explained-how-it-makes-your-site-faster.  

Browser Caching: Browser caching allows your browser to store these files for specific amounts of time, so it doesn’t need to retrieve them every time you visit the website.

Server Cache: Server cache speeds up websites for everyone, not just for returning visitors.  When a browser requests a webpage, the server takes time to process the information. After that first request, the server “remembers” the processed content and delivers it faster to subsequent visitors.

Downsides to Cache

However great the caching system is, no one is entirely safe from cache-related issues.  Cache issues can specifically be related to a user’s device, the content management system, or the hosting service.

Wrapping Up

Caching is a technology that increases the speed of your website.  When used correctly, it will result in significantly faster load times and decrease the load on your server. Depending on your hosting provider, an increased load on your server could result in higher hosting fees.

If you aren’t already caching your web pages, please look into it immediately.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/create-banner-ads-the-get-results. 

Before we jump into tips on designing effective banner ads. Now is a good time to mention that your sales team must have a Digital Inventory List. We’ve covered this in previous posts and podcasts. A Digital Inventory List lists every ad space, sponsorship, or advertiser opportunity on your station website. It should also cover things off the website, like podcasts, social media posts, Youtube video mentions, live videos, etc. Everything “digital” should be included. Once you have this, it’s much easier for your sales team to know what you have available to sell. If one position on your website is full, perhaps another location or opportunity would be better for their client.

1. Use the most effective, standard banner sizes.

2. Keep it simple

3. Maintain design hierarchy

4. Make text instantly readable

5. Instill a sense of urgency

6. Be consistent with the client’s brand

7. Use relevant images when needed

8. Choose appropriate colors

Creatopy.com has a great read on how color can affect a viewer’s emotion and perception of the brand: https://www.creatopy.com/blog/color-banner-design-inspiration/

9. Use animation

10. Use the correct file formats and keep them small

There you have it! Our 10 tips to create high-performing banner ads.  If graphic design is not your thing, or you’re too busy running your radio station, reach out to designers on services like fiverr.com to design the perfect, clickable ads for you.

Small Business Saturday, observed on the last Saturday of November, was created by American Express during the 2010 recession to encourage people to Shop Small and bring more holiday shopping to small businesses.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/owning-small-business-saturday.

Shopping small during the holiday season is more important than ever. According to the American Express Shop Small Impact survey, 78% of small business owners have stated that holiday sales indicate whether they stay open the following year or not. This means that most small businesses are poised to accept ways to increase their traffic in every way possible.

Throughout November, you’ll find that media outlets will mention “Small Business Saturday” here and there. If your station or group can grab hold of the reigns and own it more than the others, it could mean more profitable relationships that last much longer than the month. Here are some ways you can do that.

1. Create a Public Interest Campaign

2. Tell Small Business Stories

3. Go Big with Digital Properties

4. Create a Small Business Saturday Page/Directory

5. Create customized SBS signage

Why is Small Business Saturday important?

Small businesses have long been considered the heart of the American economy. Successful small businesses bring a community together, increase real estate value and help keep local money local – which directly benefits their towns’ economies.

Make your November all about Small Business Saturday. If you can own it more than your competition, those businesses should rely on you more to help with their advertising beyond November.

Need help with your station website?  Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com

Get more detailed show notes at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/15-website-mistakes-that-cost-visitors-and-revenue.  

1. Outdated/No Website Strategy

2. Not Focusing on the User Experience

3. Slow Load Times

4. Not built for Mobile

5. Too Much Content

6. Weak/Too Little Content

7. No Calls to Action

8. Poor Navigation

9. Not Following SEO Best Practices

10. Overusing Stock Photography

11. No Image Alt Tags

12. Lack of Video

13. Too Many/Too Little Ads

14. Not tracking your Analytics

15. No Ongoing Optimization Plan

This isn’t a comprehensive list, but it’s a great place to start examining your website. Are you guilty of any mistakes that could cost you visitors and revenue? If so, make a plan to resolve them right away.

Need help with your radio station or corporate website?  We're here to help.

Since 2004, October has been celebrated as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, previously called National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Now in its 19th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise cybersecurity awareness nationwide and help ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safe and secure online.

This year’s campaign theme is “See Yourself in Cyber” and represents that cybersecurity is ultimately about people, which means seeing yourself in cyber no matter your role.

This year, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) have identified four key areas where we can all take action to protect our presence online and work to keep others safe. These same concepts can be used to help secure your radio station websites and any other system that touches the internet.

Get more detailed show notes at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/october-is-cybersecurity-awareness-month.  

