It has never been easier to do all the cool stuff: Trevor Long #CBAAConf

“It has never been easier to do all the cool stuff,” Trevor Long has told the CBAA Conference in Queensland.

Despite all the great things about radio, it is limited by the fact that it is live, then it’s gone. “Technolgy has the power to change that,” said Long

“It’s not that radio is dying, it’s not, but there are new ways to make your content even more powerful.”

Think about your station’s website. Does it look good on a smart phone? Is it responsive? Stations need to be mobile ready to increase their place in google rankings and avoid annoying their audience, according to Long.

One of the most important things today is On Demand audio. “It is the coolest thing that we can do as an industry.

“I mean any piece of audio that did go to air and is then available to be listened to later, when I want to.

“Making your audio available for people to re-listen and to share can increase your audience.

The difference between on-demand audio and podcasts according to Long, is the subscription nature of podcasts.

“That can be good sometimes, but maybe I don’t want to subscribe to everything, maybe I am only interested in one thing.

“Your most engaged audience will subscribe to your audio, but occasional listeners will not, but if they see something on a social media stream and it interests them at that moment, they will consume it then.”

“Community radio stations are already hyperlocal, so you already own that audience,” says Long.

“Hyperlocal is the new niche. Your ability to own that audience today is so much more powerful.

“Use whatever social media you can, to share your content. That will help you be hyperlocal, to target the local audience that live in your area or share your community of interest, even if they have never heard of your radio station.”

One big issue that the radio industry should be talking about as an industry is how to get station audio into smart speakers, according to Long.

“Will Siri, Alexa or Google now how to find your station. How do you say your callsign, ahve you educated your listeners to say it that way. Are you the only Triple H station name? Will people say your callsign in the right way for google to find your audio feed?”