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Mobile

The 5 Ways You’re Missing Out Without A Station Mobile App

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By Scott Lindy, Futuri Partner Success Team

We’re all aware of the massive increase in the percentage of people working from their homes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. What you may have missed, is the recent Nielsen data that shows that adult consumers aged 18+ streaming audio on smartphones increased from 50% every week in Q1 of 2019 to 64% in Q2 of 2020. Of course, that data counts podcasting as well as broadcast radio.

What that data doesn’t take into account is radio stations without their own mobile app. We know that a listener can get to your website via mobile phone or web browser to stream your station, and your stream might be available on an aggregator. But hey, if they’re willing to work that hard to hear your content on their mobile phone, why not give them that and more with a station-branded mobile app?

Without a station mobile app, here’s just some of what you’re missing besides the opportunity to get your audio streaming into the hands of listeners.

Getting Your Brand Into Connected Cars
Yeah, it’s a brave new world created by Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Although many consumers are unfamiliar with how a mobile app works in a connected car, if they have one, user adoption has started. The race is on! Your listeners’ acceptance and growth of these platforms will only grow and move faster in the coming months and years. If your mobile app can’t get your brand and content onto connected car screens right now, be prepared to play catch up for a long time. Your station’s image grows when you’re able to promote your app’s availability for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — don’t forget about the real estate your brand gets on the connected dash when you have your own app! — but it’s also critical to remember that this is a new tech space for users. Hold their hand and make it easy for them to launch your app in their car. Creating fun videos and graphics with simple to follow instructions that listeners can easily find on your app is a must. Can your app do that? It should.

Mobile Access to On-Demand Audio and Podcasts
Recent industry studies show that nearly two-thirds of all on-demand audio is listened to on a mobile device. That means radio personalities who regularly create podcasts could possibly achieve their full potential of reach and growth by making their episodes available on major platforms like Apple Podcasts or Spotify but at what cost to your station’s brand? Your station’s mobile app should be the single most promoted destination and point of access for the on-demand audio you generate. In this case, no station app equals diminishing brand awareness amongst podcast listeners. A trend difficult to reverse.

Mobile Data!
Usage of mobile devices is far different and usually more frequent than desktop and laptop computers. Tracking your users most frequently used features in your app allows you to shape your strategy for how you’ll generate and promote in-app content and provide data to clients for premium advertising spaces. Tracking everything from pre-roll video views, notification click-throughs and contest entries to on-demand plays, custom features and exclusive ‘in-app only’ content is just the beginning of understanding what your station’s fans like about your app and how you can get yours in front of a bigger audience with the right message.

Generating Revenue
You’re giving up revenue streams that continue to grow at a record pace by not offering mobile streaming audio and video pre-roll. With a mobile app, you can easily display advertising within your apps’ most frequented pages and features, and you can sell naming rights to different sections, and/or the app itself. Mobile advertising assets for a client can also include on-air mentions, website presence, and social media posts. But wait, there’s more! Think of the advertising opportunities made possible within app-exclusive content like exclusive on-demand audio, push notifications, weather alerts, app only contesting, and in-app alerts. Without a mobile app, your station leaves significant listener engagement opportunities on the table and the revenue that goes with it. Bonus: you keep 100% of the revenue you generate.

Going Beyond Your Music Stream With Cool App Features
If there’s anything we can all relate to, it’s those three or four apps we find ourselves using more than the others. When your radio station has a mobile app, you have the opportunity to build a digital bridge that stretches the palm of your fan’s hands to the personalities and music they love on your station. There’s a growing number of things you can only do with a mobile app to build connections with your fans. Features like Futuri Mobile’s Open Mic, which lets users record and share their voices on the air. In-app Flash Contesting from Futuri Mobile was created just for mobile users — say goodbye to caller 9 contests, which are a terrible experience for everyone except caller 9! Push notifications that speak to the targeted content you know your listeners want like weather and traffic alerts, new music about to play on the air, exclusive interviews only available (or available first) in the app. Whatever your listeners love the most about your station can become bigger and more personal to your fans when you use mobile app features in ways only your brand’s creative team can dream up.

