Fayetteville, North Carolina area business owners have an abundance of options for marketing their goods and services to local consumers. New research from Nielsen, however, indicates that advertising on Fayetteville radio is still the best way to reach local shoppers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Fayetteville radio reaches 282,794 adults. This is significantly more than are reached by social media, local TV stations and cable systems, newspapers, streaming video and audio, and podcasts.

In addition to listening to their favorite Fayetteville radio stations over the air, Nielsen reports that 73,320 adults also listen to local stations online every month.

As a matter of fact, according to a study conducted by Edison Research during the third quarter of 2022, among Adults 25-54, 17% of all time spent listening to local AM/FM stations occurs online. This share of online listening has nearly doubled since 2016.

Economic concerns among Fayetteville, North Carolina area consumers are not expected to subdue holiday shopping in in 2022.  Based on forecasts from The National Retail Federation, local shoppers are projected to spend at least $1.3 billion this year. This would be 6% more than was spent in 2021.

“While consumers are feeling the pressure of inflation and higher prices, and while there is continued stratification with consumer spending and behavior among households at different income levels, consumers remain resilient and continue to engage in commerce,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “In the face of these challenges, many households will supplement spending with savings and credit to provide a cushion and result in a positive holiday season.”

The biggest challenge facing Fayetteville business owners is keeping holiday spending local. NRF expects 10-12% of purchases to happen online from retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

To lay claim to this expanding pool of holiday spending,  and keep business local, small business owners will need advertising. By, most marketing metrics, the best way to advertise is on Fayetteville radio.

According to Nielsen, 328,122 adults in the Fayetteville area have access to the internet. Eighty-six percent of these consumers conduct online research before making a retail purchase, says a report from GE Capital Bank. 

To reach Fayetteville area adults in the market to buy their goods and services, businesses spent $260 million in 2021 on digital adverting, according to projections based on the 2021 IAB Internal Advertising Report.  This is 35% more than was spent during the prior year.

This mammoth pool of online advertising dollars targeted at Fayetteville consumers is being spent on a variety of digital resources including search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), display ads, video ads, audio ads, email, and social media. Each of these tools can precisely target consumers who are currently in the market to buy whatever it is a business is selling.

Most forms of online advertising are designed to compel Fayetteville consumers to click on a digital ad that will transport them to the website of a company that sells whatever it is consumers are in the market to buy.  Is investing only in digital advertising enough to drive sales for a local business? 

Many marketing experts believe that online advertising needs to be part of a broader marketing strategy to be successful.

Last year, $260 million in marketing was spent online to reach Fayetteville, North Carolina area consumers, according to projections based on the 2021 IAB Internal Advertising Report.  This is 35% more than was spent during the prior year.

There is a correlation between the massive amount of money being spent to reach Fayetteville consumers online and the extraordinary amount of time that these consumers are connecting to the internet via websites and apps.

According to Nielsen, 37.3% of Fayetteville adults are spending 10-plus hours during an average week online. Furthermore, The Pew Research Center, a public opinion research company, reports that one-in-three consumers say they are online constantly. A 50% increase from 2015.  In all, 85% of consumers say they connect at least once daily.

To successfully market and advertise a Fayetteville business on the internet requires a full-scale understanding of precisely what online marketing is.  Spoiler alert, having a website or having a social media site is not enough.

Fayetteville, North Carolina area small business owners have an abundance of options for advertising their goods and services. Choices include local TV, local cable, social media, streaming video, streaming audio, podcasts, and newspapers.

The best way to advertise in Fayetteville, however, is local radio.

Every week, according to Neilsen, 301,668 adults tune-in to their favorite Fayetteville radio stations. This is significantly more than any other advertising medium.

In addition to the adults who listen to Fayetteville radio over-the-air, an incremental 7120 adults connect to their favorite stations online as well using their phones, computers, and tablets. In all, according to Nielsen, 22.9% of all Fayetteville radio listeners listen both online and offline.

According to Nielsen research, 241,00 people in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area will likely participate in the upcoming election on November 8th. To sway these voters, candidates and political action committees are expected to spend a record amount on advertising.

AdImpact, a company that measures advertising expenditures by political campaigns, says more than $3.6 billion have been spent to reach voters so far in 2022. This puts spending on a course to obliterate the record level of campaign dollars set during the 2020 presidential elections.

Despite crumbling ratings, through August 1st, 58% of all political spending has been dished out to local TV stations, according to AdImpact.

Nielsen reports that since 2017, the reach of broadcast TV stations WRAL, WECT, WTVD, and WUNC has decayed by 10%.

Local consumers may have a gloomy feeling about economic conditions, but their spending has not tapered. This is good news for the 8,690 small business owners in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area.

According to the latest University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers, sentiment about current economic conditions remains near the all-time low. Concerns about volatile gas prices, rampant inflation, and a looming recession have driven the survey's index down 37% versus a year ago.

Despite these dim consumer sentiments, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's July report shows that real personal consumption expenditures are pacing well above pre-Covid levels. According to Morgan Stanley research, consumers' ability to spend is being driven, in part, by a massive amount of excess savings accumulated over the course of the pandemic.

Earlier this year, based on per capita spending data from the National Retail Federation (NRF). Fayetteville consumers were forecast to spend nearly $6.7 billion at retail this year. The current level of spending suggests that shoppers are on track to hit that number.

