Radio Advertising: Is It Right For My SME?

Radio advertising is a tried and tested advertising method. In South Africa, businesses advertise on the radio to target a larger audience and share their message in different languages. For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), radio advertising can be pricey. However, is it the right type of advertising for your SME?

Radio advertising is a form of marketing that uses radio broadcasts to promote products, services or brands/businesses to a wide audience. Experts predict that in South Africa ad spending in the traditional radio advertising market will reach $0,33 billion in 2024.

To put into perspective why businesses use radio advertising. The audience reach in South Africa is expected to reach 42 million users by 2029. This can give SMEs an opportunity to reach a wide audience with localised messaging.

In this article, we explore the pros and cons of radio advertising and if it is the right advertising for your SME.

Benefits of Radio Advertising

There are many advantages to advertising through radio. It’s just about finding the right radio station and choosing the right advertising package for you. Some of the advantages of radio advertising include:

Large audience reach – With over 26,4 million radio listeners in South Africa, advertising through radio can help your business gain a larger customer base and exposure to many potential customers.

Target by geographical area – By using a radio station in a certain area, you can target people who live in that area. This means you can do targeted advertising using the language spoken in that area to better grow your customer base.

Anywhere, anytime advertising – Advertising on the radio means people can hear your ads at any given time. The accessibility of radio allows listeners to hear your ads whilst driving, cleaning, eating etc. These are things that usually cannot be done with ads in magazines or on phones.

Strong call-to-action – You can schedule your radio ads (if the station allows) to be aired at certain times (day or time slot). This allows you to advertise any specials or competitions closer to the start. This will prompt customers to act quickly and in time.

Flexible and immediate – Radio advertising content can be created quickly and easily. Unlike other types of media (written content or visual content), you can create your radio ad in short notice and get your campaign running within a few days to a week.

Disadvantages of Radio Advertising

As great as radio advertising sounds for SMEs, there are some drawbacks that come with it. Some of the drawbacks that come with radio advertising include:

Lack of visual content – Radio is a medium that uses audio-only. This means that when you advertise your business you are limited to audio only and this can hinder you from showcasing special products or services and their benefits.

Competition – Radio stations rely on advertising profits and because of this, you will be in competition with a lot of other business ads. This means you are all competing for the same customers with other businesses.

Limited time – Radio ads are usually a few seconds long (15 – 30 seconds). Because of the time limit, you are constrained to certain details, and this means any extra details about your product or service will be left out.

Ad avoidance – Most people don’t like ads and usually switch radio stations or turn off their radios once an ad comes up. This can mean a lot of people won’t hear your ad. This decreases your reach and means a lot of people won’t hear your ad.

Measuring return on investment (ROI) – As good of an investment radio advertising is especially for SMEs, there is no way to measure if it’s working. It’s difficult to track how many people heard the ad and acted on it.

These are just a few disadvantages of radio advertising. For an SME, the pros might outweigh the cons but that is all dependent on your business.

If you want to reach a larger audience without extensive marketing tools like social media, TV ads or e-mail marketing, radio might work for you.

Costs of Radio Advertising

The costs of advertising on radio are dependent on a few factors. These include the radio station, the length of your ad and the time slot that you pick. Here are some popular radio stations in South Africa’s pricing:

Ikwekwezi FM – Monday to Friday 12 pm to 3 pm slot will cost you R 1 410 (30 seconds).

94.7 FM – Monday to Friday 12 pm to 3 pm slot will cost you R 8 415 (30 seconds).

702 – Monday to Friday 12 pm to 3 pm slot will cost you R 4 865 (30 seconds).

KFM – Monday to Friday 12 pm to 3 pm slot will cost you R 6 715 (30 seconds).

Cape Talk – Monday to Friday 12 pm to 3 pm slot will cost you R 1 845 (30 seconds).

These are just some of the costs of advertising on radio. There are different costs for different time slots and different times of the week and weekend. You must decide which area you want to target and find the radio station and time slot that works for you.

For more information on traditional advertising methods for your business, visit the SME South Africa website.