No station app means diminishing brand awareness among podcast listeners — and that’s a trend difficult to reverse. Get started now, with Futuri Mobile, by filling out the form below.



Audience Engagement Usage

Audience Engagement Tech Usage Skyrockets As Radio Continues to Work from Home

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Futuri’s cloud-based technology sees record usage amid shifts in working and listening behavior.

New data from Futuri shows that usage of their audience engagement technology, designed to make it easy for broadcast teams to work remotely and reach listeners wherever they are, has seen huge growth as so many continue to work remotely amid COVID-19 disruptions.

Futuri, which was just named to the Inc 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for the seventh consecutive year, compared product usage data from the four-month period prior to mid-March coronavirus disruptions to the four-month period since.

TopicPulse: The AI-driven show prep, story discovery, and social content system has seen a 61% increase in user sessions. The spike in TopicPulse usage, which uses AI to identify which topics and angles that resonate with a specific local audience, was largely tied to content focused on how local communities are responding to coronavirus-related topics.

POST: As radio adjusts to changing listener habits, podcasting and audio-on-demand production system POST has seen a 27% increase in usage. Much of that growth is driven by stations using its web-based logger feature to help easily time-shift live content, which enables brands to reach and monetize audiences who now operate on a different schedule. Users are also increasing use of video functionality, using POST to instantly convert any audio segment into a video post for social.

Futuri Streaming: Total listening hours have increased 41% across the group of stations that use Futuri’s streaming product as listeners whose normal routines have been disrupted seek new ways to listen to their favorite stations.

Other Futuri solutions designed to support distributed teams, like sales intelligence system TopLine, have seen double-digit growth since the onset of COVID-19 disruptions.

“We work with thousands of broadcasters, and the creativity and ingenuity we’re seeing as teams more deeply embrace technology like ours is inspiring,” said Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig. “Sales and content leaders who adapt to new ways of working productively and reaching audiences and buyers with the right content at the right time will continue to thrive moving forward.”

Stations interested in a complimentary consultation with Futuri on their productivity and distribution strategies can schedule one by filling out the form below.



It’s Go Time for Podcasting

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By Gale Parmelee, Futuri Partner Success Team

You likely started off 2020 with much optimism both personally and professionally.  I don’t think any of us planned to be in the midst of a global pandemic by the second quarter but nonetheless that’s what happened and here we are.  COVID-19 disrupted everything from the toilet paper supply chain thanks to “panic buying” to how people consumed media on a daily basis.  But with every challenge, there is opportunity!

Long before the Coronavirus was a household name, the term podcasting had already cemented its place in modern media consumption.  According to the Infinite Dial 2020 study from Edison Research and Triton, an estimated 212 million people 12+ were clearly familiar with the term podcasting and an estimated 155 million people 12+ had actually listened to podcast content.  Then the quarantine and lockdown orders hit.  What happened next?  Share of Ear data shows us that podcasting’s share of listening jumped 26% from first-quarter reports.  At the same time, there’s no question that COVID-19 disrupted the listening habits of traditional AM/FM radio across the country.  Some stations benefited tremendously from this shift while others found themselves in uncharted waters.  

The big takeaway is this, there’s never been a more perfect time to take the on-air content you already produce daily and instantly turn it into “on-demand” listening to meet the needs of your audience.  We’ve seen many radio stations in markets of all sizes across the country adjust their dayparts to accommodate new listening habits brought about by the pandemic, like working from home and no longer commuting in the car, being laid off or not shuttling kids to school or daycare, just to name a few.  I’ve had several air talent and programmers over the past few months share stories of listeners who would call in or message them saying things like “I miss hearing you guys in the morning” or siting a specific benchmark they loved to listen to but because their life changed they were not tuning in at the same time anymore and missing their favorite segments.  That’s a great example of how “on-demand” or “podcasting” can be your best friend right now and in the future! 

Let’s look at a morning show for example.  Everyone has those strong benchmarks that speak to appointment listening.  You put in many hours of prep, and in some cases production, each week to make those moments stand out on the air.  Then 7:20 am comes, you knock it out of the park in two and a half minutes, and then it’s all over.  Gone.  But does it have to be?  The good news is no!  Grab that audio and repackage it into a podcast.  Two things immediately happen that will impact your ratings and digital numbers. 

