Radio advertising has been around for a long time, but it has not lost its potency. If anything, radio ads have become more helpful to businesses in recent years due to the advent of online radio advertising.

92% of Americans listen to the radio each week. And 25% of listeners become more interested in a brand after hearing an advertisement for it. This can make a huge difference for your brand.

Radio ads can be critically helpful to the success of your business. But some of the ways radio advertising can help you might surprise you. If you have not considered radio advertising for your business, you might be missing out on the ways it can benefit your brand.

Keep reading to find out the five surprising ways that radio advertising can help your business.

1. It Helps You Reach Your Target Audience

Radio advertising is one of the most effective ways of reaching your target audience. You already know who your potential customers are. Radio lets you reach them directly. 

Not all radio stations are created equal. Every station will have a target demographic of listeners. You can discern what that target demographic is by the type of radio program the station produces. By choosing which radio station to advertise on, you are targeting your potential customers directly.

Additionally, radio stations have a local focus. On-air radio will target a specific city or region. This is truer for radio than it is for television.

If your brand has a local focus, you stand to benefit substantially from radio advertising. This is because your ad will be geographically relevant to every listener you reach.

If your brand has locally based locations or events, on-air advertising is very effective for publicizing them. You know that the listeners live in the vicinity of your brand, and can attend your events.

At the same time, radio has a wider reach than some other modes of targeted ads. Radio ads can reach anyone in the region with interests related to your brand.

In summary, radio advertising can be incredibly beneficial to your business because of its wide reach with a targeted focus.

2. It Induces Cognitive Thinking

Watching television can be a passive experience. Same with scrolling through your phone. But really listening to a radio program requires active listening.

This engages the cognitive part of your brain.

Cognitive skills help you do things like think, learn, reason, and remember. You want listeners to be engaging in these activities when listening to your ad.

Active listening means that listeners are actually engaging with your advertisement. This does a few things that can be helpful for your brand.

First, it creates better retention. Even if listeners don’t immediately seek out your brand, they remember your advertisement. When they need a product or service like yours, they are more likely to seek you out, because they have heard of you.

For more information on how to make your advertisement memorable or unique, click here.

Second, listeners are more likely to think about your service or product and whether they need it. Even if it hadn’t occurred to them to seek out that service before, they might now.

Radio has traditionally been called the “Cinderella medium.” This is because when things go right, the results can be incredible.

One of the reasons it can be so incredible is that the radio can be heard from pretty much anywhere. Think about it: most people listen to the radio when they are in their cars, traveling from place to place.

This can be beneficial in its own right. If your target customers are listening to the radio while they are out running errands, they are already in the buying headspace. If they are thinking about shopping when they hear your ad, they are more likely to seek out your product or service.

3. It Can Bolster Your Online Presence

Radio as the “Cinderella medium” has never been truer than it is now.

In addition to listening to the radio in the car, you can now stream radio programs and stations on the internet.

Some people think the radio is outdated because many people don’t have traditional radios in their homes anymore. But they are wrong.

Even though many people don’t have a traditional radio anymore outside of their car, many people have a smartphone. And if you have a smartphone, you have radio access.

This is great news for online brands. When your ad plays via online streaming, it can be paired with an advertisement banner. When listeners want to know more about your product or service when they hear your advertisement, they can click on the banner. From there, they will be led to your product site.

This can help you make a sale, or even gain social media followers if you link your banner to an Instagram or Facebook page. Before long, you will be able to advertise to your target customers from multiple platforms.

It also allows your brand to engage with listeners in multiple mediums. By listening to the audio advertisement and then seeing your graphic banner, they are engaging two of their senses with your brand. This means that they are more likely to remember you.

4. It Personalizes Your Brand

Given the choice, consumers will always opt to support a brand that they have a personal connection with. Radio advertising gives you the chance to form that personal connection.

It gives them a chance to know you, and to know your voice. This is why it is helpful to have consistency amongst your ads in terms of whose voice the consumer hears.

It might be your voice, as the business owner, or it might be a voice actor, standing in. Either way, it gives your brand a personal touch. Before long, consumers feel like they know you.

