Buying radio advertising is a great way to reach a wide audience without spending a fortune. When considering buying radio advertising, consider first which stations to purchase from. You can make this decision by determining who the target audience is for your ad and finding out which stations cater to that audience. Once you have determined which stations to advertise with, work on the ad itself: shorter ads will generally be cheaper to run than longer ones, and advertising at off-peak hours will also save money. Another key decision is how long you want the ad to run.
Generally speaking, the longer the ad runs, the cheaper buying radio advertising will be. Longer terms, such as several weeks or months as opposed to a few days or one week, will end up costing less per day or occurrence of the ad. If your budget is fairly small, you will also want to consider buying radio advertising during off-peak hours. Commuting hours and lunch hours are peak hours in the radio industry, so buying advertising space at other times during the day will reduce cost without reducing the audience too significantly.
Tailor your ad to the market you want to reach, and be sure to research different radio stations before buying radio advertising. You may want to consider advertising on more than one station, but overall, you will want to choose stations that cater to your target audience. If you want to reach a young segment of the population, for example, you will probably want to invest in advertising time on a pop station, rap station, or rock station. If you want to reach a middle-aged crowd, consider a classic rock station or even public radio. Contact various radio stations to talk about this, as most stations are very aware of their target demographics and can tell you who is most likely to hear your ad. Think about your business as well: a bakery might want to advertise during the cooking segment on a radio station rather than during the music segments.
Making your ad very short can save money, and as long as your advertising message is to the point, concise, and memorable, the length of the ad should not matter too much. Simply identifying your business's name in a short, five second spot can ensure your name reaches the ears of many listeners. Be sure to consider the most relevant information and work that into the ad without wasting too much time.