One, for PPM markets, Nielsen will give your station credit for PPM encoded timeshifted listening over the next 24 hours.  Not a PPM market?  There’s still a strong reason to share your content in podcast form, brand recall.  For diary markets that rely on listeners writing down your brand, podcast, and on-demand content aid in the recall of your radio station. 

Two, digital growth.  Pushing those full segments to your website and highlighting the best snippets from those segments on your social media channels, will extend your brand and garner more clicks from your station’s fan base.  In the vein of extending your brand, the current situation we’re in has also opened the door of opportunity when it comes to custom podcasts beyond what you’ve done over the air.  If you’re a news station, you could create a special in-depth podcast series on business recovery as we slowly emerge from the pandemic.  Music stations could help local musicians and venues who have been hit hard by the lack of live performances and miss their audiences by creating music podcasts that highlight a different artist each week.  This could be a combination of live performance/interview segment. 

Matter of fact, if you use a system like Futuri’s POST, you’ll have the ability to add a video component to that as well that will shine when it hits your social channels and website.  Talk about bringing together your station’s fanbase with that of the local/regional music scene!   Of course, in addition to the audience engagement you get from these efforts, there is a monetary component your GSM or digital sales team will love.  

We’ve all become accustomed to the phrase “the new normal.”  It doesn’t have to be a negative term when it comes to radio and overall media in general.  You can turn that into an opportunity today!  Keep in mind too that Smart Speakers have essentially placed “radios” back into homes that have not had actual radios for years, hitting a new record high in share, increasing 40%.  The best part is, they are not only perfect for streaming, but for listening to podcasts as well.  I recently heard an interview with a restaurant owner who said: “forget thinking out of the box, it’s time for a whole new box!”  Like broadcasting, the hospitality industry has been faced with big challenges since March.  This particular restaurateur was spending less time on the “doom and gloom” angle and more time on what opportunities have presented themselves for his business.  Perhaps we should do the same?  Toss out that old box, and start fresh.  Pay attention to our consumers, where are they?  What do they crave?  How have their lives changed and how can we deliver content to them on their own schedule?  I think it’s safe to say that we are never going back to the normal we knew in January 2020.  So let’s get excited, blaze new trails, adapt to change, and continue to enhance the lives of millions that are informed, entertained, laugh, and cry with us every day.  What segment did you do on the air today that will become a podcast right now?  It all starts with one.  Deliver awesome, on-demand content that is ready to be enjoyed when your fans are ready to enjoy it, with Futuri. They’ll thank you for it.

 

3 ways radio brands can build audience and revenue with podcasting

3 Ways Radio Brands Can Build Audience and Revenue with Podcasting 

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We all know the stats: audio consumption has never been higher, and that makes it even more critical for radio brands to have a strong podcasting strategy. The popularity of podcasts, both original podcasts and your time-shifted key content being made available on-demand, continues to grow—particularly as listeners and creators find themselves stuck at home in quarantine. Using podcasts and audiograms are an excellent way for radio brands to recycle their brand across multiple platforms (especially social) to build brand audience and loyalty, and keep your fans engaged 24/7.

But as we also all know, efforts that don’t drive real audience and revenue growth can sometimes turn a high priority into a nice to have. Fortunately, Futuri Media has a suite of tools that make it easy to podcast with purpose. 

1. Schedule or Work from ANYWHERE.

The entire world is adjusting to our new need for more work-at-home (and in some cases, broadcast-from-home) options, which can be challenging for radio stations that are used to creating and scheduling all of their content in-studio.

But, thanks to Futuri’s POST, your station can have a single system solution to manage and publish original podcasts from wherever you want. If you’re struggling with bandwidth or staffing reductions, POST will save you time, it’s work-at-home-friendly, and it gives you the flexibility your station needs right now. POST lets you easily publish and schedule publishing content without neglecting your advertisers or leaving your distribution channels asleep at the wheel. 

Speaking of being asleep, publishing content around the clock to stay top of mind with your audience doesn’t mean you actually have to work around the clock. Especially if you find yourself performing as the one-man-content-creation-band with your stations, be sure to lean on the POST Episode Scheduler function, which can help you manage the flow and content delivery to your social platforms. POST also makes it simple to create a video file of your podcast or export it to your station website, RSS feed, social accounts, or wherever else you need it. 

