| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
Why Radio Advertising Could Be The Best Thing You Ever Did For Your Business
In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he'll start talking about.) Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the mix. However, radio doesn't test well. In surveys and other tracking methods, radio tends to be the one with the dismal scores. A good friend of mine, who's also a marketing consultant but before that she sold radio for many years, has a theory about that. She says radio works on a subconscious or unconscious level. People remember the ad, but not that they heard it on the radio. So, they tend to credit a different medium for the ad, like the yellow pages. Yellow pages gets a boost while radio drops a few points. Regardless, radio should not be ignored because it does work. And many marketing consultants will probably tell you radio is an excellent medium to reach a local market. However, I feel there are possibilities beyond merely reaching local customers. Internet radio shows are starting to take off in a big way. That means advertising and sponsorship opportunities are also taking off. In addition, "offline" methods have been shown to be pretty effective at driving traffic online. If increasing Web traffic is your goal, using traditional media outlets to increase traffic should be a part of your mix. If people already know you (which they might in your local market) they're more likely to be loyal. And they're more likely to send other customers to your site. Depending on the costs of radio in your community, radio may be a very affordable way to get a good viral campaign going. (A viral campaign is when your customers send promotional items about your business such as e-mails, articles, Web site urls, etc. to their friends and family members.) Below are some other positive reasons to use radio: * Affordable -- when you compare spot to spot, radio tends to be one of the least expensive media out there. However, one spot ain't going to do it. To reach your target market, you need to purchase several spots. That's why radio can also turn into one of the more expensive media. However, there are ways to keep your costs in line yet still reap the benefits of radio -- for instance, buying less spots but running them all in one or two weeks, so your customers are more likely to hear your message. * Psychological, if you voice the commercials yourself -- hearing your voice makes people feel like they "know" you. (Hence the popularity of audio on Web sites. In fact, marketing gurus claim just by adding audio to a site substantially increases how many people buy.) People tend to buy from people and businesses they know and trust. Hearing your voice helps them feel as if they know you. These psychological aspects may be another reason to consider running a few radio ads in your local market even if you have an Internet business. * Speed -- you can get your spot up and running in no time. * Loyalty -- listeners choose stations based on the music or shows they like and they tend to be quite loyal to that station. If you know what your customers enjoy listening to, it's an excellent way to reach them. (I include both music and talk shows in this.) * Good support medium -- radio works really well when paired with other marketing mediums (like print, direct mail or television). But for every positive, there's a negative. In the spirit of being objective, here are a few for radio: * Background medium -- radio tends to be on in the background, which means it tends to be ignored. Generally, your target market needs to be exposed to your ad more times than other marketing media before they'll act upon your message. * Little staying power -- the lack of visuals again keeps radio from "sticking" with people. At least, that's what some of the marketing gurus say. But, here again my marketing consultant friend differs. She thinks it's that subconscious thing again. And if you can write a spot that creates pictures in your customers' heads, you can actually work this to your advantage. In fact, according to my friend, if the picture is defined enough, not only will people remember it better, but they'll also think it was a print ad instead of a radio ad. (More on the art of creating pictures using words in later issues.) * Hard to track - it's impossible to know exactly how many people are tuning in at any given time. A final note: Because radio is subconscious, keep that in mind when crafting your ad. Repeat your business name a lot and any other branding info, so it gets into your customers' heads. Don't put in phone numbers. Instead, purchase a memorable Web site domain name and repeat that. And remember to create "pictures" whenever possible. Creativity Exercise -- How can you use radio in your business? Would radio work for your business? Let's find out. Take out a sheet of paper and a fun pen. (I'm partial to gel pens.) Draw a line down the center. On one side, put the header: Why advertising on radio is a good idea for my business. On the other side, put the header: Why advertising is a bad idea for my business. Now pick a side and start writing down reasons. You might be more comfortable starting with the side that's easiest for you. Then when you work on the other side, you can simply turn the reasons around. For instance, let's say you started with the bad idea. One of your reasons was: My product is completely visual. You could turn it around by saying "Because my product is so visual, I'll have to work harder to create pictures in my customers' minds. And because the customers create their own pictures, they're more likely to remember them." Or what if you started with a good idea, and one of the reasons was: "Because my business is local." You could turn it around and say "Because radio is holding me back -- I'm only reaching this local market." (Ah, now I'm even going against what I said earlier. Maybe with this statement you could look for ways to get your customers to spread the word outside the area about your business.) As you saw by my last example, you'll be amazed at what comes out when you do this exercise. Even if you don't change your views on radio advertising, you may come up with new and powerful insights to your business. Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
