5 Steps to a great Christian radio Facebook page

If you attended CMB you heard a lot of talk about Facebook. There are numerous strategies and ideas floating around about the importance of reaching your audience through Facebook but what they all have in common is the need to connect in this huge virtual space.

If your station does not yet have a Facebook strategy and “programming clock”, it should Here are some easy steps to get started:

1. Approach your Facebook Fan Page the same way you do your hot clocks. Decide how many times per day you will post and what type of post categories your audience will connect with most. Suggested categories might include Spiritual, Encouragement, Music News, Contests, Humor, Links to On-Air subjects and more. Decide how many of each category you want to “program” each day and discuss with your air staff.

2. Build a spreadsheet or “clock” for all 7 days of the week. Decide where each of the above categories will plugin. Use loose time frames like “2-4pm” rather than exact times that become predictable.  Assign these posts to the DJ that is on the air at that time and remind them that these are fall-back categories. Original, timely content it always better than pre-scheduled or suggested content.

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3. Sign up for Post Planner White Label. It’s the best Facebook scheduler out there and works organically like actual posting. The white label version contains your own icon and your own link to YOUR website, not to Hootsuite or Sendible or one of those others. At under $20 a month it’s the best Facebook investment you will ever make. Post Planner will let you schedule recurring posts (like weekly reminders of your countdown show) and will let you pre-schedule literally anything you want. It has also has a great idea bank with thousands of post ideas guaranteed to get traffic.

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4. Consider using a 3rd party app to fill your clock categories. For example, if you have a “Spiritual” category to start each day, sign up for the Beliefchangers Daily Christian Inspiration App. It will post a wonderful, Christ-centered thought, verse or photo to your Page every day at 9am sharp, automatically. You never have to think about it again but it will drive up your interactions and edgerank! See it in action on the KXOJ fan page or see samples of posts at the 200,000 strong Beliefchangers Facebook Page.

5. Add a prayer time. Pick a time each week to allows your fans to ask for prayer requests. Keep them all in one comment thread so that people can “like” a prayer request to show that they are praying. As a station, be sure to forward them all to staff and “like” them all to show you are committed to praying for them as well.

That’s it! Get your airstaff into the habit of posting content daily and monitoring the comments for reply opportunities. If you do an online contest, be sure to interact and set a time limit. Don’t “walk away” from a conversation after the initial post. Just like radio, be “live” as often as possible.

Be sure to like the PD Forums and let us know how your page is going!