Ten reasons to use an internet radio show to market your business

Ten reasons to use an internet radio show to market your business

One of the biggest challenge we face today as marketers is getting companies to connect and communicate with their consumers in a more personal and authentic way. That’s why we are constantly pushing things like social media and corporate blogs. These tools require authenticity and personality in order to flourish.

But it wasn’t until I started KryKey that I gave much thought to the power of internet radio as a marketing tool for business. After 10 months of intensive exposure to it, I believe it can be one of the most effective tools for getting companies to open up.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about a one time appearance on an internet radio show. I’m talking about a weekly commitment (similar to writing a weekly blog post or using social media on a regular basis) to build an internet radio show around your particular business and industry.

Here’s why:

1. It forms an instant connection - Starting with the first 5 minutes, the listener begins the process of forming a relationship with you. 
2. It’s passive - We are so overloaded with in-your-face text-based content that most of us only have enough time to scan. Internet radio is like story time. It’s delivered in a way that’s passive enough to permit us to do other things (e.g., driving, exercising, housework) yet at the same time it is extremely effective at delivering great information. 
3. Company leaders are very open to it – Being on the radio is akin to being the star of TV show; it appeals to the closet ego in all of us. This is especially true for company leaders who love the idea of going on the air to talk about what they do. We’ve found that leaders are willing to commit more of their time and energy toward a weekly 30-minute online show than posting a weekly blog post. 
4. It plays nice with other marketing channels – Internet radio can be easily distributed through your existing online marketing channels be it Twitter, Facebook, a blog or even an email list. Online radio is also markedly different from your other marketing content so it stands out and gets noticed. 
5. It’s authentic – Consumers want to get to know the people behind the company and what better way to do this than putting those people and their real voices on the air. 
6. It gets consumers to give up their time for you – When done right, a good internet radio show can get a consumer to give up sizable chunks of time to listen to you talk. Best of all, they will often come back the following week and do it again. That’s huge. 
7. It can position you as a thought leader and expert in your field – Who are you going to believe? The person with the blog or the person with his/her own radio program? Exactly. All humor aside, internet radio provides a channel by which you can potentially broadcast your expertise to the world. 
8. It’s a substantive conversation – If marketing is “all about the conversation” then let’s make sure we allow for enough time to actually have one. An internet radio shows allows the host an opportunity to provide contextual information and also allows listeners an opportunity to influence the direction of the conversation. 
9. It’s a fun and rewarding experience – Producing an internet radio show allows for a lot of creative thinking ranging from selecting the personalities behind the show to booking guests, coming up with monthly themes and even integrating live events where listeners can interact with the hosts. There’s also a lot great energy around online radio and a real sense of accomplishment when you pull off a great show.

Analytics – No more guess work as to who’s listening and how many. Because internet radio is web-based, companies can get real actionable data for who’s listening and from where.

Are you the next radio star?