When considering the best mode of advertising, placing ads on the radio has the best value. The United States has over 12,000 radio stations, and because most people listen to the radio while in a vehicle, so you have a built-in captive audience for your message.
The time that you post your ad is important. Most people listen to the radio from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., so therefore this is the most expensive time block. The time with the fewest listeners is from midnight until 6 a.m. This is the least expensive time to advertise. Due to the fact that so few people listen during the overnight time it is not a good time to post an ad. Also, when first putting out the ad it is a good idea to only have it played or read during one time-spot each day of the week, on one radio station. This is a test to see how effective your advertisement is before spending a lot of money.
The most important consideration in radio advertising is your audience. Who do you want to reach? Who is most likely to buy your product? How much do your typical customers earn? What stations do these people listen to? When do these people listen to the radio? Locating your target audience is essential in order to ensure that you are posting your radio ad on the right station and at the right time. For example, the demographics of listeners to Country Music Stations will be different than those who listen to Hard Rock Stations.
The next important tip for radio advertising is repetition. The more often the ad runs per week, and per radio station, the more people the company will reach. One of the advertising terms for radio advertising is called a Roadblock, and this is when a company runs the same ad on several stations at the same time. The Roadblock is an excellent way to reach potential customers who frequently change radio stations. This is also a way to reach a similar demographic of people who may listen to different radio stations. Not only is it important to run an ad at least 15 times per week, per station, it is important in the ad to repeat things. For example, if you want the listener to call, you should repeat the phone number at least two times. It is also better if you can list a phone number that is easy to remember. For example, you could spell out the company name, or have key words in the phone number. The ad should also repeat the name of the business. Repetition is important for listeners to retain information.
Companies should first write the ad, and provide a transcript to a radio station. The ad should be straight forward and easy to understand. It is imperative to capture your audience’s attention in the first sentence. If you do not get attention upfront, you risk losing a customer. Also, your ad should be distinct. For example, play different music that grabs everyone’s attention, or get someone who is a professional radio image to read the transcript. Most companies are successful that take the time to create a different ad for different stations.
The last consideration is cost. Will you profit from this advertisement? Will the listeners spend more money than it costs for the advertisement? Always try to negotiate price, as many radio stations will offer incentives. As far as the amount of time of an ad, the opinion varies. Many people believe that companies should try to take 60 seconds of radio time, instead of 30 seconds. The cost is only 20%-30% more for the extra time, and the 60 seconds gives the business enough time to explain the benefits of the product and offer incentives. For example, you could say, the first 100 callers will get this product for $19.99. Other people state that it is better to only create a 30 second ad. The bottom line is to use whatever time it takes to get the message across to the potential customer.
Therefore, the best tips for radio advertising are figuring out the best time to advertise; reaching your target audience; including repetition in both the times your ads run, and the number of times that you repeat the product and phone number; making your ad easy to understand; and keeping the cost down, so that you are still making a profit by gaining new customers who will buy your product.
