Radio Italia is a national commercial radio station in Italy, playing some of the country’s most popular names in music. Over the last several years, the station has been placing a growing emphasis on digital media and promotion. Examples of this range from live-streaming broadcasts worldwide on their website and across apps like iRadioItalia and Android to expand their reach on social media. We connected with Arianna Chiapponi, the station’s Manager of the Press Office and Social Media, to learn more about their social media journey to becoming one of the most followed radio stations—both in Italy and worldwide.

1. SUCCESS STORY: RADIO ITALIA
95-99%
customer service
satisfaction rate
on Twitter
Increased brand
exposure
#1
Increased
customer
engagement
Grew social
business across
North America
Success Story:
Radio Italia
Branded hashtags
often trend
nationally and
internationally
First radio
station to reach 2
million Facebook
followers
Most “liked”
radio station on
Facebook in Italy
Increase in
listeners and
website traffic
Radio Italia Finds Social Media Success as One of the
Most Followed Radio Stations Globally
Radio Italia is a national commercial radio station in Italy, playing some of
the country’s most popular names in music.
Over the last several years, the station has been placing a growing
emphasis on digital media and promotion. Examples of this range from
live-streaming broadcasts worldwide on their website and across apps like
iRadioItalia and Android to expanding their reach on social media.
We connected with Arianna Chiapponi, the station’s Manager of the Press
Office and Social Media, to learn more about their social media journey
to becoming one of the most followed radio stations—both in Italy and
worldwide.
Why Social Media?
Three years ago, Radio Italia made the strategic decision to elevate their
marketing efforts by integrating social media. At the same time, they
signed on to use Hootsuite to help coordinate efforts and to meet the
following goals:
‹‹Connect with their target
demographic of females
between the ages of 25 and 55
‹‹Expand their reach and radio
station listener-base to a greater
audience
‹‹Engage with listeners on new
channels
‹‹Share related content that drives
traffic back to the website

2. SUCCESS STORY: RADIO ITALIA
Develop a Social Strategy
Social media allows the team to reach a larger audience. But for Radio
Italia, having a strategic content plan plays an essential role in engaging
the audience over shared interests.
Over the past three years, Chiapponi and her team memebrs
Francesco Gabrielli and Federica Di Giuseppe have built out the
content strategy across many channels, with a focus on Facebook and
Twitter specifically. Working with experts from Facebook, they began
to analyze data through Facebook Insights reports to help understand
what content made the biggest impact on their audience.
They’ve discovered that music-related content—news, videos, new
songs—that links back to their official website receives the most clicks.
They use this content, coupled with straightforward language, to
engage people in Italy and around the globe in conversations.
When preparing for an event such as a popular concert or album
release, Chiapponi and her team brainstorm the most creative and fun
promotion strategy. Some of these creative initiatives include sharing
snippets on Twitter of guest interviews and live-streaming videos on
Facebook of the event.
Stay Connected with Hootsuite
Hootsuite has been essential for keeping Radio Italia actively engaged
online. From sharing “goodnight” sign-offs to their followers in the
evening, to posting on weekends and throughout Italy’s summer
holidays, Chiapponi and her team schedule messages and content in
advance using Hootsuite scheduling. “Hootsuite makes our work much
easier,” she says.
A Day in the Life of Radio
Italia’s Social Media Team
Active engagement is an essential
component of Radio Italia’s social
media strategy. Every workday, the
team aims to produce:
✔✔4 Facebook posts
✔✔10 Tweets
✔✔1 Instagram post
✔✔1 Google+ message
“Social media allows
us to reach a wider
range of people
around the globe—
it’s another way for
us to connect with
our audience.”
Arianna Chiapponi,
Manager of Press and Social Media,
Radio Italia

3. SUCCESS STORY: RADIO ITALIA
They also use Hootsuite streams to help monitor conversations and
growth across so many social channels. Customer feedback and
inquiries no longer fall through the cracks thanks to the streams and
tabs layout that keeps everything organized. Likewise, when promoting
an event, Chiapponi can quickly add a stream to follow relevant
keyword searches or event hashtags to engage the audience.
Achieve Business Success
Radio Italia is the most “liked” radio station on Facebook in Italy—
a success recognized by Facebook in a case study. In May 2014,
the station had the goal of gaining 300,000 Facebook Page followers
in two months. With the help of Facebook Insights and Hootsuite’s
engagement and listening tools, they met their goal and became the
first radio station ever to reach 2 million followers.
As for Twitter, Radio Italia’s hashtags often trend nationally and have
even gained an international presence online. While much of this
attention can be attributed to showcasing globally recognized artists,
such as Laura Pausini, Radio Italia’s online popularity can also be traced
back to strategic planning. By creating and sharing engaging, audience-centric
content with hashtags that drive traffic, the social media team
was not only able to connect with listeners, but track and measure
success.
Developing a strong social media strategy and growing their following
has paid off in more than just brand awareness. Since joining Hootsuite
in 2012, they’ve seen a significant increase in radio station listeners and
traffic to their website and web properties, such as their live streaming
station.
“We started using
Hootsuite three
years ago to manage
our working hours
better. For example,
when we have a
guest on air, we
schedule social
ahead of time to
coincide with the
live interview.”
Arianna Chiapponi,
Manager of Press and Social Media,
Radio Italia
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