Tampa Bay small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since 1922.  That's when the Tampa Times newspaper put the first local radio station, WDAE, on the air.

Today, there are 27 radio stations that serve the five counties of Tampa Bay. Each provides a unique blend of music, information, and entertainment.  Some stations focus on politics or sports. Some play country music. Some play the hits. Some play classic rock. Some are on the AM dial. Some are on FM.

When WDAE began broadcasting, there were no TV stations in Tampa. Those would come 29 years later. Also, there was no social media, YouTube, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, or smartphones. Each of those would be products of a new Millenium.

With an overabundance of advertising options now available to small business owners, does advertising on Tampa radio still make sense?  Here are five facts that serve to answer that question.

Tampa Bay consumers are expected to spend $59.3 billion at retail this year, according to Nielsen. This means that every household, on average, will be paying out $45,646

To capture a larger share of these dollars, local small business owners need to know the answer to two questions.

The first question is, where is this enormous amount of cash being spent?  The list below details the answer.

Tampa Bay consumers are expected to spend $7.3 billion on this year's holiday shopping, based on predictions by The National Retail Federation.  This would be a 4% increase over last year.

Deloitte, one of the world's top four accounting firms, forecasts similar growth.

"The projected holiday season growth is, in part, due to the current health of the labor market,” said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte's U.S. economic forecaster. “Near record-low unemployment rates, coupled with continued monthly job creation, may encourage people to spend more during the holiday season. The economy is still growing, albeit at a slower rate. Additionally, we continue to see consumer confidence elevated, which also helps boost holiday spending."

For most Tampa Bay retailers, holiday spending brings in about 20% of annual sales But, long gone are the days when the bulk of this shopping occurred between Black Friday and Christmas.

Last week, according to Nielsen, 601,626 single, adult women tuned-in to a Tampa radio station.  This is 88% of every consumer who fits this description.

Why should Tampa Bay small business owners take note of this demographic? A study by investment bank Morgan Stanley finds 41% of working-age women are single. That number is expected to increase to 45% over the next ten years.

The study, called 'Growth of the SHEconomy', indicates that single women outspend the average household in many retail categories. Remarkably, says, Erica Sweeney of MarketingDive, "Women purchase more than half of products traditionally considered 'male' including autos, home improvement products, and consumer electronics."

Every so often, when a Tampa Bay small business owner advertises on a local radio station, it isn't successful.

There can be no debate, though, when implemented correctly, advertising on Tampa radio works, and works well.

"Last year," says Jon Polizzi, "our business grew 67%.  The only thing we did differently was to add radio advertising into our marketing mix. I attribute most of our growth to what we have done on the radio."

Mr. Polizzi along with his brother have owned Electric Today, LLC since 2004. The company provides residential electrical and air conditioning repairs to customers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Manatee counties.

"We advertise on Tampa radio every week with very high repetition. Our return on investment (ROI) has been really good," say Mr. Polizzi. "I know if I can beat my name into someone's head enough times, they will know us when they need electrical or air conditioning repairs."

Is advertising on the radio just a day job for Tampa Bay small business owners?  

Thousands of local companies depend on radio advertising to market their goods and services. But, most of these business owners choose to buy commercials only between 6:00 am and 7:00 pm.  Is this a good idea? Maybe not.  Here are the facts.

Last week, for instance, 2,193,604 adult consumers tuned-in to their favorite Tampa radio stations. This is significantly higher than the number that tuned-in to a local TV station, read a local newspaper, logged-on to social media sites like Facebook, or streamed audio from Pandora and Spotify.

But radio listeners do not roll-up their ears just because the sunsets. According to Nielsen, 56.4% of Tampa Bay consumers who listen to the radio during daylight hours, also tune in at night.

Did my ears deceive me, or did you just refer to the 2.1 million adult consumers who tuned-in to a Tampa radio station last week as 'nobodies'?

If you did make that mistake, then you wouldn't be the first Tampa Bay business owner or media professional to do so. Even, Doug Schoen used to share that opinion. He came clean, however, in a Forbes article.

"You wouldn't know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music," writes Mr. Schoen, "but recent Nielsen data shows radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers. 93% of adults listen to the radio each week as compared to 87% who watch TV, a substantive difference."

This is true in Tampa Bay, as well, where radio listeners far outnumber the people who watch local TV; read local newspapers; or stream audio sites like Pandora and Spotify; or log-on to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

In the history of the United States, there have been more recessions than presidents, 47 vs. 45.  Many economists believe number 48 could be imminent.  

The textbook definition of a recession is a period of declining economic performance across an entire economy, frequently measured as two consecutive quarters. In other words: it's a time when most Tampa Bay small business owners sell fewer of their goods and services.

There is one thing a recession is not.  It is not a time for local business owners to stop advertising.

One of the greatest marketers of all time, Henry Ford, once said, "The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time."

There are many examples of companies that have proven this aphorism to be true. Your bowl of cereal this morning could be one example.

Based on information from the National Retail Foundation, Tampa Bay consumers will be spending $79 million on Halloween this year. 

Typically, 80% of all Halloween shopping, according to the NRF, will occur between now and October 16.  The remaining dollars will be spent in the last 14 days leading up to the holiday.

Nearly 53% of consumers in Tampa Bay are expected to participate in Halloween this year, each spending, on average, about $86.  This money will go towards the purchase of candy, decorations, costumes, pumpkins, and greeting cards.

Almost every type of small business in Tampa Bay enjoys a taste of this spending. This includes hardware stores, convenience stores, craft stores, fabric stores, thrift stores, florists, card stores, consignment shops, haunted houses, home decor store, bakeries, and, of course, candy stores.

To claim a significant share of this Halloween cash will require local small business owners to advertise.  The key to successful advertising is reaching as many Halloween shoppers as possible over the next four weeks.

Business owners who sell mattresses in the Tampa Bay area might be losing sleep.

Last year, local consumers spent close to $130 million for new mattresses.  A recent survey conducted by Piper Jaffray indicates that many retailers believe  that the category will become even stronger during the last four months of this year.

The reason for the owners' sleep loss is that many customers are skipping local stores and buying their mattresses on the internet. According to Statista, 37% of mattress buyers are now purchasing from one-of-175 direct-to-consumer sites like Casper or from online retailers like Amazon. 

To keep customers shopping local requires advertising.