radio Advertising guide: how to get started todayby FitSmallBusiness.com

Around 77% of adults tune in to AM/FM stations. The average listener spends almost 2 hours per day listening to radio.

Why should you advertise with radio?

You can reach people when they are driving to do shopping. Peak radio usage coincides with when people are in rush hour.

Why should you advertise with radio?

You can target your advertising very effectively. In the United States there are a great number and diversity of radio stations. This allows you to choose a specific station that reaches the demographic you need to target.

Why should you advertise with radio?

What arethe Challenges?

They are listening to the radio and doing something else. This m a k e s c o m m u n i c a t i n g information like a phone number very difficult.

To reach the entire audience of a radio station requires more spots than television. This is because radio listeners can tune in and out at different intervals.

Should you advertise on

Radio?

Retail stores and restaurants can use radio advertising very effectively, since it reaches your potential customers when they are on their way to go shopping or thinking where to eat at night.

If you are already advertising on TV or in Newspapers, radio can be a powerful one-two punch.The potential customer watches your ad at night and radio reminds them about your business in the morning.

However, if you have a complex message or the benefits of your offering are not easy to describe in a compelling way, radio may not be for you.

You may not know all the stations located in your area. Radio Locator allows you to find stations by the zip codes in which their signal can be heard.

Where Should You Advertise?

The radio station should be able to tell you which demographics they serve. Just remember to check if the stations have an audience that matches your customer base. Here are some general guidelines for targeting based on age from Strategic Media....

Where Should You Advertise?

age target Formats

teens 12-17 Primarily Top 40, some urban, alternative

Adults 18-24 Top 40, more alternative, urban preference

Adults 25-34 alternative, rock, top, adult contemporary, some urban

Where Should You Advertise?

age target FormatsAdults 35-44 rock, adult contemporary primarily

Adults 45-54 oldies, adult contemporary

Adults 55- 64 classical, new adult contemporary

Adults 65+ adult standards, classical, news talk

Where Should You Advertise?

Picking Time of Day (Weekdays)

6 AM - 10 AM - Morning Drive - One of the most desirable time slots for radio advertisers because the high engagements of listeners.

10 AM - 3 PM - Midday - Talk stations tend to loose audience with some exceptions. Other music stations gain audience as listeners use radio for background noise during work. The percentage of women listening increases.

3 PM - 7 PM - Afternoon Drive - A coveted time for advertising. Food and entertainment advertisers tend to seek this time out for advertising.

7 PM - 12 AM - Evening - Listeners are less responsive to radio ads and much smaller with the exception of 7 PM - 8 PM. However, there is an opportunity to get “bargain” rates.

12 AM - 6 AM - Overnight - Considered the worst time to advertise. Unless you are a 24 hour dinner or some business that caters to people that work at night. This time period is generally avoided.

Weekend advertising is considered its own time-slot.Weekend audiences tend to be much smaller than weekday audiences during similar time periods.All the previous information comes from Bid4Spots’ Radio Daypart Descriptions

Should You Buy Run Of Station?

Run of station allows radio stations to place your spot in any time they want for a very, very low cost. However, this may not be good. This may result in your spots running in the evening or overnight where the audience is small and less responsive.

Radio Advertisements Are Typically Sold in 60 Second Spots.

There is a study that indicates that 60 second spots are more effective than 30 second spots. The longer spot gives the advertiser an opportunity to tell a story and repeat their brand name and call to action more often.

How To Choose A Schedule for Your Radio Advertising.

In a choosing a schedule, an advertiser must decide between reaching the most people (reach) and the number of times the listener will hear the spot (frequency). There is an excellent article about this here.

How To Choose A Schedule for Your Radio Advertising.

If you are new to radio advert is ing , the b iggest questions are “Does it work?” and if so “What shows are working”.

Scheduling spots on multiple dayparts may give you good results but is that the reason that you are getting more sales?Focusing on one daypart and advertising with good frequency should give you a better view if radio advertising is working for you.

Radio advertising Costs

A primary factor is how many people will be listening. The frequency that your spot is aired also matters.Here are some estimates if the schedule is 15 spots from Monday to Friday and 4 spots on the weekend.

•NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago: from $4000 to $8000•Dallas/Ft.Worth, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego: from $2000 to $5000

•Denver, Cleveland, Kansas City: from $1000 to $3000•Akron, Wichita, Baton Rouge: from $800 to $2000•Myrtle Beach SC, Green Bay, Topeka: From $500 to $1500

There are many fancy words and terms that are used when discussing radio advertising. There are some clear, concise definitions here.However, pricing comes down to the following equation:

Number Of People Listening x Cost to Reach 1,000 listeners (CMP)= Cost of Advertising Per Spot.

What is the thinking behind the pricing?

In our opinion the number of people is best measured by Average Quarterly Hour Person. The radio station can provide you with this data. The CMP rate can vary greatly from station station. The average CMP rate is typically in the $12 - $16 range for adults between 18 - 49.

What is the thinking behind the pricing?

Cost of Producing Radio Advertising Spots

Often, a radio stations will offer to create a spot for free with the catch that you can only run that spot on their channel(s). If you get an offer like this, take advantage of it.

Advantages of having the DJ read from the script:

•Listeners tune out less.•The DJ may take more than 60 seconds.•Provides credibility to a product.

If you are going to produce a spot, we recommend to use a professional radio commercial production company and make at least two commercials so you can see which is more effective. You should be able to get a great radio ad made for $800 to $1200 per commercial.

The Elements of a Good Radio Script

Listeners are not going to be focusing on your commercial when it’s aired, so have the following in mind when writing your script...

1. Anything that is important, you need to repeat several times throughout the advertisement.2. If you want the listener to remember anything specific, like promo code or phone number, you need to make it very easy. For phone numbers a vanity number will work best.

StrategicMedia: The Top Ten Keys to Creating Great Radio AdsMichael Holmes: Radio Commercials: Tip Trics And TutorialsThe Radio Advertising Bureau: An interesting interview with a RAB representative.

Here are some great resources for creating radio ads

And Finally...

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