There are so many traditional marketing avenues that you can still use to get your business’s name out into your community. You can take out advertisements in the local newspapers or hand out flyers for your business. However, there is a marketing tactic that you should try that would boost your traffic and get your name out there faster and more efficiently! This tactic would be to go on a live radio show or a TV show! That may sound quite intimidating and far-reaching but it’s really not. We can give you some simple yet highly effective tips on getting booked on a radio or TV show.
1. Pitch the to the right shows and producers.
This might seem like a no-brainer but this actually happens more often than not. People that are excited to promote their business sometimes go on a marketing overload and try to get into any slots on any show that they can. If you were a baker, you would not want to go on ESPN or a local show that is based on the history of weaponry. Instead, you would want to get onto a show that promotes local businesses similar to yours such as new restaurants and other local eateries. Finding that radio or TV show is the easy part. The next part is finding the right person to talk to. More often than not, we tend to leave messages with the person that answered the phone. Instead of doing this, ask for the producer directly. You may want to do a bit of research first to find out who the producer is so that you are knowledgeable about who you are speaking with. Talking directly to the producer shows how invested you are in your company and how eager you are to get the word out.
This form of traditional marketing requires focus and a target audience. Your messaging need to be clear and direct and pitched to the right audience.
2. Offer news the audience can use and be relevant.
To keep the audience interested in what you are presenting, it might be a good idea to offer information about other things besides your company. Back to the baker example, instead of just talking about the location and the sweets that you are offering at your store, give the audience some tips! Tell them or better yet show them some time-saving tricks they can use when they are baking. Tell the audience about where to get the freshest ingredients! You want to come across as someone that is personable and is willing to actually teach. That grabs people’s attention.
3. Develop a narrative that is easy to follow.
The most important thing that you can do before you go on air is to be prepared. This preparation needs to be concise and about one page. It is good to type out a few talking points that you want to hit and give a copy of that list to the producer. This way you and the producer know exactly where the interview will go. Most of the time, the hosts of the show will be given a copy of your list and will use that as a foundation for the questions they will ask you. Since you are the one that typed up those talking points, you won’t have to prepare too much to answer them!
4. Once you’re booked, use other marketing tools to promote your appearance.
In this day and age, social media is the backbone of our society. Sometimes it’s a bad thing but for your purposes, it’s a blessing! Once you get booked on a radio show or a TV show market yourself like there’s no tomorrow! Make sure that all of your social media followers know that you will be on a specific show. Make posts on your Facebook, your Instagram, your Twitter, or whatever social platforms you use! Share the event so that all of your followers know when, where, and how to listen or watch you present your company or business. It is key to do this early enough to get the most traffic to your social media accounts.
5. Don’t expect it to happen all at once, promote your interview.
After your interview, you may feel like the whole world should have watched your interview. Chances are many people were not able to watch your interview. This is your time to push forward and market yourself again. Post your interview and make a lot of comments about it. Talk about how you are going to do more interviews and how you want to push your business forward. Ask for some feedback about the first interview so you can engage your community and make them feel like you want them to be a part of your journey. Even though this is a more traditional marketing method you will need to support this tactic with online and social media marketing.
6. Traditional Marketing has a surge right after the event.
After you have done the interview and even after you have promoted your interview, you will see a surge of customers. It might not be the biggest wave of traffic you have seen but it’ll be enough for you to need a surplus of what you are producing. Make sure you have that surplus and make sure you have enough hands to get it all done. You want to present yourself as professional during the interview but you especially want to be professional off camera. Having that surplus and extra hands to help will show that you are prepared and willing to take what comes at you.
At the end of the day this is a great way to promote your business and employ a traditional marketing tactic that is often overlooked in today’s digital marketing world.
