Use social media effectively to create a giant fan club for your on air talent, said radio consultant and trainer Steve Ahern at the first Radio Asia 2013 workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam on Monday.

Bringing case studies from Australia, Ahern showed how presenters who utilised social media increased their value to employers.

The clever ones, he said, could bring thousands of social media fans with them to their new jobs.

Radio stations should be prepared for real-time feedback from listeners via social media, said Ahern.

He said the technology gave similar results to focus group research, the only difference being that this type of feedback is public.

While there are many examples where social media has helped positively promote great radio content, Ahern warned of cases where it can amplify mistakes.

The royal prank call was a case in point.  When the two Australian presenters phoned the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was staying, their wind-up went viral over several days, partly thanks to social media.

The call backfired when the nurse who answered the call committed suicide three days later.

Monitoring how listeners respond to your content on social media is essential through the use of dashboard software like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, said Ahern.

He called for all stations to have a separate screen in on air studios and in programming offices so that this interactivity can be constantly watched.