Of course, for local business owners to successfully compete for a share of this record spending requires marketing. By most key marketing metrics, the best way to advertise is on Fayetteville radio. This is especially true among business owners who must limit the number of marketing channels that can be used because of economic restraints.

Of all media, advertising on the radio provides the greatest return on investment.

North Carolina business owners have depended on Fayetteville radio to market their goods and services since WFNC, the city's first radio station, went on air in 1939. Despite the advent of new media and technologies since then, advertising on local radio stations is still the best way for the area's 8,690 small business owners to create and maintain customers.

Here are five facts every business owner should know about advertising on Fayetteville radio in 2022.

Local business owners have been advertising on Fayetteville, North Carolina radio since WFNC first signed-on in 1939.  But, back then, there were only two options for reaching a mass audience: newspapers and radio.

Today, though, advertisers have an over-abundance of marketing options both over-the-air and online. But every week, according to Nielsen, 301,668 adults listen to a Fayetteville radio station, giving the 101-year-old medium, by far, the biggest reach amongst local consumers.

A new report released last week by Nielsen underscores AM/FM radio's durable reach among all media.

Despite an abundance of media options, Fayetteville, North Carolina radio reaches the most consumers every week. 

According to Nielsen, every week 301,668 adults tune in to their favorite Fayetteville stations. This is more than watch local TV stations, cable, or streaming video. It is more than browse social media. It is more than listen to streaming audio services or podcasts. It is more than read local newspapers.

Not all listening to Fayetteville radio happens on car radios, table-top radios, or boom boxes. Instead, local consumers also use their smartphones, computers, and tablets as a way to connect to their favorite local stations.

Neilsen finds that 22.9% of all consumers who listen to a Fayetteville radio station over the air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. As a matter of fact, during a typical hour, Nielsen data suggests that 11.3% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.

Me: Alexa, how many consumers In Fayetteville, North Carolina have access to a smart speaker?

Alexa: According to a recent Nielsen study, 80,762 Fayetteville adults own a smart speaker. This is 23.1% of the local population.*

Me: Alexa, what exactly is a smart speaker?

Alexa: According to Wikipedia, A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and hands-free activation with the help of one "hot word" (or several "hot words"). Some smart speakers can also act as a smart device that utilizes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other protocol standards to extend usage beyond audio playback, such as to control home automation devices. This can include, but is not limited to, features such as compatibility across a number of services and platforms, peer-to-peer connection through mesh networking, virtual assistants, and others. Each can have its own designated interface and features in-house, usually launched or controlled via application or home automation software. Some smart speakers also include a screen to show the user a visual response.

Me: Alexa, what brand of smart speakers are Fayetteville consumers likely to own?

During the past seven days. according to Nielsen, only 65.7% of local consumers tuned in to Fayetteville, North Carolina area television stations like WRAL, WECT, WTVD, and, WUNC.  TV's diminishing reach among adults 18 and older has been eclipsed by the audience size for social media, cable, and Fayetteville radio. Furthermore, streaming video services such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Disney+ are quickly reaching parity with over-the-air options.

The erosion of local TV station audiences is stunning when comparing prime-time ratings from the past.  In 1980, the highest-ranked TV show was Cheers with a 21.3 rating. The 30th-ranked show was The Wonder Years with a 14.2 rating.

Twenty years later, Survivor was the number one show with a 17.4 rating and Family Law was the 30th ranked show with an 8.8 rating.

Finally, in 2019, Sunday Night Football was the number one ranked show with a 10.9 rating. Survivor tied with Dancing With The Stars in 30th place with a 5.5 rating.

It is stunning to think that the number one TV show in 2019 had a 24% lower rating than the 30th-ranked show in 1980.

Every week, according to new Nielsen data, 301,668 adults tune in to a Fayetteville, North Carolina radio station. This is more consumers than use social media, access local cable, watch broadcast TV, stream video channels, listen to streaming audio, read a newspaper, or download a podcast.

Based on per capita estimates from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Fayetteville consumers are expected to spend between $6.7 and $6.8 billion at retail in 2022, a six to eight percent growth over the previous year. Utilizing radio's enormous advertising reach, local business owners can compel shoppers to spend this large pool of cash in their stores and on their websites.

The number of consumers reached is critical to the success of an advertising campaign.

According to a Nielsen study, after the actual content of the commercial message itself, reach is the most potent advertising element that can drive sales. Reach is more important than brand, recency, or even context. Fayetteville radio provides local business owners with the most significant reach among consumers.

Father's Day this year is on Sunday, June 19. Based on projections from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Fayetteville, North Carolina shoppers are expected to spend $27.5 million on the dads in their life. This is on par with the record-breaking $27.7 million spent in 2021.

“Despite growing concerns about inflation, consumers plan to spend approximately the same amount as last year in celebration of Father’s Day,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Spending patterns also reflect the sentimental nature of the holiday as consumers are prioritizing unique and meaningful gifts.”

The NRF projects that nearly 60%, of all Father's Day purchases in Fayetteville, will be for special outings, clothing, gift cards, and electronics. Although most category spending will be down slightly from last year, the amount of money spent on special outings such as dinner is expected to increase by over 8%.

Here is how this large pool of Father's Day cash in Fayetteville is expected to be distributed in all retail categories.