Five Reasons Radio Advertising Works for Small Business

Peas and carrots aren’t that great of a match. 

I mean, I get why the creative team behind Forrest Gump didn’t want to take the easy road of peanut butter and jelly. Or peanut butter and chocolate. Or crunchy peanut butter and creamy peanut butter.

But the notion of two things being combined, to create value better than the sum of its parts, is still an immensely valuable lesson in relationships, sports, cooking, and most definitely business.

Operating a small business is an admirable undertaking. Advertising is a crucial complement to it. Putting the two together, specifically on the radio, is like peas and carrots AND peanut butter. Here’s five reasons why:

Radio Advertising Costs Less

In terms of bang for your advertising budget buck, nothing tops radio.

Most world-class chefs live by one rule that surprises some: simplicity. A memorable steak shouldn’t need much more than salt. Asparagus can go miles with just fresh citrus. Of course, the caveat to any culinary example is execution. So simplicity + execution = greatness, right?

Radio advertising follows the exact formula.

And sometimes, an entire ad can cost less than a single 30-course Michelin-star feast. All because radio’s production and delivery is so simple, and without sacrificing quality or reach. Television ads mean tens of thousands of dollars, wasted hours standing around twiddling thumbs, inferior targeting of audience, and you better believe a whole lotta technical difficulties. Social media advertising may cost less than television, but it’s gotten a whole lot harder to do any meaningful tracking within it.

“In terms of bang for your advertising budget buck, nothing tops radio.”

Radio Advertising Reaches Local Consumers 

Home Depot and McDonalds don’t really need to prioritize “local” in their board and regional meetings. Small businesses should, in just about every meeting. Because useful though they are, international chains don’t define a community; SMBs do.

So where’s the intersection with radio? Locals tune in to the radio for local things that come between their beloved songs: news, weather, traffic, sports, and their favorite DJs. Because locals inherently support radio, they will in turn support small businesses that advertise on it. Especially when you can craft your advertisements to speak to a local, by a local, much more effectively than other mediums. And speaking of local DJs, getting an endorsement from them is a sure-fire way to perk the ears of listeners to your business or operation.

Radio Advertising is Convenient

For you and consumers alike. We’ve covered simplicity above, but let’s shift to why radio is easy and - more importantly - memorable for prospective consumers; it’s more portable than any other medium! 

You can’t (or shouldn’t!) watch television in your car. You can’t scroll social media while you’re doing squats. And you’re definitely not going to be consuming print advertising while cooking dinner. But for all these things, radio isn’t just available, it’s an enhancement. Thanks to its adaptive qualities that have brought it far beyond just the car, radio makes exercising, cooking, cleaning, socializing, and loads of other things better. This increased reach means increased interest, calls, and sales for any small business that utilizes it.

Radio Advertising  = Targeted Advertising

There can be a negative connotation to the broad term “targeted advertising” for good reason, after social media’s rampant use of it led to essentially tracking individual people. But what if a medium could still provide valuable user data to businesses, without tracking or violating privacy?

Enter radio. It thrives not off personal tracking, but broad demographics, meaning it knows the age ranges, income levels, activities and interests, and even genders of its listener base. Think about how valuable that sort of information is to an outdoor recreation company, or a hair salon. Thanks to local radio advertising, the owners of these types of businesses can ensure that they are heard by the people that need to hear them. Advertising can easily become wasteful when it doesn’t have a thoughtful direction. So give it one.

“What if a medium could provide valuable user data to businesses tracking or violating privacy? Enter radio.”

Tools That Track Engagement

A consumer just hearing your advertisement is not the main objective. You want to know what that consumer does after, and in our digital age, that almost always means one thing - a website visit (free tip for any future radio ads - use your website, not a phone number, for calls to action!).

Well guess what, you can easily find out when that happens! Thanks to tools like Rumple, business owners can know when an ad truly resonated with people and called them to further action. And that’s useful for a heck of a lot more than good feelings. It can inform when a campaign needs tweaking, repetition, or a complete overhaul.

Radio Advertising for Small Business is More Than a Recommendation

It’s darn near a necessity, especially as big business continues swooping in on growing regions like the Treasure Valley. Its bang for the buck, ease and convenience, and unmatched value to local consumers make it the most effective advertising medium for SMBs. 

We at Iliad Media Group know it to be the case, which is why we felt honored to have three radio ads nominated for the 2022 Mercury Awards. But frankly, the celebrating didn’t last long. We love our work because we love seeing our local business thrive. If you’d like to be one of them, our smart, fun and caring team would love to get to work with you.