What is it about radio that gets people talking? This report details exactly how both broadcasters and their audiences speak, engage and behave online. More info: http://bit.ly/1elk2PA

1. Brandwatch Report/
Dual Senses/ 2013
Listening to the impact of Twitter
upon the radio sector.
Discover the challenges, trends and opportunities
facing the world’s leading radio stations in the wake
of the social media revolution
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
we’re
listening!
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2. Brandwatch Report
Dual Senses/ 2013
Why read this...
“ There’s no such thing as radio per se anymore – or television or
advertising agencies – it all falls under the same banner called “media”
which includes social media as part of its tapestry. And if you’re a
broadcaster reaching zillions of ears, your job is to give those ears
something to do and someplace to go whether or not it’s to a website
devoted to your radio station. The opportunity for radio brands to harness
the power of social media is now. ”
4
Key Findings
5
The Sample
7
Comparison
8
Audience Behaviour
Audience Top Topics
Broadcaster Behaviour
18
Content
25
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Introduction
14
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3
12
Mark Ramsey, Veteran Media Strategist, Researcher And Trend Maker
2
Contents
Tweet Timing

3. Dual Senses/ 2013
Introduction/
It’s 2013: how are radio stations faring in the social media age?
it has earned its legacy. From delivering wartime news in the
‘40s to pirate radio distribution in the ‘60s, there are now
nearly 14,000 radio channels in the UK and US alone.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
The proliferation of digital technology and social media placed
pressure upon radio broadcasters to adapt to a litany of rapid
changes in listener behaviour.
3
Here at Brandwatch, we’re fascinated about the ways in
which social media can be harnessed to connect brands with
customers and audiences, but also the rich wealth of insights
that analysing social media can provide organisations with.
This report reveals insights surrounding 20 of the top UK radio
stations, identifying trends, spotting challenges and evaluating
which stations are best at capitalising upon the opportunities
that Twitter presents.
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To gather these insights, Brandwatch carefully selected a
sample of 20 radio stations which best represent the market,
selecting channels from each genre across national and
into how audiences are interacting with radio stations on
Twitter and, in turn, how radio stations can optimise the
potential of the platform.
If you’d like to discover how analysis of social media
countless ways that using social media monitoring and
analytics can add value to your bottom line, then either check
out our library, gaze at our gallery, or get in touch with us
for a live demo of our platform.
Take Brandwatch for a spin
Read one of our free reports

4. Dual Senses/ 2013
Key Findings/
Analysis of discussion about UK radio stations revealed a number of
compelling insights.
On average, only 0.4% of radio listeners tweet about a
radio station in the UK.
There are lots of opportunities for radio broadcasters to
However, this is 10 times more frequently than listeners in
the US.
The more active broadcasters are on Twitter, the more
frequently they are discussed.
Radio stations aren’t always active at the same time as
their audience on social media.
Tweets receive three times the interaction when a celebrity
is mentioned, and boosted engagement when using links,
pictures and hashtags.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Radio stations primarily use Twitter as a broadcasting
platform, not for engagement.
4
Radio stations are using hashtags and interacting with fans
far less frequently than TV broadcasters.
Followers are 20% more likely to engage with a presenter’s
Twitter account than a radio station’s Twitter account.
loyal to one radio station.
were directed at celebrities, not listeners.
consistently engaged with the brands.
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5. Dual Senses/ 2013
Comparison/ TV vs Radio
TV broadcasters are a lot more
sophisticated on social media than
engage with fans compared to just
100
Most TV shows embrace hashtags on
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
% PERCENT
80
5
60
stations consistently doing so.
Deeper integration of Twitter not only
drives discovery and engagement but
also drives increases in brand recall
scores and other marketing goals
(Tune In With Twitter Report
40
20
0
Use Official Hashtags
Interact with Fans
KEY:
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TV
RADIO