By introducing a voice to your audience, it helps you create an identity for your brand. Consider producing your advertisement with professionals who can help you craft that identity for your target customer.

This is the best thing that could possibly happen to your business. Consumers are more likely to go with brands they trust. By offering up a human side to your brand, you are inviting them to trust you. 

We know by now that advertising is more effective when it engages emotions. By triggering memories or images or by telling a story, effective advertising can speak to people on a human level.

Radio advertising will allow you to do that with the sound of your voice. Never pass on an opportunity to connect emotionally with your audience.

5. It Maximizes Your ROI

Maximizing your ROI, or Return on Investment is crucial to any advertisement. Radio advertising helps you do this in a couple of different ways.

First, radio advertising can be a decently affordable way to get your message out there. Combined with the fact that you are almost definitely reaching your target audience, you are getting the most bang for your buck.

Secondly, the effectiveness of advertisements is maximized when they are repeated. Repetition will drastically affect your ROI. The more times a listener hears and engages with your advertisement, the more they are likely to remember it and act on it.

Repetition will drive home the point that your product or service is available and preferable to other similar services. This is also why it is productive to use a repeated tagline or phrase in your advertisement.

Thirdly, if your advertisement plays over online streaming, it is ultimately easier to track and measure your ROI. That’s because you get real-time results. This can help you figure out what works about your ad and what doesn’t.

Knowing how effective your ad is ultimately does two things for you. It tells you what you should change or keep the same for next time. As a result, it increases your ROI because you won’t make the same mistakes twice.

In this case, you are looking at radio advertising as a long-term investment. Your second ad will be better than your first, and your third will be better than your second.

If your radio ads are effective, you’ll want to keep producing them. Repetition over a long period of time will turn your voice and brand into a household name.

Radio Advertising Can Bolster Your Brand

Radio advertising may be one of the oldest forms of advertising, but it is just as relevant now as ever. Perhaps it is even more effective today, since the advent of online streaming. Radio advertising can bolster your brand by inducing cognitive thinking, adding personality to your brand, reaching your target audience, maximizing your online presence, and ultimately boosting your ROI.

To start planning your radio advertisement today, click here.

With all the different media options available, there is still something incredibly appealing to the radio. Radio is an intimate form of media that has been a staple of American homes for many generations. 

Have you ever dreamt about becoming a radio host? Have you ever wanted to be part of the great American radio show tradition?

Well, if you want to – then you have to have what it takes to be a great radio broadcaster.

Audio is an effective medium. Whether for entertaining, informing, or advertising it’s a great medium for reaching others.

But, it’s not as easy as it may look. Here’s what you need to know:

Be a Great Speaker

This may sound obvious, but being a great speaker is challenging. You might be the center of attention at the dinner table or a party, but that doesn’t mean you have a knack for broadcasting.

So how do you improve your speaking skills? We suggest practicing public speaking. While a broadcast might be by themselves in a studio, they are speaking to a large audience. Public speaking will teach you how to enunciate, persuade, entertain, and address a large audience.

You will also learn the importance of expanding your vocabulary. You’ll learn how to form your sentences to say as much as you can with a limited time frame.

Have a Great Personality

To be a great on-air personality, you need to think about what you want your style to be. Take a moment to think about famous talk show hosts – whether they are on the radio or television/video.

Do you want to be direct and matter of fact like Brian Lamb? Do you want to be confrontational like Joe Pyne? Easy-going like Bill Boggs or Dick Cavett? Or abrasive like Alex Jones?

Your on-air personality should be best-suited to what you are as a person. Your personality should be one that appeals to your listeners. The main theme, regardless of the personality you choose, is that you should be relatable.

Have a Sense of Curiosity

Regardless of what type of show you host, every broadcaster must have a sense of curiosity. If you are advertising a product, you must convey to the audience that you are interested in the product.

If you are telling a story or reporting the news, the listeners must be able to hear the interest in your voice. If you are interviewing someone, you should be curious about what they have to say.

You want to arouse an interest in your listeners. This can only happen if you show any interest in your subject.

