Each week we explain ways to make your radio station website more appealing to listeners, but what are you doing online to attract more advertisers?  How are they finding out about all the opportunities that your radio station has that could benefit them?  This week we’ll talk about why your station or group of stations should have an additional dedicated corporate/group website.

Having a website has become so “normal” that advertisers and the public simply expects all companies to have a website no matter what business they are in.  Being active on social media is great, but it’s very hard to close a sale there.  You need to have a website where you can send people to that are looking to advertise.  

Sure, you could have a page on your website that does this, but how much detail can you fit on one or two pages? Can you really fit in all the advertising opportunities, how it’s involved with the community, events that it’s a part of regularly, and possibly a showcase of your best creative work?

Think about it, when you need information about something probably the first thing you will do is search for it on Google.  (Everyone does this.)  Will your station appear within those results if a new business owner searches for “advertising in (your city)”?

1. Competitive Edge: With more and more stations increasing their web presence, your station/group will be more likely to lose business to your competitor because you’ve failed to properly represent yourself.

2. Increased Awareness: A website makes it easy for advertisers to learn more about your station(s) at their own pace. 

3. Instill Confidence: Providing free/useful information is a great way to instill confidence in your clients because it positions you and your team as community thought leaders and forward thinkers. A great way to give away this information is with a blog.

4. Increased Hours of Operation: Your corporate/group website is available to the world 24/7/365. This makes it possible for your advertisers to contact you outside of your normal business hours – when they are thinking about new advertising possibilities. 

5. Reduced Costs: Have you ever tried designing and printing flyers for an upcoming sales event? Almost any printed item can be converted to a web page and distributed by e-mail at far less cost and time than any other medium.

6. Enhances Company Image: A corporate/group website can help you to establish a credible, professional image, instilling a level of trust with your advertisers and their purchasing confidence will follow. 

7. Better Customer Service: Does your staff spend a lot of time on the phone answering questions from advertisers? Do they keep answering the same questions and sending out the same material?  Reduce the time and costs associated with these repetitive tasks by having frequently asked information on your website.

Your radio station website is created to connect with and inform your listeners. A corporate/group website is created to connect with current advertisers and convert new ones.

Could you include all of this information on a page within your radio station website? Absolutely, but we believe that a website fully focused on generating more sales is the better play.

So, if you don’t have a corporate/group website, then it’s something to consider.