6. Dual Senses/ 2013
Comparison/ US vs UK
UK
US
loyal to one radio station.
were loyal to one radio station.
On average, around 0.4% of listeners tweet about
radio stations.
An average of just 0.06% of each radio broadcaster’s
listeners mentioned the station on Twitter.
32% with brands and 10% with followers.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Tweets receive three times more interaction when a celebrity
is mentioned.
6
Tweets receive ten times more interaction when a
celebrity is mentioned and 33% less interaction when a
brand is mentioned.
Tweets with hashtags, pictures and links were more popular
than those without.
Pictures and links encourage almost 70% more interaction
than those without. However, tweets with hashtags received
43% less engagement.
Followers are 20% more likely to engage with a presenter’s
Twitter account than a radio station’s Twitter account.
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Twitter account than a radio station’s Twitter account.

7. Dual Senses/ 2013
The Sample/
All 20 radio stations monitored had an
active presence on Twitter.
population tune into radio, 24% of which is via mobile.
in the UK.
talk, sport and regional were also chosen in order to broaden
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
The data was captured using Brandwatch Analytics for the
months of June, July and August 2013, providing a data set
7
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8. Dual Senses/ 2013
Audience Behaviour/ Station Share of Voice
Radio One was the radio station discussed most
frequently on Twitter.
50%
BBC Radio One
Looking at audience behaviour, over
346,000 mentions of radio stations
in the UK were captured during the
Summer months of 2013.
BBC Radio One formed the topic for
16%
BBC Radio Two
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
9
8
%
7%
BBC Radio Four
4%
Magic FM
14%
Other
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mentioned the most frequently.
overall discussion.

9. Dual Senses/ 2013
Audience Behaviour/ Listener Twitter Activity - Genre
Pop radio stations dominated Share Of Voice.
Pop radio stations had the largest
share of voice, with classical and
regional radio stations receiving a far
smaller volume of discussion.
35000
9
NUMBER OF MENTIONS
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Sport
Pop
Talk
RADIO GENRE
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Classical
Regional

10. Dual Senses/ 2013
Audience Behaviour/ Twitter Activity
On average, 0.4% of listeners talk about radio
stations on Twitter.
Radio Station (UK)
Weekly Listeners
Total Twitter Mentions
Listeners who Tweet %
56,000
1126
2.01
BBC Radio One
11,018,000
177000
1.6
Magic FM
1,875,000
14000
0.74
Heart (London)
1,925,000
13000
0.67
2,999,000
31000
0.55
11,000
146
0.4
talkSPORT
3,249,000
11000
0.3
Choice FM
680,000
2718
0.22
BBC Radio Three
1,995,000
6313
0.16
BBC Radio Two
15,443,000
57000
0.16
Kiss FM
2,013,000
6437
0.12
Stray FM
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Breeze
10
Jazz FM
758,000
1666
0.09
11,266,000
25000
0.08
947,000
4096
0.08
1,224,000
656
0.07
Planet Rock
896,000
817
0.06
Jack FM
112,000
285
0.04
Fire Radio
45,000
31
0.04
Classic FM
5,614,000
1627
0.017
Smooth Radio
2,077,000
584
0.01
BBC Radio Four
BBC Five Live Sports
Kerrang!
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Less than 1 in 200 listeners are
engaged with radio brands on Twitter.
This represents a giant opportunity
for growing each radio station’s
presence online.
Musically-specialist stations, such as
the rock broadcasters Kerrang and
Planet Rock, are less successful in
provoking discussion than pop
music channels.

