Marketing is one of the biggest ways to grow your brand, and doing so takes time, effort, and money. However, not all methods of advertising are built the same. Radio advertising, for example, specializes in reaching a wide net of captive listeners who are doing other activities, such as driving or working.
Radio stations offer advertising packages that your company can purchase that include on-air “liners,” or ads, that will promote your company. Your company can also be the sponsor of a morning show or the whole studio for a particular station, giving your brand significant airtime throughout the day.
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However, directly paying a station to advertise your company isn’t the only way to utilize radio. Your local radio stations are always looking for content to share with their audiences. By providing that content for them in one way or another, you can get your business on the airwaves without a huge dent in your marketing budget. Read on to learn how to do that:
- Send news releases
Stations are constantly looking for interesting information to pepper in between songs or impassioned political rants. If you provide information about exciting new developments from your company to these stations that would resonate with the station's target demographic, then there is a good chance they’ll share it without you paying a dime. For example, if your company specializes in catering to an older crowd, then info about your recent developments might be just the thing they’re looking to talk about at a classic rock or oldies station.
- Send freebies
Contests and giveaways are a staple of radio, but concert tickets don’t have to be the only thing you give away. Stations love giveaways because it drives engagement for them. So, if you’re willing to provide some product to give to an audience, the station may be more than willing to run a contest, promoting you and your product along the way. These contests can build brand awareness and even encourage winners to share about your product or continue to consume it through the rule of reciprocation – a natural tendency for people to repay generosity with generosity of their own.
- Host an event
Radio stations tend to be pretty local, and a way they drive audience engagement is by connecting with their listeners on a community level. Big community events draw a sizable amount of attention, and stations love to keep people up to date on what’s going on around town. You have to make sure that your event is going to be worth hearing about, however. Popular music acts, celebrity meet-and-greets, and family-oriented attractions are effective ways to attract interest. Just keep your local stations updated about what you’re doing, and chances are they’ll take it and run.
These few tips can help your company and brand grow by using radio to your advantage. If you’d like to learn more about utilizing radio and other types of media coverage to boost your company’s reach, download our e-book “Learn Media Relations from the Media.”
Photo by Dmitry Demidov
Topics: PR tips, earned media, news media
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