The Radio Community (TRC) expanded their digital presence this quarter by relaunching social media pages and concluding the design of their new website. The network of community radio stations reaches thousands of listeners each day, however their presence online was never emphasized. Realizing that an online presence would help them reach a wider audience, connect with the diaspora and provide business development opportunities, TRC dedicated resources to strengthening their presence this quarter.

TRC hired a communications and donor liaison officer in July 2019 and trained them extensively on the work of the network. The new staff member established social media accounts for all TRC stations and the TRC Hub in Juba. This included Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

On Twitter, TRC’s Hub and four stations have a combined following of over 500 people. These pages mostly consist of latest news updates including captions that are relevant to each story. Followers left messages appreciating this vital and timely initiative. On Instagram, TRC can be found at @theradiocommun1 where listeners can engage.

Recognizing that social media requires a strategy to be most effective, TRC created a social media strategy checklist that guided the work of the communications and donor liaison officer. The checklist helped the staff member to ensure that the social media pages were reaching the correct audiences both inside and outside of South Sudan. The checklist included the following objectives:

• Setting goals: to started small with few followers, but plan to grow bigger in few months going forward and increase online audience.
• Knowing TRC target audience: TRC targets both the South Sudanese in the country and diaspora with access to Internet.
• Social media: TRC team would focus on posting news stories and images to be followed by short videos that tell stories. 
• Long Term Strategy: TRC will strive to focus on network that will add value to the organization, not just followers who won’t turn into customers.
• Measurement and Testing: TRC will constantly analyze its social media strategy to know how effective it is. Engage with the audience and evaluate the performance on the digital platform for further recommendations.

In addition to social media, TRC also completed their new website this quarter, which highlights TRC stations’ impact in the communities where they operate. The website will publicly launch later in 2020. TRC continues to explore ways to innovate, attract more audiences and expand their listenership.

The Radio Community is a network of radio stations supported by the USAID-funded i-STREAM project (Strengthening Free and Independent Media in South Sudan), implemented by Internews. In 2017, The Radio Community became an official sub-grant partner of i-STREAM as they transition to self-sustaining organization.

(Banner photo: The Radio Community’s makes a presentation on World Radio Day 2020, February 13. Credit: TRC)