Country radio fans really love radio — even when compared to other devoted radio listeners.
That’s one takeaway from a survey by Jacobs Media. It also found that country listeners are going mobile, embracing social and are big users of apps.
Jacobs has been dribbling out detailed findings from its recent Techsurvey9, in which it collected opinions from 78,000 listeners to 264 U.S. and Canadian stations.
President Fred Jacobs stated in a press release: “Country radio fans are rapidly adopting mobile gadgets from smartphones to tablets. And their rampant use of Facebook should be a signal to country programmers that proficiency in both the social and mobile spheres is a minimum requirement for today’s stations.”
Jacobs listed these general findings:
• Country listeners “are rapidly purchasing mobile gadgets.” Nearly two-thirds own a smartphone and more than a third have a tablet.
• “Country partisans are far more likely to listen to the radio eight hours a day or more.” Compared to fans of other formats, they spend more time listening to their stations.
• Asked why they listen to broadcast radio, country fans point to the music — more so than fans of other music formats tested. Fans of country radio are also more apt to name music discovery as a broadcast radio driver. “And much more than average, their primary source for finding out about new music and new artists is radio.”
• Facebook is becoming as important as email; fans are far more than average to have “liked” the country station that sent them this survey on Facebook. While country fans are moving to Twitter, Pinterest has become their No. 2 social network of choice, a big jump from the prior survey. Country fans also are more likely to interact socially with stations. “But you’d better acknowledge them,” Jacobs comments. “More than any other format, those who connect with country stations socially expect a response that same day.”
Country radio also fans are “avid mobile app users, and are especially likely to have downloaded the iHeartRadio app.” They are more likely to be driving a vehicle with a digital dashboard.
Find info about the survey here, including an infographic with broader findings. The company is conducting a series of webinars on its findings.
