Step up to the microphone

Some of the biggest producers in the country use radio as their primary marketing engine to drive their business. And there’s no shortage of reasons why. The following are five reasons why you should consider using radio to generate leads for your business.

1. Proven results. As an advisor, you have more choices to market your business today than ever before. The choices include newspaper, magazines, direct mail, radio, TV, cable, digital, social media, billboards…and the list goes on. That said, beware of the next new marketing fad. Radio has proven itself week in and week out as a lean, mean, lead generating machine. It’s hard to argue with results. Executed properly, radio simply drives results.
2. Reach. Much like every new and traditional advertising medium, radio has had its fair share of competition and in turn, fragmentation. But despite online platforms such as Pandora and satellite radio (Sirius/XM), radio still reaches nine out of 10 people every single week. Not bad. And it’s especially effective at reaching older demographics. Baby boomers grew up listening to radio, and old habits die-hard. Their “go to” source for news and information has, and continues to be, radio.
3. Build your brand. One of the most critical things you can do as a financial advisor or retirement planner is build trust and credibility. Radio is a very personal medium and can be very effective at doing this for you and your business. The options to do this are only limited by your creativity. 
4. Options. When most advisors think about radio, they think of having their own 30- or 60-minute weekend radio show. But if you think you have to do a radio show to generate leads, think again. In fact, there are a number of effective and cost-efficient ways you can use the medium to generate leads while building your brand. And these other platforms don’t come with the preparation and time commitments of having your own radio show. Plus, they can reach a much, much larger audience during the middle of the week in prime day parts (AM drive, mid-days and PM drive) when you’re open for business.
5. Agility. Every market and every station’s audience respond differently to various calls to action. So just because promoting seminars works for a colleague in Phoenix doesn’t guarantee that it will work in Omaha. So it’s critical you move quickly and test which call to action will be the most effective for your market and business. If you use print, direct mail, TV, cable, or a number of other mediums, it takes far more time and money to change your call to action. With radio, you can have a new call to action on the air in less than 24 hours. And that’s critical.

Radio continues to outshine all other media as an effective and cost-efficient lead-generating machine. Just like any marketing campaign, it needs to be executed properly and managed on an ongoing basis.