Radio is very similar to television in that people don’t want to hear about how great you are or how many sales you’ve made. They want to know what THEY’LL get out of working with you. It’s a give and take – if you want them to call or email you and give up their contact information, you need to have information they want or need to offer in exchange.

Radio ads can be handled similarly to television ads. Identify your target audience to decide when and where to run your ad. For example, to target couples in their 30s with kids, you may want to run your ad on a soft rock station, not necessarily a rap or hip hop station.

Keep your ads up beat and creative as possible. You’re probably not saying anything your audience hasn’t heard before, but you should be saying it in a whole new way to catch their attention. Offer them free services or hot listings for sale, though radio isn’t the best medium to showcase listings.

In our opinion, if you really want to use radio, it’s best to use it to advertise an event you may be holding (the same goes for TV).

Recommendation: Hold a “Current Renters” event, inviting all current renters to a specific spot for information on owning their own home. Many renters are lazy, scared or stupid when it comes to purchasing a home. They’re either lazy, and don’t want to have to deal with the work involved in homeownership, or scared that they may not be able to handle paying a mortgage or they’re stupid, because they’ve never done the necessary research to see whether owning a home is a smarter move for them.

Advertise your Current Renters Expo on the radio, offering an hour long information session, free home value market analyses, loan pre-approvals and (here’s what will catch their attention) free dinner and refreshments, along with the opportunity to win great door prizes. Make it fun and worth their while to come out to your event, and be sure that your radio ad conveys this. Make sure an easy to remember phone number is included for contact and ask people to call to RSVP. You can start garnering their contact information as they call and have even more opportunities to get their contact information at the event itself.

All in all, radio, like television, isn’t the most cost effective or productive form of marketing for a real estate agent. Radio ads are best utilized to advertise an event or a very specific free offer. Radio ads are best used in conjunction with various other forms of traditional media marketing.