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All About the Benjamins: Focus on Finding Digital Dollars

Jul 21, 2021 | 1:08 PM

Texas Association of Broadcasters and Alabama Broadcasters Association 2019 were both incredible successes this year, and the team at SoCast was equally impressed with the

caliber of content and the conferences themselves.

One main topic of conversation was driving new revenue, with almost 40% of sessions discussing how to boost your bottom line. Increasing digital revenue for broadcasters is something SoCast has always been passionate about, so here are 6 strategies discussed at the conference which broadcasters have implemented to increase their digital revenue:

1. Boost your Video Game: Adding a video component to the content you create is cheaper than ever before, and creates a multitude of new revenue streams. Live streaming sports games or creating unique in-studio content will bring in new audiences and allow you to offer more value to advertisers and sponsors. 48% of consumers said they bought a product because they watched a video on it, so make sure you can add value for your advertisers and get a bigger part of their budget.

2. Upsell Automotive: There were multiple sessions that focused on the value broadcasters bring to the automotive industry, and how digital tools are increasing that value substantially. Combining radio and digital creates relevant and hyper-targeted data which is gold to your local auto businesses. Most dealerships get co-op dollars earmarked for digital advertising from their head office and it’s up to you to take it. 60% of potential buyers take 6 months to make their decision, with an average of 24 research touch points. The more channels you engage users on, the more money you’ll get from your advertisers.

3. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: Global connectivity has changed the way broadcasters measure and reproduce success. The resources required to make money with tools like podcasts, smart speakers, and programmatic sales are now at your fingertips. Advertisers will spend 65% of their digital budget on programmatic this year. 50% of Americans have at least one smart speaker in their home. Over 25% of Americans listen to podcasts every week, and over $600 million was spent last year advertising in podcasts. Identify a few proven digital revenue channels that your team’s skill set favorably apply to, make a plan, and make more money

4. It’s All About your Salespeople: The sales team is the lifeblood of your station. Making sure you have great talent with a great attitude is extremely important. Consistent training and target setting helps push your sales team out of their comfort zone and encourages them to sell inventory they usually avoid. Remember, failure to enforce accountability with your sales team makes failure the standard.

5. Data Drives Dollars: With the tools available to broadcasters today, you can drive more data and insight on your listeners than ever before. Leveraging tools like contests, polls, VIP clubs, and member-only content, your team will be able to sell better, create more engaging content, and provide better value. The more you know about your audience, the better job you can do helping advertisers target their message.

6. Expand your offerings: Advertisers are spending the majority of their ad budgets in digital, with 2019 being the first year that digital ad spend overtakes traditional spending by North American businesses. Advertisers want to work with trusted sources, while getting more value from their partners. In the last three years, advertisers have decreased the number of companies they advertise with from 5 to 3, while increasing the channels they advertise through from 5 to 8. Currently, only 15% of digital advertising in a market being bought by businesses go to local media companies, while 84% goes to corporations like Facebook, Google, Yelp etc. Expand your offerings and leverage your relationships to win back more of their ad budget.

These are all strategies that the most successful broadcasters have embraced to maximize their success in today’s media landscape. Whether you can action one of these or all six, you will no doubt see an increase in your bottom line. SoCast works with over 1,000 radio stations to help them implement strategies like these to drive tune-ins, increase user engagement, and create new digital revenue channels. We would love to share some insight into how we make digital growth easy and how SoCast can help your radio group make more money today.

Click here to book some time with our Senior Digital Specialist.