As a Digital Driver, Broadcast is the Bomb

I’ve always felt that TV and radio were the best drivers of digital traffic. But it wasn’t until I saw the results of a recent survey that I had proof.

Mind you, I grew up with print media and still love it. I was a paper carrier in my youth and newspaper reporter and editor as an adult. Newspapers, yellow pages, and magazines have been superior in filling websites with the type of deep, rich, and relevant content that radio and TV has struggled to attain. Print-born sites have a stickiness that others can't quite match, and advertisers love that. In fact, advertisers rank newspaper websites at the #3 place (behind social media and search engines) to advertise their businesses online, while ranking radio #7 and TV #9. 

But this column isn't about content. It's about driving digital traffic -- something advertisers value greatly as they take control of the Internet and see their own websites and social media as the best sources of new customers.

Here's why radio and TV have the advantage: While print media requires hands, broadcast media leaves them free to do other things . . . like type in a URL, tweet something, or click "like."

Advertisers are clearly aware of this strength. When asked which types of media complement their digital initiatives the best, they ranked TV and radio highest. (See chart, or go to this interactive site for more detail.)

I'll be describing the survey results more fully Nov. 1-2 at our big conference in San Francisco, LOAC-West. (My LinkedIn connections get a hefty "friends of Gordon" discount, so ping me if you're interested.)  You can also hear more at The Radio Show in Nashville, where I'll be speaking Sept. 22.

There's one more thing I should mention about broadcast media. Today's advertisers are clamoring for a sales rep who possesses marketing savvy, someone who can help them not only create a campaign, but also breathe life into it across various media channels.

In our survey of 7,564 advertisers over the summer, can you guess what type of media rep were selected as having the greatest marketing skill?

Radio and TV scored highest, again.