Things have changed a lot in the last seven or eight years since my friend's station last did a website update.
1. Social media wasn't nearly as big. Now some stations don't even deal with a website and just use a Facebook page instead. Big mistake in my opinion, but to each their own..
2. Website design has moved to mobile-centric instead of the previous focus based on laptops. A lot of old websites just don't cut it on mobile anymore.
3. Explosion of online news sources, whether propagated by social media or otherwise.
So, what kind of content would you put on a small-town radio website to attract people to the site and provide value to advertisers, in other words, have something that's sellable in its own right, not just something to be bonused onto a buy for regular airtime.
Ideas I've been bouncing around in no particular order...
Local content, goes without saying, it's key. Local news, HS sports, events
Weather: most sites just use a free plug-in from wunderground or the Weather Channel that quickly diverts eyeballs away from your site and onto theirs. Would a customized weather site for your station's website be worth an extra couple hundred a month that such a site might cost? One thing's for sure: weather, which used to be an important revenue source for radio, doesn't seem to be as big of a deal anymore if the details are available on demand via smartphones.
News feeds from affilliated sources: a lot of stations will include on their websites feeds of the top stories from their state and national networks. Are news feeds starting to become passé? Is this space that can be better utilized with other content?
Feel free to discuss and criticque the ideas above and offer your own suggestions. thanks...
Russ
Good question. Our stations' website is focused primarily on local news; the latest local stories are front-and-center on the home page, and they're constantly updated. Our few display ads appear along the left column on every page, and they're a paid supplement to the advertisers' on-air contracts. My ad blog is on the site separately, and is promoted separately. Other station information is available, as are on-air listening links (and apps) for all 3 stations.
We use Facebook to extend our engagement, especially on the news side, where we're closing in on 12000 followers, which, considering the small market we're in, seems pretty good.
Love to hear others' ideas on how they use their website and social to stay relevant and engaged in their markets.
