Small Businesses Turning to the Web

In coversation, and through my own observations, I'm finding that many small business owners inWilmington, NC are turning to the web for much of their marketing and advertising. I can certainly understand that. Even I have started to increase my web presence, and have started taking advantage of some of the free offerings available for marketing myself as a radio advertising and marketing consultant. There are many advantages to marketing and advertising on the web, the first being its cost effectiveness.

But now my problem is getting noticed. How will nayone find this blog, or my LinkedIn profile, or my Naymz profile. There is a lot of leg work involved in advertising these pages if I want them to be effective. And for now, much of it has been direct email marketing to various contacts I have in Wilmington, NC. Unfortunately, I am not permitted by my own company to use the one tool that is most beneficial in driving traffic to a website. Radio advertising!

The Radio Advertising Bureau has compiled information on how using radio advertising to drive website traffic can be effective. The following comes from their report:

Perception: Radio is reducing clutter at a time when the Internet is becoming more cluttered. Draw attention to the advertising message by supporting Internet with Radio.

Trusted: From the beginning, consumers have expressed caution in using and believing the Internet. Radio is consumers' local, trusted source for information. Add credibility to your advertising campaign with Radio.

Efficient: Cost-Per-Thousand impressions is still a bargain on Radio.

Easy to Use: Radio is fast and simple. Turn on the receiver and begin enjoying a favorite station immediately. The Internet's complex, confusing, and often slow processes turn the user’s experience into a negative one. Reach consumers within a positive environment.

Marketing Partners: Radio and the Internet make perfect marketing partners. Radio has proven its ability to drive consumers to advertised Web sites, and many Radio stations have their own Web sites offering advertisers unique multi-media marketing opportunities.

Target Specific Customers: With Radio, you can target specific customers by demographic group, lifestyle trends, and specific product affinity. And since the average Radio listener spends almost three hours each weekday and five hours per weekend with their favorite stations, it’s easy to generate enough message frequency to get them to check out your online advertisement. As Radio draws consumers to your online message, it can encourage them to print special coupons directly off the Web and redeem them at your place of business. (Radio Marketing Guide & Fact Book, 2007 edition)(Radio Marketing Guide & Fact Book 2007, )

As you can see, Internet traffic and radio advertising make incredibly powerful marketing partners. And with the introduction of internet radio and streaming plans in Wilmington, NC, you can reach your clients at the closest point of purchase possible by advertising on the station of your choice. If your website is e-commerce ready, you can run a radio commercial that promotes the website and gives a consumer a reason to visit it; since they are already listening online, your website is only a click away. Clients who have already seen success with this are local businesses who have printable coupons that customers download from their website, and can then redeem in the store. If you are looking for a way to increase awareness for your website, traditional radio advertising, and internet radio advertising are powerful tools. For businesses who have farther reaching customer bases, it is worth noting that we have had comments on several of the stations from listeners in other states who have fallen in love with the programming, including Ohio, New Jersey, West Virginia, and South Carolina.

Below is an April article from eMarketer about the increase of web marketing among medium to small businesses, as well as a link for a series of webinars on the subject:

Small Businesses Seek Solutions Online

Small businesses face stiff challenges in 2009.

According to a poll of US marketers by Bredin Business Information, the primary challenges in marketing to small businesses are funding new projects, growing the business with limited resources and increasing awareness.

In addition, marketers say the outlook for small-business marketing has changed in 2009. They are increasing their online activities, becoming more focused and conducting segmentation research to better target their customers.

It is no surprise that the local online marketing space is where many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are moving their efforts -- and their dollars.Borrell Associates estimated SMBs spent $7.4 billion on local online marketing in 2008.

That figure accounted for 11 percent of all SMB marketing spending, and more than one-half of total US local digital spending, including Website development.

(Source: eMarketer, 04/13/09)

Note: Borrell Associates will be conducting a series of four webinars with more on this and other research and recommendations starting Thursday, May 19th. Register now by clicking here, or call 800-232-3131.