You Must Know How to Listen

Being a broadcaster is not just about talking. You also have to give importance to listening. You can tell that a broadcaster is mediocre if they don’t listen to others. No one wants to listen to a broadcaster who only likes the sound of their own voice.

For example, when you are interviewing someone on the radio you want to make sure that you don’t constantly interrupt them. You want to make sure that you are actively listening to them. If you don’t have great follow-up questions and your interview doesn’t have a conversational style, your listeners will realize that you don’t give importance to listening.

Learn the Technical Aspects

While you may not need to ever handle the technical aspects of radio, it’s always important to understand them. Watch the sound engineers at work and ask them about what they specifically do.

You should be aware of the latest technologies so that you can adapt. You should know which are the best microphones and headphones for broadcasting audio.

If you ever decide to branch out into starting your own radio station or hosting a podcast, now is the time to learn the technical aspects.

Work Under Pressure

Any job in the media is demanding and requires you to work under pressure. This is an important skill to cultivate if you wish to work as a radio broadcaster.

You will have to know how to complete an interview or a news report in a short amount of time. If you are asked to advertise a product, you’ll have 60 seconds maximum – sometimes you’ll barely have 30 seconds.

If you have to report the news, you may only have a moment’s notice to broadcast breaking news.

The time limit and urgency are what makes the radio industry exciting. It’s also what adds tremendous pressure on broadcasters. Make sure you cultivate the habit of being calm and professional under pressure.

Work Well With Others

While you may be the solo host of your own radio show, working as a broadcaster is not a one-man job. It is a team effort and you will have to learn to work well with others.

Make sure you know how to work alongside your producer, sound engineer, etc. If you have a co-host or are interviewing a guest, you will need to know how to accommodate them.

Be Accurate

When you say something on the air it has the potential to be heard by millions of people. You want to make sure that you are responsible for what you broadcast. If you are broadcasting the news, make sure that you don’t twist the facts.

You want to make sure that you adhere to any guidelines or protocols that your producer has decided. You want to make sure that you maintain a high level of integrity.

Respect Your Audience

Finally, as you continue broadcasting you will build a loyal audience. It’s imperative to always show them respect.

Your audience is your lifeline. Make sure that you treat them with respect and that you always keep them in mind while broadcasting. They are always going to expect a high-quality broadcast. If you are consistent with your quality, the audience will remain loyal and will continue to grow.

Become an On-Air Broadcaster

Now that you know how to be a successful on-air broadcaster, we wish you good luck as you start your journey. Follow the steps in this guide and you are sure to have a successful career in radio.

Part of being a successful broadcaster is to have a great brand. Check out what we offer to see how we can help you with your brand.

The startling fact is that 92% of Americans still listen to AM/FM radio, despite the plethora of digital platforms available. That’s higher than TV viewership (87%), or the use of PCs (54%), smartphones (81%), and tablets (46%). Most people use the radio to listen to the latest music, popular talk shows, or their favorite sports broadcast. From a marketing perspective, radio is still an effective way to reach your target audience. We’ve compiled a list of nine simple ways to make the most of those radio commercials, lasting a mere 10, 15, 30, or 60 seconds. Check it out!

1. Create Attention-Grabbing Radio Commercials

With a 60-second commercial, you’ve got 15 seconds at most to grab the attention of your audience. Your ad needs to answer the following listener questions quickly:

• What’s in it for me?
• How will this product/service make my life or the life of someone I know easier, happier, or better?

Remember that most people are not interested in the detail of innovative products. They simply want to know if it is better in some way than what came before. Once they get that message, you’re half-way to winning them over as a buyer, because they will listen more attentively to the rest of the ad.

2. Good Sound Quality

Unlike television or online ads, radio has no visuals. This means that it’s critical to get the sound production right. Poor sound quality, annoying voices, and other glitches will not endear the audience to your product or service! While the wording of your advert is important, how it is heard is paramount.

The best adverts are those with a clever script that sounds good too. Employing professional sound technicians, and voice-over professionals, is well worth the investment. It could be the difference between an ad campaign bombing out or being a run-away success.

