Radio Stations and Audience Communication: Social Media Utilization and Listeners Interaction

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore how Greek radio stations utilize social media and Facebook in particular, and to look into factors that influence interaction with their audience. Twenty radio stations broadcasting from the two largest cities in Greece were selected according to their radio profile and number of followers. The duration of the study was two weeks, weekends included, with one month time lag between them. Results showed that the type of content seems to influence audience’s participation. Listeners had higher participation when they were reading information with content of their favourite radio broadcasting. Moreover, it was noticed that a specific time of the day might facilitate communication between radio stations and their listeners. Interaction patterns differ in relation to radio profile and radio stations broadcasting location. This paper represents a first attempt to investigate the ways Greek radio stations utilize social media to accomplish higher participation levels. An interaction index was introduced and used in order to better reflect radio station audience interaction. Given the relatively short observation period present these findings should be considered preliminary and exploratory. Longer data collection period combined with alternative social media such as Twitter, can provide a deeper understanding of the topic. Radio stations can utilize the present findings to develop a more effective strategy communication through social media.