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how radio can cash in on booming digital ad spending

How Radio Can Cash in On Booming Digital Ad Spending

September 12, 2019/in Industry News, Tech Trends /by Zena

With brands spending at record rates on mobile, digital audio, and digital video, radio stations can showcase their best products and add new offerings to grow revenue.

Here’s some good news for radio broadcasters: The digital ad market is surging and now is the time for local stations to cash in. Local radio companies have invested heavily in digital audio, mobile and digital video, positioning them to grab a larger share of digital ad dollars. Consumers are shifting their media time to mobile devices and that’s good for radio’s digital products.

Just how much money are we talking about?

  • U.S. marketers spent $28.4 billion on digital advertising in Q1 2019, up 18% from Q1 2018, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. 
  • The strong quarterly growth comes after a banner year in 2018, when digital ad sales jumped 22% to $104.7 billion, compared to 2017 levels. 
  • Mobile advertising spending doubled last year to $70 billion, compared to 2017 levels. 

As more consumers turn to their smartphones for entertainment, digital audio and video streaming are booming, and advertisers want to reach these audiences.  

  • Thanks to red-hot podcasting and digital streaming, brands are doubling-down on digital audio, spending $2.3 billion last year, up 23% from 2017’s $1.7 billion. 
  • Digital video is similarly growing at a breakneck pace, with ad spend up 37% in 2018 to $16.3 billion, compared to 2017.  

So what are the takeaways for broadcasters? Here are a few suggestions

Keep your mobile apps fresh

The best radio station mobile apps feature live streams, on-demand content, podcasts, and user-favorite features like contests. These are all key components to creating a positive mobile experience for your users. Make sure your mobile app is easy to use and continually revisit to explore new features and integrations. And don’t forget that with the growth of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and SDL, mobile apps compatible with these technologies are your ticket into the connected car in a meaningful way.

Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts

Your listeners and your advertising partners can’t get enough of podcasts, so focus on developing more original on-demand audio and make your broadcast content available for on-demand, time-shifted listening. Offer advertisers opportunities in your on-demand audio including exclusive sponsorship and even branded podcasts. 

Develop mobile ad opportunities

For local advertisers, offer mobile ad opportunities that go beyond banner ads. You can create branded content, including video and podcasts, and you can also offer sponsorships for popular sections of the app, such as weather or traffic. Lastly, make sure that your live stream quality is as strong as your over-the-air broadcasts to ensure users have a positive listening experience. Pre-roll, midroll, and post-roll video ads give local businesses a chance to get into digital video. Also, be sure to present podcast ad opportunities, these are a major growth area for digital audio.

Dig into digital video

Both users and marketers are clamoring for more digital video. Radio stations can shoot video in studio or in the community. Local events, sports and concerts all offer opportunities for video. There’s even opportunities to create video to accompany original podcasts. Local businesses can buy pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll video as standalone or in conjunction with audio spots. Radio can also produce branded video content for local advertisers, leveraging both their production and sales capabilities.

So how do you tackle all this to-do list? Futuri Media can help. 

  • Top-quality mobile apps: With Futuri Mobile, we can design mobile apps with custom features to showcase your best content and create an immersive mobile experience. Our apps are highly customizable; choose from one of three starting points and create a station app that has any of literally hundreds of customizations. 
  • Get into the video business — without derailing other parts of your business: To help time-strapped hosts and producers with content, we’ve added TopicPulse Instant Video. Subscribers can access dozens of videos daily, based on the day’s hottest topics that they easily can customize with their station branding and even their own PPM-encoded audio. Distribute these on your mobile, web, and social channels. And our POST podcasting system makes it incredibly simple to turn your audio into a video with a licensed image and a dynamic waveform designed to drive engagement. It’s a great way to take advantage of YouTube and other video sharing platforms for your audio content.