3. Invest In a Good Jingle

Jingles are one area where opinion is divided. That’s because we have all heard bad, corny jingles.

The hallmark of a good, catchy jingle is that it can easily be sung by a wide range of people. Besides that, the lyrics of the jingle need to be clearly enunciated and include the name of your brand or product. Jingles can also include useful information, such as a telephone number or web address.

It is a well-known fact that people find it easier to remember songs than plain old prose. If you want your product ad to feature a brand jingle that millions of people will remember for decades, then invest in a good jingle.

Just as with the rest of your advertising copy, your jingle should include a call to action. Both the jingle and your copy provide ample opportunity for creativity. Use it!

4. Get The Right Time Slots

Most radio stations have a scale of fees depending on the time slots you choose for the airing of your radio commercials. Don’t fall for the trap of selecting the cheapest time slots.  They are the cheapest because very few people are listening during those hours.

You need to tailor your time slot to your target audience. For example, if you manufacture breakfast cereals for children, the best time to air the radio commercial is at breakfast time, when kids will be listening. They will nag their parents to purchase the cereal in question they next time they are at the supermarket!

Similarly, advertising sportswear is best done in the commercial breaks during a sports broadcast. Advertising sportswear at breakfast time, or breakfast cereals during the live broadcast of an evening basketball match just doesn’t make sense.

As well as tailoring your time slot to the most appropriate target audience, you also need to tailor your budget to produce a full-length ad campaign.

5. Get Your Ad Frequency Right

You need to build recognition of your brand or product.  It is said that someone has to hear an ad three times before they recognize it.  Most advertising agencies will recommend that your ad is aired 21 times per week for 52 weeks in succession so that you gain optimum frequency and recognition.

Too many ads in one time period and your listeners will get sick of hearing your ad and zone out.  Too infrequent an airing and no one will even remember you advertised in the first place.

Rely on your public relations and marketing consultants to interpret your marketing data for you, and recommend the best way forward on the frequency of your radio commercials.

6. Keep Them Nibbling At Those Sound Bites

Everything is a process. Once your listening audience gets used to hearing (and liking) your radio advertisements, you need to start an ancillary or follow-up campaign.

Big-brand advertising is very careful about phasing out the old ad and introducing the new one. You don’t want to upset the listeners too much by suddenly depriving them of their favorite ad!

7. Get the Right Radio Station

Consider the location of your business and the reach of your product based on reliable target audience data. For instance, there is no point in creating a radio advertisement that’s played exclusively on East Coast radio stations when your business and most of your customers are on the West Coast. There are three things you can do to find what you need. 

Search for US radio stations by State. Alternatively, check out surveys to find out which are the most popular radio stations.

The third option, and perhaps most viable if you want to link your radio commercials to your other online platforms, is to choose to sponsor a local online radio station.

Online radio broadcasting has the advantage of being both national and global in its reach and can be a particularly good choice for those of you who have niche products or services. 

Engage Marketing Consultants

A PR company like Killer Spots Agency knows what they are doing.  We have made it our business to develop in-depth knowledge of all aspects of audio production.

As an award-winning marketing company, we invite you to listen to the countless samples of radio commercials that we have produced  Contact us via live chat or get a quick quote via virtually any page on our website.  We can certainly point you in the right direction, and soon have you coming out sounding like a symphony!

For years, the “announcer voice” was the go-to for commercials, televised events, radio ads, and of course movie trailers. You know the voice: deep, clear, almost inhuman, but authoritative. When an announcer voice showed up you knew to pay attention because, well, you didn’t have much of a choice with that booming voice going on.

Now, you don’t hear the announcer voice too much. It’s fallen to the wayside in favor of other types of voiceovers, particularly the conversational tone. If you’ve ever wondered why that might be, keep reading to find out!

How Did Announcer Voice Start?

Announcer voice makes a lot of sense on paper. If you’re trying to be heard, talking in a loud and overpowering voice ensures that people will listen and put some sort of priority on your voice. If we go way back to the days of town criers, newspaper boys, and circus announcers, the voice makes a lot of sense as the speaker is trying to get their message out over the sounds of a crowd.

