Twitter: 10 Tips To Help Build Your Brand

As radio professionals we know all about how to jam a lot of information into a little space, that is one
of the reasons Twitter is perfect for people in media.

We can draw attention with a hook or a powerful phrase to something we want to talk about with more depth.

Here are some tips at managing your Twitter account and making the most out of this social media resource for your business:

1. Craft a Twitter handle that is easy to remember and represents you well. Twitter handles are like contemporary phone numbers, if its hard to remember you will be less likely to get direct tweets. I was lucky, I joined Twitter in the early days and got my name. Try to find something that identifies your business or is quirky enough that people will remember it. Nobody wants to be @JohnSmith34082!  @AnotherJohnSmith or @ThatJohnSmith work much better!

2. Interact as much as you contribute. What I mean by this is essentially, listen as much as you talk. Respond, retweet and discuss topics you see others posting about as much as you post yourself. Twitter is one big conversation and no one wants to listen to one person talk all day! Your Twitter account represents your brand to people you will never meet, make a good impression!

3. Use hashtags # and mentions. Hashtags are those funky symbols that you put in front of numbers or you call a pound sign on a telephone. On twitter they help you contribute to the global conversation about a topic. If you put #gross you are added to the discussion about everything that is #gross people post about. That is very general, you can also be very specific. For example, when I was tweeting from the 'Coke Covert Concert' in Calgary I used #CokeCovert and #Stampede101 instead of something general like #music or #concert. That narrowed my tweets down to a very specific topic, rather than a general one. It also connected me with everyone who was also talking about the exact stame event! This probably the easiest way to gain followers, if you are using hashtags to discuss something relevant like a sporting event or news your bound to attract attention and get followers!

Mentions happen when you use the '@' symbol to forward a message along to them. Be wary though, some users may not accept mentions from people they do not follow. In my tweet below I mention '@Dragonette' and '@DOWNWITHWEBSTER'. Often you will get a response or a retweet if you mention someone with a compliment or something witty/relevant to say!

Mentions use the '@' symbol. Hashtags use the '#' symbol. 

This is my very own personal Twitter
feed cover, I never follow twice the
amount of people that follow me. 

4. Limit the number of people you are following on Twitter to half of the number of people following you. Try not to extend your following arm too far, only follow people who you genuinely want to connect with. Or, follow back viable accounts and try to 'clean up' who you are following once a month. If their content is not doing anything for you, why follow them? Nothing is more annoying than a news feed full of crap you don't care about, it may be the case that you are more valuable to them than they are to you!



5. Track your progress. I know this is repetitive from my other blogs, but it is important to look at how many followers you have on a regular basis and evaluate how many people respond to your tweets.

Some people like to divide the number of followers they have by the tweets they send to give a rate called 'follows per tweet'. I am not a huge fan of this equation, but I think it is an interesting stat to keep in mind as well.  I think this equation is more important for brands and businesses rather than personal accounts.

Here are some questions to keep in mind when evaluating your Twitter progress:
-Which tweets are my best tweets? This can be judged by re-tweets, favourite-ing and responses.
-Am I responding to the tweets being sent to me in a timely fashion?
-What am I considered an 'expert' in? Am I tweeting enough about things pertaining to my field? These tweets will usually be the ones to help you gain followers. If you are tweeting about something you want to be considered an expert in you should be getting follows, re-tweets, favourites and responses regularly.

A few stats on my not so popular
source list.

6. Make Twitter lists. When I was working in a newsroom that did not have access to a wire service this was a huge time saver. All of the most important sources for news on Twitter, for my region, were separated for easy access and it saved me a lot of time. I still searched important terms using hashtags, just to see what I could find on a regular basis. This was my #1 source for news that wasn't being directed to me specifically from a source through e-mail.

My very own news feed from my listed sources. As you can see they all are keeping me up to date with what is going on in Nova Scotia news.

You can do this for other reasons as well, I like using it for sports and entertainment news as well. It can really cut down show prep time or help you out if your in a pinch and need something for a quick cut-in.

7. Update your biography and imagery regularly. Keep your profile fresh and relevant to your business. Can't think of new backgrounds or photos for your profile? Make them! Go with a seasonal theme or a promotion/contest you are running. If you have a personal account update it to reflect your current goals or objectives.

