small business radio advertising
Radio advertising may seem out of reach for most small business owners but in reality it may be the most cost effective medium you can undertake.
Depending on where your customer are (what radio stations cover your area) will of course determine the overall cost of your radio advertising budget and some radio stations are much smaller than others.
So to start off have a think of the radio stations you believe your customers listen to. Start to research each of these stations to see what their listener profile is (just find the radio stations’ websites - in general they should have a press pack or and advertiser pack and within this will be all the details of campaign costs and demographics of their listeners).
In theory you should be able to get 40-50 spots for a 30 second radio commerical for about £500 - but of course it varies.
You also have to get your advert made - some will include the cost of making your ad in the costs above - but check to see what is included.
Some other points to think about before you embark on this route are:
- what time of day will your advert be played
- the most memorable ads general have either a slogan or a memorable tune so think about how your ad will be played and heard
- how will you measure success? you must be able to measure the output either with a special telephone number or web address to see what happens to your business through this advertising
- you need a call to action - ie: once the ad has been played, what do you want the listeners to do? You need to tell them what you want them to do rather than assume they know
- you need to have your target audience listen to your ad many times before they will do anything. Messages like “50% off Ipods today - call xxx” will attract more response than “we sell ipods” so check your message, when it will be played so folks here it many times and have your call to action.
Many people have had huge success with radio advertising their small business so check it out as it may be perfect for you.
Comment by Brett Astor on 10 October 2006:
One thing to keep in mind regarding your second bullet point: the goal of the ad is not as much that people will remember it, as much as it is about that people will take a particular action as a result of hearing it. Focus less on catchy tune and more one whether it influences in the way you need it to. And measure the results!
Comment by small business on 10 October 2006:
Hi Brett - yes you are so right - it’s just that you need something memorable because even if you have the right ingredients, if it’s too boring, no one will do anything !