There are 8,690 small businesses in the Fayetteville, NC, Metro Area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $24.8 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Fayetteville small business owners will need to consider advertising.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one's going to know about it unless you advertise. Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales., and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your company."

One of the best ways to advertise in Fayetteville may be on local radio, a fact not lost on the world's largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble. Last year, P&G upped spending on the radio by 43% to $235 million, according to Vivvix (formerly Kantar Media), led by a big jump in local radio.

According to Nielsen, 877,056 adults tune in to their favorite Fayetteville, North Carolina, radio stations every week. This is significantly more consumers than are reached by all other advertising-supported media, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and local newspapers.

Fayetteville radio's unchallenged reach is why many local business owners depend on the medium to capture the largest possible share of the $24.8 billion dollars consumers are expected to spend at retail this year.

Other local small business owners, however, may be surprised to learn that by most marketing metrics, radio remains the best way to advertise in Fayetteville.

Here are four more facts about AM/FM radio that may surprise many local marketers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Fayetteville, North Carolina, radio reaches 282,794 adults. This is more consumers than use any other medium, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, though, is only one component used to calculate ratings.  The other metric that contributes to the rating formula is the time spent using each medium. So, although for the past 10 years, AM/FM radio's reach has been significantly higher than the reach of local TV, consumers spent considerably more time watching TV. As a result of the math, TV has enjoyed higher ratings than radio.

For the first time, however, AM/FM radio ratings have exceeded local TV ratings by three percent among the key advertising demographic of 18-49-year-olds, according to Nielsen's Total Audience Data for the third quarter of 2023.

In the Fayetteville area, there are 204,319 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

Fayetteville, North Carolina, radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 282,794 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Fayetteville TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 322,117 Fayetteville area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.

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.

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.