We used to be affiliated with 8 or 9 radio stations here in Tallahassee, FL
and advertised with most of them for quite some time. If I look at all of
our referrals, 2 radio stations are about tied for the lead--and both of
them are well over any other form of referral. Most of our business is
from personal referrals, though no one person/entity comes close to the
radio stations. In other words, it has worked out very well for us.
There are a couple things to keep in mind though:
Who's going to be listening to what stations? Which stations are the most
listened to in your area? A big factor in how responsive people are to
your radio ads is the ad itself--if it's some cheesy ad, you'll regret it
because you'll hear of poeple complaning about the ad (maybe it has aweful
music in the background or the voice of the ad is hard to understand or
maybe he/she slipped in a ridiculous joke or something. Whoever writes the
ad needs to do it well. The ads must be played during hours that the
station is listened to most frequently by your desired audience.
Radio ads will definately pay off, but only if the ads are done right.
Don't cram too much info into the ad or the listener will get bored and/or
forget half of the info. But, don't make the ad vague enough to not spark
an interest in the audience...
Hope it helps...
Josh
Josh Hillman
hillman@talstar.com