80% of All Advertising Is Wasted Due To This Common Mistake You're flipping through this publication as you wait for your latte, when suddenly you decide to stop and read an ad. What made you stop? I'll bet it was an attention grabbing headline. Boost Headline Believability With Specifics Don't use vague generalities in your headlines. Be as specific as possible. How To Tell If An Advertisement Costs Too Much People say it all the time: "This advertising costs too much!" They practically go into cardiac arrest when they see how much the advertising for certain media in certain markets is going to cost them. It is pretty easy to get sticker shock when you see that a sixty-second radio commercial on a popular Los Angeles station could cost you a thousand bucks. How to Use the 3 Most Common Direct Marketing Measurements to Increase Your Profits! John Wanamaker, a 19th century entrepreneur, once famously made the statement, "I know that half of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half." Fortunately for today's marketers, there are scientific ways to determine which half is wasted, and which half is not, through the use of common direct marketing measurements. Non-profit Coupon Books and Coupon Mailers for Small Businesses Many groups like the Chamber of Commerce, ASB at the local high school, etc. will ask if their members can get a discount if they shop in your store or use your service. Small Cards, Big Ideas: Alternative Uses for Business Cards Aggressive business card marketing isn't about handing your business cards out to everyone you see.The card itself must have a new use, an innovative design, or something other than the usual contact information printed on it. Consider These Pressing Facts Before You Renew Your Yellow Page Ad Your Yellow Page Ad Deserves More than 10 Minutes of Thought a YearBefore long, your Yellow Page directory rep will be paying you a visit. It's an annual event that happens several months before next year's directory goes to press. Advertising on a Budget -- Part 2: Thinking Small This is the second article of a three-part series. I'm illustrating the marketing challenges of a small business, PrescottWeddings. 7 Unique Ways To Get FREE Advertising 1. Give Testimonials When you purchase a product or service and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Go Ahead Im Listening In today's fast paced environment, interaction with family and friends is often relegated to a few left over minutes here and there, leaving many people feeling isolated.Radio fills the gap. 4 Ways to Double the Power of Your Business Cards Sure, everyone needs business cards. But why not make your business card do double or triple the work of an average business card. Prove It! - Give Your Marketing and Advertising More Credibility Your marketing and advertising won't be effective if your potential customers don't believe the claims you make. So how can you prove your that you can do what you say you can?Tone it down. Advertising Your Holistic Business The most basic answer is the same answer as to the question, how does advertising work? Advertising works through repetition, and Holistic Hometown offers you that repetition.What all successful companies know is that advertising it a process. Developing a Formal Brand Messaging Document Ensure everyone in your company sings from the same sheet of music when it comes to communicating a consistent brand message.Imagine one of your customers calling six different people in your company. Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services? You offer a reliable, quality service. You know that if more people knew what you can do, you'd increase sales. Do You Really Need a Brochure? Traditional brochures typically tell the story of your company, i.e. 9 Tips for Better Billboards It is a given that billboard advertising "outdoor" is not a "quick fix". If sales are down, you can't quickly put up a few boards to boost the numbers. Promote yourself on radio for free Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I'm aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. Marketing Tips - Advertising Typical methods of advertising-newspapers, radio and television are effective if used properly, but there are other, less expensive ways to get your company's name out. Local or cable television is an inexpensive alternative to the traditional forms of advertising. How to Make a Fortune from Unique Resistance-free Advertising One of the most powerful offers you can use in your advertising is the word Free.But, you may well ask? how can I make a profit giving my products and services away without charging for them?Which is the exact reason why you need to understand the 'LVC Formula' which stands for the Lifetime Value of a Client!Here's how it works.
|
| home | site map | Tele88.co.uk | Soscili.com | UltimateWealthCorner.com | JustDial.tk | bennyong.com |
| © 2006 Velocity Spark Network. Hosted by Hostonfire.com |
