From: RADIO-INFO (How to know what your audience is talking about)

How to Know What Your Audience Is Talking About

Knowing what your audience cares about today is priceless information. In this week’s Radio3D, I will give you three tips for quickly identifying what your audience cares about today. Whether you are an on-air personality preparing for a show or an account executive who wants to efficiently stay on top of what’s happening with your clients, these tips will save you time and energy.

Google Trends and Google Insights

A quick visit to Google Trends can tell you what the hottest topics are right now on Google. This is a list updated in real-time that shows you what people are searching across the country in the Google search engine.

You can also use Google Insights to determine what people in your market are searching on Google. Google Insights offers the option to view the hottest searches over the last day, 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, or 12 months. You can also narrow the audience down to your state or specific metro. A quick search of the hottest topics in Florida last week shows that the Glenn Beck rally, Hurricane Earl, and the Emmys were among last week’s hottest searches across the state.

Twitter Trends with Trendsmap.com

Using TrendsMap.com, you can see what the most talked-about topics on Twitter are in your local market. In other words, you can see what keywords and topics are being used the most by people who are tweeting in your town.

Last Thursday night, I looked up the Twitter Trends for Cleveland on Trendsmap.com, and it showed that the OSU Buckeyes were HOT on Twitter—which makes sense, because there was a game on Thursday night (OSU won).

Trendsmap.com is an exceptional way to watch what topics are hot on Twitter in your market in real time.

Yahoo Local News

If you’re looking for all of your community’s news in one place, you’ll find Yahoo Local News especially helpful. Visit the site, enter your location, and Yahoo will show you the big news stories from all of your local news outlets in one page. It’s a quick and easy way to get up to speed on what is happening around town.

Bookmark these three sites, and in moments, you can be up-to-date on the hottest and more important topics in your market. Now, you never need to guess about what the “water cooler talk” will be for the day—you can find out in real time!

About the Writer

Future-minded and passionate, Daniel Anstandig’s experience includes developing digital business strategies for media companies, designing content strategies for broadcast and interactive, and coaching executives.

As the President of McVay New Media Consulting, Anstandig has advised The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Clear Channel R&D, The White House Commission on Remembrance, Glencoe-McGraw Hill, and various broadcasting companies in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

In 2009, Anstandig founded Listener Driven Radio, a software company that develops interactive programming tools for broadcasters. The company’s premiere “crowdcasting” product, which integrates real-time audience voting into a radio station’s live playlist, has already been utilized by Citadel Broadcasting, CBS, Virgin Radio in Europe, Harvard Broadcasting, and several other major broadcasters around the world.

Prior to joining McVay Media in 2001, Daniel’s experience includes stints as General Manager, Network/Syndicated Program Director, and On-Air Personality. In 2001, he was named the #1 Young Entrepreneur by Young Entrepreneur Magazine, in recognition of an internet-radio company he founded. Daniel is also a proud two-time reci