Keep publishing that content consistently and you’re in a great position to take advantage of the growth in audio consumption driven by adults working from home. Here’s an overview from Futuri’s TopLine, which uses data-rich insights to help sales professionals articulate the unique value of their audience to advertisers. 

 

  

2. Become the Next Great At-Home Content Creator.

One of the most exciting aspects of the current podcast boom is how many content-creation opportunities it opens up BEYOND the actual podcast itself.

Think of the creators who are killing it right now when it comes to connecting with their fans. They’re creating original podcasts, videos, and even whole shows from the comfort of their own home. Creating a plan that pairs POST, with its video creation capabilities, with live platforms like Instagram Live allows your entire team to do the exact same thing.

And we’re not just talking about publishing videos of your talent recording their shows. Does your team have talents that could inspire content to engage audiences that are working from home and/or sheltering in place? Maybe they’re amazing at cooking or know everything about wine, the golden age of a sports team with an upcoming anniversary, or music? (Speaking of which, a recent Futuri / University of Florida study of country radio listeners who have listened to a podcast in the last month named music as their favorite podcast topic genre [more on that here]. For most stations, chances are your team really knows how to talk about music!)

POST gives you the tools you need to create original podcast series or videos—right from home—and allows you to share your knowledge with others, grow YOUR brand, tie it back to your radio station, and create new revenue streams for both you and your station brands. 

This is a great time to be thinking through branded content that’s a programming fit and a home run for advertisers as well. That wine expert on staff? How about a podcast series done in conjunction with a local wine shop? Have a fitness junkie who’s adjusting to not being able to hit the gym? Why not develop a series around working out at home with a local gym doing virtual training sessions? These are excellent ways to grow your brand’s audience while capitalizing on growing audio ad spending. Here’s another overview from TopLine that breaks that down.

 

 

3. Engage and Educate Your Audience.

One of the great things about POST’s content tools is that they’re easy for anyone to use. In minutes, you can create a simple podcast or video designed to get your audio on platforms like YouTube, or you can spend a little more time using its advanced tools to create visually engaging, content-rich videos for your socials and website.

So why not take advantage of those robust tools for the good of your workforce and your community during the pandemic?

You can maximize the productivity of your newly remote employees by providing them with content creation tools that allow them to publish daily video and audio content on your website, social channels, Spotify, or wherever else you want to engage your audience. (And they don’t even need to put on pants!)

Or, if you’re looking to help your community during the COVID-19 crisis, your station can utilize POST to create free online classes in partnership with local schools or universities. You can help educate your listeners with on-demand content, grow enrollment in nearby educational programs, and even use these opportunities to generate revenue at the station level.

It’s good for you, good for your staff, and good for your audience. That’s win-win-win!

Radio stations are adjusting to the world’s “new normal” just like everyone else. Thankfully, with tools like POST and the rest of Futuri Media’s software solutions, you can create better, more engaging content from the comfort of your own home in a way that makes sense for your listeners and your revenue growth.

You can learn more about POST and everything Futuri can do for your station HERE.

 

6 reasons your station needs a better audio strategy

Six Reasons Your Station Needs A Better Audio Strategy Now

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Audio is the “it” media of the moment and radio stations are primed to be the go-to source for all audio – from on-air to on-demand to podcasts. AM/FM stations are experts in high-quality, local audio and feature charismatic hosts who connect with listeners and feel like trusted friends. These ingredients make for great radio, as well as time-shifted audio and podcasts, allowing more listeners to find content they like and to listen on their schedules.

Time-shifted audio and podcasts can attract new audiences, generate incremental revenue, and increase brand engagement.  How much upside is there? According to a new study by Futuri and Nielsen, about 80% of radio listeners said they would listen to time-shifted radio content. Podcast listening is booming as well. In a survey of podcast listeners, the University of Florida and Futuri found that, on average, podcast users listen to 4 podcasts per week for either 30 or 60 minutes.

