Some people think that radio stations need to be all over the Internet right now. Others think we have some time.
Personally, I think yesterday is the best time to begin. But I also understand that as of today there is not a lot of revenue, but there is a lot of learning to be done. And because most of us in radio know far too little, we have to pay people to almost everything we think of regarding our Internet presence. That costs money.
But if you are an on-air personality, you are simply failing to manage your own career if you don't work every day to close the gap between what you know and what every 17 year old knows about and experiences on the Net.
Here are some suggested priorities. You can learn these things well. And it won't cost very much money:
Email. Obvious, right? So how much are you doing? Do you have a special "insiders" email address for your most loyal listeners? Do you have your own email where listeners can write and vent? Be creative. Different emails. Different purposes. Think of ways to make listeners feel special.
Skype. Be on it. Let your listeners know your Skype name. Use it like a telephone while you're on air. Programmers: Skype should be running all the time in the studio. Webcam? Yes. Skype is fully video-capable. Use it. Have you let somebody enter a contest via Skype rather than the phone? Why not?
MySpace. Have a page. You want to keep it updated with your favorite artists (who happen to be the ones that station research has told you your listeners also care about). You want to link to the station site and to other things you're doing. That includes your blog.
Blogging. Air talent = must blog. Really. Activate comments. Let your listeners participate in a big roundtable discussion about you, your show, how you're handling contests, what you should (or should not) have to say about the artists and songs. Offer opinions about new songs you're exposing. Let them tell you you're an idiot. Just keep them engaged. And yes, you'll need to police it. Have comments held up until you can approve them.
Facebook. Have a presence here as well. Lots of fun toys, including your wall. It can be more interactive than MySpace. Experiment. You'll learn from both Facebook and MySpace. And you'll connect with more listeners. And yes, it is perfectly okay to put the same thoughts in your blog, on your MySpace page and in Facebook.
Personal Website. Really want to be a brand? Really want to position yourself as a major personality? Create your own personal site in addition to your presence on the station site. Is this hard to do well? Yes! So don't necessarily start there. But, eventually, get there. Hey, it's only your career.
