Month: November 2020

Your Radio Ad is the Easiest Place to Paint a Picture

/ Duane Christensen / 2 Comments

I was always the calf pusher.

I grew up on a farm. We raised some cattle. So, when we needed to vaccinate or get ready to wean the little calves, all of them would have to be run through the cattle chute one at a time to get their shots, brands, etc. And in order for that to happen, one person is in charge of “pushing” calves up the chute until they are locked into the headgate at the front. I was always the calf pusher.

And it’s always HOT, dry, and dusty on those days. The kind of hot where you can SEE the HOT in the horizon. All wavy and blurry. The kind of hot that makes flies hot, too, and they just want to stick to your sweaty face and catch a ride to wherever you’re going.

Did you know… that little calves have lightning quick back legs? And if you startle them just right… your shin or upper thigh is going to get a good pummeling. Over and over until all 150 calves have all gone through the chute. Probably 4 to 6 hours of being terrified of when the next “ninja calf kick” is coming at you. I always said I should have worn shin guards, but never did.

I remember one day, when we finished up helping our neighbor, everyone went back to the barn where there was a special room with an old fat fridge in it. All the guys were cracking open some Budweisers, except me. I was 13. Then, my neighbor said, “Hey Bud (he called me Bud), wanna drink?” I said sure, I’ll try it. He gave me my own CAN!!! My own beautiful can of Budweiser heavy with the beads of sweat running down the sides!

And to this day… I can still picture that moment perfectly. It wasn’t about the beer. It was about the whole scenario that played out. It was about my neighbor knowing that I worked my tail off that day… and that I deserved my own can of suds.

And now, I’m an alcoholic. Just kidding! 🙂

Did you know that radio commercials are potentially the best place to paint a picture? And when you tell stories in your radio ads that use words that people can see in their head… then, you’re helping them see things… and your radio ad comes to life.

When I hear radio advertising that doesn’t use “picture words” and it’s just full of adjectives or words like “mouthwatering” (if it’s a restaurant ad) or other feely fluff words, then, you’re missing out on making people “see” what you want them to see. Once you start telling stories in your radio commercials that people can see… then, they get remembered. Once you start making people feel good and remembering you… then come the new customers.

Have a groovy day!

Duane Christensen

9 Yards Marketing

duane@9yards-marketing.com

Looking for some sample radio spots? Check out my samples page… Sample Radio Ads / Commercials / Spots

How To Make Your Advertising Work

/ Duane Christensen

First… HOW do you measure advertising? If you’re measuring by asking people… they don’t actually have the best memories when it comes to things like that. Our brains aren’t wired to retain information of that sort. They might give you an answer, but they’re just trying to be helpful. If you’re measuring your advertising with online reports or google analytics, there are too many different ways to look at all the data to determine what’s good and what isn’t. There are impressions, CTR, TVR, bounce rates, page views, etc. And you can spin the numbers to look however you want them to.

I suggest you measure your advertising by your Sales. Or store traffic, phone calls, etc. NOT, by trusting people to remember which ONE piece of marketing from you actually caused them to walk into your store.

HOW are you advertising? Are you advertising to get immediate results? Then, you better have a low-ball offer or something special that would make someone act NOW. And if you’re constantly doing that, you’re missing out on a lot of profits, I’m assuming.

If you’re advertising to build your brand and get people to remember you when they need you, then someone might actually experience hundreds of your ads before they’re actually ready to buy. And if you’ve made a bigger IMPRESSION on them than your competitors with your ads… your chances are pretty good that you get a shot at their business.

The vast majority of local businesses will benefit from using a long-term, consistent approach with their advertising.

But… that word “IMPRESSION” is what makes all the difference.

All “ad impressions” are NOT created equal.

The digital advertising world throws around the word impressions, but they’re just talking about getting your digital ad in front of people. It has no relation to whether the ad actually “impressed” anyone.

A million ad impressions from Ads that don’t engage people… is no more valuable than 5 ad impressions that didn’t engage people.

In order to make your advertising work, you must ENGAGE your prospect. You have to get their attention and then impress upon them WHY they should choose your business instead of your many competitors. Do your ads do that? If they don’t… then you need to change your advertising creative to make sure they do. If you don’t have anything special to say to people to make them want to do business with YOU instead of your COMPETITION… then you better figure out how to make yourself special and stand out from competitors.

Your competitors need to STEAL customers from you and everyone else in order to grow. And vice-versa. If competition is fierce for you… then, you have to work that much harder to give your customers a better experience. You also have to find a better marketing person to help you convey a message to the public that actually IMPRESSES and ENGAGES people. If your advertising doesn’t do that, you’re wasting your money. If your advertising is just “awareness” (who, what, when, where – but you left out the WHY)… then you’ll be disappointed with your advertising if you’re in a very competitive market.

If you’re looking to grow your share of the business being done in your market, then you need to create advertising that engages and reaches more people. Radio has that power. The power of sound has so much more “sticking power” than a quick visual.

The radio advertising plans that work wonders for good, local businesses, are the ones that are consistent all year long. Constantly telling different stories to listeners to help win their hearts. Can you predict when someone will need you? Nope. That’s why winning hearts and minds over time, ensuring that they’ll remember YOU when they need you, is the best kind of local advertising you can buy.

Here are 3 things that are needed in your radio ads to make them fly like eagles:

  1. Attention Grabber – People are busy. A bazillion things going on all of the time. You need to slap people out of whatever they’re doing or thinking. You need to SURPRISE them.
  2. Relevance – make sure what you’re saying is important to your prospect.
  3. Credibility – trustworthiness, “believability”, integrity

BONUS #4 ingredient: ENTERTAINMENT – If you can get people to look forward to hearing your next ad… you just won the “marketing lottery”!

Confusion in the marketing world runs rampant. Do this, do that. Nope… now do this. Anyone ever told you that you HAVE to do some kind of advertising? Or “If you’re not advertising here… your business will fail.” ??? There’s no ONE place you have to advertise. But I do know what you NEED in order to make advertising work.

It’s definitely not where you advertise… it’s what you SAY in your advertising that makes all the difference. And there actually are a few places you can advertise that have advantages over others depending on what you’re trying to make happen.

So… what are YOU trying to make happen?

Duane Christensen

9 Yards Marketing (click to visit my website and see what I can do for you)

duane@9yards-marketing.com

Sioux Falls, SD

Looking for any sample radio commercials? Try my samples page… Sample Radio Ads / Commercials / Spots