Radio Commercial and TV Advertising Tips: August 2011

3 Ways Radio Commercial Testimonials can be Effective

You hear them all the time in radio commercials. Customers raving about a select business or service. However, not all radio commercial testimonials are created equal. The old rule of "any exposure is good exposure" does not apply here. If you heard someone talking about a service you were contemplating using, and it came across as very "forced" or "fake" - It may taint your idea of the service. It may even make you feel as though they were trying to "cover up" something... otherwise... why would they have "fake" customers talking about them? Even if that is not the case, that is the perception to the consumer. However when a radio commercial testimonial ia delivered in a genuine and sincere tone - it can be super successful! Here are the three keys to a successful radio testimonial.

The first key that you should have on your radio testimonials are real people. It sounds obvious, but more times than not testimonials are bogged down with bad voice actors reading from scripts written by the business owner in only the way a business owner would describe their business. The average customer does not walk into a store and say "wow, you have the best selection and the lowest prices around - with deals starting at 9.99 - that's amazing!!". You know your business better than your customers - so you talk in "owner speak". If you want your testimonials to sound real AND connect. They need to come from the way your customers talk. How do you know what they are saying... Ask Them! Whey they talk about your business they my describe it in ways you never thought of.

The second key to a successful radio testimonial is not TELLING people what to say. Too often, I have clients bring me REAL customers who want to talk about their business. Then I see them walk into the studio with a script in hand! Newsflash! They are not talking about your business at this point, they are reading from a script you gave them, and might a I add... this is the worst type of testimonial. At least an actor can make an attempt at sounding real. Joe Blow with a script in his and is going to butcher what you want him to say about your business like you wouldn't believe! No scripts when it comes to testimonials... Just questions... Questions that the people who are being recorded do know know in advance!

The third successful radio testimonial key is - Keep it customers only. No one wants to hear your children talk about "daddy's store" or your wife make some stupid off handed remark about her husband or vice verse. People want to hear what other people just like them thought about your business - period! Keep the children talking and spouse jokes for the Christmas party presentations.

An effective marketing plan starts with an experienced marketing team. If you have any questions about TV Advertising or Radio Advertising call me anytime - (231)468-9972 or email us here. Or visit http://www.bestradiocommercials.com . My company has been one of the most trusted names in Television Advertising and Radio Advertising for years.

Talking Fish Infects Radio Commercials

Have you heard the "Talking Fish" radio commercial from a certain fast food restaurant?

This single radio commercial has been the centerpiece of countless face book postings, tweets, and comments on blogs and websites all over the world. What makes this particularly interesting to me is the fact that this is from a radio commercial. Yes, a radio commercial. A medium that many say is "not relevant" anymore. A medium that supposedly "no one listens to" (even though a recent survey found that 94% of Americans listen to the radio at some point every single day.) Its a medium that has quite a bit of power in 2010.

Is it still the only outlet to get new music from? No. Is it the only outlet to get news and weather from? No. Have these affected the effectiveness of radio commercials? No.

Don't get me wrong... To have a successful marketing campaign, online tools sure as hell better be part of your marketing arsenal! You also do not want to overlook time trusted tools such as radio, TV, even print sometimes as well... even though they may be "old". Old is not a bad thing... it means they have survived many storms and keep delivering results to their customers. People thought radio would die when the magic picture box came around too... that was about 60 years ago. Guess what... still alive and kicking... and with more listeners than ever before.

I'm not saying that simply because you create a radio commercial - magically customers will be driven to your doorstep. Content is king... in any medium.... from radio commercials to YouTube! If the content in that commercial is blah - no one will care or take Acton. If the "fish" commercial that became so viral simply said "we have yummy fish sandwiches" - it would not be so popular. The fact that it included a singing fish talking about how "if it were you on the bun, you wouldn't think this was funny" - made people talk.

Now, you probably shouldn't incorporate singing fish into your radio commercials or marketing campaigns, but you do need relevant and compelling content if you want to stand out and make it work. The next time you put your best marketing foot forward - remember the "fish story", and where it started. For content to be super viral, many times it starts on something as simple as a radio commercial.

An effective marketing plan starts with an experienced marketing team. If you have any questions about TV Advertising or Radio Advertising call me anytime - (231)468-9972 or email us here. Or visit http://www.bestradiocommercials.com . My company has been one of the most trusted names in Television Advertising and Radio Advertising for years.

Will My Radio Commercial Work?

Will your radio commercial work? That is a question that any business owner who invests any amount of money into radio advertising asks themselves, and then asks the producer of the production followed by their friends, family, brother, sister read and pets and anyone else who will listen to the question. Not surprisingly every person who listens to that advertising has a different opinion. Whose opinion is right though? Is it that coworker we've been working with for years who doesn't have any advertising experience or radio commercial writing experience, but they're good friend? Is it your brother who's been super successful in their business yet has never once written or ever used advertising? Or is it your gut?

Nine out of 10 times I would say your gut is more accurate than the slew of unqualified people you consulted with. I'm not saying these people don't have valid opinions. I'm saying they don't have qualified opinions. If you needed surgery would you trust the opinion of your brother or coworker over that of a medical professional? If the answer is no, then why would you trust their opinion on what makes an effective radio commercial over that of a qualified professional who writes advertising for living?

What makes a qualified professional in the field of radio commercial production? Is it your salesperson from the radio station? Probably not. Their job is to sell you the commercial, unfortunately with so many radio station cutbacks they also become the person writing your radio commercial. Again nine of 10 times... not very effectively. So what do you do if you want an effective radio commercial? You seek out professionals who do it independently. These are people who do nothing but create radio commercials. People who get feedback from their clients on a daily basis as to what works, what doesn't work, what did work and what is currently working.

There he is no silver bullet, and no one will ever be able to tell you 100% that your radio commercial will work wonders. But an educated guess from a qualified professional who knows what they're doing in the field will give you a much better chance of success than the opinion of an unqualified acquaintance.

"But the radio station said they will produce my radio commercial for Free." Why would I want to spend any money to have it produced elsewhere? Because the quality of the radio commercial you get from the radio station is night and day compared to professional production company. One will likely work, one will not. I'll let you guess which one has the better chance at success. Bottom line... you get what you pay for. The radio station will discourage you from having a professional outside of the radio station create your radio commercial, why? Because they would rather see you spend that money with them on the media buy, rather than have you use those dollars to have an effective commercial produced outside their doors. It's not the fault of the salesperson, they probably don't know any better. But now you do.