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"Local Search Takes Another Local Step"
Audio Graphics - May 16, 2005
One sentence about two-thirds of the way through the article linked below gets to the heart of something
written here multiple times: Radio stations need to develop a relationship with local advertisers that says,
"We want to help you as an advertising consultant, not just to get you advertising on our airwaves."
Here is a story about newspapers and yellow pages, and how they are beginning to sell local search advertising. Google and Yahoo! are mentioned in this article also; don't need to name other search engines because, relative to local search, these are the only two you need to watch.
Here's what's happening in Houston: The Chronicle is selling local search ads while also placing ads next to related stories appearing on Chron.com (its web site). The paper's VP gives the reason for this in the context of helping local advertisers understand the internet even if they run traditional media: They'll (the advertiser will) say, "You know what, why not? You've helped me in the past."
BellSouth is also in the local search game. Other big name local media will soon join the fray, except I wouldn't count on any of them being radio-related.
According to The Kelsey Group's John Kelsey, "70% of U.S. households now use the Internet when shopping locally for products and services."
The Chronicle is taking steps to lead clients into the future, but we see no stories about radio even close to this concept. Instead, the radio industry is trying to convince advertisers and audience of a huge downturn in commercial time and an upswing in the number of songs played. The bait's not being bit, yet.
Radio stations are stagnant when it comes to local search or to tying themselves into anything local online, besides their own web sites! That's a big mistake.
Small businesses, which make up 75-80% of radio's revenue, are looking at what everyone else is talking about - the internet. Local business owners want to know how to better use online, yet the only time that word comes out of a radio exec's mouth is to ask the client to place ads on the station's web site.
If radio continues its sideline stance where local search is concerned, then changing its perception to one of playing more music and fewer commercials is soon going to be a minor problem.
Local search is coming to the masses. Know how to work with it, or it will eat into large chunks of local media's revenue.
Special thanks to audio graphics for allowing us to redistribute this article.
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