Small business owners have been advertising on Tampa radio since the first station, WDAE, went on the air in 1922.  By almost every metric, the medium remains the best way to successfully market goods and services to local consumers.

Before  Tampa Bay businesses finalize their marketing plans for this year, here are five facts they should know about radio advertising.

Tampa Bay consumers cannot get enough pizza.

In 2012, there were just about 1000 local pizza restaurants. Today, however, that number has grown to 1,139. In 2019, these establishments racked up $534,000,000 in total sales.

Fifty-nine percent of pizza sales in Tampa Bay are rung-up by one of the top-50 chains like Domino's or Pizza Hut. The remaining 41% of revenue is controlled by independent, small business owners.

To compete for a larger share of the pizza pie in the Tampa area requires local restaurant owners to bring in new customers. A proven way to accomplish this is with advertising.

The US Small Business Administration recommends that every Tampa Bay small business advertise consistently.  

Consumers in Tampa Bay spent a record $3.9 billion on home improvements in 2019. This level of spending is projected to drop modestly next year, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

“Declining home sales and home-building activity coupled with slower gains in permitting for improvement projects will put the brakes on remodeling growth,” says Chris Herbert, the center’s managing director.

“However, if falling mortgage interest rates continue to incentivize home sales, refinancing, and ultimately remodeling activity, the slowdown may soften some.”

If  Tampa Bay small businesses that sell home improvement products and services would like to continue to grow despite the softening market, then advertising will be required.

Tampa Bay small business owners need employees...desperately.

According to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business, 26% of small business owners say finding qualified workers is their number one problem. 

The report goes on to say that 88% of small business owners looking to hire new employees are finding there are no qualified candidates.

The historically low unemployment figures in Tampa Bay appears to be the root cause of local hiring woes. The metro area's jobless rate stands at 3.4%. There are just not enough qualified workers to go around.

Most small business owners have exhausted the traditional methods of recruitment. These include online job board posts, newspaper ads, referral bonuses, and help wanted signs. All to no avail.

To successfully attract the qualified applicants they yearn for, local small business owners need to command the attention of 'passive' job seekers. The number one source for these candidates is Tampa radio.

Small business owners in the Tampa Bay area must advertise to claim a fair share of the $59.3 billion retail economy.

“Think you have a great product?” asks the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”  The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

During 2019, many Tampa Bay small business owners sought advertising guidance on the advice pages of www.AdvertiseInTampaBay.com. Below are the top ten most-read articles from the past 12 months.

There's a reason many Tampa Bay small business owners target their advertising towards consumers who have completed a four-year college degree. It's because, typically, university graduates earn $29,106 more per year than those with only a high school diploma, according to The Federal Reserve.

There are, according to Nielsen, 669,408  college graduates living in the Tampa Bay area. In total, this population generates $52.2 billion in annual take-home pay.

To tap into a similar pool of spending power, a marketer would need to reach 1,160,307 consumers who did not go beyond high school. The problem is, there is only about 75% of that number in Tampa Bay.

The number of people reached by a campaign is, generally, what determines the cost of advertising. So, for a Tampa Bay small business owner operating on a tight marketing budget, spending can be kept in check by targeting those consumers with the most money to spend. In this case, college graduates.

Tampa Bay small businesses that sell products or services to pet owners should sit up and take notice.  Local consumers will spend $753,000,000 this year on behalf of Fido and Fluffy. This amount has increased 323% since 1994, with no sign of letting up.

According to the American Pet Products Association, here's how local spending on furry companions breaks down:

• Food: $301,527,000
• Supplies/OTC Medicine: $161,795,000
• Vet Care: $183,858,000
• Live Pet Purchases: $22,062,000
• Other Services: $66,188,000

The biggest month for sales of pet-related products and services in Tampa Bay is, by far, December. That is when 10.5% of all annual spending happens in this category.

When a Tampa Bay small business owner advertises on a local radio station, the first words determine if consumers will pay attention. The article "Be Heard: The #1 Job of Commercials on Tampa Radio" discusses this topic in-depth.

When it comes time to buy, however, getting in the final word can be equally important.  Advertising on Tampa radio is often the last voice a customer hears before making a purchase in-store or online.

Being the last voice serves as a potent reminder to consumers that a business or product exists.  Especially since our brains make things very easy to forget. Science says it's so.

Here's a quiz for Tampa Bay small business owners:

Which of these online sites reach more adults each month than Tampa Bay radio stations: Google? Netflix? ESPN? YouTube? Twitter Facebook?

The answer may be a surprise. Radio reaches more adult consumers every month than all websites and apps.  This is critical information for Tampa Bay business owners to knows to be able to choose the best way to advertise their goods and services.

The number one media characteristic that contributes to the success of an advertising campaign is reach. This is a measure of how many different people are exposed to an advertiser's message.