1) Think Before You Click

2) Keep Your Software Updated

3) Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager

4) Enable Multi-Factor Authentication

National Cyber Security Awareness Month is a great time to review our personal and professional security hygiene.  Remember, cyber security is a team effort.  Encourage everyone on your team to change their passwords. One employee’s mistake could lead to a virus installed on a work device, infecting your website or even your on-air system. Establishing cyber security as a fundamental part of your station to help secure it from online threats is essential.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/using-contests-to-boost-your-website-traffic.

Online contests are a great way to keep visitors returning to your website to engage with your station brand experience. Frequently touching your station builds loyalty and can turn the average visitor into a fan.  Tracking those visitor numbers provides valuable data to show existing and potential online advertisers. So, contests can be a powerful tool for meeting your online marketing goals and increasing your online revenue.

Here are some best practices to keep in mind for your website contests.

1. Always Have at Least One Active Contest

2. Build Contests Around Sponsors When Possible

3. Include Reasons for Entrants to Return/Register Often

4. Limit your Contest Questions

5. Provide a Way for Entrants to Sign Up for your Newsletter

6. Properly Define the Rules

7. Properly Promote Your Contests

8. Properly Track Visitors

A contest may not be the most obvious way to generate traffic to your website, but the results may surprise you. Just be sure to invest time and effort into making your contests more engaging. The more engaging your contests are, the more traffic they will bring.

Need a platform that will effectively allow you to provide engaging contests.  Reach out to us.

This week, hurricane Ian ripped through Florida and up the east coast.  Before the storm, a few stations asked us to help quickly create an emergency information page so they could refer to them on-air and over social to help get essential news out to their local listeners.

Do you have an emergency information page for a natural event that may affect your listeners?  It’s unlikely that a hurricane will hit a station in Kansas, but they have their share of tornados.  Tornados may not frequent places like upstate New York, but locations in the northern United States have blizzards.  Other places may not have any of these but experience long periods of drought or be susceptible to wildfires.

If you have any natural events affecting your listeners, it’s a great idea to have an emergency information page on your radio station website to provide essential information when needed.  It’s great for your listeners, and it provides you with an in-house location to refer to on-air instead of directing listeners somewhere else online.

Get more detailed show notes at https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/emergency-information-pages.

So, let’s look at some elements of an emergency information page that you may want to include.

1) Twitter/Facebook Feeds

2) Current weather, radar, and alerts

3) Live video reports

4) Local Shelter Information

5) Checklists

Ready.gov and the National Weather Service have amazing guides to get you started.

6) Important numbers

The right time to create emergency information pages is not just before the event.  Take the time to create these pages now, before the storm.

The more useful information you can provide on this page, the more valuable it will be to your visitor.  And you’re more likely to get sponsors to jump on board.

Need help with your radio station website?  Reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/steps-to-take-before-offering-digital-services.

In this episode:

Digital is About Content

Promote Your Content

Digital Inventory List

Training the Sales Team

Set Goals and Beat Them

Know The Competition and Beat Them

When you’re eventually approached by a client to help them with their digital footprint, you’ll explain that they need content. They’ll need a vehicle to promote it like on the radio and over social. They’ll need to make goals and review their analytics often to see how they are doing. And they’ll need to know what their competition is doing if they want to beat them. Your client’s journey will be different from your station’s, but the roots will be the same.

If you start your digital journey with your website, the insight you’ll gain will give you better information to help your clients with a more expanded array of digital services. You can’t do this from the bench, however. You must be fully invested in completing the digital transformation if you want to grow your revenue well into the next decade.

We’d love to assist you on that journey. If you need help making the next step with your station website, please reach out to us at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/blog/generating-revenue-sponsored-content.  

Sponsored Content Works

In a 2016 research study, over 4,000 Forbes magazine readers were asked to view webpage content featuring brands like SONY, Maserati, and Boeing, followed by a post-exposure survey. The results demonstrated that:

- Brand recall, brand favorability, and purchase consideration points rose.

- Consumers were likelier to say they intend to seek more information about the brand.

- Mentioning the brand name more often within the content caused the brands to be perceived as more educational (or providing service). So, they became more trusted.

- 18-34-year-olds responded better to long informative articles, driving higher engagement consideration rates and aiding recall.

- Consumers perceive sponsored content as more consumer-centric because it is less about selling products and more about providing value.

PDF to the full report here: https://ipglab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IPG-Lab-Forbes-Storytelling-The-Current-State-of-Branded-Content-Deck.pdf.

What kinds of sponsored content can your radio station take advantage of?

- Informational articles
- Air talent social media posts
- On-air mentions
- Podcasts: Model Health Show

Preparing Sponsored Content

As you would imagine, writing sponsored content takes additional time to get right. The traditional, in-your-face advertising tactics that we’ve become used to will not work as sponsored content.

