Did You Hear It?

Did you hear the huge click of radios and TVs around the world being turned off forever?
It happened on August 6, 1991, when the World Wide Web became a publicly available service on the internet.
If you didn’t hear that resounding “click” that signalled the end of broadcasting, you’re not alone….I didn’t hear it either!
But the total absence of any discussion about broadcast’s role in the new media landscape is leading some advertisers to think that’s exactly what happened causing them to shift their advertising dollars accordingly.
The last time I checked, well over 90% of consumers are exposed to broadcast messages every week.
The problem lies in the business-to-business world’s appetite for news, or the latest shiny new thing. The root word of news is “new”; stories have to be new to make news at your clients’ annual conventions, in the blogs being read and in the articles chosen by the trade publications.
Frankly, TV and radio aren’t new enough to make headlines.
The problem with broadcast’s profile in the ad community is compounded by so-called “surveys”.  I read one such survey this morning that asked businesses: “What are the most effective SEO Tactics your company uses?”
The multiple choice questionnaire revealed that:
57% chose quality content
46% chose key word management
34% chose frequent website updates
34% chose social media integration
28% chose blogging
25% link building
17% local search optimization
9% chose mobile search
(The reason the total is more than 100% is that respondents could choose more than one tactic.)
Your clients are seeing information like this which leads them to believe that radio and TV play no role in optimizing traffic to their websites or in creating a preference for their business over their competitors.
But these surveys typically leave out the option where respondents may choose the power of branding to drive better search results.
Even internet gurus like Seth Godin admit that it is “Better to be sought on line than it is to be found.”  Our surveys in 126 markets across North America validate Seth’s wisdom.
We asked more than 25,000 consumers, “When you search for a business on line, are you more likely to click on the first business your search engine reveals if you have not heard of it, or are you more likely to click on the first business you have heard of or are familiar with?”
The overwhelming majority will prefer the business they’ve heard of, with some choosing to click on the first name and the one they recognize. Less than 6% go exclusively to the first name revealed by the search engine if they’ve never heard of it.
But who is telling the story to your clients about the powerful role radio and TV play in creating awareness, business preference and search engine optimization?
We have been letting all things digital bask in the limelight to the exclusion of radio and TV. It’s time your clients and prospects were exposed to the truth and the synergistic power of a broadcast and online media mix.
It’s the age of electronic media; anything that’s on-air or on-line is electronic media. In this electronic age, it is ludicrous to incur the high production and delivery costs of cutting down trees, paying for lumberjacks, pulp and paper mills, truck drivers, and printing press operators to deliver your marketing message!
Next week’s ENS on Sales will reveal an action plan you can engage to ensure broadcasting claims its rightful role in the new media landscape. Don’t miss the plan that will help you increase your broadcast revenues.