• by Chris , October 4, 2010

I was in a radio vocational program during my senior year of high school. It was one of the best experiences I had during my entire four years. Every day I went and I was on the air for two hours and I worked in production for the other hour. This experience has even changed the way I listen to radio today. I listen for two things: the DJ and contests. Contests are my favorite because I get a rush from winning a pair of tickets to a concert I really want to see.

The whole idea behind a contest on a radio station is to get the listeners to listen for an extended period of time, allowing them to hear more of the advertisements purchased by local and national businesses. I noticed recently my local radio station was announcing on Facebook and Twitter details about their contests. I thought this was a brilliant idea, but then I started to do a little more thinking. My local radio station took away the suspense of not knowing when to call into the station to win. Instead, all I had to do to win was wait until it was posted on Facebook and turn my radio on at the last second, missing all of the commercials.

Is the use of social media actually hurting radio stations instead of helping them gain listeners? I believe the answer is no. I think the case I mentioned above is just a lapse of judgment on the part of my local station. Social media can effectively promote contests, events, and even businesses if used properly. One of my favorite parts about radio is the suspense. If you take away the surprise of what song, contest, or commercial is next, then I think you lose the entertainment value of radio all together.

Radio stations have fully embraced social media and I believe most of them are using it to their advantage, instead of their destruction. There are a few exceptions, but overall I think social media is a good thing for radio. Without it, I think that radio may have been stuck in the past without a chance to make it into the 21st century.