8. Be a useful source for information to your followers. This goes for any social media platform, it is easy and can gain you followers from outside your market, industry or client base. For a radio station a great idea for this is updating weather or traffic at a strategic time everyday, for example before the average person gets in the car in the morning or before they leave their desk to head home.

9. Tweet live from events. #7 is a pretty bland (but important) example of content your followers may
love. What I love is updating from live events... make people want to be where you are. Concerts for example could have a tweet like this "@CCKC889's @KateBruce is live at the #FleetwoodMac concert, they are opening with Second Hand News. The Dome is electric tonight!".

Pretty easy right! You pulled off your contest for tickets and now you are baiting people to your next event. You can always use it to execute a contest too for example, "Find @KateBruce downtown #Halifax near a famous tugboat and see may have 2 #NSTattoo tickets 4 U!". Vary your content, but execute your regular features with precision.

An example of a 'live' tweet from my personal account. 

10. Do not cross post between social media platforms. Above is an example that works both for #9 and point #10 as well. When you use other platforms to Tweet is can change the intent of your message. A lot of people will disagree with this point, but I really don't like linking people to other sites where they may not be a member. People on Twitter are there for information in 140 characters or less, if they want an article they will follow a link, that is fine. My beef is sending people to outside sources like FB for a post that doesn't fit in 140 characters.

Sometimes when you uses programs to post to both your Facebook and Twitter at the same time your Twitter messages get cut to allow more link characters... or you disregard the 140 character rule all together. Don't be that guy, take the time to follow the Twitter format and then link out (if you must).

The same can be said for Instagram (as per my example photo above). You photo is not actually a Twitter photo when you tweet through Instagram, it sends a tweet with the link (as pictured). The photo then does not stay in your Twitter media, it is treated as a link. In other words, this feature is great for Instagram but not for Twitter.

Updated: So You Are Looking For A Job, Eh?

We've talked about the tools you need to land a job, now lets look at resources out there that will help you find jobs to apply for.

As you well know, jobs in the radio (and media industry in general) are very competitive. If you are looking for your first job try to stick to small markets.

Here are some steps to applying for a job in radio:

1. Have all your ducks in a row. Ensure your resume, demo and website are all up to date.

2. Find the job you want on one of the websites listed below. Check these sites on a routine basis, some update more frequently than others. Be the early bird, the sooner you can apply to a posted job the better.

3. Draft a CV that is specific to the station and position you want. Be specific, sing their praises, mention people you may know from the station that will give you a positive reference or mention in discussion and let your personality be transparent. If you don't know anything about the station, listen to some cut-ins and do your research. Treat your application process the same way you would treat a interview, if you can establish a connection from your CV you will be ahead of the game when an interview comes.

4. Follow the stations application process to the letter. Bigger companies like Rogers will have you filing out forms just to get your foot in the door, smaller companies may be happy with an email with all of your information and files. If you are applying at a company that has an online application process make sure you have enough time to fill out everything well, they may not have a program that will save your information if you try to do it in multiple sittings.

Here To Help: Websites Helping You Find Work
-Update: (January 2013)
Media Job Zone Canada. Lots of postings here within the media industry, you can also follow Media Job Zone Canada on Facebook.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MediaJobZone/info
Website: http://mediajobzone.com/

-Eric Alper's website posts Canadian media jobs frequently. It is a great resource to check in with to see what is going on not only in radio but in the entire media world as well. I follow him on Twitter and always catch the updates when he posts them and I get much of my media news from him as well.  Twitter handle: @thatEricAlper
His site is: http://www.thatericalper.com/category/canadian-artsmedia-job-posts/

-Milkman Unlimited is renowned in our industry. It is the top resource for finding a job in Canada. They also update postings via Twitter and Facebook as well.
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/192442264150582/?fref=ts
Twitter handle: @MMURadio
Website: www.milkmanunlimited.com

-Airchecker is a resource to keep up to date with what is going on in the radio world. They are actually transitioning their site as I write this blog so it may be a tad different in a couple of days. They are moving from a blogger powered site to a social media style site.
Twitter handle: @airchecker
Website: www.airchecker.ca or the old site is http://aircheckerradioindustry.blogspot.ca/

-Media Job Search Canada is a great resource with more extensive media listings.
http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/

