Not All Media is Social
We have a love-hate relationship with social media—sometimes leaning far more toward hate than love.
The frustration lies in the fact that, despite its drawbacks, social media remains a crucial tool for marketing, advertising, and promoting our businesses. However, it’s not the only tool available.
There’s another powerful, often overlooked medium you should consider adding to your marketing toolbox: local media.
Have you ever thought about tapping into the power of good old-fashioned radio, newspapers, and television? While the reach of social media is limited—only 2-5% of your followers typically see your posts, and with algorithms now serving up content days after it’s posted—it’s not exactly timely or effective for promoting events, sales, or special offers.
Now, let’s compare that to the reach you can achieve through local broadcast media, such as television.
Take, for example, a client we worked with who earned free publicity (yes, free—no paid ad involved) for an event we helped organize to promote a local foot race. Our strategy was simple but effective: we scheduled the event on a typically slower news day and at a time that was convenient for news crews to cover. We sent out well-crafted press releases and media alerts, resulting in three out of the four news stations in the area covering the event.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
The #1 and #2 rated stations aired 30-second stories during their 5 p.m. newscasts. The #1 station, with a local market viewership of nearly 75,000, and the #2 station, with over 40,000 viewers, brought the total reach to over 100,000 people in just one evening.
Ask yourself: do your social media posts reach 100,000 people in a single day? Probably not.
And it didn’t stop there.
These same stations re-ran the story multiple times the next morning on their two-hour morning shows, giving our client even more exposure. The result? The foot race was a sellout.
There are countless stories like this where businesses have seen revenue increases of up to 40% after appearing on local television. Others have witnessed an immediate response, with new customers walking through their doors just hours after the broadcast. You don’t need to be Insta-famous or TikTok-famous to make an impact. Sometimes, all it takes is catching the attention of your local news outlet to create a buzz that resonates throughout your community.
Additional benefits of leveraging local news include:
Immediate credibility in the eyes of your audience
High-quality content to share on your social media, website, and email newsletters
The potential for repeat appearances
Multiple opportunities for viewers to see your story, plus it gets archived on the station’s website
The coveted “As Seen On” banner for your website, boosting your brand’s prestige
Did you know that national advertisers fully understand the power of broadcast media?
They specifically target Gen-X in their ads because this demographic has disposable income. If national companies are capitalizing on this medium, just imagine the possibilities for your business.
No one likes the feeling of wandering aimlessly.
Memorable Results Media regularly comes alongside small businesses as a guide in supporting business owners craft their own roadmap. If this sounds like a great idea but you are at maximum capacity, drop me an email at michelle@memorableresultsmedia.com
I’d love to hear from you!
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