At this point in time nearly every radio brand has a website and platforms on the important social media platforms. Not many brands have figured out how to properly monetize their digital counterparts.
In many situations the discussion is taken out of the hands of the local station with most of the biggest groups having a standard template and sales strategy. For every WTOP or KKFN where the audio brand is so strong and there are local content holes to fill there are dozens of WMAL and KSPN’s forced to rely on national content feeds a little draws for the audience which in turn gives sales little to sell off of.
At this point there are two primary purposes for station websites to exist: to be an easy to publicize spot to promote everything the station is doing or to build an additional revenue stream for your company. Even a station with limited staff and resources can easily accomplish both.
As newspaper consolidation and layoffs lead to news deserts not being fully served it opens the door for radio stations to fill those niches digitally. Stations can take over coverage of the local minor league team, community events, and even classifieds and the highly lucrative obituary business. Use that to grow demand and the opportunity to build platforms like Saga’s Clarksville Now or Canyon Media’s St. George News which are working to become the primary news source for the market and sharing content with their co-owned radio brands.
Building or repairing your station’s digital strategy should have a clear and precise goal. If there’s a strong television station or newspaper and you have just two employees, its not going to be feasible to build your site into a direct news competitor unless you’re covering topics the audience cares about that they’re not. And unless there’s a unique hook you provide, the audience isn’t going to first go to your site for generic news when there are millions of other places to get that information.
Music brands have opportunities to do different things that relate locally. Townsquare Media’s station sites have found the niche focusing on hyperlocal topics such as new business openings, animals, and real estate. Events guides can be enhanced with the ability to have sponsored listings and partnerships with local venues bringing the ability to go beyond just giving away tickets to earning commissions on ticket sales.
In each specific market a local radio brand can and should still have a cachet. If you are invested in building and marketing a digital product that provides a distinct service the audience will find it and then the revenue generation options will grow. You wouldn’t launch a radio station and let it run forever commercial-free never updating your music and imaging, yet many broadcasters come close to doing so with their ancillary properties.