Let’s be honest and face the truth about small local businesses – local community newspapers are the fall back for many advertising clients – and after the popularity of last weeks post about how to deal with clients and their social media marketing – I thought I would tackle another list of ways that radio advertising can achieve better results than community newspaper advertising:
1. Wide Reach: Radio stations have a broad audience, reaching more people than community newspapers, which often have a limited circulation. If they are read at all (my 2 local papers do not even get opened, they are thrown in the recycling bin straight away – and I see many others on my street doing the same thing)
2. Greater Frequency: Radio commercials can be played more frequently than newspaper ads, which can increase brand recall and awareness. So instead of seeing the ad once in the paper – if at all – an advertiser can be on multiple times in an hour, or over the day.
3. Higher Engagement: Radio listeners often have a higher level of engagement with radio compared to reading community newspapers, as radio can be the primary and also secondary focus during the time of listening.
4. No Competition: With radio advertising, there is no competition for space, unlike community newspapers where advertisers compete for ad space. You turn the page and there’s another ad – little news or little of anything to keep you engaged with what is in the paper.
5. Better Targeting: Radio stations often have demographic data on their listeners, which can allow for more targeted advertising compared to community newspapers.
6. Time-Sensitivity: Radio is a time-sensitive medium, making it effective for promotions, events, and seasonal advertising. Allowing for fast turn around and on-air – in a paper, you have to wait for the next print run – and if a paper makes a mistake – that’s a long time between fixing it and hopefully being seen again – on radio – we can fix it immediately.
7. Emotional Connection: Radio can create an emotional connection with listeners through storytelling, music, and personality-driven content, which can be more impactful than community newspaper advertising.
8. Cost-Effective: Radio advertising can be more cost-effective than community newspaper advertising, particularly for smaller businesses with limited budgets.
9. Mobile-Ready: Many people listen to the radio on their mobile devices, making radio advertising mobile-ready and accessible.
10. Greater Flexibility: Radio advertising offers greater flexibility in terms of ad placement, with the ability to adjust ad frequency, timing, and length to suit the advertiser’s needs. Community newspaper advertising is often limited to pre-determined ad sizes and placement.
There you have it – 10 reasons why RADIO is better than your local community newspaper.
Hope that helps when you are talking to your clients who LOVE local community newspapers more than radio.
