Radio Rocks the Internet

Radio Ads Drive Internet Traffic

Over the past several years the radio industry has experienced hard times, as have many traditional forms of media. Radio has been hard hit by big agency accounts, like automotive and others, shifting money to other "new" media or just cutting their budgets. The local direct advertiser has also shifted money to other "new media" as Internet marketing companies develop aggressive sales staffs and begin to hit business owners with their "new and exciting" products.

I was in radio sales and management for 20 years before embarking on my own advertising company. Now that I'm on "the other side" as a buyer/planner/consultant, ironically I see more clearly than ever that radio is incredibly powerful. I know this only because we tie internet strategies into all our radio campaigns and we can therefore track or "see" our radio ads working. Radio spots work extremely well at quickly driving Internet activity. I have documented proof of the impact radio spots have in driving qualified consumers to a clients offering. So radio is still really rockin' and it's clearly rocking the Internet. But why hasn't radio jumped on this opportunity?

Back to Their Roots: Local Business

Radio is going to have to rebuild their client base one local advertiser at a time. But they can't go in there with the same old playbook..."We're #1!" or "We're having a one day sale and we're giving it away!". Cheap Cheap Cheap! All these send the wrong signal to a business owner. He or she doesn't care about these things. Business owners care about how they can get the maximum return for their limited marketing budget. They are always thinking, "What's the best advertising combination for getting new customers or repeat customers to spend more at my store?" "What can I do to make the next ad campaign work better?" It's a Radio Sales 101 opportunity, but the 2009 version needs to be much different than the 2005 version.

Radio Marketing Systems

Radio works and the Internet provides the proof that's been lacking since Tesla. We know radio can attract new advertisers and retain existing clients for long term contracts by changing the offering from "We have the number one station" to "We can offer you a complete marketing system with tracking to show you how many customers we are attracting for you"; an integrated radio/Internet marketing system. When you talk to an owner in terms of complete marketing systems, the conversation and interest level are much different. Now you are talking their talk and getting them excited.

This "Marketing System" approach to advertisers will give radio sellers a new and unique tool that is much more compelling than the old song and dance. Most importantly, it gives radio a new method to prove to each client, one by one, that radio is highly effective, highly efficient and foundational to a great local marketing strategy.

Tracking Tools

One of the biggest hurdles for radio is tangible evidence of effectiveness. Well, they have it now. Radio drives Internet, Internet tracks unique visitors. Simple proof that radio is attracting lots of potential buyers. Now the focus turns to converting these potential buyers into action, not your ratings or your rates or "we'll give you more spots!" Now the pressure is on the business owner, not the station, to make a really exciting offer to convert all these prospects into business...ironically, that may be the hardest sell of all.

The Home Page Opportunity

Question: Should prospects visiting your site = More business?

Question: Does your website make a specific compelling offer?

Answers: Yes and usually, no. Good offers are rarely found on company websites.

Analogy: A website without an exciting offer is like a store with no price tags.

Result: You get lots of visitors who are "Just looking, thanks..."

Recommendation:

One critical thing we've have learned is that landing pages and/or your website home page should have an enticing offer for visitors (hot prospects!)- a tangible compelling offer. If someone has come to your website, chances are good they are a prospect of some sort. People don't waste their time on a business website unless they need what you sell. So sell 'em!

Can You Help Me?

We know how to drive qualified prospects by the thousands to landing pages and websites. The next step is converting the visitor into action. This is best achieved by making an irrestible offer. Anyone who has worked retail before knows that dialogue, engaging the customer in some way, is a critical first step to moving the prospect from "looker" to "buyer". Give the prospect enough of a reason to make the first move to say "Excuse me, can you help me?" That's music to any business owners ears, right? Make the offer.

Connecting ALL Your Advertising

The Trinity of Marketing - A simple formula to build your marketing plan

Business owners are constantly badgered by a myriad of advertising vendors pushing their individual marketing solutions. While many marketing tools can play a potentially important part in an over all marketing plan, too often business owners "try this" and "try that" without a cohesive committed long term plan that is designed to work together.

The on-going marketing challenge for a business owner is:
1. Which combination of marketing options do I use?
2. How do I make all these independent marketing tools work together?
3. How do I know which one is working or not?