No matter who writes the content piece, here are some tips to keep in mind.

1) Provide substantial value to your audience
2) Ensure the content is natural and fits your audience
3) Stay away from text within images and logos.
4) Take time to create/tweak this content.
5) Never accept commercial content

According to a study by Neilsen and Mode Media, consumers can spend 2.5 minutes reading a sponsored article that interests them. When implemented correctly, sponsored content can be a lucrative part of your digital strategy.

I hope this information is helpful. Please leave a review for this podcast wherever you get it and be sure to share this with a colleague.

Adobe Photoshop

Creative Cloud

Free Alternatives to Photoshop include Gimp and Pixlr

Adobe Illustrator

Free Illustrator alternatives include Vectornator and Inkscape.

Screen Recording

ScreenRec

Loom

Stock Images

Pexels

Envato Elements

Writing Content

Grammarly

Communication

Slack

RSS Readers

Newsflow

Viewing Your Website

We regularly use Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Opera.

Conclusion

So, these are our “go-to” list of programs and services. I hope they can help you create content for your radio station website.

Copyright.gov defines copyright as "a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression.  Copyright law covers many works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and so much more!"

Investopedia defines it like this, "Copyright infringement is the use or production of copyright-protected material without the permission of the copyright holder.  Copyright infringement means that the rights afforded to the copyright holder, such as the exclusive use of a work for a set period of time, are being breached by a third party.  Music and movies are two of the most well-known forms of entertainment that suffer from significant amounts of copyright infringement."

Copyrighted.com says, "To understand copyright infringement, you must first know the rights and limitations of a copyright holder.  It's possible to engage in copying and distributing someone's work without actually violating or infringing anything, so you're not legally accountable.  It's also possible to be subjected to a legal process even if you had no intention or knowledge that you stole from the owner."

Copyright.gov says, "Works created on or after January 1, 1978, have a copyright term of life of the author plus seventy years after the author's death.  If the work is a joint work, the term lasts for seventy years after the last surviving author's death.  For works made for hire and anonymous or pseudonymous works, copyright protection is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter."

As of this writing, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) is being considered in congress and it has bipartisan support.  Essentially, it would regulate how organizations keep and use consumer data. Much of today’s podcast research was taken directly from Wikipediaand the bill itself.

I invite everyone to read up on it for themselves in case there’s something specific that we do not cover today.  As always, details of the final bill could be more or less involved once the bill is finalized, but we want you to be aware of how it might affect you in the future.

The ADPPA has several main principles: data minimization, individual ownership, and private right of action.  It says that anyone who collects data from the public would have to minimize the data they collect down to that which is "necessary, proportionate, and limited to" their purpose. If you’re giving away lunch for two at a local restaurant, there’s no need to ask for how many kids they have, their sex, income, etc.  Just get the minimum amount of information required.

Then, the entrant must know what you plan to do with the information they give you.  Think contest entries, newsletter subscriber information, text to win entries, listener club membership information, etc.  You can’t take those contest entries and automatically sign everyone up for your newsletter with those e-mail addresses or share that information with a sponsor.  You can do those things, but you must first clearly specify your intentions before the listener signs up.

In what situation would you not have to worry about any of this?  If you never take anyone’s personal information including contest submissions, newsletter signups, listener club membership, text to win entries, information gathered when downloading a mobile app, selling station swag online and receiving e-mail addresses, etc.  Basically, if you are collecting any listener information, you should be aware of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act as well as the other state privacy and protection acts.  And if you are doing any kind of business overseas, then be aware of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union.

With new privacy laws being put in place, you can expect some people out there to test the system so they can have a legal case against you.  Please reach out to your legal counsel for specific things to include on your station website so that you’re covered ahead of what’s to come.

For greater detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/podcast/why-image-alt-tags-are-essential-to-success.

A lot of us in radio view the process of adding images to a website as a step that needs no additional work.  Find a legal image and upload it to the website - done.  However, it’s very important that the images are edited to sizes that match the rest of the site and are optimized to load fast on mobile devices.  That’s before you upload the image to the website. There are small additional steps involved once you upload the image and those are applying the proper caption (image copyright), the image title, and the alt tag.

If you aren’t using alt text in website images, then you are hurting your website and alienating a portion of your visitors.  Here are reasons why you should be using alt tags on every image to create more impact and a better user experience.

1. Alt Text Helps Accessibility

For users that can’t see images on a website and use special screen reading software to navigate online, alt tags provide a way for the visitor to understand the context of that information.

2. Alt Tags Help Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You want your station website to be easy to find online and show up when people are searching for the content you have created.  Search engines specifically look for image alt tags and index them when they are found.  This alone should convince you to use alt tags in every image on your website.

