Part one in a series:

BY KURT HANSON
Today is going to be one of those "very special issues" of RAIN, as we take an all-day-long look at an important topic: The features that belong on the ideal radio station website.

Of course, I think we'd all agree that the most important element for any radio station's site is jock photos.

But how about beyond that? What else matters?

In fact, that was a joke -- photos of your air personalities are probably a second-level or even third-level item in terms of importance to the listeners who visit your site. Today's issue will be devoted to the items that are more important than jock photos.

It's going to be an interactive type of issue today, with hourly updates all day long based on reader feedback. So as you read today's issue, please feel free to contribute your thoughts. If you want to use your own e-mail software, click here, or simply use the form you'll find a few paragraphs below.

First, think it through:
Who would be visiting your site?

There are basically four types of people who logicially might be visiting your station's website:

(1) Your P-1s (i.e., your most-loyal users). These people are your "core listeners," and in fact your website's primary visitors may be a subset of those listeners that you might call your "ultracore." (2) Former P-1s who've moved out of your market but are listening out of homesickness and/or nostalgia. (3) Random visitors who've stumble into you for (most likely) the first time -- i.e., people who found you via some kind of Internet radio tuner or search engine or guide. (4) Other, non-P-1 listeners to your radio station that you have directed to your website for a specific purpose.

Although the proportions of these four groups vary from station to station, I would suspect that, as a general rule, most of your website traffic comes form category (1) above. (You probably have a few visitors from categories (2) and (3) during any hour, and you would have category (4) traffic only when you make a specific on-air effort to attract it.)

Thus, the content on your site should be primarily designed for category (1) visitors, with some level of consideration paid to the other types of visitors. Let's keep this in mind as we continue.


Next, consider this:
What do Internet users generally want?

To quote from the opening titles of the classic late-'60s TV show "The Prisoner," more than anything else, today's Internet users want "Information...information...information." (And Patrick McGoohan responded, "You won't get it" -- which I'm afraid is the typical attitude of a lot of radio station websites.)

Here's a good perspective: Think about the phone lines coming in to your radio station. What is the most-asked question?

It's not "What does Mike in the Morning look like?" Unless times have changed radically since the last time I checked, I believe the most-asked question is "What was that song you just played?"

Therefore, I believe the single most important element you can have on your website is a "What's playing" feature.

And it's better yet if you go back two or three songs (see screenshot at right)...and even better yet if you go back two or three hours. s

(Some stations, like WTMX/Chicago, even go back two or three days!)


The next most important thing:
Your product!

As faster Internet connections roll out, more and more Internet users are going to use their connection to look for entertainment as well as information. In other words, more and more Internet users are going to be listening to music via their PC. It's practical (particularly if you work in an office building) and it's convenient (the "remote control," as it were, is right at your fingertips).

And it's logical. As a moderately-savvy Internet user, I know that the Internet can currently be used to reliably deliver text, photos, and audio. So if I'm on the Rock 109 website, I would expect to find a link that would allow me to listen to Rock 109!

Imagine how you'd feel if you went to the New York Times or Newsweek website and they had biographies (and photos) of their reporters and an events calendar and a news quiz -- but no news. You'd think, "Man, they are behind the times!" And you'd probably move over to the Washington Post or the L.A. Times or the Time magazine websites. Perhaps permanently.

What are the arguments for not streaming your signal? (1) "We don't want to compete with ourselves." Do you really think the New York Times loses many readers because they have a good website? They obviously don't. (It's when you don't offer your listeners a stream that you're driving them to a competitor.) (2) "It's an expense with no associated revenue." It costs maybe $.10/hour to deliver a stream to a listener (and maybe less for some of the deals that are currently available). Are you saying a listener-hour isn't worth $.10 to you? (If you can't figure out a way to generate any associated revenue on your own, sign up with an ad serving network, as previously discusssed here in RAIN.)

On the other hand... There's no need to encourage someone to quit listening to your broadcast signal in favor of your webcast. (The actual major-market station screenshot shown above is probably a bad idea. If a listener is perfectly satisfied with listening to your broadcast signal, you'll save $.10/hour in streaming costs...and you reduce the risk of that listener discovering an Internet-only broadcaster that they like more than they like you.)

I have become overwhelmed with the amount of reader response this topic is generating. Thus, look for more on this topic tomorrow and Friday. And please feel free to submit your suggestions using the form below.

