By Jason Acquisto

When you’re running a business of your own, it’s easy to fall victim to the notion that you can’t afford to advertise. After all, how can you think about advertising when you have expenses out the wazoo? I mean, you don’t need advertising, right? Well, of course you do. Advertising is just as vital to the success of your business as any overhead or brick-and-mortar expense. Granted, they won’t shut the power off if you don’t advertise this month. But in a very real and tangible way, advertising is like a lifeline to your customers (both current and potential). Your advertising reminds them that you’re there, educates them on who you are and explains why they should come into your shop. Compromising this steady communication can be hazardous to the health of your business. In short, YOU MUST ADVERTISE. But the more difficult question is how? Which medium should you use? You are regularly approached by every newspaper, magazine, direct mail, radio and TV rep in town. And isn’t it funny - they all have "the right advertising solution" for you. But since you probably won’t be utilizing every possible media, let’s focus on the one that is the most effective, affordable and definitely the most fun... radio. It’s an affordable way to target your prospects and customers. But don’t be fooled – it’s only as effective as you (and your account executive) make it.

The Basics... A quick overview of what makes radio such a terrific advertising option.

Powerful Reach - the average person spends more time per week with radio than any other medium, including television, newspaper and billboards.

Theatre of the Mind – radio has always afforded the most creativity of any medium, and this is especially true with the advent of the digital age. In a radio commercial, you can create virtually any situation with a little imagination and sound effects.

Flexibility - at the drop of a hat, you can change your radio advertising message and when it’s scheduled to play.

Captive Audience -  take a look at a cluster of newspaper ads sometime, then compare it to the way radio commercials reach consumers... one at a time. When your ad spot plays on the radio, it has center stage with no other ad message to distract the listener.

Accessibility/Interactivity – unlike television and print, radio can interact with the consumer. For example, the radio station offers a promotion or contest... you can be involved by offering a gift certificate to your store for giveaway on the air. This creates new traffic into your store, and the gift certificates don’t cost you anything out of pocket. Ask your rep about getting involved in a promotion; it will stretch your ad budget and further your reach. (Keep in mind that a gift certificate should be valuable enough to bring the shopper into your store, but not so much that they don’t spend any money with you.)

So you've decided to invest in radio advertising. Great! Umm. Now what?

Which station should you use? In general, the best strategy is always to do some simple research. Listen to all the stations in your city. Listen to what kinds of businesses are advertising on each station to get a feel for your compatibility... call one of the advertisers directly to ask if they are happy with their results. It’s not a bad idea to call the station to ask about their rates and their demographics. And finally, perhaps the easiest and best grass roots study you can do is to simply ask your shoppers what they listen to and tap into their taste.

The Choices... Decide what audience you want to reach and follow this routine of radio formats.

Adult Contemporary (AC) – sometimes also called "soft rock" or "light rock", AC is one of the most popular formats, particularly for reaching women age 25 to 54.

Country – no longer the runaway number one format in the U.S., but still extremely popular in most areas. Reaches listeners of all ages.

Rock (AOR) – typically, rock stations are targeted primarily toward younger males and might not be the best investment for your advertising dollars.

Adult Rock (AAA) – this format has emerged in the past few years to become very effective for reaching adults (men & women) between 25 and 44, who are upscale, educated professionals, with significant discretionary income.

Oldies – catering to the baby-boomer generation, the oldies format is an excellent way to reach "empty-nesters" with time and money on their hands.

News/Talk – usually an AM station, so the reach is not as strong as an FM signal. Still a viable format for reaching affluent, educated adults. This audience tends to be a bit older than other formats.

What do I say in my commercials? A great benefit of radio is that the creative and strategic part (writing the copy, producing the spot, building the right schedule) is handled for you at no additional charge. When you buy radio, you have the creative resources of several people in your corner... a full-time production director and promotions staff, in addition to your personal Account Executive. Let them do their job. Chances are, they’re very good at it.

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