3. Alt Tags Are Readable by Humans and Computers

Alt tags aren’t just something that screen readers and search engine robots understand.  Your website visitors can see and read it when they hover over an image or inspect the page code.

4. Alt Tags Help People Find Content More Quickly

Because of its impact on search engines, alt tags can help you find what you are looking for on the internet more quickly. As I mentioned earlier, every image alt text is indexable and this additional information is valuable in searches.

5. Alt Tags Give Context for Missing Images

Everyone has encountered a website where the images did not display. It might have been because of a slow internet connection or a technical error.  Alt tags on missing images can ensure that visitors know what is missing.  Think of alt tags or description tags as a type of Plan B for when things don’t go as intended.

Conclusion

As you can see, the image alt tag is quite possibly the more important attribute to add to your photos. Ensuring your images are sized correctly, optimized for speed, and including the proper tags are not extra steps.  They are the essential steps that should be taken every time.

We love helping radio stations with their online presence.  Please reach out to us.

Workello.com has a terrific job description template for you: https://workello.com/digital-content-director-job-description/.  

Essentially, a Digital Content Manager is responsible for monitoring and improving brand awareness within content across all digital platforms.

Here are some responsibilities of a typical Digital Content Manager.

• Maintain functionality of websites, social media accounts, mobile apps, and other web-based products and programs
• Build custom local and sales web portal pages/sites
• Administer and maintains media assets
• Monitor web applications for performance and capacity
• Work closely with Digital Sales Manager, Graphic Designers, and Program Directors to execute creative online promotions/contests
• Develop and oversee digital advertising campaigns to increase brand awareness, drive qualified traffic, and boost sales within a marketing budget
• Provide leadership and direction by establishing online content goals and developing brand guidelines, core messaging, strategies, policies, and processes.
• Perform thorough market research and competitive analysis to identify industry trends and best practices and apply them to a content marketing strategy.
• Analyze the performance of our digital marketing initiatives, generate detailed reports, and identify areas for improvement

Qualifications of a Digital Content Manager

• A genuine love and excitement about the internet and trending topics
• Experience in coding languages like HTML, PHP, CSS, and Javascript
• Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, and Illustrator
• Proficient in office applications
• Proficient in current and emerging social networking platforms
• Functional knowledge of interactive technologies and trends
• Ability to learn new technology quickly
• Ability to plan, organize and perform in a team-oriented environment, sharing projects, knowledge, and experience
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; excellent grammar; strong writing and editing skills
• Ability to function under stress & be flexible when working on multiple projects with deadlines
• A high degree of attention to detail and optimal work standards
• Desire to grow and develop additional skills
• Photography and videography skills are a plus.

Time to Assign/Hire a Digital Content Manager?

Staying on top of all of your digital content and managing your online assets can be overwhelming and time-consuming.  Digital Content Managers take charge of all content on your station(s) website, social media, and other digital platforms.

The first step is to have a great website and we’d love to partner with you on that.  Reach out to us.

For more detailed show notes, visit https://www.skyrocketradio.com/blog/should-you-enable-comments-on-your-website.

We get the question often about enabling comments on the radio station websites we create. Are they worth the time? Do they work? What options are there?

Personally, I never thought about comments that much because they took a lot of time to moderate, approve good comments and remove the spam comments. However, Lou Vito at his group of stations at peakofohio.com is very passionate about including website comments.

Blogging experts out there are divided in their conclusion on the importance of comments. Some say that comments are essential for online success, while others will make a point that they are not so important. So, who to believe?

Consider Your Visitors

Comments Add to Your Content

Comments Enhance Your Content

Be Careful of Weak/Spam Comments

Dealing With Negative Comments

Dealing With Spam Comments

Here are a few ways to combat spam comments:

1. Enable comment moderation
2. Turn off trackbacks
3. Automatically close comments after 30 days on all your posts.
4. Use a comment blacklist.
5. Use comment moderation plugins to monitor your site: These options include Akismet, CleanTalk Anti-Spam, AntiSpam Bee, Titan Anti-Spam, and WPBruiser.

Third-Party Comment Systems

If you have a WordPress website, comments are built into the website ecosystem. However, there are other options like Facebook comments, Jetpack, Disqus, Intense Debate, and Thrive Comments.

Wrapping Up

So, are comments good? For most radio station websites, absolutely.  If your readers love the news and blog posts you’re creating, they will keep coming back. Comments are just one aspect of building trust and keeping that connection.

We hope this episode helps you. Please help us by sharing this with a colleague and signing up for our newsletter.  Need help with your radio station website?  We’d love to help.