The exact origins of announcer voice aren’t well known, but the trend seems to go a long way back. The Mid-Atlantic accent is one place to look. It is a blended English and American accent used by actors in the early 20th century for its mixture of poshness and accessibility.

This made up accent became the norm in many films, used by people such as Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. From there it became desirable and was taught to aspiring actors in schools. Now, it seems the industry wants nothing to do with it.

Move Aside, Announcer Voice

One problem with the announcer voice is its tone, often described as “parent-child” read. When someone talks in an announcer voice they’re placing themselves above you, telling you what you should think about something, and demanding that you listen to them. This worked fine in the beginning, but now it comes off as condescending and untrustable.

Nobody likes to be talked at, which is the main reason that announcer voice has died. Another reason is that the announcer voice saps all humanity out of the speaker.

If you’ve heard any number of movie trailers from the 90s and before, you’ll notice that all the announcers sound nearly identical. The voice ends up being cast in our minds as being “corporate” and “cold”, like some sort of company robot. Humans identify more with other human voices and respond better to a more conversational tone rather than one that’s not only telling us how to think but telling us how to think in a strange voice.

Some companies still choose to go with a more conventional narrator, such as car commercials, and even a lot of radio ads for things like furniture stores. These companies may be following an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality or may be paying homage to these old-school narrators that once dominated the field. There’s a certain nostalgic quality to hearing a booming narrator now that will work for some people.

The Rise of Conversational Speech

Nowadays, people want an announcer or narrator that they can relate to. People don’t want someone whose voice is stiff, overly-rehearsed, and booming like those radio announcers of old. Instead, they want someone they can imagine having a conversation with, and maybe a little jingle to top it all off.

These more approachable and conversational announcers are sometimes known as non-announcer announcers. They’re a lot easier for a listener to connect with, and much more approachable. When the announcer speaks like an actual human, it makes the listener feel less like they’re being advertised to or told what to do, and more like they’re being informed or spoken to by a person rather than some machine.

The two things a company should strive for in advertising is trustability and relatability, and a non-announcer voice makes this much easier.

How to Talk Conversationally

While the announcer voice is commonly referred to as parent-child read, the more conversational side can be referred to as peer-to-peer. The perfect voice-over actor will sound like they’re speaking to a peer and telling them about something. Keep the voice and tone relaxed, don’t use words that are too fancy or “industry deep”, and above all else don’t come across as condescending.

The conversational announcer is still able to speak loud and clear without sacrificing the conversational tone. They can use simple, relatable language and allow subjectivity into their delivery. As a voice-over actor, don’t tell the listener what they should be thinking, rather tell them what you think about a product you’re announcing, as if you’ve tried it yourself.

Put some emotion in your speech and try to relate with the listener, don’t try and sell to them so explicitly.

The last thing people want now is an announcer that sounds like they’re reading from a script. This is unavoidable at times, but the more the voice sounds like real human speech — being made up on the go — the more the listener will be able to relate. Script-read announcing just brings people back to the corporate robot and makes them all-too-aware they’re being advertised to.

Get Conversational

The announcer voice is dead, and it probably won’t be coming back any time soon. Times change and so do peoples’ preferences. Nobody wants to be talked at by their television sets or radios anymore.

People want deeper connections and trustable announcers behind their products. Using a conversational tone is the best way to achieve this.

If you’re looking to hire a voice actor, check out our product page and find out how you can do just that. Feel free to contact us with any comments or concerns.

Got a good script and a clear idea of your radio ads? That’s good and all but you won’t get anywhere without a voice artist.

However, hiring the right voice over talent isn’t a quick and easy process. They play an essential role in a successful radio campaign.

But don’t fret. We’ve got a few voice over tips you should follow when looking for the right talent. Read on below and fine-tune your hiring process:

1. Know Your Target Audience

Before and during the hiring process, make sure you keep your target audience in mind. Voice over work for a political campaign, for example, is vastly different compared to the work intended for an explainer video or an Instagram ad. 

Identifying your audience can narrow down the type of voice, accent, and style you need. You can immediately cut out the applicants that don’t fit the bill. 

