Online Engagement: the Savior of Public Radio?

1. Online Engagement:the Saviorof Public Radio? Ann Phi-Wendt Marketing Communications Manager Public Radio International (PRI)

2. Bridge Ratings Study Younger audiences are going online and tuning out radio.* • The 2006 study of multitasking found that Internet use is generally increasing at the expense of radio for 15-to-24-year-olds. • For 33% of 15-to-24-year-olds, radio consumption decreased to accommodate more Internet use. * eMarketer, Young Consumers Multitask at the Expense of Radio, March 1, 2007

3. Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) exploring options for online engagement. • PRI wants to be more strategic in online efforts. • PRI wants to know what its listeners are doing online • PRI wants to know whether it can leverage online engagement to increase listening. • PRI wants to “fish where the fish are” for younger audiences.

4. Emails/E-Newsletters We all send and receive lots of emails. • 90% of internet users use email. • Over 57.8% of all Americansuse email.* • Could e-mails/e-newsletters encourage listening to public radio? • Public radio networks and stations hope so. *eMarketer, August 2006

6. Podcasts Audio and video files which people download onto their computers and/or MP3 players. Forrester Research says: • Over 17 million people have downloaded.* • By 2010, listening to podcasts will grow to 12.3 million households. • Can podcasts of public radio programs increase radio listening? *eMarketer, December 2006

8. Blogs Online postings by people like you and me of our thoughts on certain topics. Pew Internet and American Life Study* says: • There are more than 850,000 blogs in 2,500 categories. • 1 in 4 Internet users have read a blog. • Can blogs about public radio programs encourage listening? • Public radio networks and stations hope so. *Pew Internet and American Life Project, January 2006

10. Social Networking Sites Sites on the web where people can connect with others who have similar interests. • Sites like MySpace and Facebook have exploded in the past two years, especially with younger audiences. • MySpace has one million registered users.* • If we build social networking sites about public radio, will they encourage listening? *New Scientist, 2006

12. Research Question Can these online engagement techniques increase listening to public radio?

13. Sample Size and Instrumentation Population • Current public radio listeners • Samplesize: 900 • Total number of responses: 253 • 28% response rate Instrumentation • Web survey • 42 questions

14. Public Radio Listeners are Older

15. Online Usage High with Younger Listeners

16. Good Potential for Audiences 36 - 55

17. Many Use More Than One Device to Listen

18. E-mails/E-newsletters Have Potential to Increase Listening • 51% of respondents said they would listen to a particular program after receiving an email about it. • Of respondents who do currently receive emails and e-newsletters with public radio content, 74% of them would like email alerts about upcoming shows.

19. Podcasts Increase Listening without Hurting Radio Listening • 38% of respondents currently subscribe to podcasts; of these, 30% subscribe to more than five public radio podcasts. • 30% of respondents say podcasts have increased their listening to programs on the radio • 46% say that podcasts have not affected their listening to programs on the radio.

20. Blogs Have Potential to Drive New Audience to Public Radio • 22% do participate in blogs; of these, 16% currently have their own blog. • 29% of respondents say they would like to blog in the future. • Potential exists for outreach to these bloggers to test impact of blogging on listening.

21. Potential for Public Radio Social Network • 30% of respondents do participate in social networks; of these, half participate in public radio-related groups. • 38% of respondents are interested in participating in a social network in the near future, and 30% say they would like to form a network with other listeners. • Opportunity existsfor outreach through these respondents to test impact on listening.

22. Back to the Question Can these online engagement techniques increase listening to public radio? Yes - E-mails/e-newsletters and podcasts can be used to increase listening to public radio; there is good potential for outreach through blogs and social networks to test impact on listening.

23. Conclusions • PRI has a better understanding of how listeners are currently interacting with forms of online engagement. • PRI has a better understanding of whether listeners are open to participating in newer forms of engagement. • PRI has information to be more strategic about its use of online engagement methods.

24. Recommendations Based on the findings: • PRI should provide listeners with emails about programming. • PRI should increase its current offerings of podcasts -- more variety and more program segments. • PRI should cultivate listener-bloggers who could blog about topics discussed on programs. • PRI should move forward with implementing public radio social networks to test whether they can increase listening.

25. End Questions