Despite radio’s built-in advantages, many stations are missing out on on-demand audio’s potential. Still need convincing? Here are six reasons why your station should dive into time-shifting and podcasting:

You can leverage content you’re already creating   

Stations produce hours of programming, but once the live broadcast is over that content is history. By posting segments to your website or social media for future listening, you can extend the life of your audio.  Hosts can take bite-sized snippets of popular benchmarks or post segments that might be too long for radio such as an interview with musicians or local personalities. Either way, fans can listen on their own time and you’re expanding the reach of your content and brand.

Time-shifted audio can expand your social media reach

By posting radio segments across social media your station can attract more users and extend engagement. In fact, more than half of radio listeners say they’d listen to short, time-shifted radio segments on social media, per the Futuri and Nielsen study. Users who tune into time-shifted audio are also more likely to share that content on their own social accounts, the report noted. Radio content can also be posted to podcast platforms like Apple and Spotify, as well as YouTube. To boost engagement consider adding photos, video, and station branding. These are all things made super easy by our software POST.

Younger listeners gravitate to on-demand audio

Younger Americans consume audio when and where they want on their digital devices. Time-shifted audio and podcasts cater to these preferences and can help stations connect with elusive young adults and male listeners. In fact, the Futuri and Nielsen study showed men 18 to 34 years-old were most interested in time-shifted radio programming. The University of Florida and Futuri podcast study also noted that self-identified podcast listeners (meaning those who consider themselves to be podcast listeners, whether or not “true” series-style podcasts or other on-demand audio — consumers often don’t differentiate) tend to be younger audiences who overwhelmingly listen on mobile devices. Podcast listeners are also educated, with about half holding a college degree, the study noted.

Grow your owned digital platforms

With original podcasts and time-shifted audio, you can use your content to populate your websites and mobile apps, increasing the value of these channels. By driving more traffic to your owned platforms, your sales team can leverage increased audience to generate more ad revenue. About 80% of podcast users listen via mobile devices, according to the University of Florida and Futuri study, creating added incentive to post content to your website and mobile app.

Digital audio can grow your ratings

Digital content is obviously important for developing new and creative opportunities for your partners to advertise, but when time-shifted audio is PPM-encoded and distributed quickly, it can have a positive impact on your ratings. Stations receive PPM credit for any listening within 24 hours of the content’s initial broadcast. Also, according to the Futuri and Nielsen study, almost half of listeners who have accessed your time-shifted content will share it on their social media channels, easily broadening your station’s reach and impact. POST software is integrated directly with your station’s board and specifically designed to directly capture your PPM-encoded audio for easy use on all digital platforms.

Strengthen your position as local experts and trusted friends  

Radio listeners value AM/FM stations for their local expertise and their familiarity with hosts and DJs. Similarly, podcast listeners value hosts who are knowledgeable and trusted sources of information. Who better than radio personalities to extend those talents to podcasting? Hosts can take topics they are passionate about and create podcasts thereby creating a new community of listeners. Stations can also produce audio around off-air activities to give listeners more access to engage more deeply.

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Once you’re creating and posting time-shifted audio, make sure to promote it on-air. The Futuri and Nielsen study found that only three out of ten radio listeners were familiar with time-shifted audio, and only 16% have listened in the last month. This leaves a lot of room to raise awareness and educate audiences.     

At Futuri, we’ve developed tools to help radio stations create on-demand content quickly and easily. Our POST podcasting and on-demand management system allows hosts and producers to grab PPM-encoded audio segments and seamlessly post them to social media and online channels. Nielsen reported that stations that use POST attracted three times more time-shifted listening within 24 hours of the original broadcast than other stations, and those numbers were even higher among the key 18 to 49 years-old demographic.

With POST, you can add licensed images and graphics, as well as station branding and text to make your audio segments stand out. Basic, station-branded video and the ability to send content to YouTube is now included with POST, but for videos that really stand out with high-quality, fully-licensed clips and images customized directly to your audio our premium POST Video features are an absolute necessity. In the race to attract listeners, promote sharing and go viral, speed and appearance are what matter.

By embracing on-demand audio, stations can move beyond focusing on day parts and shows and focus on content distributed on multiple platforms. In the race to stay ahead of pure play audio companies and other local media outlets, these strategies are crucial.

