Host Endorsed Radio vs. Social Media Influencers

Influencer marketing has been all the rage for the last several years. Marketers have realized that influencers have lots of power over their followers, so an endorsement can be a huge game changer. It’s such a big deal that influencer marketing budgets are on the rise.

When you think of influencer marketing, you likely think of social influencers. These are the people who have huge numbers of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter followers. What you might not realize is host endorsed radio endorsements can be even more powerful. Get the scoop and you’ll see why a radio endorsement is the key to your success.

Host Endorsed Radio 101 – What You Need to Know

A radio endorsement, also called a “live read,” has been a part of the radio industry since the early days. During radio’s infancy, advertisers paid DJs to promote their products on air. People who grew up in the early days of radio were treated to one radio endorsement after the next promoting toothpaste, cigarettes, and other items.

For around 100 years, a host endorsed radio ad was nothing more than a way to earn a paycheck. These ads were used to bring money into the station and pad the paychecks for on-air personalities.

That’s changed in recent years, though. Now, on-air personalities use the radio to endorse products they truly believe in, leveraging relationships with brands to help their listeners find the best products around.

Huge on-air personalities, like Sean Hannity, Mike Gallagher and Steve Harvey, use the air space to talk about products and services they use, and even local radio hosts are involved. DJs select products and companies they can stand behind and lend their endorsement on-air so their listeners can hear it. Recently, on-air personalities have used their airtime to endorse everything from their favorite brand of vehicle to their go-to restaurant. Even mundane products, like their favorite electric toothbrush, get airtime when on-air personalities believe in them.

Who’s Listening?

If you ask marketers about their innermost fears, many will say they are afraid of creating a campaign only for its intended audience to ignore it. That’s a lot of time and effort to put into something that falls on deaf ears.

That’s part of what makes a radio endorsement so special. When you use host endorsed radio ads, you get the benefit of a captive audience. More than 90 percent of Americans 12 and up listen to the radio weekly. That’s a weekly audience of more than 235 million people. You won’t reach all 235 million with your ad, but your local market also has its fair share of listeners. You can find out how many listeners are in your market before purchasing your first radio endorsement.

The listeners are there, but what do they want to hear? Are they just there for the music, and then they’ll tune out when they hear your ad?

Not at all. Close to 60 percent of listeners 18 and older mostly tune in to hear the on-air personalities. When these personalities offer endorsements, they listen. In fact, 6 out of 10 listeners trust the host’s opinion. Many trust these endorsements more than social media posts. They also tend to agree with the recommendations, meaning that when you get a new customer from one of these ads, you might end up with a customer for life.

How Do Radio Endorsements Compare to Social Media Influencers?

You likely know that media influencers play a huge role in marketing. Brands that team up with the right influencers can get excellent results.

However, market saturation has caused some issues for those who rely solely on social media influencers. Influencers and advertisers are in large supply, and that’s caused the market to become overly saturated. This impacts the practice in a couple of ways.

First, of course, influencers can’t command as much money as they did in the past. A saturated market means brands can look elsewhere if they don’t like the deal.

Second, it makes the posts less believable. People often encounter tons of these posts each day, and each time they see one, they become less inclined to buy.

That doesn’t mean social media influencer marketing is dead. That’s far from the case. However, it no longer has the same type of power, so many advertisers are adding a radio endorsement or two into the mix. The radio market isn’t nearly as saturated, so listeners pay much more attention to the ads.

Host Endorsed Radio Drives Results

Radio Hosts are the key to generating branded trust, leads, and sales both online and in brick-and-mortar establishments. While social media influencers can be a powerful tool, it’s hard to beat host endorsed radio ads. On-air personalities have a true, trusted connection to their audience that you don’t always get with social media influencer. That connection can help you increase your businesses brand awareness.

If you’re ready to expand your reach and increase your brand awareness, leads, and sales, it’s time to try to host endorsed radio ads. Contact us today to find out how we can help you excel with your next marketing campaign contact us or call us directly at 1-866-477-4420. 

Checkout a related article: The Benefits of Radio Advertising