By Linda Mackenzie
When it comes to placing ad dollars many advertising and
marketing companies perceive radio, and especially independent internet talk radio,
as an ugly duckling. Today the majority of advertising budgets are going to
video, search and digital websites which have high visitor counts. They shun the
poor ugly duckling internet radio and only place minimal amounts of their
budgets to old known terrestrial radio conglomerates. How’s that working for you?
Well here’s the rub ducklings…you’re missing 8 to 10 hours
of prime time audience from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every weekday. Internet Radio is now
full grown and it’s a beautiful Swan swimming strong. Feed the swan and you’ll
get results and here’s why…
- Do you realize that during the work day people are usually not allowed to surf the web or watch videos from their desks – their employers want them to work and frown on these activities. However, radio and internet radio is usually allowed because it is played in the background. Plus with WiFi, Bluetooth and Smartphones internet radio is readily available to the listener at the office and they are listening.
- While people are driving to work with Bluetooth, in-dash and smartphone capabilities now available in cars, independent internet radio stations are here to stay and people ARE listening. Let’s face it. I certainly wouldn’t want to drive near a distracted driver who was watching a video or doing a search while driving and lately there are low rumblings in the government sector to research these activities in more depth for possible liabilities.
- Per the latest census bureau statistics there were 27,281,452 employer firms compared to 21,351,320 non-employer firms and according to the Small Business Administration 52% are home-based businesses. People are meant to be social animals. Many of these people need social interaction during their workday - but working from home, alone, this may be difficult. Remember music incites the soul and talk insights the mind. Talk radio fills this social interaction gap and Internet Talk radio fills this gap with new, refreshing programs that are not the standard fare of the terrestrial industry.
- Not all Internet Talk Radio stations are alike. Make sure you select a station that has longevity, experience and the audience. Longevity brings the station’s already loyal listeners. Experience means that they know how to implement advertising easily and effectively. Audience means they have a method to gather exact demographics of their listeners and measure audience size.
- When deciding metric measurements with the digital broadcast section of terrestrial radio discern what metrics you are getting. Internet radio audience measurement is NOT website hits. Internet listeners come from the streaming server. Make sure that you get a breakdown per exact station and not just overall sessions that are for the entire empire. A well-established internet radio station has them and you’d be surprised at how many more listeners they do have. Check it out for yourself.
So next time you are making a decision on where to place
your advertising dollars, step out of your comfort zone. Why not put a little
bit of your budget towards trying Internet Talk Radio - the Ugly Duckling who
is now a Swan and swimming strong. HealthyLife.net has been swimming strong for
a long time now – why not try us?
