Is Facebook An Effective Advertising Tool?

Does your station have a fan page on Facebook?  Looking to attract fans to your page?  Want to do it for a reasonable price?  Facebook offers targeted advertised, by region and demo, to reach out to your listeners.  You know, those ads on the right-hand column of every page.  You can buy ads by impressions or clicks--your choice.  I have a client who was looking to build up its Facebook presence and we decided to give it a try. 

The station that is testing this out is a Top 40--targeting young adult women. 

Here's how it's going:

We've been up and running for about three weeks, in that time we have increased our fan's by a whopping 260%!  We spent around $1,500.00.  About 2/3 of those who clicked the ad have became fans.  And we have had over 5 million impressions.  

Everyone involved is very happy with the results.  Not hard to imagine given how well it's worked for us. 

Next steps:  engage our new fans in meaningful ways. 

That will be the subject of a future blog. 

The Year The Media Died

...so says this parody song.

Like we need a song to remind us all how tough things have gotten. But here it is...filled with truth and sad reality.

Web Coupons for Radio?

With radio advertising revenue in steep decline, here's a suggestion that could be attractive to dormant advertisers. It's also a terriffic on air and on-line opportunity for radio stations to build web traffic for station and affiliated sites (and on-line sales too).

According to eMarketer and comScore, the coupon category and specifically coupon web sites experienced 32% growth between October and November of last year. Consumers are always looking for good deals and one can imagine with some many people feeling the pinch of the current economic conditions this is more true than ever.

Radio has a long history of helping advertisers move product off shelves--something retail advertisers very much need right now. Advertisers could use ad time to direct listeners to special coupon sites (stand alone and linked from the main station site) to get great deals on merchandise they need and want.

Ozzy: Pitchman

Proving that identifying talent and knowing how to put that talent to good use is truly an art.



Read the whole story here.

Radio 2009 Not So Good?

In this afternoon's Inside Radio update they reported:

Analyst: Tough radio economy into 2009.
Stanford Research analyst Fred Moran says rising energy costs, the credit crisis and a slumping housing market have combined to create a recession for the consumer which will "pressure advertising demand" through next year as budgets "tighten" to align with softening consumer spending.

If this analysis is correct it will be another tough year for those on the front lines at radio stations all across the country. More personnel cuts, even smaller or non-existent marketing budgets, smaller or non-existent research budgets, and the continued and inevitable loss of innovation when it's needed the most.

Just as we were beginning to deal with the onslaught of new media platforms and changing attitudes we were also beginning to make those cuts -- a perfect storm of sorts.

There were many among us who underestimated what was about to happen; after all we survived and thrived as the Walkman's, 8-track's, CD's attacked. We weren't going to stop the new media train but we did less and less to slow it down and react appropriately to it. Even today, there are STILL broadcasters who doubt the severity of seismic shift that has taken place.

2008 is barely half over and already we are being alerted to a shaky 2009. As mind-numbing as this is, at least we have a head start on thinking about how we can productively deal with what might confront us in the months ahead.

Now is the time to plan ahead and figure out how innovation can figure into your equation--no matter what that the financial situation is going forward. Here's a few thought-starters:

• How can we better connect with and reward our most loyal listeners?
• How can we be more than a easy to replicate jukebox?
• How can we be better story tellers in order to capture the imagination of our listeners?
• How can we make the "same old-same old" not so stale?
• How can we develop content good enough that listeners would consider podcasting it?
• How can we demonstrate to our clients that not only should they spend money with us, but it will be the best money they will spend?

For anyone interested, I would be happy to set up short-term projects and assist you facilitate these vital meetings and develop your strategic plan. Honest and frank analysis plus creative and innovative solutions to your specific issues. Feel free to give me a call [952.401.9067] if you would like to discuss.