Thursday, December 11, 2008

Local Radio Stations Promote Web Sites Via SMS/TXT Messaging

When mother nature unleashes her winter wrath across the northeast and the midwest, parents aren't flicking on the local TV station or turning on the radio,they're going to the local radio's website for updates on school closings. Just take a look at today's top 40 in Google Trends. This morning,eleven out of the top  37, are radio call numbers and most of them are in areas with snowfall.

The top radio affiliate, WHUD, is 100.7 F.M. in Westchester New York, and it's offering text message alerts about school and government center closings after heavy snowfall. Perhaps these methods are a step in the right direction for reviving the free radio industry.Traffic text alerts have been available for years,but snow alerts appeal to one of the most highly sought markets-the coveted age demographic of pre-teens and teens.

Obviously, the text campaign in itself isn't enough to revitalize the slumping industry, but it could signify a foot in the door to a significant portion of a market that was severed by the ipod era.

By Matt O'Hern at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

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