Our marketing premise is this:
1. You must be familiar (therefore you will be more trusted) and locally oriented for the consumer.
2. You must be available and easy to find when the consumer goes searching for your product.
If you are "familiar" to the consumer and you are "there" or available when they need you, chances are best for you to get that business.

We accomplish these goals for our clients by following our "Trinity of Marketing" formula:
1. A great website that sells and makes offers
2. A consistent search engine marketing program that targets low hanging fruit that sends consumers to an offer "landing page" that compels the consumer to call, connect, buy
3. Traditional media campaigns with radio, TV, newspaper, etc to drive traffic to your offer page.

That's our "Trinity of Marketing" formula. With our formula all your marketing is connected. Your messaging and website will brand your business, while hot prospects will find your offer(s). If this sounds like an interesting concept to you, give us a call and we can see if it makes sense for your business. 303-968-2891

Media Can Be Pricey

Traditional Media is Pricey

The economy is sagging we're told. Certain business categories are currently hard hit with the borrowing issues, American Auto Manufacturers are struggling again (while Toyota and Honda report strong earnings, again). Business is tough and a little scary for many people. Radio revenues continue to descend as well. Newspaper is in a huge tail spin. Retailers just ain't buying traditional media like they used to.

Why is that?
My opinion is that newspaper, radio and TV are priced too high for the quantifiable ROI. Business owners are shifting their dollars around to media that can demonstrate ROI. Of most interest to many retailers right now is how to effectively use the Internet. It's sexy right now - they can see if it's working and it's pretty darn cheap it seems.

There are local businesses that are light years ahead in how they spend their marketing dollars. They spend their money, not in huge annual chunks to one newspaper (huge WASTE!) but in smaller strategic ways to maximize exposure and awareness, and drive traffic to their websites where the real selling begins at a much lower cost per impression.

Websites Educate and Sell
Does your website educate and sell? People go to sites to find what they are looking for, then check out the business, find out what they offer, are they legit, etc. But mostly consumers are there to BUY. They are ready, they're looking and need what you sell. Give them an offer and don't make them have to find it. Make your compelling offer up front on the home page- then they will dig into your site to make sure this isn't too good to be true.

Traditional Media is Too Expensive because...
they can't demonstrate how they directly impact business. They talk "impressions", not leads. Impressions are safe, leads are dangerous! It is without question that traditional media such as radio is very powerful but until they begin to prove it, they will struggle for years to come. My days in radio were always scary with the new business owner who bought your station. I'd be sitting in the radio tent at the big weekend sale - calling the on-air DJ, pleading them to do more cut-ins or promo's for the remote. Those remotes were sometimes $5,000 or more. Rarely did we blow the doors off for that investment.

Place some of that $5,000 in search ads and you have an online campaign that will cover 30 days and hit most searchers in a 50 mile radius that are looking for what you sell. How does radio, TV Newspaper compete with that?! Actually it can and should.

Traditional media actually is the engine that drives it all and soon we'll explain why we LOVE radio and TV.

We Remember What We Need

Personal Observation: I only notice what I need.
How about you? Which ads do you remember? For example, denture ads. Never read one. ED ads - haven't paid attention yet. :) I could care less for five or six years or more at a time about car models, prices, financing offers, whatever. Car dealers could scream their heads off about this or that deal - I don't care - it doesn't matter. I just flip the page, turn the channel or scan for a new station. However, when it's time to get a new vehicle I am "Mr Car Guy" - I am all over it. I hear and see every deal going down. My radar is up and scanning for car deals.

Big newspaper advertisers, like appliance dealers, whatever -same deal. Who cares about them until the fridge is out. Companies spend tons of money in the paper with full page ads showing all their stuff attempting to hit that buyer in need...before the competitor does.

What a HUGE waste.
Just tell those who do care, "Go to DenverApplianceSale.com for HUGE savings on fridges now" or some local clever URL variation with a cheap basic landing page.

The Brain Works Like This...
If you need it...you hear it...you see it...and you remember it...because you are in the "need zone" and your brain is on full scan mode for options. Your brain looks for deals subconsciously - you see them with your peripheral vision - you are a hunter/gatherer now - you are ready to pull the trigger.