11. Dual Senses/ 2013
Audience Behaviour/
88% of those who mentioned broadcasters on Twitter
were loyal to one radio station.
MULTIPLE INTERACTIONS
There were almost 200,000 unique
authors tweeting about radio in the
period studied.
CONSISTENT INTERACTIONS*
stations only mentioned one station.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Listeners of UK radio stations are
mostly loyal to one station, and 4% of
11
advocates. According to research
by Deloitte, brand advocates are a
small, but very involved segment. They
recommend and share a brand two to
four times more often than the average
KEY:
TWEETS TO MULTIPLE RADIO STATION S
TWEETS TO ONE RADIO STATIO N
KEY:
LESS THAN 5X
MORE THAN 5X
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12. Dual Senses/ 2013
Audience Top Topics/
The music played on radio stations was the main
driver of conversation.
Celebrities
Music is as important as ever, with
60% of all listener mentions of radio
relating to the songs played. This is
a great opportunity for radio stations
to not only better understand musical
preferences of their audience, but
also devise strategies that encourage
listeners to engage through Twitter.
12%
Conversation surrounding celebrities
was almost always focused on music
30%
their celebrity life.
15%
Show content, presenters and
programming are less important to
listeners than music played, though
30%
discussion for listeners.
TOP TOPICS
13%
Show Content
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Song Requests
12
Talk About Presenters
What’s Playing
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13. Dual Senses/ 2013
Audience Top Topics/
The main causes for negative discussion related to
presenters and programming.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Positive Conversation
13
Praise for
presenters
Talk About
Show Content
Talk About Celebrities
Discussing Songs
Requesting
Songs
Negative Conversation
Criticising
Show Content
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Criticising
Song Choice
Criticising
Presenters
Over the period analysed, 2% of the
conversation was negative. Although
a seemingly small number, it accounts
for nearly 7,000 mentions, very few of
which were responded to.
32% of social customers expect
a response to a complaint within
30 minutes. Research by Nielsen
demonstrates that 71% of consumers
who experience a quick brand response
are likely to share that with others.
Negative discussion centred around
criticism of the content and presenters,
as well as the music. Radio stations can
gain rich insights from this social data,
helping them understand the perception
of their presenters and which content
works best. A good example of this
is when Radio Four received negative
tweets for interviewing One Direction
and their fans.

14. Dual Senses/ 2013
Broadcast Behaviour/ Broadcaster Engagement
Head to head: Stray FM & Radio One vs
Fire Radio & Radio Four.
Though Radio One and Radio Four
have roughly the same amount of
weekly listeners, Radio Four generated
only 14% the number of mentions that
Radio One did.
2.5
2.5
This disparity between stations can also
2.0
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
14
% ENGAGED
% ENGAGED
2.0
1.5
1.0
and Fire Radio have similar listenership
less frequently.
1.5
from a number of activities,
including:
1.0
0.5
0.5
0.0
0.0
Radio Four
Radio One
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Fire Radio
Stray FM
station and Twitter handles.
Tweeting links to engaging content.
Posting behind-the-scenes pictures.
Engaging with listeners
via presenters.
Competitions and prizes.

15. Dual Senses/ 2013
Broadcast Behaviour/ Broadcaster Twitter Activity
The more active radio stations were, the more active
the audience was.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOLUME OF TWEETS POSTED AND AUDIENCE DISCUSSION
The top three most active stations on
Twitter are also the top three most
mentioned by the audience.
8000
15
NUMBER OF MENTIONS
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
7000
There is a massive opportunity for radio
stations to grow fan engagement on
Twitter by increasing their activity.
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
In general, when radio stations
increased their weekly Twitter activity,
the volume of audience activity
increased as well.
0-10
11-30
31-50
NO. OF TWEETS SENT PER WEEK
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51-100
100+

16. Dual Senses/ 2013
Broadcast Behaviour/ Broadcaster Twitter Activity
BBC Radio One was the most active station on Twitter
MOST ACTIVE
The top two most active stations on
Twitter are run by the BBC.
123 tweets
p/week
BBC Radio One
98 tweets
p/week
BBC Radio Two
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
58 tweets
16
p/week
51 tweets
p/week
Stray FM
45 tweets
p/week
talkSPORT
3382 tweets
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Radio stations tweet an average of
46 times per week.
Other
p/week
The top three most active stations on
Twitter are also the top three most
mentioned by the audience.
Classical and talk radio stations have
the most room for improvement, as
they are currently the least active
on Twitter.

