Every industry is unique. Every industry interacts and engages with their customers in different ways. This is the premise we have built our company on, and the approach we use when developing mobile apps. JOTA Radio Apps is a mobile app product line developed specifically for radio stations, with a set of features designed to complement your on-air show.
Let’s think about radio for a minute and why listeners tune into their favorite stations. Of course, many listeners dial their favorite radio stations because of their music style preferences. Some listeners prefer classic rock while others may prefer an 80’s format. But music offerings are available from many different sources, so why does your audience come back to your station? The answer lies with the personal connection your station has developed with your listeners.
Radio began as an information and entertainment source for a regional community. Listeners would tune into their local radio station to learn about the news, weather, events, and other information pertaining to their region. Radio DJ’s would provide this information as well as entertain and engage their audience to maintain their listenership.
The basic premise of radio has always remained intact, but what has changed is the consumption habits of listeners as the digital age emerged. Listeners can now gain access to stations and music genres from all around the world. They have several different platforms from which they consume music, news, and information. What these mass digital platforms don’t offer is the local connection with a community, and nobody does this better than radio.
JOTA Radio Apps wants to bridge the connection between the nostalgic aspects of radio and the modern digital age. We have developed a set of features designed to complement your on-air show, and to bring the different aspects that people love from local radio to an engaging mobile app.
Let’s discuss some of the features in JOTA Radio Apps and how they are designed to complement your on-air show.
Native Advertising Platform – Mobile app advertising that pulls random national ads and sticks them in your app or interrupts your stream provides no value for you listeners, sponsors, or your station. It diminishes the user experience because these ads are annoying, have no relevancy for your listeners, and causes listeners to exit from your app. JOTA Radio Apps feature a native advertising platform that provides real value for YOUR sponsors. Rotate or dedicate ads to specific features. Advertisements open with a smooth scroll window that displays an image, text, and call to action links, with no interruption to your stream. User can view the ad and then close the window if they decide to take no actions; without any forced exit from your app. This is an advertising platform completely unique to JOTA Radio Apps. Now you have a digital ad platform that your reps can sell and generate real revenue for your station.
Live Stream – Imagine you could build a tower that had the ability to reach listeners across the world. Now imagine this tower cost you less than $100 per month. This is the real value of digital reach. Your station is no longer bound by your signal reach. Listeners can take your station across town or across the country with them. They can listen through their phone, headphones, Bluetooth in their car, and other devices. Your radio station now has the power and reach of both broadcast and digital.
Podcasts – On demand content is a continuously emerging consumer behavior. People have increasingly demanding lifestyles, and don’t always have the time to access the media they love in real time. Podcasts are a great solution to bring listeners to your station even when they can’t tune in live. Your audience can now catch the news, stories, and information they want at their own leisure.
Let’s say you had a prominent guest on the show for an on-air conversation or story. Simple fact is, there are listeners out there who won’t be able to listen to the show live because they don’t have time in their daily schedules. These types of on-air shows are the real bread and butter for your advertisers, because it brings in a larger audience. Create additional value for your sponsors by putting this show into a podcast. Listeners who couldn’t catch the show live can now hear it at a time of their choosing. You can even include pre-rolls with your podcast audio as a new sponsorship package to sell.
Push Notifications – A great tool that can be used to communicate information about your station, your sponsors, or promote other features in your mobile app. Push notifications are messages sent directly to your listener’s phones. With push notifications from JOTA Radio Apps, you can include text, audio clips, images, videos, emoji’s, app feature links, and external links. Use push notifications to inform your audience of important information such as school closings, events, a new trivia game, information about your advertisers, and more.
News Feeds – People consume news. They love to consume news through audio and reading. Now your station can a be great source for both. Our news feed pulls the stories of your choosing through RSS feeds. Now the feeds that you use for your website can be pulled right into your app. Listeners can now absorb news through your live show, podcasts, or read it on your app. Let’s see print compete with that.
Events – Communities have always looked to radio for information about local events. Local event information can now be accessed at any time through your radio station’s mobile app. Provide a complete listing of all the events in your regions. You can provide an image, descriptive text, and a link to a specific website for more information. We’ve even provided a function so listeners can add the events to their device calendars for future reminders about the event.
Trivia Game – Trivia is a great tool to interact with your audience. It’s a fun way to connect with listeners and have them engage with your station. Take trivia to a new level with our trivia game feature. You can start your trivia game/contest on air to create awareness with your audience. You can then direct your listeners to the mobile app to play the trivia game. When they have completed the trivia game, listeners submit their scores and information to your station. Best part is your station has complete control over the question and answers in your trivia game. A great way to add a new dimension to your on-air trivia.
Weather – Radio has always been a great source for up to date weather information for local regions. People can catch the weather throughout the day with radio, as announcers make regular updates. Our weather feature pulls in the local forecast for a given region (current conditions, next 3 days, and next 12 hours) and is a nice information source for your audience as they listen to your live stream. Weather is now available for listeners on demand.
Station Contact – JOTA Mobile Apps for radio stations provides several different methods for listeners to contact your station. They can send a basic message, call the station with one touch dialing, upload a picture, or use the audio recorder to send you an audio message. This is a great tool for listeners to easily contact your station, and to create user generated content. Post images on your website or social medial platforms, use the audio recordings on-air, and more.
Loyalty Rewards – Help drive foot traffic for your advertisers with Loyalty Rewards. A stamp loyalty feature where users can earn rewards by collecting stamps for frequent visits to a location. You can even set up a specified number of free stamps to encourage features usage.
Around Town – What’s going on around your town? Around town is an interactive map that includes locations of your choosing. Highlight local businesses, event locations, and more. Include an image, text, phone number with one touch dialing, and easy directions to the locations on your map.
Web Links – Of course you can include links to your website and other websites of your choosing.
Social Media – Help grow your social media audience and interactions by including your social media links within your app.
JOTA Radio Apps are mobile apps designed specifically for radio stations. We have developed a set of features that help radio stations interact and engage with their audience. Mobile devices are with us everywhere we go. Make sure you station is with listeners everywhere they go.
Stay tuned for more blog posts from JOTA Radio apps, where the discussion is always about mobile apps for radio stations. You’ll find information about radio, how to use your mobile app, how to market your mobile, and more.
