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The Edge shows radio’s social side

The Edge FM is continuing its growth on social media with the announcement its Twitter account has been given the ever sought after ‘blue tick’. The ‘blue tick’, which verifies The Edge’s Twitter feed as an authentic handle, will deepen the radio station’s relationship with its fans and increase its reach, according to marketing manager Emily Hancox.

“From a listener’s perspective, or a follower’s, it’s just that recognition that anything that’s tweeted from that account is officially The Edge. It’s that verification, that validation, that what you’re saying is from you,” says Hancox.

“From a business partnership view, it provides you with more analytics. We can see who’s engaging with us, and we can send out promoted tweets.”

Hancox says this will be a fantastic way for the radio station to increase its reach because so many of its listeners and target demographic frequently use the social networking site. The ‘blue tick’ will give it more of an understanding of how its followers interact with the brand, allowing it to more actively meet their needs, she says.

The verification, which was granted by the New Zealand branch of global digital media group Komli, is currently the only ‘blue tick’ given to a radio brand in the country, and only the second media brand after stuff.co.nz. Hancox says MediaWorks will be looking to see which other brands could be verified in the future.

The Edge could also seek verification for some of its personalities, such as breakfast show hosts Jay-Jay Feeney, Mike Puru and Dominic Harvey, to further enhance the brand’s presence and reach on the social networking site.

Hancox says while Facebook is an integral way the radio station interacts with its listeners, Twitter’s usage amongst fans is growing more quickly and its style probably complements the immediacy of radio more than Facebook. Promotions and direct communication on Twitter can also be more effective, she says.

“Twitter is a lot easier than Facebook with giveaways. So we have run quick ticket grabs via Twitter and we’ve used it when there’s been breaking news such as the Christchurch Earthquake.”

The Edge Programme Director Leon Wratt says he is excited about what impact the verification could have on the radio station’s growth.

“We are already the country’s biggest radio station on Twitter. It is an easy to use platform to interact and engage in direct dialogue with our listeners faster than ever before.

“Partnering with Twitter is a demonstration of how serious The Edge is about connecting with its fans, and we look forward to deepening that relationship.”

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