17. Dual Senses/ 2013
Broadcast Behaviour/ Broadcast vs Engagement
Radio stations primarily use Twitter as a
broadcasting platform.
Radio stations do not tend to reply
to the comments aimed at them,
their shows or their presenters. They
seldom engage with listeners at all,
using Twitter almost exclusively as a
broadcasting platform.
100
Pop music stations interacted with their
audience most, and sport the least.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
% OF TWEETS
80
17
Radio broadcasters are missing a
huge opportunity in fostering a closer
relationship with listeners. According
to Forrester, engaged social followers
60
40
prefer and recommend a brand.
20
0
Sport
Talk
KEY:
Regional
BROADCAST
Classical
INTERACTION
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Pop

18. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/
79% of radio @interactions are with celebrities.
BBC Radio One/
with only 21% toward their followers.
Oh hello @ArticMonkeys!
new entry at
When mentioning celebrities, radio stations commonly use them as either a source
of news content, or talk to those who are appearing on the show.
Radio One and Heart engaged with the most celebrities, often having two-way
conversations with them.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Other stations simply reference them in regard to news stories.
18
Twitter/
This illustrates a lost chance to interact with fans. When companies engage with
customers or fans over social media, those customers end up using the company’s
services 20- 40% more frequently, providing a great chance for radio stations to
boost listenership.
Capital FM/
play of MJ feat @justinbieber
#SlaveToTheRhythm
on Capital here capitalfm.com/artists/
justin...
Twitter/
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19. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/ Mentioning Celebrities
Tweets receive three times more interaction when a
celebrity is mentioned.
80
70
% OF INTERACTIONS
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
celebrities is a successful way to
engage with them. Tweets which
mentioned a celebrity received three
times more interaction than those
that didn’t.
Tapping into other followings, such
as those of celebrities, is a good way
for radio stations to generate more
audience engagement.
60
19
Although radio broadcasters are not
50
40
30
20
10
0
Mention Celebrity
Don't Mention Celebrit y
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20. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/ Tweet Content
Tweets with hashtags, pictures and links were more
popular than those without.
There was a 47% increase in interaction
when there was a link in the tweet, and
a 73% boost when using a hashtag.
50
Including interactive content poses
another opportunity to cultivate,
engage and grow fans.
NO. OF INTERACTIONS
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
40
20
in the engagement rate when a tweet
contained an image.
30
20
10
0
Pictures
Links
KEY:
WITH
Hashtags
WITHOUT
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21. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/ Hashtag Analysis
Tweets with hashtags receive 73% more interaction
than those without.
Most Frequently Used Hashtags
Presenters
Radio1
1xjam
Capitalstb
BBC
Thelateshow
MUFC
Nowplaying
Wimbledon
Capitalmusicnews
Magicfm
1xtra
BBCaq
Sendung
GNG
Livelions
21
Audience
R2vine
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
Radio
Applause
Yourface
Thelateshow
Capitalstb
Royalbaby
Nowplaying
Newbeibercapital
MUFC
Magicsummerlive
Slavetotherythm
Nowplaying
AFC
R1review
sharknado
Hashtag analysis illustrates the disparity
in conversation topic between the
radio stations and their audience. For
example, pop and talk channels use
hashtags to promote their campaigns,
events and news stories, whereas
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celebrities and radio station channels.
engagement, often successfully, with
broadcasters can emulate this in order
to better match their tweet content to
the preferences and habits of
their audience.

22. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/ Competitions
Sport, talk and classical radio stations did not host
any competitions.
Competitions were sometimes
used by radio broadcasters to
drive engagement.
MENTIONS RELATING TO COMPETITIONS
1000
each genre, with prizes contextual to
the target audience. For example
30
RADIO ONE
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
AUDIENCE MENTIONS
700
22
600
20
MAGIC FM GIVING
WESTLIFE MUG
MAGIC FM GIVING
RADIO ONE AND
TRIP TICKETS
FESTIVAL TICKETS
400
10
300
200
100
0
0
10/06/2013
24/06/2013
KEY:
RADIO STATIONS
22/07/2013
AUDIENCE
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BROADCASTER MENTIONS
TICKETS
tickets, whereas Stray FM gave away
a gym pass for a local gym.
Sport, talk and classical radio
stations did not appear to host any
competitions.
Gig tickets were the most popular
competition prizes.

23. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/ Peaks and Reasons
Events and celebrities caused the biggest spikes in conversation among listeners.
12000
CAPITAL
OFFICIAL HOST
THE SUMMERTIME BALL.
REQUESTS
STOP BELIEVING’ IN
MENTIONS
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
23
MONTEITH.
ON RADIO ONE
BREAKFAST
SHOW
10000
REQUESTS
NEW JUSTIN
BEIBER SONG
RELEASED
VAMPS BAND
JEDWARD ON
SCOTT MILLS
SHOW
6000
4000
2000
0
01-Jun-13
22-Jun-13
06-Jul-13
KEY:
VOLUME
13-Jul-13
20-Jul-13
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
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27-Jul-13
03-Aug-13
10-Aug-13
17-Aug-13

24. Dual Senses/ 2013
Content/ Presenter Insight
Followers are 20% more likely to engage with a
presenter’s Twitter account than a radio station’s
Twitter account.
TOP TOPICS PRESENTERS TWEET ABOUT IN REGARD TO RADIO
63%
about radio. There is an opportunity
for radio stations to further use
presenters to enhance their social
strategy. Radio One are already doing
this very well, including their presenters
in the majority of Twitter conversations.
Their Radio Station
presenters are Radio One DJs.
22%
Followers are 20% more likely to
engage with a presenter’s Twitter
account than a radio station’s
Twitter account.
Behind-the Scene Pictures
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
11%
24
Topical Events
4%
Show Content
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The Capital FM presenters are talked
about the most positively, followed
closely by Heart and BBC Radio Four.

25. Dual Senses/ 2013
Tweet Timing/ Twitter Activity
Radio stations aren’t capitalising upon key audience
conversation times.
7
300
6
Listeners are most active on Twitter
at the start and at the end of the
traditional working day.
Radio stations are not active at the
same times, suggesting some
disparity between the organisations
and their audiences.
Again, by understanding audience’s
behaviour, habits and preferences, a
200
be implemented
4
25
100
2
1
0
TIME
KEY:
RADIO STATIONS
Book a demo with us brandwatch.com/demo
AUDIENCE
p
10 m
p
11 m
pm
pm
a
10 m
a
11 m
a
12 m
pm
1p
m
2p
m
3p
m
4p
m
pm
6p
m
7p
m
am
am
6a
m
7a
m
am
1a
m
2a
m
3a
m
4a
m
0
12
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
3

26. Dual Senses/ 2013
Tweet Timing/ Days of the week
Radio stations decrease their Twitter activity when the
audience are most active.
Audiences discuss radio most
frequently at the weekends, particularly
on Friday and Sunday.
110
Radio stations are decreasing activity
throughout the week, posting far less
frequently at the weekends.
100
Again, this presents another missed
opportunity for broadcasters to engage
with listeners at optimum times.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
4000
26
0
3000
70
Mo n
Tu e
We d
Thu
Fr i
DA
KEY:
RADIO
Book a demo with us brandwatch.com/demo
AUDIENCE
Sa t
Su n

27. Brandwatch Report
Dual Senses/ 2013
Thank you/
Hopefully by reading this report you’ve gained some understanding into the state of
general can adopt a more intelligent approach to online activity.
We love to help our clients make sense of large datasets and what is being said about
them online, in order to deliver a whole suite of measurable business advantages.
Please do get in touch if you’d like to discuss the conversation that matters to you.
Report/ Dual Senses/ 2013
/about Brandwatch
27
Brandwatch is one of the world’s leading providers of social media monitoring and
analysis. More than 700 global brands and agencies use Brandwatch to listen,
analyse and engage with online conversations around their brand, their customers
and their industry.
Book a demo with us brandwatch.com/demo
/info
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