New Study Shows How Radio Exposure Drives Social Media Advertising.

Results of a study conducted by Critical Mass Insights find that radio listeners show a greater likelihood to click on social media ads for products or services they’ve heard advertised on radio.

The survey, conducted during March 2025 among 1,000 U.S. consumers ages 18-64, shows more than half (55%) of listeners say they’re more likely to click if they’ve already heard a radio ad, with that share even higher among adults 25-44, at 64%. Overall, CMI finds, average listeners are twice as likely to click a link for a product they heard advertised on radio vs. one they haven’t.

The study also finds that 72% of consumers are more likely to notice social media advertising for a product after they’ve heard about it on the radio, while 7 in 10 say they’re more likely to read a social media ad for a product — and two-thirds more likely to try a new product — after hearing about it on the radio.

This behavior pattern holds for other segments, as 6 in 10 “lighter” listeners of radio say they’re more likely to engage with social media posts from brands they’ve heard about on the radio, while three-quarters of Black and Hispanic consumers say hearing about a brand on the radio first makes them more likely to click on an ad.

“Consumers are inundated with advertising every day, on every platform, and they’re increasingly navigating an environment that includes fake AI-generated content, so it’s no surprise that first hearing about a product in the trusted, familiar environment of broadcast radio increases the legitimacy of the advertiser and the product in their minds,” CMI President Lainie Fertick says.

Fertick notes that the power of radio goes beyond just consumers’ behavior when it comes to social media ads, as 8 in 10 respondents say they trust broadcast radio hosts to recommend products and services to them, 44% say they’re more likely to buy a product they see in the grocery store if they heard about it on the radio first, and 49% say they’re more likely to visit a fast-food restaurant after hearing it advertised on radio.

“This research highlights how radio can help brands cut through today’s advertising clutter and make them more top-of-mind — not just in that moment when listeners hear an ad, but later, when they come across a product in a store, in a digital ad, or while driving down the highway,” Fertick says. “Hearing about a brand in a high-attention environment, like radio, changes how they respond to that brand in a more crowded environment.”