The sale of digital marketing services to local businesses has helped the radio industry diversify its revenue streams and reduce dependency on advertising. Thanks to an army of local sellers and strong relationships in the business community, it’s become a crucial profit center for numerous broadcasters. So which digital services are most in demand and which are most likely to see increased spending? A new survey of advertisers from Borrell Associates offers some clues.
Local advertisers are most likely to be using reputation management. With 83% of both direct and local agency buyers currently using it, nothing else comes close. Most plan to continue their reputation management activities in 2021 at about the same rates as last year.
Social media management is a distant second place, used by 68% of local advertisers. Search engine optimization came in third, used by 64% of Borrell survey respondents, followed by email marketing (56%) and customer relationship management activities (54%).
Those using social media management, online video production and search engine optimization have the highest rates of continuing to increase their use with three in ten indicating they plan to use each of these services more.
And for those that think of email marketing as a quaint relic from the early days of the internet, 56% of survey participants say they use it with an average spend of $24,500 annually. Four in 10 plan to increase their email marketing activities in 2021, 55% will hold them steady and just 4% intend to decrease.
Offering more evidence of the demand for digital services, none of the eight different services are forecast to see a decrease in usage of greater than 2% in 2021.
Advertiser Tips For Media Sellers
The survey wasn’t just about which marketing methods are bringing in the biggest bucks and gaining the most favor. It also asked local advertisers and agencies what tips they had for media companies. Here are the top five suggestions:
Increase knowledge about our industry/audience
Offer more affordable packages/pricing/services
Build relationship/partnership
Provide better metrics/tracking/effectiveness ROI
More follow-up/regular communication/responsiveness
The survey is based on data collected from 2,811 local advertisers and 701 ad agencies fielded by Borrell between April and June. The biggest share of advertisers came from the real estate, restaurant, and insurance industries.
Borrell will conduct a webinar about the annual survey on Aug. 31. Get details HERE.