-Major Canadian Radio Corporate Websites:
Astral
http://tbe.taleo.net/CH09/ats/careers/jobSearch.jsp?org=ASTRAL&cws=1

Bell Media
http://jobs.bce.ca/go/Jobs-with-Bell-Media/357957/

Corus
http://www.corusent.com/home/Corporate/Careers/tabid/1703/Default.aspx

The Jim Pattison Group
http://www.jimpattison.com/media/broadcast-group/careers.aspx

NewCap Radio
http://ncc.ca/careers.asp?mn=4

Rogers Radio
http://www.rogers.com/web/Careers.portal?_nfpb=true&_page=10_3&_pageLabel=C_CP

Vista Radio
http://www.vistaradio.ca/careers/

5 Tips To Help You/Your Station Establish A Social Media Presence

Here are a few general social  media tips I compiled while writing a blog about specific social media platforms. These tips should help you jump into the world of social media and better articulate how you want your station to be represented online as well as the experience you want your following to have.

General Social Media Tips

1. Ensure you have enough time to devote to your social media presence. Schedule your postings if you have to, many people start with a bang and fizzle out over time. Finding a balance of time to spend on your social media postings will help you stay away from filters that will block your content if you are posting too much. And, equally as important; it will help you keep followers. If your followers think you are not active, they may stop subscribing to your content. Find a balance that works for you and stick with it.

Some people consider social media a free resource for their business. Not true, to have a credible, well build presence you are going to have to invest a lot of time. Even if you do not spend a dime on web resources you will still be paying with time. If you are not willing to invest at least a few hours a week than you should keep away.

If you don't have a lot of time to spare and you insist on being visible through social media then stick to this age old advice, do a little and do it well. Pick one or two platforms and devote all of your social media time to them. Do not spread yourself thin over every platform you think you could use. If it takes off and proves to be worth your time, look at finding a way to monazite what you are doing and invest that money in social media growth. 

2. Keep tight reigns on who can contribute to your social media pages. Ensure your social media presence matches your brand outside of the world wide web. Only let people who understand your brand and how they can contribute to building your brand through social media use your account. Limit this to as few people as possible. Your on-air talent should have access to your station page, as well as management. I would also consider allowing access to someone who is on your events team, this way your team can attract listeners to their events themselves.

Update your passwords frequently, especially whenever someone is let go or you suspect too many people have access to your social media pages.

3.  Track your accounts progress, track your competitions social media progress as well. Keep tabs on how many followers or fans you have and how many other stations in your market have as well.  If you are unhappy with your following, look at what they are doing and
try to implement new elements in your social media strategy.

4. Let your followers know what you are doing. If you are out on the streets, let the world know! Take pictures, geo-tag posts; if your pressed for time you can link your accounts so that when you post to one of your accounts it crosses into your other accounts. We are an industry that is constantly looking for ways to make our content more accessible, social media is the ultimate tool to interact with our assets. It makes it even easier for radio to get one step farther from being passive entertainment to an interactive experience.

5. Make sure your social media strategy has your listeners in mind. Do your listeners want the latest Hollywood gossip or are they more interested in whats going on around town (or both)? You plan your show content and taylor it to them, make sure you plan your online content that way too. Think of your posts timing, give your listeners something to read on the school bus or the latest update in traffic right before they leave for work. Strategizing the timing of your posts is as important as scheduling their frequency. Its will someone read a 3am post vs. a 4pm post, know your listeners and cater to them.

Social media is even easier than being on-air, you don't have to worry about the clock to the minute. People will access in their own time, if they know you post traffic or weather updates at a specific time there is no threat of missing half of an update. Social media helps deliver on one of the things I hated most growing up, missing half a break or half a update. It gives listeners the chance to catch-up on something they missed. If you drive home your stations social media, your listeners will follow.*

*Never rely on social media, you still have to be able to deliver your on-air content well. Isolating your listenership that does not interact on social media can be devastating. Keep the important information and leave the extra details to the internet.

Infographic: 7 Great Tips To Help Grow Your Twitter Following

Twitter is a great resource for everyone in the radio industry, some producers have more followers than their talent.

Here are seven great tips from Wishpond about how to create an impressive following on your Twitter account.

A Great Video If You Use iMedia Touch

This video is a great introduction for using iMediaTouch. I wish I would have had it to watch before I started using this program!