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By embracing mobile, digital audio, and digital video, your station can participate in the fast-growing digital and mobile ad boom, as well as bring more innovative and exclusive content to your audience. That’s a win-win for everyone. 

https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/digital-ad-blog.png 461 841 Zena https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/futuri-logo-.png Zena2019-09-12 11:39:062020-06-29 09:32:55How Radio Can Cash in On Booming Digital Ad Spending
broadcast-dialogue

Futuri Media Discusses Digital Strategy for Broadcasters with Broadcast Dialogue

May 14, 2019/in Tech Trends /by Zena

Our very own Jim Tarantine and Zena Burns spoke with Broadcast Dialogues‘s Connie Thiessen about Futuri’s recent studies on podcasting and time-shifted radio content, and how broadcasters can take advantage of the growing digital audio space. They use their discussion on this podcast to discuss in-depth and answer the question, “What if radio was created after the internet?”

The podcast is available to listen to at broadcastdialogue.com.

https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/broadcast-dialogue.png 461 841 Zena https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/futuri-logo-.png Zena2019-05-14 09:00:472020-05-27 12:18:18Futuri Media Discusses Digital Strategy for Broadcasters with Broadcast Dialogue
6 reasons your station needs a better audio strategy

Six Reasons Your Station Needs A Better Audio Strategy Now

May 6, 2019/in Tech Trends /by Zena

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.

****

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.

https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/audio-strategy-blog.png 461 841 Zena https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/futuri-logo-.png Zena2019-05-06 10:43:472020-06-29 09:36:50Six Reasons Your Station Needs A Better Audio Strategy Now
The Profound need for time-shifted audio for the radio business

New Study Shows Radio Can Significantly Benefit from Time-Shifting Content

April 4, 2019/in Industry News, Tech Trends /by Zena

The study concluded that there is a profound appetite for time-shifted radio content among radio listeners – notably, highly monetizable and younger audiences – and that opportunities are currently untapped as awareness of the availability of time-shifted radio content among listeners remains low.

A new study conducted by Futuri Media and Nielsen, “The Profound Need for Time-Shifted Radio Content for the Radio Business,” finds that time-shifting content, which revolutionized the TV industry years ago, now offers major opportunities for the radio industry, with high consumer interest, but low consumer awareness.

As noted in a piece in Inside Radio, “Conducted by Nielsen and Futuri Media, the study finds that half of respondents say they will listen to time-shifted audio while a high percentage are willing to share audio content they access on social media channels with their friends.” More key takeaways from the extensive study, which had a sample comprised of 602 individuals that listened to radio content for at least one hour over the past week. include:

  • More than half of radio listeners 18+ would listen to short audio clips on social media. Among that group, nearly 8 in 10 would listen to time-shifted clips of radio station content.
  • Younger audiences and heavy radio users, leaning male, are the sweet spot for time-shifted radio content.
  • Station websites and mobile apps matter as much as social media.
  • Listeners who are interested in time-shifted radio content want to interact with your station.
  • P1s engage with time-shifted radio content even when not listening.
  • Radio has yet to actualize its potential in the time-shifted space.

The study also found that stations using Futuri’s podcasting, on-demand, and digital audio management system, POST, to produce time-shifted radio content see higher ratings and revenue than non-users. A Nielsen analysis of minute-level PPM data compared against POST server logs shows that AM/FM outlets who produce time-shifted radio content using POST get 3x more time-shifted listening on average within 24 hours of the original broadcast than stations not using POST. This number goes up to 8.4x higher time-shifted minutes for listeners aged 18-49 and 5.4x for the 25-54 range.

A complete white paper on the study, which includes more key takeaways, insights developed from the survey data, and tips on developing a strong time-shifting strategy, is available for free download at futurimedia.com/timeshiftedaudio.

https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/time-shiftedaudio-blog.png 461 841 Zena https://futurimedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/futuri-logo-.png Zena2019-04-04 07:48:202020-06-29 09:22:39New Study Shows Radio Can Significantly Benefit from Time-Shifting Content
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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.

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