First do your research

The first step in developing your social media strategy is to do your research, internally and externally. Work out what resources, skills and assets you have internally at your community radio station, and what experience staff or volunteers have using social media. Do staff use social media personally? Do they have a particular social media platform they are very familiar with?

You also need to find out what your audience wants.  Ask the following questions – are they familiar with social media and if yes, what sites do they use? What motivates them to interact with brands online? Where are your target audiences online? What are they saying online?

The most important rule here is that you need to step outside of yourself as the radio station staff member or volunteer. You need to provide what your listeners want from you not what you think they need.

Top tips

• Use a free online tool like Survey Monkey for easy online surveys of your audience to find out what they want.
• Your current and potential audience is most likely spending significant amounts of time on social media platforms – the average person spends 15-30 minutes per day on social media but many people are spending multiple hours each week using it. The key is to find out what social media platform they are using the most.
• Find out what other information or activities your audience wish to engage in. If you can provide more than just information about your radio station, you will have broader appeal and build a following much faster.

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