For example, a good radio campaign needs a strong, clear voice. You might also want to stick with a flat tone instead of something emotional, riddled with too many high and low pitches. 

2. Check Voice Samples

Even when you have a good idea of what you want, don’t hesitate to listen to a few samples.  You might hear voice quality you weren’t necessarily looking for but it might click with your campaign needs. 

Once you got a list of potential candidates, listen to as many samples as possible. Get their full portfolio and take time to listen.

You might like a voice actor during the interview only to discover they struggle pronouncing certain words or names. One of the voice actors you weren’t too keen on may have a sample showcasing their full potential, turning them into top candidates for the job. 

Remember that the bigger the portfolio, the more experience and training a voice actor has. Let’s dive deeper into the importance of experience.

3. Experience Matters

Did you know Tara Strong is 46 years old, as of the time of writing? Despite her age, she plays a myriad of young characters. She voiced characters like Bubbles in Powerpuff Girls, Timmy in Rugrats, Batgirl in the Batman Animated Series, and Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony. 

This doesn’t mean you have to hunt down older voice actors. Age isn’t a measurement of work experience. It’s often the case but you shouldn’t disregard young voice actors immediately.

You might find voice actors below the age of 25 already brimming with experience. Not all of their work might be official. There are many fan-dubbing projects for anime shows and foreign television shows that have no official English versions.

4. Try Different Emotions

Launching a radio campaign doesn’t always require a flat, monotone voice. Think about it this way: you’ll need to convey different emotions if you’re running a radio ad for products compared to a political ad. 

For the prior, you need an energetic voice. The latter demands more authority and certainty. Don’t hesitate to run tests with your applicants and see how they perform with different campaigns or scripts.

Keep in mind that with voice over work, the audience can’t see the speaker. They have to elicit emotions solely through their voice work and the eloquence of the script.

Have the voice actors read the same line in different ways.  Let them try to elicit excitement in one take and a tone of dread or authority in another.

5. Different Mediums, Different Talents

Gone are the days when the term “radio” simply meant broadcasting on a radio station. Nowadays, the term can also refer to podcasts or streaming projects. Make sure you know the kind of medium you’re hiring voice talent for.

Don’t always assume that you can use one kind of voice talent for different mediums. Different mediums demand different kinds of talents.

Going for a traditional radio broadcast ad? You might do better with someone who can speak quickly but clearly. Traditional radio ads cost a lot and they charge you per second, after all.

Looking to make an ad for a podcast commercial? These give you more leeway so you might want someone with more energy and better annunciation. You can also get playful with different accents and intonation variations too. 

6. Long-Term Considerations

One of the most crucial voice over tips when hunting for talent is to have long-term considerations. Look at the long game instead of hiring solely for a one-and-done project.

If you were around in the 1980s to the early 2000s, movie trailers always had a voice-over narration. More often than not, the voice work was by the same talent, providing consistency. When people heard that voice, they knew it was for a movie trailer.

Emulate this practice and consider the long-term reliability of your voice talents.

This builds trust and comfort. You need both if you want your radio ad campaign to become a success. Set expectations early by planning and hiring voice talent you know you can rely on for multiple projects.

7. Get a Few Recommendations

Sure, you’re bound to get a few cold applications. That said, you’ll need to conduct a few auditions to sort out the talents and narrow down the ones you like. You can simplify this process by getting a few recommendations.

Why are recommendations often good hires? 

They come from people who already worked with them. There’s already a sense of trust and reliability. You also get the guarantee that they have some training and experience, otherwise, no one would recommend them to you. 

It’s always a good idea to take the recommended talents and give them a try. Audition them like everybody else. They might end up easier to work with, even as early as the hiring phase.

Follow These Voice Over Tips When Hiring!

Hiring the right talent isn’t too monumental a task with these voice over tips. Don’t rush the process and go over things like their portfolio, different samples, and style to find the talent you need.

But getting the most out of your campaign doesn’t end here. Why not read our other guides to get one step ahead of the competition? You can start with our post about the reach of radio right here.