As an expert in free radio advertising and radio advertising, people often ask me that very question. Advertising and advertising… what’s the difference? Both are necessary for the survival of your business and both are easy to come by. Both can also cost you a ton of money, or come to you for free. Let’s start with advertising.
Advertising: Whether on the radio, in the newspaper, on television, through direct mail campaigns, or on the Internet, the key to traditional advertising is that it costs money. If you are driving down the highway and see a sign with a soda can on it, the makers of that soda paid money to have their message pasted on that sign. If you’re listening to the radio and a car dealer starts yelling into your ear about “MSRP” and “Making Room for New Models,” the radio station was paid to broadcast that message to the entire listening area. The word advertising is the same as “Paid”, however, there is “free advertising” that costs nothing and is infinitely more effective than the traditional paid variety.
Advertising: Advertising is a little less specific. Advertising traditionally refers to any media coverage or attention you receive that is included in the “content of a post or broadcast.” For example, if you own a shoe store and the TV news comes in to do a story about your annual ‘Shoe Drive for the Homeless’, that is considered advertising. If you’re an accountant and the Wall Street Journal writes a story about your attempt to set the record for most tax returns prepared in the month of April, that’s also considered publicity. While the media coverage and content you receive is free, there are various costs associated with advertising, including travel expenses, event costs, and publicists. The expenses associated with so-called free advertising can be as high as an advertising campaign.
If you have a product or service that you’re trying to sell, you need one or the other (and often both) to not only succeed, but to survive. The lines can often be blurry. In my professional opinion, the best way to get free publicity for you and your business is to get hired on TV and radio talk shows as an expert guest. When you are hired as a talk show expert, you accomplish several important things.
1. You establish yourself as an expert in your field
2. You get free advertising
3. You sell products
Stop worrying about whether you need to hire an ad agency or publicist, and just get the most media exposure for the least amount of money possible. Spend less than you earn. That is the real key to success in business.