Internet Radio Advertising Effectiveness

With the increase in the use of internet radio more and more companies are turning to internet radio advertising as a way to get their message across to a national audience.

However the question remains, is internet radio advertising effective?

According to TargetSpot, an internet radio advertising agency, listenership of online radio stations is up 27% over last year. 

They estimate that there are 42 million people that listen to internet radio each week.  The most interesting pert of their study was that many people report that they listen to online radio while they are shopping online.

Combination of Online Radio Advertising Benefits

A recent study by Radio Ad Lab (PDF), an independent research group, shows that online radio advertising can be effective because it combines two unique features into one advertising medium.

Radio advertising works because of the personal nature of radio.  The power of voice allows radio advertising to tap into the word of mouth feeling that is so effective in advertising.  It adds a little more credibility to the message than some other forms of advertising.

On the other hand, the internet is perceived as being more factual.  It is a place where many people turn for information, and to better understand the world.  When you combine that with the power of radio, you can see how internet radio advertising can be very effective.

Take Advantage of Shopping Habits

Another way that internet radio advertising is effective is by taking advantage of the changes in shopping habits over the past several years. The majority of people that use the internet on at least a semi-regular basis use the internet as their primary shopping research tool.  Even those that prefer to buy in a traditional store will still research products and services online.

One problem with radio and television advertising is that customers don’t always remember the web address they saw or heard in the commercial that interested them.  By the time they get back to the computer some of the details are lost, and they will not always find you to deliver the product that they heard you advertise.

Studies have shown that a large percentage of people will take the time to follow up on an interesting commercial they hear while online.  They are already at their computers, so it is a natural step to go to a website that they hear about through internet radio advertising.  That is a huge advantage for an advertiser.  Not only are they intrigued enough by your message to go to your site, but the message is immediately reinforced with the content they see once they look at your sales page.

Use In Combination

One other important finding of the Radio Ad Lab study was the effectiveness of a internet radio advertising campaign in combination with a website marketing campaign. 

The study showed that by combining more traditional internet advertising with online radio advertising, customers were able to recall over four-times as much information about the ads as they were from viewing just two internet ads.

That is a huge boost for business owners.  Not only are you able to reach a larger audience than with local radio advertising, internet radio advertising combines with other online advertising will cause your message to be remembered.

The real impact of the combination of internet radio advertising and website advertising is that the companies that were included in the study saw a significant increase in their sales.  That is the real test of any adverting campaigns effectiveness.

Internet radio advertising is starting to become a more popular form of advertising.  By taking advantage of people research and shopping habits, it makes it much easier for people to act on your message, and to buy your product or service from you.  There are services that can help you with your internet radio advertising, and it might be worth your time and effort to look into the services they provide to get started.

Points To Keep In Mind…

• Internet radio advertising combines the power of voice with the credibility of the internet.
• People that hear an as online are more likely to go to the web address they hear in the commercial.
• Combining internet radio advertising with traditional internet advertising increases the customer’s ability to remember your message by four-times over just online advertising alone.
• There has been a 27% increase in the number of people listening to internet radio since 2007.
• Many people report that they listen to internet radio while they shop online.