"What numbers 'should' we be shooting for?"

Great subject today...

One question I would like to pose is what is a "typical" number of unique hits to a radio website per month/week and what numbers "should" we be shooting for?

           -- Mark Boarman, Web Design & Development, www.wkdd.com

Want to try answering Mark's question? Use the form above and we'll post your response in short order!

"We've spent countless hours tracking the popularity of various sections of our site..."

Great topic. I will be interested to follow this throughout the day.

We've had a web presence since 1994 and have spent countless hours tracking the popularity of various sections of our site.

By far, our Live Stream is the most important aspect of our web site.

Beyond the stream, our most popular features are all music elements. We post our active current playlist as well as a group of songs we are currently "considering". We also feature a 60 second audio clip of a song we are considering that listeners can vote on. And finally, we have updated "country music news" daily.

We've starting driving more and more of our contests through our web site, and the bigger the contest, the more traffic. Daily content and interactivity are the keys for us.

           -- Paul Larsen, Assistant Program Director,
                  Country 105 CKRY-FM, Calgary, Alberta, Canada


More reader comments
follow immediately below...

"Radio should take full advantage of what we have..."

I agree that "What's Playing" is the most critical feature a station can offer. Live streaming can be an important offering for some stations (in particular niche formats & stations with poor office reception in their metro).

The "Listener Forum" sections of my sites are also very popular, and hook a lot of people into visiting the sites regularly. At the KPIG site (www.kpig.com) our webcams are also tremendously popular, and a great way to draw broadcast listeners to the site. I also think that archived material (morning show segments, in-studio performances, talk shows, etc.) are a great draw.

Radio should take full advantage of what we have that most Internet sites don't: a staff of trained professional entertainers. "Recycling" programming on the web is a great first step in making full use of that resource.

           -- "Wild Bill" Goldsmith, KPIG/CD93/Salinas

"Stations tend to be very tightly formatted, (so)..."

One of the problems with the contemporary radio situation is that stations tend to be very tightly formatted. I think something important to add to a website would be several Internet-only sub-channels where you can play, depending on your existing format, some deeper cuts, a wider variety of music, etc. An example is the Radio Woodstock offshoot of WDST. You can listen to the main station, or you can listen to one of the extra channels for a wider variety of music, some of which might not ever make it on the air of the main signal.

           -- Ken Mueller, Museum of Television and Radio, New York City

"E-mail links...links to the artists.... events..."

Hi Kurt. I just have a moment but I think among the important features that belong on a stations site are email links to all staff members, phone numbers and address, links to the artists and/or networks that your station plays/uses, photos, events your station is involved in and other community connections.

And maybe most importantly, fresh content and information. The page should be updated daily with something new. It's the only way to keep people coming back. Hope this helps. Keep up the good work.

           -- Brian Gregory; Program Director, The Dial

"I have reviewed a ton of market research..."

I have reviewed a ton of market research on the subject of what listeners want to see from their favorite station's Web sites and several elements come up over and over. (1) Printable coupons, classifieds, and the ability to purchase branded merchandise. If a station is not monetizing their brand on their web site, why bother? (2) Community event info is important and something the end user can't get from My Yahoo. (3) Title/Artist of song, so they can download it from Napster (just kidding Lars, Dre...). (4) The ability to interact -- voting on songs for a "smash or trash" segment, benefits the station as well... (5) And contesting -- stations shouldn't be so stingy with the branded shirts, hats, etc....

My advice would be forget the jock pics and concentrate on making money off of your existing content to start.

           -- Rob Drucker, MediaAmerica, Inc.

June 12-14	Streaming Media East 2000, New York City
June 14-17	R&R Convention 2000, Los Angeles
June 14-17	PROMAX & BDA, New Orleans
July 13-16	Upper Midwest Conclave, Minneapolis
August 3-5	Morning Show Bootcamp, New Orelans
September 20-23	NAB Radio Show, San Francisco
October 5-7	Billboard/Airplay Monitor Seminar, New York
November 5-7	NAB European Radio Conference, Berlin
Nov. 28-Dec. 1	Radio Ink Internet Conference, Santa Clara, CA

New and improved!

xxx

Try it out! Explore the wide world of Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.

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If you're hiring for a position that's radio- and Internet-related this week, we'll post it -- free! Simply e-mail the job description here. If you're looking for new opportunities that involve the Internet, you can take a look at the first three available positions here.