10 Successful Radio Campaign Tips
By Patrysha Korchinski
1. Know your target market - Without getting a very good grasp on who your target market is and what they are most likely listening to, you will reduce your chances of success with radio.
2. Stick to one message - Thirty seconds fly fast and even sixty second commercials are really not that long. Don't muddle your message and confuse your potential customers with everything you do. Focus on one key sales message and stick to it.
3. Buy for repetition - It takes time for consumers to get comfortable enough to react to your sales messsage. Reduce the time it takes to spark a reaction by increasing the odds that they will hear it.
4. Aim for consistency - Let repetition work for you instead of succumbing to the urge to be overly creative and give a different sound and feel to every commercial produced for you. Instead aim for consistency through the background music and format so each commercial triggers a feeling of familiarity allowing listeners to identify you from the commercial even as the specifics of the sales message change.
5. Issue a call to action - Make it clear what single action you expect the listener to take. Don't invite them to drop by, call or visit your website, give them one single action to follow. Use seperate commercials for different calls of action rather than confusing (and immobilizing) the listener.
6. Leave the slapstick out - Humor wears off quickly. Be sure your commercial is making an impact for being effective rather than annoying.
7. Focus on benefits - It's a "what's in it for me" world. Don't talk about the 500 things your product or service can do, tell the listener what it can do for them.
8. Ditch the phone number - Rattling off phone numbers wastes precious time and detract from your sales message. Unless there is a compelling reason (and there aren't many) avoid the use of phone numbers.
9. Use a deadline - Don't give the listener a chance to delay their decision. Give them a compelling reason to act now. If your sale ends at closing on Tuesday, don't tell them the sale ends soon tell them it ends Tuesday at 6pm.
10. Don't coupon - Radio is not the medium for coupons. Telling listeners
to mention your radio commercial for a discount may sound like a good way
to judge success but it's ineffective and sounds cheesy. There are other
ways to guage the success of a campaign, couponing isn't one of them when
it comes to radio.