Incorporating Radio into Your Marketing Mix: Give Radio a Second Look / Listen

There are so many media competing for our attention today when we’re in the car — from XM to audiobooks. Whether you’re a guest on a talk show or an advertiser, there are so many opportunities to promote your business through radio. Let’s look at a few:
 
Community Radio: Getting on a local radio station is a great idea if you target folks in a certain geographic area, such as the Indianapolis metro area. There are also community radio stations popping up all over which serve smaller markets, such as the one in my town, Radio Brownsburg. Often times the advertising affordability and publicity opportunities are much greater for community radio stations when compared to the larger stations. Something worth checking out.
 
Internet Radio: Many community and local radio stations also broadcast online at no cost. This means that your marketing dollars are reaching an unlimited number of listeners (as long as they have computer speakers).

Many people ask: How do you get publicity on radio stations?

There are a variety of methods to try. First off, you need to study and listen to the format of the station you have in mind. If you know what type of format they have, you can better pitch an idea to them. If they have a dedicated segment for news, send an email or call the station and ask for the news director, and type or explain your newsworthy story idea or press release. Remember the station’s audience and ask yourself, “Why would they find this interesting or newsworthy?”
 
Other ideas for radio publicity: You can also try offering the station something to give away on the air, which is related to your business (or host an event at your location). Or sponsor a particular segment, and you’ll get your name mentioned before and/or after the segment. Finally, you could call-in or offer to be an expert guest on a segment that relates to their particular topic. To do this, you need to send info in advance which explains what you’ll discuss and why you’re the expert.
 
As you can see, radio can be a very smart marketing investment as long as you keep your audience and your message in mind.