Since our launch in 2013, we’ve been driven to increase our golf talk radio content on TheGolfDirector.com. In addition to having content quantity, we strive to provide content variety. After all, there are plenty of golf news and commentary shows on the web. The challenge becomes one of creating something unique – something to differentiate our programming from the thousands of other options available to radio listeners. Our quest for programming excellence begins with an understanding of when and from where we receive listener traffic. Knowing listener patterns helps determine where to place content to drive growth. It’s also a key component for getting advertising partners maximum exposure. Unlike terrestrial radio where listening patterns develop around drive times, internet radio listeners tend to congregate at completely different intervals.
We’ve kept records since launch to know how, when, and why the patterns shift. Interestingly, the only real shifts we’ve noticed are related to the daylight. As the days shorten, listener sessions at night slightly increase.
The graph to the left takes into account the averages over time. The slots that consistently produce larger numbers of listener sessions are Sunday Afternoons and Evenings…and Lunch Thursdays, followed by Afternoon Thursdays. Notice the lack of “drive time” listening sessions.
Listening session analytics are not yet perfect in terms of being able to report total listeners. It is impossible to collect and combine 100% of the data from all streaming sources to provide precise numbers. But unlike any other form of media reporting, these numbers are consistently relevant. There not based on surveys, and consequent extrapolations. They’re based on consistent reporting metrics from multiple sources. After all, the totals really do not matter here, we’re reporting averages per listener slots to produce and extremely important report.
Another interesting point revealed by the chart is that many folks are listening to internet radio while at work. Notice the increase in midday listeners toward the end of the week. Revealing this chart just might have business owners looking closer at what their employees are doing. Shhhh. We won’t tell anybody. We actually like the pattern.
TGD Radio is produced and broadcast by the Zeus Radio Network, a company that began as internet radio. Having produced thousands of talk radio shows gives them an advantage when it comes to knowing the product. Many terrestrial radio companies that have attempted to make the inevitable switch to internet radio have struggled because of what this graph represents. Internet radio is a completely different product, and reaches a different audience at different times.
Perhaps the most obvious advantage internet radio has over other forms of media is the ability to allow a listener to immediately transfer from hearing an advertisement to clicking an associated banner link, or surfing to the mentioned website. Taking that a step further, TGD Radio archives all their programming for listen on-demand…ads included.
But having great radio programming and understanding the product is not enough to get results. We live in a time when technology is emerging at a rapid pace. Competition for time and attention is our most complex obstacle. Word of mouth is still strong, but not good enough in the face of so much competition. The edge comes from digital marketing. Being found. The only way to legitimately improve search engine presence is through content creation and having content on a platform that is responsive to current technology. The search engines can’t read audio or video.
The most significant differences between TGD Radio and other golf talk radio platforms are the amount of content being created, the platform supporting the content, and the fact that folks who visit TheGolfDirector.com are here for an average of 24 minutes and look at an average of 20 pages. yes, content is king! If you have a product you would like to expose to our loyal audience, reach out to us through our contact form HERE. The Golf Director and TGD radio are part of the Zeus Digital Marketing family.