Scott Lindy

Scott Lindy joins Futuri Media’s Partner Success team

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Longtime radio programmer brings his talents to Futuri

Veteran programmer Scott Lindy has joined the Partner Success team at Futuri Media. In his new role, Lindy will work with Futuri’s radio partners to devise station-specific strategies for using the company’s audience engagement technology, like POST, TopicPulse, and #engage, to drive ratings and revenue growth.

Lindy, most recently Program Director at Cumulus Media’s country WKHX Kicks 101.5 Atlanta and Cumulus corporate Program Director, adds his more than 30 years programming experience to Futuri’s Partner Success team. In addition to Cumulus, he’s held programming positions at companies including iHeartMedia and SiriusXM Radio, and he’s served on the boards of directors for several industry organizations, including the Country Music Association and Country Radio Broadcasters.

“I’ve been a fan of Daniel Anstandig since the day we met,” said Lindy of the Futuri Media CEO. “I’m so excited to join the talented team and invigorating culture he’s built here, and to help our partners best use Futuri’s truly innovative technology solutions to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.”

post

Podcasting Plus: Futuri Media’s POST System Adds Logger Capabilities to Podcasting and On-Demand Tools

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Latest product enhancement uses POST’s patented technology to make airchecking talent and pulling other audio assets easy.

Cleveland, Ohio, September 28, 2018 – Futuri Media, a global leader in technology designed to drive audience and revenue growth for broadcasters, today announced POST, the leading system for instantly converting broadcast content into podcast and on-demand content and distributing across multiple platforms, has added logger capabilities to its feature set.

Thanks to POST’s complete integration with a station’s audio-chain and board, the system identifies different types of breaks, so talent or producers can quickly grab the segment they’d like to push out – audio that’s PPM-encoded in relevant markets – add a fully-licensed image right from the system, and push out onto its websites and social platforms with one click.

Now, POST can also be used as a logger, making it easy for programmers to aircheck talent from anywhere in the world by logging into POST’s web interface. This new enhancement also enables programmers with regional and/or format-specific responsibilities to access all of their POST stations from a single login. A new, streamlined UI also makes it easier for sales teams to pull proof of performance assets from the system.

“POST is a fully-integrated on-demand and podcasting system that maximizes the ROI on broadcast programming in the on-demand space,” said Futuri Media CEO Daniel Anstandig. “By taking advantage of POST’s complete system integration to make logger capabilities available to programmers, as well as making it easier for sales to pull proof of performance assets, POST becomes an even more integral part of today’s radio brand’s daily operations and growth.”

For more on POST by Futuri Media, visit futurimedia.com/POST.

ABOUT FUTURI MEDIA

Futuri Media is a global leader in SaaS technology designed to drive audience and revenue growth by deepening consumers’ trust in, affinity for, and loyalty to brands and the teams who represent them. Futuri Media’s audience engagement and sales technology, for which it holds 11 published or pending patents in 151 countries, is used by thousands of broadcasters and publishers worldwide. Named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s fastest-growing private companies for four consecutive years, Futuri Media’s best-in-class customer support is a key driver of its growth. Founded by CEO Daniel Anstandig in 2009, Futuri Media is dedicated to driving measurable success for its partners through innovative SaaS technology, proactivity, speed, and trust in all of its relationships.

 

Podcast Reach Blog

How Podcasting Can Reach an Audience of 100 million

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To boost engagement, broadcasters and digital publishers need to educate consumers

The biggest hurdle to growing podcasting may be helping consumers understand exactly what a podcast is and how to find it.

New data from Edison Research notes that 64% of Americans, of 180 million people, say they’ve heard of podcasts, up from just 22% in 2006, but only 17%, or 48 million, have ever listened. That leaves a lot of room for improvement.

“The number of people who actually listened to a podcast in the last week is significantly smaller than those who are familiar with the term,” Edison said. “The key…is understanding why those people familiar with the term ‘podcasting’ have never listened.”

With producers and podcasters’ help, Edison estimates that podcasting can attract 100-million listeners, a critical threshold to be considered mainstream media.

