Posts Tagged ‘radio’

Many radio stations are using text message marketing, but few are maximizing the revenue that they can with it.

Reach radio listeners everywhere

The fact is that text message marketing is currently carrying the lion’s share of the local mobile marketing opportunity that radio stations compete in.  While apps are certainly cool, and mobile web sites have become almost mandatory, it is the ubiquitous text message that is the big money maker for radio stations.

Let’s face it; we don’t all own smartphones.  In fact, the vast majority of Americans don’t own smartphones.  And, still less than 40% of Americans go on the mobile web, but when it comes to text messaging, almost everybody plays.

IDEAS FOR RADIO TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING

But, it isn’t just on-air commercials that are driving interactive text message participation with your radio station listeners.  Savvy stations are using their Facebook page, for instance, to drive interactive text message use and maximize the size of the database.  It’s a social media-mobile media double play.  Offer a text message sweepstakes on your Facebook page and double your pleasure, double your fun.  Of course, adding a local advertiser-sponsor is always mandatory.

You can also use a text message promotion to drive customers to a specific location.  Send a broadcast text message to your opt-in database to give a promotion that offers a free offer if radio listeners go to the store to pick up the free offer.  In fact, I think you’ll find that the text message announcements will drive more traffic to your customer than a radio advertisement will.  That’s because text message marketing offers a one-to-one advertisement for your listeners that they will look at immediately and react quickly.

That’s the power of mobile marketing, but it can’t be anything without the opt-in database that only radio can develop.

Watch this video about how radio stations can sell text message advertising to its clients.

Advanced Telecom Services is a provider of QR codes to its mobile marketing customers.  The QR code below was used by WPPZ, a Radio One station in Philadelphia.

I’m sure you’ve seen them.  They are those little boxes with the black and white squiggly patterns inside of them.  You see them on packaging, at the airport, and in magazines.

Scan them and, bingo, you get something on your cell phone.  It’s the latest mobile marketing craze and they are called QR codes.

A QR code is a specific matrix barcode that is readable by dedicated barcodes readers that are most commonly contained on smart phones.  They have been popular in Japan and Korea for many years, but are just beginning to have a significant impact in North America.

QR codes are a great way for a consumer to obtain more information about a product on his cell phone.  The content might be a video about the product, more detailed information that is available on the item, or even a shortcut to download an app.

You are right that not everybody in the country has a smartphone. In fact, according to The Nielsen Company, 31% of Americans own a smartphone.  That figure jumps to 45% for Asians and Hispanics whose population is younger than that of Whites and Blacks.

While QR codes are certainly sexy and fun to use, the lack of penetration for them means that a marketer should offer a text message marketing program in addition to the QR codes.  Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on at least 69% of the American market.

One of the criticisms of QR codes that have been made is that they suffer from a lack of branding, whereas text message marketing has the distinct ability to brand with the proper keyword. Nothing could be further from the truth.

QR codes do have the ability to increase brand recognition by inserting a company logo within the QR code.  Since only 40% of the QR code display is actually utilized to determine the destination of the code, savvy companies are inserting visible branding within the code itself.  That gives the company the coolness factor of the QR code plus the branding value.

Radio stations have a real opportunity if they choose to use it:  sell text message marketing services to its advertisers.

Since so much of radio listening is done outside of the home, mobile marketing is a great way for radio to promote its products and enhance the value of its advertisers.

In this video, Bob Bentz, president of Advanced Telecom Services, looks at the five key products that radio stations need to be using to have an effective mobile marketing presence.

Radio Ink explains how radio stations can earn more revenue with text message marketing.

Radio stations can earn more money with text message marketing.  This is the premise of the new article by Bob Bentz that is in RadioInk Magazine.

Check out Bob’s article at Radio Ink.

And start earning more revenue for your radio station today with radio mobile marketing by following Bob’s helpful hints.

Recent statistics show the expected increase in radio advertising for 2010. Previously, in 2009 radio advertising took a turn for the worse, decreasing by 17.7%. According to media researcher, SNL Kagan, the drop took revenues to $16.0 billion.

This year, the broadcast industry is back in business with the expected increases for radio ad revenues. SNL Kagan says radio advertising will rise 6.4% to $17.1 billion. They also foresee a rise in the next six years of 15% to $552 million for radio, and $19.8 billion in advertisements.