questions

Those who have never advertised on the radio…but are considering it…have questions.

Image courtesy of “stockimages” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

But if you ask the wrong person those questions, you’ll get a big bag of answers that have nothing to do with making your advertising actually work. You want your radio ads to work, right?

You might be told about gross rating points or cost per thousand. But don’t get hung up on that. That still has very little to do with making your advertising work. If you’re not familiar with the radio stations in your area…or the size and estimated “listenership” of your local radio stations…ask around.

You might also get pounded with more information than you care to…about station demographics. Again, don’t obsess over this. There’s not one radio station who “owns” a particular group of listeners. Nobody “owns” women, age 25 to 54! You’d be amazed at which stations people listen to.

Most advertising salespeople won’t talk to you about what it takes for advertising to be effective. They’ll sell you on “the bling”, or their demographics, or show you a snappy “ad package” (loaded with tons of bonus value that isn’t really that valuable), or Powerpoint you to death with graphs, charts, and statistics.

If you find someone who talks to you about what your ad / commercial / message actually communicates to the public…then you’re on the right track. Because even if you advertise with the biggest, “baddest”, advertising medium in Sioux Falls, it’s still going to be a waste of money if you’re not saying anything that will help persuade someone to do business with YOU instead of your competition.

“The advertising message” and the “strategy” is what should be given the lion’s share of attention. And that’s what I specialize in. I’m not a great salesperson – I just love creating advertising that helps local business owners in Sioux Falls take a bigger slice of the market. If I don’t think I can help you…I’ll tell you. But chances are, after we talk a time or two…I’m going to start coming up with ideas and angles that you’ve never considered. These will be ideas to get you noticed, attract new customers to you, and get you towards the top of the short list of businesses that people will think of FIRST when they’re considering buying what you sell.

You want solid advice about advertising. You want to know that your advertising dollars are invested well. It all starts by not obsessing over things like demographics and other numbers that are easily twisted. Of course, some of that information is important to a certain degree, but not to the level that you’d think. Focus first on what you’ll say to your prospects.

If you’re a plumber or a furniture store or a car dealer…and you had someone on the phone or face to face…would you feel comfortable reading them your radio script? Doubtful. Your advertising needs a human factor to it. When you stop treating people like sheep in your advertising, they’ll respond better to your ads. People want to feel they can trust you before they do business with you. And a “typical” advertisement that you’re used to…isn’t going to do that.

Let’s make friends with some new people…and then watch how many of them decide to buy from you.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen (your local advertising resource for non-B.S.)

Results Radio Townsquare Media in Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

My Radio Website: http://duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com/

To answer the question, “How do you plan on making my advertising work for me?”…

I plan on squeezing every drip of juicy detail out of you that I can. That starts with asking questions you’ve never been asked by a typical advertising rep. These are NOT questions like, “How long have you been in business?” and “Do you have a website?”

Deep, deep “digging” is crucial.

Then, I plan on using words, phrases, and stories in your advertisements that will snap a listener out of their trance. If you say the same boring yada-yadas and blah blah blahs…you’ll get the same un-excitable results.

I also plan on building your ads around a strategy that always gives people a reason to do business with YOU instead of your competition.

All of this should be done in ANY advertising medium, website copy, sales letter, online ad, etc. But I rarely see this kind of effort put into ad campaigns. That’s why so much ad money is thrown to the wind and results are scarce. Nobody wants to learn about what makes advertising really work…and nobody wants to take the time to dig deeper.

Give me a call. Let’s make it work for you!

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

My work website: http://duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com/

If you have questions about the cost of radio advertising, which radio stations would be a good fit, any marketing in general, or how to get started attracting more customers, don’t be afraid to ask. I like to help good businesses take a bigger slice of the Sioux Falls market.