West-central Florida business owners have depended on Tampa radio to market their goods and services since WDAE, the city's first radio station, went on air in 1922. Despite the advent of new media and technologies since then, advertising on local radio stations is still the best way for the area's 123,853 small business owners to create and maintain customers.
Here are five facts every business owner should know about advertising on Tampa radio in 2022.
1. Advertising on Tampa radio reaches more consumers than all Other media options
Every week, according to Nielsen, 2.3 million adults tune-in to a Tampa Radio station. This is more than watch local TV and cable. More than use social media. More than stream video services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. More than listen to online audio options like Spotify, Pandora, and podcasts. And more than read local newspapers.
According to "Audio Today 2022: How America Listens", radio reaches 93% of all adults every month, a significantly higher percentage than all other electronic media.
2. Consumers are very loyal to their favorite Tampa radio stations
During a seven-day period, Tampa radio listeners tune-in to, on average, 2.83 local stations. Here are the top five radio formats among local adults ranked by reach.
- Classic Hits: 32.9% (example-WRBQ-FM/Q105 Hits of the 70’s, 80’s and more)
- Adult Contemporary: 32.6% (example-WWRM-FM/Magic 94.9 – The New Magic 94.9)
- Soft Adult Contemporary: 25.4% (example-WDUV-FM – The Dove – Tampa Bay’s Continuous Lite Favorites)
- Pop Contemporary: 24.5% (example-WFLZ-FM/93.3 FLZ – Tampa Bay’s #1 Hit Music Station)
- News/Talk/Information: 22.7% (example, WFLA-AM – Tampa Bay’s News, Traffic and Weather)
3. Radio Listeners Stay Tuned During Commercial Breaks
A study published in the Journal of Advertising Research indicates that only 3% of listeners avoid commercials. In other words, 97% of consumers stay glued to the station they are listening to during a commercial break.
"This first independent academic study of radio-advertising avoidance based on portable people-meter data," say the study's authors, "has contributed a new (low) benchmark for radio mechanical advertising avoidance."
"These findings will help advertisers to abandon unfounded beliefs and may encourage more of them to consider using radio advertising. On the basis of these results, radio advertisers now are free to focus on those times when the greatest number of potential customers are reached."
4. Many local consumers choose to listen to their favorite Tampa radio stations online
Not all listening to Tampa radio happens on car radios, table-top radios, or boom boxes. Instead, local consumers also use their smartphones, computers, and tablets as a way to connect to their favorite local stations.
Neilsen finds that 29.2% of all consumers who listen to a Tampa Bay radio station over the air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. As a matter of fact, during a typical hour, Nielsen data suggests that 10.9% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.
Those consumers who listen online are slightly more likely to have higher household incomes, have full-time jobs, and be under 35 years old.
5. Listening to Tampa radio dominates in-car listening
Over two-thirds of all Tampa radio happens while driving.
Despite all the ad-supported audio options available while in the car, well over 80% of the listening time is spent with AM/FM radio, regardless of the driver's age.
The five metrics presented in this article indicate that advertising on Tampa radio is, in fact, still the best marketing option for local business owners.
More Advertising Advice For Tampa Bay Small Business Owners
- Tampa Bay Radio Is The #1 Advertising-Supported Medium
- Advertise In Tampa Bay: Online Listening Boosts Audience For AM/FM
- Smart Speaker Usage in Tampa Bay: A Conversation With Alexa
- Advertising On Tampa TV: Where Have The Viewers Gone?
- Advertising On Tampa Bay Radio Still #1 Way to Reach Consumers
