Clarity is key to reaching your audience and getting them to respond.
The most effective radio spots are clear.
- The audience they want to reach is clear.
- The message is clear.
- The benefit is clear.
- The call-to-action is clear.
You have to be clear on who you’re trying to reach with your radio ad.
Do you want to reach moms? Dads? College students? Homeowners? Hungry pizza lovers? Jeep drivers? Cat fanatics?
The more you can niche down on the exact type of person you’re trying to reach, the easier it becomes to craft your message.
When you know the typical profile of your best prospective customer, you can increase your odds of success by choosing to run your ads on a station that appeals most to that profile. If you’re trying to reach people who love going to rock concerts you can place your ads on a rock station — but your work isn’t done there because people who love rock music can be male or female, young or old, own homes or rent them, love cats or dogs, enjoy hamburgers or be vegan. Choosing a rock station puts you in the right neighborhood, but you still have to find the right street and house.
Using a line in your radio spot that asks “Don’t you love your dog like he’s a member of the family?” clearly lets dog lovers know you’re specifically talking to them.
Your message needs to be clearly understood.
Don’t hide the meaning of your message in industry jargon or long-winded verbal meanderings. Use concise, easy to understand language and get to the point by saying what you mean. Radio spots are pretty effective in helping advertisers drill down to the essence of their message because the brevity of a 15, 30, or 60-second spot forces you to efficiently edit your message.
Make the benefits of your product or service clear.
When people hear your radio commercial they should come away with a clear reason to do business with you. You’re the fastest provider, or you’re the neighborhood favorite, or you specialize in custom work, etc. No company can be all things to all people. Find your people and then make it clear that you can provide something they need in a way that appeals to them. Don’t know what that is? Then you’re not clear enough yet on who you’re trying to reach.
Your call-to-action must be clear.
Too many ads try to squeeze in too many things. They want you to call AND email them AND stop into their three locations AND follow them on the Facetube twittergrams AND visit dubbya-dubbya-dubbya-dot-wehaveareallylongwebsiteaddressthatyouarenevergoingtoremember-dot-com-slash-someridiculoussubdomainwecreatedsowecantrackyourresponsetothisad-dot-html.
Even if your target audience is clear, your message is clear, and your benefits are clear — you can screw the whole thing up by messing-up the final crucial element of being crystal clear on what next step you want them to take.
Your CTA must be singular and easy to do.
Have them call a number OR send an email OR visit a website (with a simple and easy to remember domain name!) OR download a free ebook, etc. Please note the operative word between each of these options is “OR”.
You can only ask your audience to do ONE thing or they’ll do nothing.
Getting a response is the first step in building a relationship with a new prospect. You don’t want to flood them with a bunch of stuff you want them to do at one time. Like any path you travel, you take one step at a time.
Your job as the advertiser is to make sure the path is clear.
