Businesses are using an average of 8 different media channels for their advertising, according to results from BIA’s Survey of Advertising & Marketing (SAM). While 8 is the average, some businesses depending on the type of advertiser or industry it can be a lot higher. Businesses that use TV, cable or radio advertising use 13 channels. Businesses in the survey use a mix of traditional and digital in the most popular media channels – targeted social ads, email, direct mail, direct home, mobile location targeted ads, digital specialty directories (Yelp, Autotrader, etc.), search, and digital yellow pages.
Targeted social and mobile channels are the most popular with businesses, which isn’t surprising given consumers use of social and mobile. Social and mobile are quickly taking over as the preferred method for digital advertising and there’s an increasing need for that digital message to be personalized. When it comes to targeted advertising, location targeting was the most used factor. When we look at what types of targeting of location, local businesses cast a big digital net with over half of the businesses surveyed say they primarily target by city or county, with postal codes and state/regions the next most popular.
When we look specifically at TV/Cable and radio advertisers, targeted social and mobile media channels are the most popular… which is no surprise since according to our forecast $3.1 billion in ad spend came from location targeted mobile ads from local sellers such as TV, radio and newspaper. Radio advertisers show a similar mix to TV/cable advertisers, with perhaps more businesses using radio’s local competitors – TV and newspapers – as part of the mix.
Local businesses in 2018 used a healthy mix of traditional and digital channels to the tune of 8 channels. Make sure you are offering social and targeted mobile digital ads along with your core product. The majority of businesses are not increasing their ad spending this year and focusing on the advertising they want and use is going to be key to getting their ad dollars.