Don't Waste Your Money on People Who Don't Care
One of our strategies...
Buy Super Cheap 5 Second Radio Ads to Alert the Buyers
Try this - buy 5 second radio ads and drive them to a clever URL landing page. For example, use an ad like this; "Need a new Roof? Go to ColoradoRoofingSale.com, that's ColoradoRoofingSale.com today!"
Buy a ton of these spots, every hour for a week on a bunch of stations - it will cost you as much as a full page ad for one day in the paper. You'll be "everywhere", hitting the hot buyers whose radar will clearly pick up your obvious message and remember your funny, clever or obvious URL.

Be Ready with Your Landing Page
Highly motivated and qualified buyers are now heading to your "deal" landing page. Our advice: Be ready to get the business. You will be bombarded with "buyers". Are you ready to close them? Will your page compel them to call? Give them every reason. They heard or saw you and were motivated enough to visit...get the business. Make them a deal they can't refuse.

This Strategy is Fishing in a Barrel - it won't last.
Jump on it. The door is wide open right now. The price of 5 second ads is going up!

Small Business Internet Marketing Fundamentals for 2008

The Small Business Internet Marketing Check list:

1. Get a company URL with your company name in it - KISS principle here.
2. Your website must sell your company and encourage customer action - on every page.
3. Get your company fully submitted for "Local Business Search Results".
4. Buy paid placement ads (Google AdWords) in your target market.
5. Know that your traditional advertising will help drive your web traffic.

Let me explain why you need each one.
1. URL with your company name. So many companies have clever or wholey different URL's that don't match their marketing or how customers refer to them. Customers can't remember anything as it is - why give them two things to remember - your company name and your somewhat similar and somehow "related" URL. Keep it simple, easy and logical. Caveat: A REALLY CLEVER URL is gold. Clever as in super super memorable.

2. A website that Sells. People who come to your site are shoppers! Sell 'em, close 'em! Change your thinking on this part - your website is a salesperson that works 24/7/365.

3. Local Business Search Listings. This is the mapping area you see on Google and Yahoo with the little pinpoints for businesses you are looking for. Get your business fully integrated in this free area. We can help if you need assistance. Do this now.

4. Paid Search Ads. You can target an area just around your business and just reaching people looking for what you sell. Super efficient, effective and cheap.

5. Media Drives Web Traffic. Media creates awareness. After a prospect learns that you exist most will check you out on the web before they call. So always give them your web address and encourage them to go there. Your 24/7/365 salesperson will be there to greet them and get them to call you.

Follow these guidelines and you have a fundamentally sound basic Internet marketing strategy.

Writing Search Engine Ad Copy

Google Ad Copy Writing 101

When you write an ad for placement on the search engines there are several restrictions presented that you must follow. These restrictions are designed to maintain a consistent look for every page. These restrictions put even the biggest companies on par with the little guy - no one is allowed to buy a bigger ad! (They can buy more...but not bigger) These restrictions force a copy writer to earn their keep as an efficient minimalist. You have to choose your words wisely. The slightest change of wording can dramatically improve or literally turn off your response rate.

If you don't know, to write an ad you have character limits for each line of copy. For Google, they allow 25 characters for the "Title" line and then 35 characters for each of the next two lines. Yahoo, Ask, MSN, Super Pages and others have slightly different parameters. Characters include spaces and punctuation.

You also are given punctuation guidelines and limitations. For example, you can't over-use the "!!!!". How do they expect us to sell something if you can't over dramatize and emphasize excitement???!!

Eureka! The Perfect Ad!

When we launch a new campaign we try to hit the ad copy perfect at the start. However, almost every time, within a week or so, we begin making subtle changes to the copy as reconnaissance is gathered on hot keywords, competition and response. Words mean things and they are especially critical with the limitations given by the search engines. These little word changes can make a huge difference. Once we see it start "clicking", we stop tweaking. Some of our ads haven't been changed in 9 months because they are working.

Would you rather get an "Offer" or a "Deal"?

Here's a copy writing question for you. Which is a better word choice for an ad: "offer" or "deal"?
One of these words is more efficient and attractive to consumers than the other. The word "deal" implies a special discount or opportunity. The word "offer" sounds sort of interesting but everything for sale is an "offer". Just as importantly, "deal" is four characters..."offer" is five. The word "deal" is a deal!

More Search Ad Copy Tips

* Include a locality reference - local is trusted, non-geo-specific offers seem less relevant
* Include a "call to action" - make me a "deal"!!!!

Until next time, may business be good!

Greg