The Power of Advertising is Missed by Radio
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Advertising is a powerful action. It doesn't matter which medium is used. If the message is consistent, relevant, and concise, and the offer is attractive, you can count on a return on investment.
There are a lot of things to get right in making an effective advertising campaign. In the radio industry, too many commercials suffer from time-cramped production schedules, poor creative, and writing by people who don't know how to write. The dwindling quality of radio advertising is part of the reason why the radio industry is in its seventeenth straight month of declining revenues.
But there's another "advertising" reason why radio is falling out of favor; it fails to follow its own advice. Radio does not advertise!
Besides mentions in a radio station's own programming and those quick TV promotions associated with weather reports that push no message other than "listen to XXXX-TV (reporter's name) on XXXX-Radio," where is radio advertising? Specifically, where is radio trying to reach out and expand its audience?
It's not a new question, when speaking of radio stations lacking a TV or print campaign. It is a new area of query, however, when it comes to the radio industry spending money to advertise online.
Two campaigns could be created online, and both would help; one aimed at advertisers, the other at listeners.
For advertisers, radio still lacks an online destination that explains - in detail - how to put a radio advertising campaign together, how rates are determined, what profiles to look for in a format, etc. As the movement in online listeners grows, the radio industry also needs to invest in keyword ad buying to capture some of that audience.
A check on paid advertisements at Google for the keyword "radio advertising" shows not one radio station company name. There are dozens of text ads from companies producing radio advertising, but not one radio group has bought an ad on this page.
In this day when new media is not so new anymore - it has become mainstream - the radio industry cannot afford to miss being listed in these online ads. Eighty percent of radio's revenue comes from local advertisers, from the small businesses whose owners are looking for effective advertising but don't have a clue how to make it happen. Is radio so enamored with itself that it still believes these potential advertisers will just pick up the phone without first going online?
The other side of this internet advertising coin is in the radio industry needing to buy the keywords "radio stations," "(format) radio stations," "internet radio stations," and "online radio stations." (81.7% of Audio Graphics' RadioRow.com's monthly traffic comes from search engines.)
We'll keep this easy, and then you can do further searches on your own. Do a Google search for "radio stations" (here, just click the words). Don't look at the returns on the left side of the page; concentrate on what comes up under the paid ads on page right. You'll find a few internet pure-play radio stations listed, and not one commercial radio station. Do a search for "rap radio stations." RadioRow takes up the first two listings on the left side, but look on the right side of the page. There is only one ad - and it's not from any broadcast radio group.
Here's a demonstration of the importance of coming up in a search like this. Google Trends indicates a keyword's potential draw, relative to total search volume. Look at the search volume for "rap radio stations" and "hip hop radio stations." That it's enough to be listed in Google Trends, alone, tells you how many potential listeners you are missing.
Parting with money is never easy in radio. Just heed this simple warning: You cannot ignore the internet anymore - even for advertising your own existence.
Advertising is a powerful action. If radio is so intent on getting itself back on track, it needs to advertise, online, that it has something to offer.
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