Most radio stations that have little to no activity on social media are in that position because they either have no local on-air talent left or they have local talent who refuse to post on the station feeds consistently. Which is unfortunate because that’s been part of the job for over two decades now at most radio groups. Now, in fact, it’s just one of the digital responsibilities today’s on-air talent should have. They should also all be blogging on the station website, creating video content and doing a podcast. But, even if talent are doing all of that, it's likely not enough content to compete digitally because of how little staff most stations have now. That’s why I encourage stations to supplement the content they create in-house with partnerships with outside creators and local influencers. Here’s how any station can do that regardless of format or market size.

Start with this simple and free strategy. Get on Instagram, search your town, see who’s creating content and how many followers they have, message them about doing something together and see who shows interest. Then repeat that process on TikTok, Facebook, Twitch and X. Remember, you do NOT have to have a million plus followers to be an influencer within a local area. It’s all proportional based on the size of the market. We’re just looking for people who have larger than average followings and/or people who are creating unique content that we can amplify on our platforms. Doing so creates a mutually beneficial relationship as long as each side knows what they’re getting in return.

Besides being a great way to reach potential new cume, partnering with influencers has multiple side benefits for radio stations. Influencers are a great way to tap into another under-utilized resource for content creation, getting our audience to create user generated content on our behalf. Pairing influencers with a contest or promotion specifically built to encourage listeners to create content is a powerful combination since they will lead by example. If managed properly those outside creators will also rub off on the staff, get their creative juices flowing and make them think of all different kinds of new content they can create for the station. Conversely though, if not managed properly it can have the reverse effect and cause the on-air talent to take the same ‘someone else is handling it’ attitude that many of them took when we all had one person in charge of our social feeds cranking out 80% or more of the content. 

One question I’m often asked is ‘Should a station every pay an influencer?’ Yes, there are absolutely circumstances where it makes sense to pay an influencer either because they have a very large local following that’s equivalent or better than other outside marketing we pay for or because they’re willing to tie into one of our sponsors who will underwrite it. There are multiple sites and agencies who can connect businesses to these kinds of influencers, Popular Pays and CreatorIQ are two that do that. For the most part though, I would start with influencers who are willing to partner in exchange for the on-air exposure and validity that comes with working with an established media brand.

What do you think? What experiences, good or bad, have you had partnering with influencers in your market? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.

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