What are the biggest obstacles to growth? The answer is surprisingly simple: Many Americans don’t understand how to find and stream podcasts, while others have misconceptions, like thinking podcasting will eat up a user’s data plan.  Among those who don’t listen to podcasts, 37% said they don’t really understand what podcasting is, while 48% said they weren’t sure how to listen; while 65% say there are so many podcasts, they don’t even know where to begin.

With high-quality and engaging shows for every niche and interest imaginable, the podcast industry is booming. More advertisers are signing on to the medium and local broadcasters are upping their podcast game, launching new shows and adapting on-air content for podcasting.

To grow the audience, local broadcasters can spread the word, offering tips on where to find podcasts and how to stream, and regularly promoting their podcasts. Use on-air promo time to discuss podcasts and post regularly on popular social media channels. On-air talent can promote their podcasts or talk about their own favorites, then remind listeners how to find their own unique content. Providing the early podcast education is critically important and here’s why: in the recent Edison study, most Americans don’t know that 80% of smartphones are preloaded with a podcast listening app such as Apple Podcast.

At Futuri Media, a global provider of SaaS technology for broadcasters and digital publishers,  our platforms make it quick and easy to create on-demand content for podcasting, and to share that content across all media channels.

Our POST system makes it virtually effortless to produce podcasts for both Android and iOS devices.

“POST is extremely flexible for editing and including OTA or original content,” said Sophie Fry, Futuri’s SVP, Sales. “With POST, we can help broadcasters create, edit, craft, and distribute whatever programming content and advertiser sponsorship platforms the station desires.”

POST provides:

  • In-studio, touch-screen system so hosts and producers to quickly and easily capture audio and convert it into podcasts.
  • Ad-insertion, allowing stations to deliver custom messaging inside podcasts.
  • Easy distribution to multiple digital channels, including Facebook, Instagram, station websites, and more – with fully licensed images available to attach to podcast content to make it even more discoverable.

For high-quality streaming, Futuri Streaming, provides the best-in-class streaming experience available on the market today. And, with our custom-built Alexa skills, we can incorporate your podcasts for playback on any Alexa-enabled device.

Want to learn more about how we can help grow your podcast production and sales? Contact your Futuri Media partner or reach us here.

People at the beach jumping for joy

Summer is the Time to Drive Digital Engagement

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Consumers turn to digital in the summer more than any other time of year. Engage your audience across all digital platforms using technologies proven to boost both audience engagement and revenue.

This summer, as more Americans stream audio in cars, on smart speakers, Bluetooth devices, and smartphones, online audio is primed to be more popular than ever. For radio broadcasters, this equals new opportunities to engage with audiences and attract advertisers.

In recent years, online listening for both radio broadcasters and pure play services has been booming. About 57% of Americans, or 160-million users, are streaming digital audio weekly, up from 53% last year and just 17% in 2010, according to the latest “Infinite Dial” report created by Edison Research. The average listener consumes more than 13.5 hours of digital audio per week, including music, spoken word formats, and podcasts.

In-car digital audio is also rising in popularity, 44% of consumers listening in-car, up from 40% in 2017 and 21% in 2013, Edison reported.

Meantime, radio stations are working to maximize new revenue streams from digital platforms. Last year, radio digital ad revenue jumped 13.4% to $700-million and is expected to reach nearly $800 million this year, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau and Borrell Associates. On a per station level, digital accounts for 7.5% of the average station’s ad revenues, up from 6.3% last year.

At Futuri Media, a global leader in SaaS software for broadcasters, our solutions make it simple to create, distribute and share content across digital platforms, and to produce and integrate ads for digitals channels.

Futuri Streaming delivers the finest-quality streaming audio to your mobile app and web player through our reliable system and comes with 24/7, VIP support.

Our team can create a custom mobile app just for your station. Optimize mobile with Futuri Mobile, our app platform that boasts more than 50 customizable features, including contests, push notifications, audio and video streaming, and more.  

POST, our exclusive content delivery and management system, enables on-air talent and producers to easily create digital content, including podcasts. The in-studio, touch-screen system makes it simple to grab and upload content for digital and on-demand listening, and to create exclusive digital audio.  

