For all you Facebookers, you’ve probably seen this one pop up in your news feed numerous times this week as you or your friends have liked a post of theirs:
Before actually clicking through to their page, I was under the impression Virgin Radio Lebanon was another ‘funny pic/meme’ page that actually had some decent content. I was actually surprised to learn (as the name suggests) its actually a radio station…..in Lebanon.
With 2,189,161 likes as of this blog entry, this radio station is absolutely killing it online. To put it in perspective, Fox FM one of the most ‘liked’ stations in Australia only have 148,286 likes. How does a radio station in a country with a population nearly 5 times LESS than Australia, that’s situated between two active war zones, have that many people following them.
I did a quick analysis of their page to find out and the answer is simple. Funny photos and unrelated content. They literally post a photo every hour and 9 out of 10 are funny or unrelated to the station and 1 in 10 is actually related to the station. By posting huge amounts of content, with images that anyone can relate to, not just listeners, they have amassed a HUGE online following.
According to Facebook statistics site Social Bakers, only 163,666 followers are actually from Lebanon. Their largest following is from USA with 252,572! Their page has grown by 1,309 967 in the last month alone.
This is how Facebook page marketing should be done. I’m not saying we should all have millions of likes on our business page, but by posting unrelated business content you can engage a larger audience and continually engage them as they like your posts. By putting up constant posts like ‘look whats in stock’, ‘look whats on sale’, ‘come down see us and buy some stuff’ you are going to bore your audience. Your posts will start to become invisible to them and they may even unlike your page. If you market like Radio Lebanon, the occasional post related to the business will be seen, and ignored less, as they aren’t frequent. They are effectively engaging with their target audience and entertaining everyone else.
Virgin Radio Lebanon has been able to spread brand awareness internationally by using their current strategy. All week I’ve seen their posts, I’ve liked their posts, my friends have liked their posts and I’ve liked their page. Whoever is working in their social media team deserve a raise, they have hit the nail on the head. The Virgin brand always seem to be pushing boundaries and taking marketing and business to new levels. Brilliant.
If I ever find myself driving through the streets of Lebanon I know which radio station I’ll be tuning to!
So tell me, have you seen a Virgin Radio Lebanon post this week? What do you think of this marketing strategy?
Dominic Tallon 🙂
P.S. Given the fast pace and changing nature of Facebook and popular pages, if you are reading this in a month other than August 2014 the chances are, you’ve probably never seen a Virgin Radio Lebanon post and I’m sounding like some hardcore Virgin fan who’s excited about anything related to the brand.
Secret Diary 
Issue is I think with this, is people like me get absolutely sick of seeing those posts pop up on my newsfeed. Also, as you stated no one knows its a radio station page. What good is a lot of likes if it becomes unrelatable to what the actual product is.
LikeLike
My feeling is that they are using the unrelated content to build their following, and then the occasional related post thrown in to be able to sell their product/market their product. This way they can maintain and grow the amount of followers, and still be able to sell to them without losing their interest with too many uninteresting posts
LikeLike
Although I agree that posting a lot of funny photos and unrelated content can get a company a large online following, I feel it is still important for marketers to not forget their brand and how they want to be perceived. It’s very easy for brands to loose focus of what is relevant to their brand when chasing online followers, and it all depends on who they are targeting. Online activity has to integrate something they post (such as a funny picture) with their brand/brand message, so that at the end of day, consumers can easily recall that brand.
For Virgin Radio Lebanon, this strategy seems succesful, and they’ve probably targeted the audience they wanted to. However, other brands have to consider what is appropriate for their brand.
LikeLike
I totally agree with you here, it’s successful in this case but certainly not going to work for everyone. Depends on your market, this wouldn’t be a good strategy for a company like Tobin Brothers for example. For the entertianment/media industry, such as a radio station, it would be more suited.
LikeLike
I think this page is successful, because it is lighthearted and humourous! “We are the people’s station!” I think this fits with their culture, brand personality and audience. They are a radio station, and radio stations talk gossip and talk trash! Its a perfect fit! In terms of only 1 in 10 actually related to the station, I doubt they even need that. Their product requires people to “tune in” and they have certainly done that! They are about entertainment so the FB page should be about entertainment, which can be anything and everything!
LikeLike
I would also question if the adjective “unrelated” is necessary because it IS entertaining and therefore relevant, so it should just be ‘engaging content’
LikeLike