To help monetize digital, POST’s audio is PPM encoded, which enables broadcasters to measure their digital listening in the same ratings system as on-air audiences. POST also offers ad-insertion to create custom messages for podcasts and digital audio.

With #engage, our interactive programming tools, stations can keep up with trending topics. Our customized actions, including song alerts, text and email notifications, push alerts, and song voting, boost mobile and social engagement. Stations can sync social posts to song lists.  

Our custom-built Alexa skills can deliver your content, promotions and ads to Alexa-powered smart speakers.

Keep up with your audience’s trending chatter with TopicPulse, a real-time monitoring system that tracks the stories of interest to your listeners and provides fodder for on-air, online and social posts.

Let us help you be the soundtrack for the summer. Contact your Futuri Media partner rep or contact us here.

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Google Play Dials Up Podcasts for Android Users

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Futuri podcast tools can boost engagement on Google Podcast

After a lengthy wait, Google is finally jumping into the podcast space – and its new app could be a game-changer. The tech giant’s Google Podcast app will allow the more than 100 million Android users in the U.S. to stream on-demand content simply by downloading the free app.
 
Google Podcast will offer personalized recommendations, easy-to-to-use search and navigation, and integration with other Google apps and devices, including Google Assistant and Google Home. Also, in a first, podcasts will appear in Google search results.
 
The debut comes as podcast listening is skyrocketing, as nearly 50-million Americans report listening to a podcast in a single week, according to the Edison Research study “Infinite Dial 2018.” Podcast listeners are avid users with the average listener streaming five shows per week, and more than three-quarters finish most, if not all of a single podcast, including advertisements and promotional messaging.
 
At the same time, advertisers are clamoring to jump into the podcasting space, creating enviable revenue projections.  Podcast ad revenue is expected to eclipse $650-million in 2020, up from $402-million this year, per the IAB and PwC.
 
Just how big an impact could Google Podcast have on the podcast industry? 
Consider this:  
 
  • Android is the leading operating system for mobile devices worldwide with a 69.8% market share, compared to 28.2% for Apple iOS. *Net Marketshare May 2018
  • Android boasts 117-million U.S. smartphone users, or 53.2% market share, while Apple has 97.2-million iPhone users or a 44.2% share. *eMarketer 2018
  • Android is expected to dominate smartphone usage through 2020. *eMarketer  2018. 
Until now, Google had made podcasts available in its Google Play Music app, which limited the audience and discovery. Technology rival Apple, meanwhile, launched its podcast app in 2014 and is widely credited with bringing podcasts mainstream.  
 
For its part, Google claims its new app can double podcasting listening over the next few years.  “Google Podcasts is designed to make it easier than ever for Android users to discover and listen to podcasts,” explained Zack Reneau-Wedeen, Product Manager –  Google Podcasts.
 
Google plans to use its AI technology to make content accessible to non-native speakers and people with disabilities. For instance, as voice technology improves, Google plans to add automatic subtitling for users with hearing impairments or listening in loud spaces. Also, using Google Translate technology, the company could add subtitles to podcasts in numerous languages, allowing users to read along while listening. 
 
At Futuri Media, a global leader in SaaS technology for broadcasters, we believe Google Podcast will allow our broadcast partners to deliver their dynamic on-demand content to more engaged listeners and grow their audience.
 
Our POST system makes it effortless to produce podcasts for both Android and iOS devices.  The in-studio, touch-screen system allows hosts and producers to quickly and easily capture audio and convert it into podcasts.
 
Transcription is also available to maximize search results and provides unlimited access to a fully-licensed image library.  POST is designed to drive ratings and revenue with its PPM encoded transmitter enabling broadcasters to measure their digital listening in the same rating system as on-air audiences. POST also offers ad-insertion, allowing stations to deliver custom messaging inside podcasts.
 
Ready to hear how Futuri Media and POST can boost your podcasting? Contact Futuri Media here.
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Futuri is the leading provider of cloud-based audience engagement software for the enterprise. Brands rely on Futuri to make their content more relevant, accessible, engaging, and results-driven. Founded in 2009, Futuri holds 11 published or pending patents in 151 countries. Named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for seven consecutive years, Futuri is the only audience engagement platform that includes solutions for sales, marketing, and content teams.